With a minimal grasp of it you can get across what you are trying to say.
Exactly this and in addition it's also relatively easy to understand other people speaking English. This is really a key strength of English language, i.e. low barrier to entry.
On the other hand, consider Danish language: similar grammar to English, also many almost same words, but one needs lots and lots of learning/practice to be able to speak to and understand other Danish speakers.
I wonder though, is this a feature of the language itself or the fact that we are so used to hearing broken English? Hardly a day goes by that I don't need to communicate in English with non-native speakers, and I've gotten pretty good at it. Even if your accent is terrible you can probably still communicate with me. Contrast with Greek, for example: the vast majority of its speakers are native, and the Greeks have a hard time understanding non-native speakers despite the language's clear and consistent phonology.
Danish has rather complex and tortured phonology (to my ears), so I'm sure that's part of the problem; but English is pretty weird too.
On the other hand, consider Danish language: similar grammar to English, also many almost same words, but one needs lots and lots of learning/practice to be able to speak to and understand other Danish speakers.