In the quest to learn more and more vocabulary words, we need to also keep in mind that sometimes it’s good to use fewer words, especially if we want to avoid redundancy. The word redundant comes from the Latin roots re- (“again”) and undare (“[ocean] waves”). In truth, it sometimes feels like we’re faced with a tidal wave of redundant expressions that people now use as common and grammatical English. If you want to keep your feet dry and your conversation sharp and to the point, here are some common mistakes to avoid:

Referring to someone as a “fellow classmate.” The word fellow implies that you’re speaking to another member of your group, but that’s what the suffix -mate does. You don’t need both, and it’s easier to just refer to someone as your classmate. Other words that should not follow “fellow” are colleague and co-worker.

Hoping for a “free gift.” When someone gives you a gift, they don’t expect payment, so obviously it’s free.

Trying to make your conversation “very unique.” If something is unique, it means that there is nothing else like it in the world. While you want your conversation to stand out from the crowd, try not to add unnecessary words that clutter rather than clarify your speech.

Making too many “future plans.” You can’t make plans for the past (too late!) or the present (still too late!) and though you should plan to make sure you have enough time for vocabulary study, you don’t have to specify that you mean “in the future.”

Falling into the acronym trap. While this is a problem with redundancy, it’s so common that most people use these terms anyway. If you’ve ever referred to your “PIN number” then you’ve been redundant: PIN stands for Personal Identification Number, so you’ve actually talked about your “personal identification number number.”

Talking about an “unexpected surprise.” It’s the very nature of a surprise that it’s not something that you were anticipating. You might be aware that your friend is planning a surprise birthday party, but in that case it’s neither a surprise nor unexpected.

Vowing to make a “new beginning” and not use redundancies any more. We applaud the sentiment but not the sentence. Every beginning is a new start – you’d never say “old beginning,” would you? But if you pay attention to your words and only use the ones you truly need, you’ll show your mastery of English vocabulary over and over again.