Englishfor English speakers
lay
Verb
—
When you lay something, you place it down flat.
Sally carefully laid out her clothing on the bed.
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When an animal lays an egg, it makes and places it outside its body.
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.
blame
Verb
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If you blame someone or something for something bad, you say or think that they are the reason for or cause of it.
It's not your fault... don't blame yourself.
If you keep asking the woman why he attacked her, you're blaming the victim.
She's changed, but I blame it on the drugs.
Everything's gone wrong, and I want to know who's to blame.
blame
Noun
—
The blame for something bad is the idea that you made or let it happen.
You keep your mouth shut and I'll take the blame.
I went told lies, beat up smaller boys, and put the blame on someone else.
Coaches and players must share the blame for the worst season in club history.
at
Preposition
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Used to describe where something is, or when saying something's position
I am at home.
Let's meet at the pub!
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The time at which something happened or will happen
Breakfast is at 9 o'clock.
At 5pm we went home.
—
Indicating something's state
At half price!
Water boils at high temperatures.
at
Symbol
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The @ symbol, used to replace at
support@microsoft.com is an email address.
Apples @ £1.50 per kilogram.