Lexis Rex Home



English Sentence Analyser

Use this page to analyse and learn English text. You can copy text into the box below or get a random sentence from our database. Press the Analyse button to get translations of the text and words.




the
     1. art. Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that an entity it articulates is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in that same sentence, or assumed already
           I’m reading the book. (Compare I’m reading a book.)
           The street in front of your house. (Compare A street in Paris.)
           The men and women watched the man give the birdseed to the bird.
     2. art.          Used before a noun modified by a restrictive relative clause, indicating that the noun refers to a single referent defined by the relative clause.
                    The street that runs through my hometown.
     3. art. Used before an object considered to be unique, or of which there is only one at a time.
           No one knows how many galaxies there are in the universe.
           God save the Queen!
     4. art. Used before a superlative or an ordinal number modifying a noun, to indicate that the noun refers to a single item.
           That was the best apple pie ever.
     5. art.          Added to a superlative or an ordinal number to make it into a substantive.
                    That apple pie was the best.
     6. art. Introducing a singular term to be taken generically: preceding a name of something standing for a whole class.
     7. art. Used before an adjective, indicating all things (especially persons) described by that adjective.
           Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.
     8. art. Used to indicate a certain example of (a noun) which is usually of most concern or most common or familiar.
           No one in the whole country had seen it before.
           I don't think I'll get to it until the morning.
     9. art. Used before a body part (especially of someone previously mentioned), as an alternative to a possessive pronoun.
           A stone hit him on the head. (= “A stone hit him on his head.”)
     10. art. When stressed, indicates that it describes an object which is considered to be best or exclusively worthy of attention.
           That is the hospital to go to for heart surgery.
     11. adv. 1=With a comparative ormore and a verb phrase, establishes a parallel with one or more other such comparatives.
           The hotter the better.
           The more I think about it, the weaker it looks.
           The more money donated, the more books purchased, and the more happy children.
           It looks weaker and weaker, the more I think about it.
     12. adv. 1=With a comparative, and often withfor it, indicates a result more like said comparative. This can be negated withnone.
           It was a difficult time, but I’m the wiser for it.
           It was a difficult time, and I’m none the wiser for it.
           I'm much the wiser for having had a difficult time like that.
act
     1. n. Something done, a deed.
           an act of goodwill
     2. n. (obsolete) Actuality.
     3. n. A product of a legislative body, a statute.
     4. n. The process of doing something.
           He was caught in the act of stealing.
     5. n. A formal or official record of something done.
     6. n. A division of a theatrical performance.
           The pivotal moment in the play was in the first scene of the second act.
     7. n. A performer or performers in a show.
           Which act did you prefer? The soloist or the band?
     8. n. Any organized activity.
     9. n. A display of behaviour.
     10. n. A thesis maintained in public, in some English universities, by a candidate for a degree, or to show the proficiency of a student.
     11. n. A display of behaviour meant to deceive.
           to put on an act
     12. v. (intransitive) To do something.
           If you don't act soon, you will be in trouble.
     13. v. (obsolete, transitive) To do (something); to perform.
     14. v. (intransitive) To perform a theatrical role.
           I started acting at the age of eleven in my local theatre.
     15. v. Of a play: to be acted out (well or badly).
     16. v. (intransitive) To behave in a certain way.
           He's acting strangely - I think there's something wrong with him.
     17. v. (copulative) To convey an appearance of being.
           He acted unconcerned so the others wouldn't worry.
     18. v. To do something that causes a change binding on the doer.
           act on behalf of John
     19. v. (intransitive, construed with on or upon) To have an effect (on).
           High-pressure oxygen acts on the central nervous system and may cause convulsions or death.
           Gravitational force acts on heavy bodies.
     20. v. To play (a role).
           He's been acting Shakespearean leads since he was twelve.
     21. v. To feign.
           He acted the angry parent, but was secretly amused.
     22. v. (mathematics, intransitive, construed with on or upon, of a group) To map via a homomorphism to a group of automorphisms (of).
           This group acts on the circle, so it can't be left-orderable!
     23. v. (obsolete, transitive) To move to action; to actuate; to animate.
of
     1. prep. Expressing distance or motion.
     2. prep.          (now obsolete, or dialectal) From (of distance, direction), "off".
     3. prep.          (obsolete except in phrases) Since, from (a given time, earlier state etc.).
     4. prep.          From, away from (a position, number, distance etc.).
                    There are no shops within twenty miles of the cottage.
     5. prep.          (North America, Scotland, Ireland) Before (the hour); to.
                    What's the time? / Nearly a quarter of three.
     6. prep. Expressing separation.
     7. prep.          (Indicating removal, absence or separation, with the action indicated by a transitive verb and the quality or substance by a grammatical object.)
                    Finally she was relieved of the burden of caring for her sick husband.
