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.
tough
Adjective
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If something is tough, it is difficult, not easy.
It's important to stay healthy when the going gets tough.
It was a tough decision, but I think she make the right choice.
The weather makes the overall competition tougher.
The wood was tough to break.
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If something is tough, it doesn't change or move easily; it's not soft.
The government is taking a tough stance on crime.
The public wants tougher enforcement of these laws.
The meat was really tough.
She was a tough, smart businesswoman.
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If something is tough, it is not nice to experience.
He should get the toughest penalty possible for this killing.
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If a person is tough, they are strong and may often fight.
He was an older guy, truly tough with huge arms and a gold cross chain.
We looked pretty tough on our motorcycles.
tough
Verb
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If you tough something out, it is difficult, but you continue; you don't give up.
Even though it rained the whole time, they toughed it out without complaining.
time
Noun
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Time is what we measure with a clock.
"What time do you finish work?" "At four o'clock (4:00)."
I don't have time to talk to you right now. Can we do it later?
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If you do something one time, you do it once.
time
Verb
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If you time something, you measure how long it takes in seconds, minutes, hours, etc.
Take out your watch and time yourself during the test.
of
Preposition
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Made using.
It is a house of cards.
it
Pronoun
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used to refer to an object without identifying or describing it; the object might have been described earlier in the text.
The house was very big. It had many rooms.
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used to describe the weather
It is very hot today.
I'm staying in because it is raining
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used to describe a situation in general
I don't like it when people tell me to do something.
It is hard to find a job.
it
Abbreviation
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It can be a short way of writing:
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# Italy or Italian
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# Information Technology, the use of computers