Functions

Main basic communicative functions

The vocabulary in Primary Education must be essential, from a communicative point of view, depending on the context, and it must focus on students' experience and interests.

The three main basic communicative functions of human beings are: socialisation, information and expression of attitudes:

Socialisation	Greetings	Hello/Hi Good morning/afternoon/evening Nice to meet you (I'm) fine/very well/not too bad
	Saying goodbye	Goodbye/ bye, bye/ bye See you tomorrow/on Monday Goodnight
	Congratulating	Well done! That's wonderful! Congratulations!
	Attracting attention	Excuse me! (to a waiter)
	Seasonal greetings	Merry/Happy Christmas Happy New Year Happy birthday
	Expressions in written language (letters)	Dear (name) Please write soon Love Yours Best wishes
Information vocabulary	Identification	English names (Peter, Susan...) Telephone numbers (numbers 0-9) Addresses (street names) Physical characteristics (blond hair, tall) Health (stomach-ache, flu) Work (doctor, teacher) Possession (car, house, dog) Origin (Spanish, British) Age (numbers 1-100)
	Places	The house (bedroom, kitchen...) Shops (toy shop, supermarket...) Buildings (school, library...)
	Prices	Numbers 1-1000 Pound Penny
	Weather	Rainy Windy Cloudy Sunny
	Time	Numbers 1-12 O'clock Quarter to/past Half past
Vocabulary related to expressions of attitudes	Likes and dislikes	Like Love Hate Hobbies
	Expressing gratitude	Thank you/Thanks/Thank you very much You're welcome/Not at all/That's all right Apologizing: I'm sorry Requesting: Please
	Expressing appreciation	Nice! Good! Excellent! Great!
	Granting forgiveness	That's all right Never mind