I love lists. I love games with lists of frequently used nouns, verbs, two-letter words, or three-letter words. Silly word games.
So, when I happened on the list of most common adjectives, my heart was happy. As a guessing game, it's fun to find out how many one can guess before the timer rings. For me, these word games are both relaxing and invigorating.
There isn't much time in the game. In three minutes, the player must guess as many adjectives as possible and by the way, spell them correctly. A satisfying DING sound signals the player's correct entry for each word below:
good
bad
young
old
other
first
last
next
I struggle to think of more adjectives. Colors don't make the list of the top 25. These words are on the list:
big
small
little
Hmm, I am usually really good at these games. Pretty, beautiful, handsome--none make the list, but these do:
early
late
important
same
different
Oh gosh, running out of time. I try: soft, hard, and fluffy--nope. I begin typing like crazy: difficult--nope. easy--nope. Cardinal numbers? No. no.
Time is up. The game reveals the list of the most commonly used adjectives in English.
The word that surprised me was able. The word able is on the list.
good
new
first
last
long
great
little
own
other
old
right
big
high
different
small
large
next
early
young
important
few
public
bad
same
and able.
We prize ability so much that its root word, able, appears in the top 25 most commonly used adjectives in the English language. Of the top 25 words, five are size-related, three are relative positions, and two are age-related. Apparently, able is a descriptor we value and use more than many other words. In fact, examining the list of 100 most commonly used adjectives, the words male and female are conspicuously absent. Words like loud and quiet don't appear either. In fact, none of the words on the top 25 list relate to sound at all.
As long as we are examining words that are not on the list of 25 most common adjectives, where is the word private? I see the word public, but not private.
How about soothing and calming words, like gentle as in, gentle rain? Nope.
How about disabled? It's not on the list either.
Maybe the adjective able appears on the list because of utterances like, "I'm not able to attend" or "He was not able to finish the assignment." Even these examples combined able with not and share that the subject is unable in both cases. And in these cases, the subject is still not disabled. The subject is simply unable to attend or not able to finish the assignment.
The implication in this context, at least to my ear, is that the person is temporarily unable to attend or it is unusual that the person is not able to finish an assignment. Typically, the person IS able.
What if the frequent use of the word able shapes our thoughts and attitudes to the point that to be disabled is utterly unthinkable?
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