Englishfor English speakers
William
Proper noun
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William is a male given name.
the
Determiner
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Used, instead of a, to reference something specific, already known to exist.
Compare "I read a book." and "I read the book."
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Used with a stress, to show that the word following is special.
Are you the John Smith that I went to school with?
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Used with an adjective that acts like a noun to mean all of the people concerned
The poor are always with us.
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Used with superlatives forms of adjectives and adverbs.
You are the best.
silent
Adjective
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If something is silent, there is no sound. It is unheard.
The candidates were silent during the exam.