Five words for your working day

Knowing a word is useful. Knowing when to use it makes it part of your everyday English.

1. Deadline

A time or date by which work must be finished.

“The deadline for the report is Friday.”

Try it: Name a task and say when its deadline is.

2. Clarify

To make something easier to understand.

“Could you clarify which figures we should include?”

Try it: Write a question about an instruction you do not fully understand.

3. Update

New information about a situation; also a verb meaning to give new information or bring something up to date.

“I’ll send you an update after the meeting.”

4. Prioritise

To decide which tasks need attention first.

“Let’s prioritise the customer requests that are due today.”

“Prioritize” is the usual American spelling; both spellings are used in English.

5. Feedback

Comments about someone’s work that can help them improve.

“Thank you for your feedback on my presentation.”

In this sense, feedback is uncountable: say “some feedback”, rather than “a feedback.”

Your turn

Write a two-sentence message using two of these words. For example: “Could you clarify the deadline? I’ll send an update this afternoon.”

Check your understanding

Complete the sentence: “Thank you for your ___ on my report.” Choose feedback, deadline, or prioritise.

Show the answer

“Feedback” means comments about the report. A deadline is a time limit, and “prioritise” is a verb describing how we choose what to do first.