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.




when
     1. adv. (interrogative) Used to introduce questions about time.
           When will they arrive?
     2. adv. Used to introduce indirect questions about time.
           Do you know when they arrived?
           Do you know when they will arrive?
           Do you know when they arrive?
     3. adv. At an earlier and less prosperous time.
           He's mister high and mighty now, but I remember him when.
     4. adv. (indirect question) Used to refer to doubts about time.
     5. adv. (relative) At which, on which, during which. Often omitted or replaced with that.
           That was the day when the Twin Towers fell.
     6. conj. At what time.
           They were told when to sleep.
           He doesn't know when to stop talking.
     7. conj. At such time as.
           I’m happiest when I’m working.
     8. conj. At the time of the action of the following clause or participle phrase.
           It was raining when I came yesterday.
           The show will begin when I get there.
           The game is over when the referee says it is.
           Be careful when crossing the street.
           Pay attention when spoken to.
           When (you are) angry, count to ten before speaking or acting.
           That time when the dog stole the turkey from the table.
     9. conj. Since; given the fact that.
           I don't see the point of putting up Christmas decorations when I am the only person who is going to see them.
     10. pron. (interrogative) What time; which time.
           Since when do I need your permission?
     11. n. The time at which something happens.
           A good article will cover the who, the what, the when, the where, the why and the how.
     12. interj. That's enough, a command to stop adding something, especially an ingredient of food or drink.
this
     1. det. The (thing) here (used in indicating something or someone nearby).
           This classroom is where I learned to read and write.
     2. det. The known (thing) (used in indicating something or someone just mentioned).
           They give the appearance of knowing what they're doing. It's this appearance that lets them get away with so much.
     3. det. The known (thing) (used in indicating something or someone about to be mentioned).
           When asked what he wanted for his birthday, he gave this reply: “…”
     4. det. A known (thing) (used in first mentioning a person or thing that the speaker does not think is known to the audience). Compare with "a certain ...".
           I met this woman the other day who's allergic to wheat. I didn't even know that was possible!
           There's just this nervous mannerism that Bob has with his hands, and it drives me crazy.
     5. det. (Of a unit of time) which is current.
           It snowed this week.
     6. adv. To the degree or extent indicated.
           I need this much water.
           We've already come this far, we can't turn back now.
     7. pron. The thing, item, etc. being indicated.
           This is the excellent foppery of the world, that, when we are sick in fortune,—often the surfeit of our own behaviour,—we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars(...) — Sh
     8. n. (philosophy) Something being indicated that is here; one of these.
     9. interj. (Internet slang) Indicates the speaker's strong approval or agreement with the previous material.
war
     1. n. Organized, large-scale, armed conflict between countries or between national, ethnic, or other sizeable groups, usually involving the engagement of military forces.
           The war was largely between Sunni and Shia militants.
     2. n. A particular conflict of this kind.
     3. n. By extension, any conflict, or anything resembling a conflict.
           You look like you've been through the wars.
     4. n.          (figuratively) A campaign against something.
                    The "war on drugs" is a campaign against the use of narcotic drugs.
                    The "war on terror" is a campaign against terrorist crime.
                    In the US, conservatives rail against the "war on Christmas".
     5. n.          (business) A bout of fierce competition in trade.
                    I reaped the benefit of the car dealerships' price war, getting my car for far less than it's worth.
                    The cellular phone companies were engaged in a freebie war, each offering various services thrown in when one purchased a plan.
     6. n. (obsolete) Instruments of war.
     7. n. (obsolete) Armed forces.
     8. n. A particular card game for two players, notable for having its outcome predetermined by how the cards are dealt.
     9. v. (intransitive) To engage in conflict (may be followed by "with" to specify the foe).
     10. v. To carry on, as a contest; to wage.
began
     1. v. simple past tense of begin
     2. v. (obsolete) past participle of begin
     begin
          1. v. To start, to initiate or take the first step into something.
                I began playing the piano at the age of five.   Now that everyone is here, we should begin the presentation.
          2. v. (intransitive) To be in the first stage of some situation
                The program begins at 9 o'clock on the dot.    I rushed to get to class on time, but the lesson had already begun. -
          3. v. (intransitive) To come into existence.
          4. n. (nonstandard) Beginning; start.
to
     1. part. A particle used for marking the following verb as an infinitive.
           I want to leave.
           He asked me what to do.
           I don’t know how to say it.
           I have places to go and people to see.
     2. part. As above, with the verb implied.
           "Did you visit the museum?" "I wanted to, but it was closed.".
           If he hasn't read it yet, he ought to.
     3. part. A particle used to create phrasal verbs.
           I have to do laundry today.
     4. prep. Indicating destination: In the direction of, and arriving at.
           We are walking to the shop.
     5. prep. Used to indicate purpose.
           He devoted himself to education.
           They drank to his health.
     6. prep. Used to indicate result of action.
           His face was beaten to a pulp.
     7. prep. Used after an adjective to indicate its application.
           similar to ..., relevant to ..., pertinent to ..., I was nice to him, he was cruel to her, I am used to walking.
     8. prep. (obsolete,) As a.
