The pen is mightier than the sword: Daily Vocabulary

(TESOL Worksheets--Daily Vocabulary)

Youtube Video--Google: docs, pub Slideshow (slides, pub)
(This is re-purposed from my lesson on proverbs).



Today's vocabulary is a proverb. A proverb is a wise saying that gives you advice about how to live your life. Today's proverb is: The pen is mightier than the sword. So the pen: pen is of course something you use to write with. Mighty: mighty means strong. Mightier is the comparative. So strong-stronger, mighty-mightier. And the sword. Sword is a weapon. You use it to stab people or to cut people. I don't have a sword with me, but on this book you can see a picture of a sword.
By the way, careful on the pronunciation. Many English language students have trouble with the pronunciation of sword,  because the pronunciation and the spelling are different. It's spelled S-W-O-R-D, but when we pronounce it we don't say the W. So don't say /sword/ say /sɔːd/ It's a S--ord  /sɔːd/ , /sɔːd/.
Okay, so the pen is mightier than the sword, meaning the pen is stronger than the sword. Of course the pen isn't really stronger than a sword. But what it means is that writing is more powerful than fighting.  So a pen is used for writing and a sword is used for fighting. Or, to put it another way: ideas are more powerful than violence.
So imagine this conversation: “No matter how strong you are, you can't always force people to do what you want. But if you write something, you can change people's minds. It's just like they say: The pen is mightier than the sword.
So let me know if you agree or disagree with this proverb, and also let me know if you have any similar proverbs in your own language.