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.
the
Determiner
—
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.
stairs
Noun
—
Stairs are steps to help you go to a different level; stairs can help you get up to another level or can help you get down to another level.
She climbed the stairs up to her bedroom.
The ball rolled down the stairs and into the basement.