Englishfor English speakers
a
Determinative
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A is used when the following word could be any of a certain type.
Compare "A book I saw on the shelf" and "The book I gave you yesterday".
a
Noun
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A is the first letter of the alphabet.
The letter "a" comes before "b".
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In some schools, an A is a very high grade.
Ron got an A on his earth science test.
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.
call
Verb
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If you call someone, you contact them using a telephone.
Can you call me tonight at about 8:00?
We called 911 and the police came in five minutes.
I can't talk now. I'll call back later.
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If you call to someone, you use your voice to make them notice you.
I can't see you. Call out to me so I can find you.
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If you call someone or something mathx/math, you say they are mathx/math.
If you ever tell anyone that, I'll call you a liar.
The kids at school called him an asshole.
Nobody would even call him good-looking.
They called it the most important hockey game ever.
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If somebody is called something, that is their name.
Their daughter's called Mai.
She's a beautiful baby. What do you call her?
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If you call somebody somewhere, you ask or tell them to come there.
She called me to her office.
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If you call a meeting, a stop, etc., you say you want one to happen.
I've called a meeting for tomorrow, and I'd like you to be there.
Coach Dan Bylsma called a timeout to give his five players a rest.
call
Noun
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A call is a time when you use the telephone to contact someone.
After she made the phone call, she left the office.
I received three calls about the car I was selling.
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A visit to someone.
I paid a call to a friend.
The doctor does not do house calls.
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A cry or shout.
He heard a call from the other side of the room.
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The cry of a bird or animal.
Cuckoo birds have a unique call.