Englishfor English speakers
hand
Noun
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Your hands are the parts of your body at the end of your arms. A hand has four fingers and a thumb.
Mother, I'm afraid, please hold my hand.
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Clock hands are pointed needles that show what time it is.
The long hand is pointing to the 4, which refers to how many hours have passed. The short hand is pointing to the 7, which refers to how many groups of 5 minutes have passed. The time is therefore 4:35.
hand
Verb
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If I hand you something, I give it to you.
Please hand me that tool. I can't reach it.
over
Preposition
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Something is over when it has finished, usually referring to an event.
When the movie was over we left the movie theater.
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In a location above something.
He stepped over the dog.
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From one side to the other.
They went over the bridge.
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If you invite someone over, you invite them to your house.
They had him over for tea.
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A number divided by another.
Eight over two is four.
over
Noun
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An over in a cricket match is six balls bowled from one end.
The captain told me I would have to bowl the next over.
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.
contract
Noun
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A contract is a legal agreement to trade goods, services and/or property. It's usually written down.
If you would just sign this contract, the car will be yours.
In Japan, most worker’s employment contracts last until the age of sixty.
My father’s employment contract is for forty years.
You must look over the contract before you sign it.
contract
Verb
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If something contracts, it gets smaller.
As the wood dries out, it contracts.
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If you contract someone to do a job, you enter into a contract with them.
We've contracted a cleaning company to take care of the office.
When there's too much work, there are a number of small firms to which we will contract it out.
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If you contract a disease, you become sick with it.
It's hard to understand why people risk contracting sexually transmitted diseases.
He contracted the flu.