Englishfor English speakers
in
Preposition
—
Used to show that something is inside something else.
The cat is in the box.
—
Used to show that someone is at home, or is available.
Is John in?
The Doctor is now in.
—
Used to show movement towards the inside.
The rain came in through the window.
a
Determinative
—
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
—
A is the first letter of the alphabet.
The letter "a" comes before "b".
—
In some schools, an A is a very high grade.
Ron got an A on his earth science test.
long
Adjective
—
If something is long, it takes a lot of time.
At 3 hours and 24 minutes, it's a very long movie.
That was a long time ago, when I was a child.
How long is it until we have our trip?
He was often quiet for long periods of time.
—
If something is long, it has a large distance from end to end.
It belonged to a woman in her thirties with long brown hair.
The paper was about 20 cm long and 12 cm wide.
You can hear it across long distances.
She wore a long gray skirt with a black jacket.
long
Adverb
—
If something takes long, it takes a lot of time.
We had dinner together not so long ago.
I do not know how long I was standing there.
She left home long before I did.
I could not go on any longer.
Those days are so long gone.
This change is long overdue.
long
Verb
—
If you long for something, you wish for or really want it.
Carol still longs for David to come back to her even though she knows he has a new wife.
time
Noun
—
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?
—
If you do something one time, you do it once.
time
Verb
—
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.