Englishfor English speakers
a
Determinative
—
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
—
A is the first letter of the alphabet.
The letter "a" comes before "b".
—
In some schools, an A is a very high grade.
Ron got an A on his earth science test.
lot
Noun
—
A lot of something is a large amount of it.
I have a lot of things to say.
He caused lots of trouble.
—
To a large degree
Running is lots more fun when the weather is cool.
—
Often
He used to come here a lot, but he doesn't anymore.
—
A lot is a piece of land, usually small.
They are constructing a building on this lot.
on
Preposition
—
positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above
The apple is on the table.
—
at the date of
Tim was born on the 4th of July.
—
along, forwards (continuing an action)
drive on, rock on
—
about, dealing with the subject of
I have a book on history.
There was a World Summit on the Information Society a few weeks ago.
—
touching; hanging from
I have no money on me at the moment.
I would like to eat the fruit on the trees.
—
because of, due to
He was arrested on suspicion of bribery.
I contacted Joanne on a hunch that she would know about it.
The stock price increased on news of a new product.
on
Adjective
—
If something is on, it is active, functioning or operating.
The television is on.
The lights are on, so it is very bright.
the
Determiner
—
Used, instead of a, to reference something specific, already known to exist.
Compare "I read a book." and "I read the book."
—
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.
ball
Noun
—
A ball is a round thing. People often use them to play games.
The croquet ball was hit through the wicket and the game was over.
A ball is hit with a racquet in tennis.
—
A ball is a formal dance.
There is an inaugural ball following the swearing-in of the new President.
Cinderella lost her glass slipper at the Prince's ball.
—
the testicles
John's balls ached because he hadn't had sex in two days.
—
"guts", fortitude, moral strength
John didn't have the balls to quit his job, divorce his wife, and start a new life in Tahiti.
ball
Verb
—
If you ball something up, you make it into a ball shape.
Ball the cookie dough, wrap it in paper, then freeze it.
—
sexual intercourse.