     8. prep.          (Indicating removal, absence or separation, with resulting state indicated by an adjective.)
                    He seemed devoid of human feelings.
     9. prep.          (obsolete) (Indicating removal, absence or separation, construed with an intransitive verb.)
     10. prep. Expressing origin.
     11. prep.          (Indicating an ancestral source or origin of descent.)
                    The word is believed to be of Japanese origin.
     12. prep.          (Indicating a (non-physical) source of action or emotion; introducing a cause, instigation); from, out of, as an expression of.
                    The invention was born of necessity.
     13. prep.          (following an intransitive verb) (Indicates the source or cause of the verb.)
                    It is said that she died of a broken heart.
     14. prep.          (following an adjective) (Indicates the subject or cause of the adjective.)
                    I am tired of all this nonsense.
     15. prep. Expressing agency.
     16. prep.          (following a passive verb) (Indicates the agent (for most verbs, now usually expressed with by).)
                    I am not particularly enamoured of this idea.
     17. prep.          (Used to introduce the "subjective genitive"; following a noun to form the head of a postmodifying noun phrase) (see also 'Possession' senses below).
                    The contract can be terminated at any time with the agreement of both parties.
     18. prep.          (following an adjective) (Used to indicate the agent of something described by the adjective.)
                    It was very brave of you to speak out like that.
     19. prep. Expressing composition, substance.
     20. prep.          (after a verb expressing construction, making etc.) (Used to indicate the material or substance used.)
                    Many 'corks' are now actually made of plastic.
     21. prep.          (directly following a noun) (Used to indicate the material of the just-mentioned object.)
                    She wore a dress of silk.
     22. prep.          (Indicating the composition of a given collective or quantitative noun.)
                    What a lot of nonsense!
     23. prep.          (Used to link a given class of things with a specific example of that class.)
                   Welcome to the historic town of Harwich.
     24. prep.          (Links two nouns in near-apposition, with the first qualifying the second); "which is also".
                    I'm not driving this wreck of a car.
     25. prep. Introducing subject matter.
     26. prep.          (Links an intransitive verb, or a transitive verb and its subject (especially verbs to do with thinking, feeling, expressing etc.), with its subject-ma
                    I'm always thinking of you.
     27. prep.          (following a noun (now chiefly nouns of knowledge, communication etc.)) (Introduces its subject matter); about, concerning.
                    He told us the story of his journey to India.
     28. prep.          (following an adjective) (Introduces its subject matter.)
                    This behaviour is typical of teenagers.
     29. prep. Having partitive effect.
     30. prep.          (following a number or other quantitive word) (Introduces the whole for which is indicated only the specified part or segment); "from among".
                    Most of these apples are rotten.
     31. prep.          (following a noun) (Indicates a given part.)
     32. prep.          (now archaic, literary, with preceding partitive word assumed, or as a predicate after to be) Some, an amount of, one of.
                    On the whole, they seem to be of the decent sort.
     33. prep.          (Links to a genitive noun or possessive pronoun, with partitive effect (though now often merged with possessive senses, below).)
                    He is a friend of mine.
     34. prep. Expressing possession.
     35. prep.          Belonging to, existing in, or taking place in a given location, place or time. Compare "origin" senses, above.
                    He was perhaps the most famous scientist of the twentieth century.
     36. prep.          Belonging to (a place) through having title, ownership or control over it.
                    The owner of the nightclub was arrested.
     37. prep.          Belonging to (someone or something) as something they possess or have as a characteristic; (the "possessive genitive". (With abstract nouns, this inter
                    Keep the handle of the saucepan away from the flames.
     38. prep. Forming the "objective genitive".
     39. prep.          (Follows an agent noun, verbal noun or noun of action.)
                    She had a profound distrust of the police.
     40. prep. Expressing qualities or characteristics.
     41. prep.          (now archaic, or literary) (Links an adjective with a noun or noun phrase to form a quasi-adverbial qualifier); in respect to, as regards.
                    My companion seemed affable and easy of manner.
     42. prep.          (Indicates a quality or characteristic); "characterized by".
                    Pooh was said to be a bear of very little brain.
     43. prep.          (Indicates quantity, age, price, etc.)
                    We have been paying interest at a rate of 10%.
     44. prep.          (US, informal considered incorrect by some) (Used to link singular indefinite nouns (preceded by the indefinite article) and attributive adjectives mod
                    It's not that big of a deal.
     45. prep. Expressing a point in time.
     46. prep.          (chiefly regional) During the course of (a set period of time, day of the week etc.), now specifically with implied repetition or regularity.
                    Of an evening, we would often go for a stroll along the river.
     47. prep.          (UK dialectal, chiefly in negative constructions) For (a given length of time).
                    I've not tekken her out of a goodly long while.
     48. prep.          (after a noun) (Indicates duration of a state, activity etc.)
