Englishfor English speakers
competence
Noun
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To have competence means to be able or suitable for a general role.
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In law, the legal authority to deal with a matter.
That question is outwith the competence of this court and must be taken to a higher court.
of
Preposition
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Made using.
It is a house of cards.
the
Determiner
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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.
member
Noun
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A member is someone belonging to a group or organization.
I am a member of Simple English Wikipedia.
States
properNoun
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(historical, US) Those parts of the United States comprising states rather than territories.
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(Channel Islands) The parliament of either of the two Channel Islands countries: the States of Guernsey or the States of Jersey.