Englishfor English speakers
what
Pronoun
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What is used to ask for information about things.
What did you see?
What do you mean?
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What is used to add a clause with more information.
I don't know what you mean.
I'll tell you what to do.
I'll see what I can do to help.
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What is used when you want to describe something instead of naming it.
Take what you can find.
Can I see what you did?
I could change it if that's what you want.
what
Determinative
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What is used to ask about the member(s) of a group.
What book did you buy?
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What is used to add a clause to identify the member(s) of a group.
I don't know what problems you mean.
I'll tell you what button to push.
I'll see what food I can give.
what
Adjective
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used to show that you feel strongly about something.
What a great book this is!
time
Noun
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Time is what we measure with a clock.
"What time do you finish work?" "At four o'clock (4:00)."
I don't have time to talk to you right now. Can we do it later?
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If you do something one time, you do it once.
time
Verb
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If you time something, you measure how long it takes in seconds, minutes, hours, etc.
Take out your watch and time yourself during the test.
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.
you
Pronoun
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Used instead of the name of the person being spoken to; it is a second-person pronoun.
You are my best friend.
Can I go to the shops with you?
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Used to talk about anyone.
You have to be 18 years old to see that film.
She has problems with her eyes, and can't see you properly.
you
Determinative
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Used before a word that means the person or people someone is talking to.
You guys can leave now.
close
Verb
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If you close something, you change it from being open to not open.
She watched TV for a while, and then closed her eyes.
He left the room and softly closed the door behind him.
He opened his mouth and closed it again without saying anything.
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If something closes, it goes out of business for a short time or permanently.
The supermarket closes at 5 o'clock on Saturday.
Sadly, we have decided to close the shop.
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If the distance or time between two different things closes, they get closer together.
The government will use the $15 million to close a budget gap.
With only three games left in the season, Milan is closing in on Hamburg.
The storm was closing in, and she wanted to get home.
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If something closes, it ends.
The book closes with the man alone in the house where he started.
I'd like to close this talk by asking for your help.
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If a stock, bond, or currency closes at a certain price, it is at the price at the end of the trading day.
The EAP Emerging Growth Fund lost half a dollar, closing at just over $38.
Again today, cigarette company stocks closed up.
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If you close a deal/sale/contract, both people make a final agreement.
It took five months, many phone calls, and an extra $89,000 to close the deal.
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If you close up, you stop talking about something.
Every time I asked about the cost everybody would close right up.
close
Adjective
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When two things are close, they are near each other; the distance or time between them is small.
The bank is close to the store.
I walk to my university because it is very close.
It's close to nine o'clock.
Closer to the end, I'll come and get you.
Put it close to the door.
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If two people are close, they have a good relationship, like friends, family or lovers.
She was quite close to her dad before he died.
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If a game or contest is close, you can't easily see which side is better.
The race has been very close up until now.
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If two things are close, they are similar.
This is the closest thing I could find to that colour.
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Close range/contact/ties etc. is near, not far.
They tell us the gun was fired at close range.
Most Norwegians live in close contact with the wilderness, the sea, the mountains, or the forests.
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A close look or close attention means you pay careful attention.
Keep a close eye on the money.
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In a close game/race/competition, etc., the difference between the scores/times/abilities, etc is small.
One or two points can win or lose a close race .
The winner earned 13.8 percent of the vote, but she was a close second (13.5 percent).
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If something was close, something bad/dangerous/embarrassing, etc. almost happened.
Wow, that was close. She almost saw us.
Thirty years ago this week, our country had a very close call.
close
Noun
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The close of something is the end.
I will be surprised if the company is still running by close of business tomorrow.
The book was written around the close of the 14th century.
As our first week came to a close, we were getting very tired.
close
Adverb
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If you are close to something, you are not far away from it.
She left an hour ago, and he was very close behind.
I like to keep my phone close at hand so I can get it quickly.
They stood close together.