                    After a delay of three hours, the plane finally took off.
declaring
     1. v. present participle of declare
     2. n. The act of making something known; announcing; proclaiming
     declare
          1. v. (obsolete, transitive) To make clear, explain, interpret.
          2. v. (intransitive) To make a declaration.
          3. v. (card games) To show one's cards in order to score.
          4. v. To announce one’s support, choice, opinion, etc.
                He declared him innocent.
          5. v. (intransitive, cricket) For the captain of the batting side to announce the innings complete even though all batsmen have not been dismissed.
          6. v. To announce something formally or officially.
                declare bankruptcy
                declare victory
                (cricket) declare (an innings) closed
          7. v. (intransitive, politics) For a constituency in an election to officially announce the result
                Houghton and Sunderland South was the first constituency to declare in the 2015 general election.
          8. v. To affirm or state something emphatically.
          9. v. To inform government customs or taxation officials of goods one is importing or of income, expenses, or other circumstances affecting one's taxes.
          10. v. To make outstanding debts, e.g. taxes, payable.
          11. v. (transitive, programming) To explicitly establish the existence of (a variable, function, etc.) without necessarily describing its content.
                The counter "i" was declared as an integer.
or
     1. conj. Connects at least two alternative words, phrases, clauses, sentences, etc. each of which could make a passage true. In English, this is the "inclusive or." The "exclusive or" is formed by "either(...)
           In Ohio, anyone under the age of 18 who wants a tattoo or body piercing needs the consent of a parent or guardian.
           He might get cancer, or be hit by a bus, or God knows what.
     2. conj. (logic) An operator denoting the disjunction of two propositions or truth values. There are two forms, the inclusive or and the exclusive or.
     3. conj. Counts the elements before and after as two possibilities.
     4. conj. Otherwise (a consequence of the condition that the previous is false).
           It's raining! Come inside or you'll catch a cold!
     5. conj. Connects two equivalent names.
           The country Myanmar, or Burma
     6. n. (logic, electronics) alternative form of OR
     7. n. (tincture) The gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms.
     8. adj. (tincture) Of gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms.
     9. adv. (obsolete) Early (on).
     10. adv. (obsolete) Earlier, previously.
     11. prep. (now archaic, or dialect) Before; ere.
describing
     1. v. present participle of describe
     describe
          1. v. To represent in words.
                The feeling is difficult to describe, but not unpleasant.
                The geographer describes countries and cities.
          2. v. To represent by drawing; to draw a plan of; to delineate; to trace or mark out.
                to describe a circle by the compasses;   a torch waved about the head in such a way as to describe a circle
          3. v. (transitive, mathematics) To give rise to a geometrical structure.
                The function describes a very complex surface.
          4. v. (transitive, taxonomy) To introduce a new taxon to science by explaining its characteristics and particularly how it differs from other taxa.
                The fungus was first described by a botanist.
          5. v. (obsolete) To distribute into parts, groups, or classes; to mark off; to class.
something
     1. pron. An uncertain or unspecified thing; one thing.
           I must have forgotten to pack something, but I can't think what.
           I have something for you in my bag.
           I have a feeling something good is going to happen today.
     2. pron. (colloquial, of someone or something) A quality to a moderate degree.
           The performance was something of a disappointment.
           That child is something of a genius.
     3. pron. (colloquial, of a person) A talent or quality that is difficult to specify.
           She has a certain something.
     4. pron. (colloquial, often with really or quite) Somebody or something who is superlative in some way.
           He's really something! I've never heard such a great voice.
           She's quite something. I can't believe she would do such a mean thing.
     5. adj. Having a characteristic that the speaker cannot specify.
     6. adv. (degree) Somewhat; to a degree.
           The baby looks something like his father.
     7. adv. (degree, colloquial) To a high degree.
     8. v. Applied to an action whose name is forgotten by, unknown or unimportant to the user, e.g. from words of a song.
     9. n. An object whose nature is yet to be defined.
     10. n. An object whose name is forgotten by, unknown or unimportant to the user, e.g., from words of a song. Also used to refer to an object earlier indefinitely referred to as 'something' (pronoun sense).
through
     1. prep. From one side of an opening to the other.
           I went through the window.
     2. prep. Entering, then later leaving.
           I drove through the town at top speed without looking left or right.
     3. prep. Surrounded by (while moving).
           We slogged through the mud for hours before turning back and giving up.
     4. prep. By means of.
           This team believes in winning through intimidation.
     5. prep. (North America) To (or up to) and including, with all intermediate values.
           from 1945 through 1991;  the numbers 1 through 9;  your membership is active through March 15, 2013
     6. adj. Passing from one side of something to the other.
           Interstate highways form a nationwide system of through roads.
     7. adj. Finished; complete.
           They were through with laying the subroof by noon.
