Why Core Fluency Thesaurus by Prof. Kev Nair is One of the Ideal Books to Achieve Great Fluency in English?

Core Fluency Thesaurus is the the world’s first fluency-oriented thesaurus that focuses only on words that have maximum general utility.
You’ll learn about Phrases, collocations, phrasal verbs, idioms, and other multi-word items.

The headwords are all verbs.
Written English heavily relies on nouns. But speech mainly happens in verbs. Each verb stands for an idea and to master verbs is to learn to think in terms of ideas and expressions. Verbs determine the pattern the clauses and sentences take. The other phrases such as noun phrases, adverbials take positions around the verb. So, verb is the central element of idea units.

Under each headword, you will get word groups that express meanings similar to, or somewhat similar to its important meanings.

Now, why word-groups and not single words?
Speech happens in word-groups. Though we use single words, nobody composes speech word by word by observing the rules of grammar. It’s neither feasible nor practical. This is the main reason why foreign speakers struggle to speak English fluently. They think that knowing the meaning of a lot of words is enough. You see, knowing the meanings of words in isolation is just the first step. The more important thing is to use those words in the company of other words. How they relates to other words, what patterns they usually fit into, what other words can be used instead, what they are synonyms of, what their idioms, collocations are, what their antonyms are, and so on. By associating the finite number of words with other words, you build an infinite web of meanings and ideas. When you have a big enough web, you can catch almost any expression which goes on in your mind.

How is this book useful?
It forces you to think how the word groups are related to the headword. It introduces you to all the nuances of the headword. You get the 360-degree view of the word. By trying to relate all the word-groups to the headword and to each other, you’ll actively engage in the exercise. And this is the most efficient way to develop greater fluency.

You can do an interesting exercise to master phrasal verbs. Select a phrasal verb. Now, find out all the headwords which contain this phrasal verb. This activity will induce you to think how this phrasal verb conveys the main meaning of the headword.

Why should you buy an Advanced Learner’s Dictionary?
Especially, for foreign learners, a dictionary is where you learn first-hand the meanings of words, the idioms, collocations, and things. It’s also important for pronunciation.
You should buy a dictionary meant for advanced learners (published by the Oxford University Press or by some other reputed publisher like Longman, COBUILD, Cambridge, or Macmillan).

An excerpt from the book.

attempt vb –AAA.
• aim at. • angle for. • apply yourself. • attempt too much. • be active. • be ambitious. • be resolute. • be tentative. • be willing. • bear down on/upon. • bend over backwards (infml). • bid for. • bite off more than you can chew. • break your neck (infml). • bust a gut (infml). • chance your arm. • come to grips with. • die in the attempt. • dip in a toe. • do all you can. • do sth about. • do your best. • do your damnedest. • do your utmost. • embark on. • exert yourself. • fish for. • fly a kite. • get down to. • give a trial to. • give it a try. • give it a whirl (infml). • give it your best shot (infml). • give your all. • go all out. • have a crack at (infml). • have a go/shot at. • have a stab at. • jump through hoops (infml). • keep on trying. • knock yourself out (infml). • make a bid. • make a go of. • make an attempt. • make an effort. • make every effort. • make it your aim. • make shift to. • make the effort. • make trial of. • move heaven and earth (infml). • not just stand there. • pull hard. • pull out all the stops (infml). • push hard. • put a toe in the water. • put out a feeler. • put your best foot forward. • redouble your efforts. • renew your efforts. • seek to. • set out. • spare no effort. • take a chance. • take it on yourself. • take it upon yourself. • take on. • take the bit between your teeth. • take the bull by the horns. • take on. • tempt fate. • tempt providence. • try and try again. • try for. • try hard. • try out. • try your hand at. • try your luck. • venture on. • wade in. • work at.