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.
matter
Noun
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A matter is something that you can talk about or do something about—a topic or a situation.
Government must make these changes as a matter of urgency.
We can discuss the matter more fully at the meeting.
Whether our people should be in the country or not is matter for debate.
At the meeting we will have time to talk about new matters arising.
They decided on a number of matters related to housing.
Try not to do anything to make matters worse.
As a matter of principle, we should try to help poor people.
It is not a simple matter to stop using gasoline.
Care Assistants help them with such matters as toileting, dressing, washing and so on.
The truth of the matter is that we do not know how to do it.
The questions about the new president are a matter of public concern.
Cheating on a test is a serious matter.
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Matter is the stuff that everything is made of.
Cities are trying to separate organic matter and other garbage.
Scientists now think that there is some kind of "dark matter" in space.
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You use, "as a matter of fact" to add information that may be surprising.
"Have you met anyone interesting over there?" "As a matter of fact, I met a whole bunch of people just this afternoon.
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You use "what's the matter" to ask somebody why they are unhappy, or why there is a problem.
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You use "for that matter" when you have just thought about something that you are comparing to something else.
He wasn't very nice today. For that matter, he's never nice.
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If something is only a matter of time, it may not happen now, but it will happen after some time.
It's only a matter of days now before I start the new job.
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You use "no matter what" to say that even if other things change, a particular thing will not change.
I'll be there no matter what. I promise.
matter
Verb
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If something doesn't matter, it is not important.
"Should I put it up there?" "Oh, it doesn't matter. Put it anywhere."
Anyone can play. It doesn't matter if you're seven or 70.
It doesn't matter what you do as long as it's fun.
Many people don't like me, but that doesn't really matter to me.
This should help a lot of people and that's what matters.
"Sorry about that!" "Oh, it doesn't matter."
It's not your money, so what does it matter?
of
Preposition
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Made using.
It is a house of cards.
national
Adjective
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If something is national it affects a whole nation or country.
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If something is national it has to do with a certain nation or country, or with people from that country.
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If a business is national it is found in all or most parts of a nation or country.
national
Noun
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A national is someone who is a citizen of their nation.
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The nationals is a tournament where people from all over the country come to compete in.
concern
Noun
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A concern is something that you think is a problem or needs attention.
The government expressed its concern at the fighting in Kenya.
Poor sales are causing concern among the owners.
Our main concern now is to make sure that everyone is safe.
There is widespread concern about the approaching storm.
He concern for her children is understandable, given the lack of information.
The changes at the school were quite clearly a matter of great interest and concern among students.
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Concern is a feeling that you want to help somebody.
Her look of concern made him feel better.
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A concern is a business.
XYZ Company is an ongoing concern, and we have no plans to shut it down.
concern
Verb
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If mathx/math concerns mathy/math, mathx/math is about mathy/math.
We have received a letter that concerns the recent sale of the property.
The article is primarily concerned with Dylan's early life.
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If something concerns you, you think it is a problem or needs attention.
The recent losses certainly concern me, but I still think things are looking good.
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You use to whom it may concern at the beginning of a letter when you don't know the name of the person you're writing to.