Englishfor English speakers
I
Pronoun
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The person who is speaking or writing
I am writing this, and you are reading it.
I
Noun
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The ninth letter or the alphabet; previous H, next J. I is a vowel.
I
Symbol
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A symbol meaning first, as in "George I" (which is said as "George the first").
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The symbol for iodine on the periodic table of elements.
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The symbol for electrical current.
I
Number
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This is the roman numeral for one (1). It may be written as I or i.
i
Noun
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The ninth letter or the alphabet; previous H, next J. I is a vowel.
can
Verb
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If someone can do something, they are able to do it.
Most birds can fly.
Can you speak English?
I can't see it. It's too small.
"Can you come?" "Yes, I think I can."
This is a service that anyone can easily afford.
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If someone can do something, they are allowed to do it.
You can't smoke here.
Can I go now?
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You use can to ask somebody to do something (if you know the person well).
Can you open the door for me, please?
Can I have the salt, please?
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If something can happen, it is possible.
It's so small that it can't be seen.
There can't be any difference.
Can the plan work?
That can't be right.
Imagine how bad it can get.
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If someone tells you something can't happen, they think it's not a good idea.
You just can't keep smoking.
You can't think things are going to get better.
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If something can happen, it happens sometimes.
I can get really busy here on weekends.
Her classes can be really interesting or really boring.
can
Verb
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If someone cans something, they put in a can or jar to keep for a long time.
We canned the peas for the winter.
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If someone cans something, they stop working on it.
The idea was canned.
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If someone gets canned they have lost their job.
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If you tell someone to can it, you want them to stop talking.
Can it, would you? I'm trying to watch TV.
can
Noun
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A can is a metal container, usually for holding food or drink.
I drink cola from a can.
hoops come in a can.
do
Verb
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Do is an auxiliary verb. It is used in questions, negative statements, short answers, and for emphasis when there is no other auxiliary.
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Questions
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Where do you live?
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When did you start learning English?
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"Does John live here?"
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Short answer
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"Yes, he does."
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"No, I don't."
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Negative statements
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They don't live here. [don't = do not]
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We do not want to fight.
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Jared did not tell me he had such a pretty sister.
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Emphasis (do not use this too much)
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You think I don't have a brother, but I do!
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She does enjoy swimming in the pool.
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We sometimes use do in place of a different verb, such as when we do not know what an activity is, or we do not want to say it again:
What is he doing?
Mary eats more than John does.
do
Verb
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When you do something, you perform, complete or work on a task.
Mary is doing her homework.
We all did the cleaning together.
I've got a lot to do.
"What do you do?" - "I'm a baker."
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To succeed or progress
"How did John do in the tennis match?" - "He lost."
"How is your leg doing?" - "Oh, it feels much better, thank you."
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To write or draw something, usually in a short time
He did a picture of a tree.
He did an essay on Shakespeare.
do
Noun
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A do refers to a hairstyle.
She came to work with a new do.
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Correct actions. (almost always in plural and generally with "don'ts")
Willy will tell you all the dos and don'ts.
it
Pronoun
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used to refer to an object without identifying or describing it; the object might have been described earlier in the text.
The house was very big. It had many rooms.
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used to describe the weather
It is very hot today.
I'm staying in because it is raining
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used to describe a situation in general
I don't like it when people tell me to do something.
It is hard to find a job.
it
Abbreviation
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It can be a short way of writing:
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# Italy or Italian
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# Information Technology, the use of computers
by
Preposition
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near or next to.
The mailbox is by the bus stop.
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at some time before (the given time).
Be back by ten o'clock!
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if something is done by somebody, it is done through their action
The matter was decided by the chairman.
The boat was swamped by the water.
He was protected by his body armour.
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if something is created by somebody, they are the creator, author, etc.
There are many well-known plays by William Shakespeare.
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shows how someone does something
I avoided the guards by moving only when they weren't looking.
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using the rules or logic of.
I sorted the items by category.
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with a change of. In this case, by shows how much something has changed.
Our stock is up by ten percent.
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shows how slowly, or how quickly, someone does something (used in the form "X by X" or "by Xs")
We went through the book page by page.
We crawled forward by inches.
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If you multiply mathx/math by mathy/math, you multiply mathx/math × mathy/math.
Five multiplied by seven is 35.
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If you divide mathx/math by mathy/math, you find how many mathy/maths are in mathx/math.
35 divided by seven is five.
myself
Pronoun
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You use myself when you are the doer and the receiver of an action.
I taught myself.
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If you do something by yourself, you do it without any help or alone.
I taught him myself.
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You use myself to emphasize that it is you and not somebody else.
I know a lot of people love coffee, but I myself don't really like it.