Englishfor English speakers
interest
Noun
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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?
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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.
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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
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If someone is interested, they are curious and want to find out about something.
I am interested in researching flowers.
Does maths interest you?
pro
Noun
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A pro is somebody who is very good at what they do; short for professional.
She's real pro who cares about her job.
When it comes to computers, Jacob's an old pro.
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A pro is somebody who is paid to play sports, sometimes as a teacher; short for professional.
He began his career as a golf pro in Indiana, and later taught golf to Bob Hope.
Pros in the Tour de France often ride custom bicycles that cost over $10,000.
She turned pro in March 2000 at 14, making her the youngest female professional in South Korea.
Pro basketball is one of the country's top sports.
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The pros and cons of a situation are the positive parts and the negative parts.
What are the pros and cons of going from one method to the other?
pro
Preposition
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If you are pro something, you like it, you support it, or you think it's a good idea.
Yet when they got into the war, he was very pro the country winning the war.
and
Conjunction
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You use and to talk about two things at once.
I like singing and reading.
Mary and Jane went on a holiday together.
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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.
contra
Preposition
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against; in opposition or contrast to
Consider the problems of the nurse contra those of the doctor.
contra
Noun
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A contra was a member of a particular guerrilla group in Nicaragua.