Englishfor English speakers
on
Preposition
—
positioned at the upper surface of, touching from above
The apple is on the table.
—
at the date of
Tim was born on the 4th of July.
—
along, forwards (continuing an action)
drive on, rock on
—
about, dealing with the subject of
I have a book on history.
There was a World Summit on the Information Society a few weeks ago.
—
touching; hanging from
I have no money on me at the moment.
I would like to eat the fruit on the trees.
—
because of, due to
He was arrested on suspicion of bribery.
I contacted Joanne on a hunch that she would know about it.
The stock price increased on news of a new product.
on
Adjective
—
If something is on, it is active, functioning or operating.
The television is on.
The lights are on, so it is very bright.
its
Pronoun
—
Its thing is the thing that belongs to it.
We bought the old car and fixed up its engine.
The moon doesn't make its own light.
"Where's the coffee?" "It's on its way.
own
Adjective
—
If something is your own it belongs to you or is about you (often used for emphasis).
I wish I had my own home.
I bought it in my own name.
The toy began to move as though it had a life of its own.
accidents happen, and often in your very own home.
—
If you are on your own, you are by yourself, there is no body else with you. This can also mean there is no one helping you.
I was on my own in the woods.
If you try to do that you're on your own - or at least I won't help you!
own
Verb
—
If you own something it belongs to you, it is yours.
Yes, I own a car.
I plan to build a house on the land I own.
—
If you "own up" to something, you admit you did it.
I had to own up to lying about our relationship.
initiative
Noun
—
If you have or take the initiative, you are in control and can decide what to do next.
It's good to see someone take the initiative and start doing something about this problem.
It appears that the army was acting on its own initiative and not on orders from the president.
—
If you have initiative, you do things without needing to be told to do them.
We're looking to hire somebody with initiative because I won't be able to supervise them much.
—
An initiative is an effort to start doing something to solve a problem.
The town has no new initiatives to deal with garbage.