Englishfor English speakers
earn
Verb
—
If you earn something you get it by working or doing something.
I earn a lot more money at my new job than at my last job.
He worked hard to earn our respect.
She earned a bad name for herself by her bad behavior.
The child earned a spanking by not listening to his parents.
It took a long time to earn their trust.
—
If you think you have earned something, you think you should have it because of what you have done.
After completing that project I thought I had earned some time to rest.
before
Preposition
—
If mathx/math happens before mathy/math, mathx/math happens first and mathy/math happens second.
He worked in a gas station before he became famous.
Put out the fire before the house burns down.
I have not been there before.
She finished before me.
—
in front of something
She stood before him, looking into his eyes.
—
until
It took a few moments before I realized that she was joking.
interest
Noun
—
When someone wants to know more about something or likes to do something, we say the person has an interest in it.
She has a strong interest in art. She is going to go to an art school.
What are your interests?
—
When something is important to a person, or if good things happening to the thing are good for the person, we say that the person has an interest in the thing.
Because I own a house on this street, I have an interest in keeping the street clean.
I'm doing this to look after my own interests.
—
When someone borrows money, they have to give back more money than they borrowed. The extra money they have to pay is called interest.
The bank gives me two percent interest per year on the money in my account.
interest
Verb
—
If someone is interested, they are curious and want to find out about something.
I am interested in researching flowers.
Does maths interest you?
tax
Verb
—
Make to pay a tax.
Some people say governments tax poor people too much.
—
Cause difficulty for; make tired.
and
Conjunction
—
You use and to talk about two things at once.
I like singing and reading.
Mary and Jane went on a holiday together.
—
You use and when you are listing a few things and you are now on your last item of the list.
I like singing, reading, cycling and playing soccer.
I used to like this girl from my class as she is pretty, gentle and caring.
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And is used when you are putting two sentences together.
She came into the store, shouted at the cashier, and left.
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Used to show what happened after something else.
The alarm went off and I woke up.
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And is used to join certain numbers together.
Two hundred and thirty-five people went missing after the earthquake.
depreciation
—
noun
a decrease in price or value
depreciation of the dollar against the yen
—
noun
decrease in value of an asset due to obsolescence or use
—
noun
(= disparagement)
a communication that belittles somebody or something