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
—
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.
no
Adverb
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used to disagree or refuse (not accept).
No, I do not fish.
I'm I ready? No, I still have some things to do first.
no
Determinative
—
Not any.
There is no water left.
No hot dogs were sold yesterday.
—
Not any possibility or allowance of (doing something).
No smoking
There's no stopping her once she gets going.
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Not; not properly, not really; not fully.
My mother's no fool.
Working nine to five every day is no life.
moment
Noun
—
A moment is a very short time. It is not an exact measurement.
Geraldine sat on the bed and thought for a moment.
He jumped out of the way at the last moment.
Don't worry. I'll be back in a moment.
I'm sorry. She's on the phone at the moment. Can I ask who's calling?
Just a moment, please, Sam. I'm talking to your sister.
—
importance
It was a lie, but one of no great moment.