     8. adj. Valueless; without a future.
           After being implicated in the scandal, he was through as an executive in financial services.
     9. adj. No longer interested.
           She was through with him.
     10. adj. Proceeding from origin to destination without delay due to change of equipment.
           The through flight through Memphis was the fastest.
     11. adj. (association football) In possession of the ball beyond the last line of defence but not necessarily the goalkeeper; through on goal.
     12. adv. From one side to the other by way of the interior.
           The arrow went straight through.
     13. adv. From one end to the other.
           Others slept; he worked straight through.
           She read the letter through.
     14. adv. To the end.
           He said he would see it through.
     15. adv. Completely.
           Leave the yarn in the dye overnight so the color soaks through.
     16. adv. Out into the open.
           The American army broke through at St. Lo.
     17. n. A large slab of stone laid in a dry-stone wall from one side to the other; a perpend.
     18. n. (obsolete) A coffin, sarcophagus or tomb of stone; a large slab of stone laid on a tomb.
either
     1. det. One of two.
           You can have it in either colour.
     2. det. Each of two; both.
           There is a locomotive at either end of the train, one pulling and the other pushing.
     3. pron. One or other of two people or things.
           He made me two offers, but I did not accept either.
     4. pron. (obsolete) Both, each of two or more.
     5. adv. (conjunctive, after a negative) As well.
           I don't like him, and I don't like her either.
     6. conj. (Introduces the first of two (or occasionally more) options or possibilities, the second (or last) of which is introduced by "or").
           Either you eat your dinner or you go to your room.
           You can have either potatoes or rice with that, but not both.
           You'll be either early, late, or on time.
speech
     1. n. The faculty of uttering articulate sounds or words; the ability to speak or to use vocalizations to communicate.
           It was hard to hear the sounds of his speech over the noise. He had a bad speech impediment.
     2. n. A session of speaking, especially a long oral message given publicly by one person.
           The candidate made some ambitious promises in his campaign speech.
     3. n. A style of speaking.
           Her speech was soft and lilting.
     4. n. (grammar) Speech reported in writing; see direct speech, reported speech
     5. n. A dialect or language.
     6. n. Talk; mention; rumour.
     7. v. (transitive, intransitive) To make a speech; to harangue.
or
     1. conj. Connects at least two alternative words, phrases, clauses, sentences, etc. each of which could make a passage true. In English, this is the "inclusive or." The "exclusive or" is formed by "either(...)
           In Ohio, anyone under the age of 18 who wants a tattoo or body piercing needs the consent of a parent or guardian.
           He might get cancer, or be hit by a bus, or God knows what.
     2. conj. (logic) An operator denoting the disjunction of two propositions or truth values. There are two forms, the inclusive or and the exclusive or.
     3. conj. Counts the elements before and after as two possibilities.
     4. conj. Otherwise (a consequence of the condition that the previous is false).
           It's raining! Come inside or you'll catch a cold!
     5. conj. Connects two equivalent names.
           The country Myanmar, or Burma
     6. n. (logic, electronics) alternative form of OR
     7. n. (tincture) The gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms.
     8. adj. (tincture) Of gold or yellow tincture on a coat of arms.
     9. adv. (obsolete) Early (on).
     10. adv. (obsolete) Earlier, previously.
     11. prep. (now archaic, or dialect) Before; ere.
writing
     1. n. Graphism of symbols such as letters that express some meaning.
     2. n. Something written, such as a document, article or book.
     3. n. The process of representing a language with symbols or letters.
     4. n. A work of an author.
     5. n. The style of writing of a person.
           I can't read your writing.
     6. n. (as a modifier) Intended for or used in writing.
           a writing table
     7. v. present participle of write
     write
          1. v. To form letters, words or symbols on a surface in order to communicate.
                The pupil wrote his name on the paper.
                Your son has been writing on the wall.
          2. v. To be the author of (a book, article, poem, etc.).
                My uncle writes newspaper articles for The Herald.
          3. v. To send written information to.
                (UK) Please write to me when you get there.
                (US) Please write me when you get there.
          4. v. To show (information, etc) in written form.
                The due day of the homework is written in the syllabus.
          5. v. (intransitive) To be an author.
                I write for a living.
          6. v. (computing, intransitive, with to) To record data mechanically or electronically.
                The computer writes to the disk faster than it reads from it.
          7. v. (transitive, South Africa, Canada, of an exam, a document, etc.) To fill in, to complete using words.
                I was very anxious to know my score after I wrote the test.
          8. v. To impress durably; to imprint; to engrave.
                truth written on the heart
          9. v. To make known by writing; to record; to prove by one's own written testimony; often used reflexively.
          10. n. (computing) The operation of storing data, as in memory or onto disk.
                How many writes per second can this hard disk handle?
Dictionary entries from Wiktionary