           With God to friend (with God as a friend);   with The Devil to fiend (with the Devil as a foe);   lambs slaughtered to lake (lambs slaughtered as a sacrifice);   t
     9. prep. (arithmetic) Used to indicate a ratio or comparison.
           one to one = 1:1
           ten to one = 10:1.
           I have ten dollars to your four.
     10. prep. (arithmetic) Used to indicate that the preceding term is to be raised to the power of the following value; indicates exponentiation.
           Three squared or three to the second power is nine.
           Three to the power of two is nine.
           Three to the second is nine.
     11. prep. Used to indicate the indirect object.
           I gave the book to him.
     12. prep. (time) Preceding.
           ten to ten = 9:50; We're going to leave at ten to (the hour).
     13. prep. Used to describe what something consists of or contains.
           Anyone could do this job; there's nothing to it.
           There's a lot of sense to what he says.
     14. prep. (Canada, UK, Newfoundland, West Midlands) At.
           Stay where you're to and I'll come find you, b'y.
     15. adv. Toward a closed, touching or engaging position.
           Please push the door to.
     16. adv. (nautical) Into the wind.
     17. adv. misspelling of too
loom
     1. n. A utensil; tool; a weapon; (usually in compound) an article in general.
           heirloom, workloom
     2. n. A frame or machine of wood or other material, in which a weaver forms cloth out of thread; a machine for interweaving yarn or threads into a fabric, as in knitting or lace making.
     3. n. The part of an oar which is between the grip or handle and the blade, the shaft.
     4. n. (dated) loon (bird of order Gaviiformes)
     5. v. to impend; to threaten or hang over.
           The clouds loomed over the mountains.
     6. v. To rise and to be eminent; to be elevated or ennobled, in a moral sense.
we
     1. pron. (personal) The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person (not the person being addressed). (This is the exclusive we.)
     2. pron. (personal) The speaker(s)/writer(s) and the person(s) being addressed. (This is the inclusive we.)
     3. pron. (personal) The speaker/writer alone. (This use of we is the editorial we, used by writers and others, including royalty—the royal we—as a less personal substitute for I. The reflexive case of this sen
     4. pron. (personal) The plural form of you, including everyone being addressed.
           How are we all tonight?
     5. pron. (personal, generally considered patronising) A second- or third-person pronoun for a person in the speaker's care.
           How are we feeling this morning?
     6. det. The speakers/writers, or the speaker/writer and at least one other person.
           We Canadians like to think of ourselves as different.
were
     1. v. Second-person singular simple past tense indicative of be.
           John, you were the only person to see him.
     2. v. First-person plural simple past tense indicative of be.
           We were about to leave.
     3. v. Second-person plural simple past tense indicative of be.
           Mary and John, you were right.
     4. v. Third-person plural simple past tense indicative of be.
           They were a fine group.
           They were to be the best of friends from that day on.
     5. v. Simple imperfect subjunctive in all persons of be.
           I wish that it were Sunday.
           I wish that I were with you.
           * with "if" omitted, put first in an "if" clause:
           *: Were it simply that she wore a hat, I would not be upset at all. (= If it were simply...)
           *: Were father a king, we would have war. (= If father were a king,...)
     6. v. (Northern England) was.
     7. n. (obsolete) A fine for slaying a man; weregild.
     8. n. (fandom) (The collective name for any kind of person that changes into another form under certain conditions, including the werewolf.)
     be
          1. v. (intransitive, now literary) To exist; to have real existence.
          2. v. (with there, or dialectally it, as dummy subject) To exist.
                There is just one woman in town who can help us. (or, dialectally:) It is just one woman in town who can help us.
          3. v. (intransitive) To occupy a place.
                The cup is on the table.
          4. v. (intransitive) To occur, to take place.
                When will the meeting be?
          5. v. (intransitive, in perfect tenses, without predicate) Elliptical form of "be here", "go to and return from" or similar.
                The postman has been today, but my tickets have still not yet come.
                I have been to Spain many times.
                Moscow, huh? I've never been, but it sounds fascinating.
          6. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to indicate that the subject and object are the same.
                Knowledge is bliss.
                Hi, I’m Jim.
          7. v. (transitive, copulative, mathematics) Used to indicate that the values on either side of an equation are the same.
                3 times 5 is fifteen.
          8. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to indicate that the subject plays the role of the predicate nominal.
                François Mitterrand was president of France from 1981 to 1995.
          9. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to connect a noun to an adjective that describes it.
                The sky is blue.
          10. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to indicate that the subject has the qualities described by a noun or noun phrase.
                The sky is a deep blue today.
          11. v. (transitive, auxiliary) Used to form the passive voice.
                The dog was drowned by the boy.
          12. v. (transitive, auxiliary) Used to form the continuous forms of various tenses.
                The woman is walking.
                I shall be writing to you soon.
                We liked to chat while we were eating.
          13. v. (archaic, auxiliary) Used to form the perfect aspect with certain intransitive verbs, most of which indicate motion. Often still used for "to go".
          14. v. (transitive, auxiliary) Used to form future tenses, especially the future periphrastic.
                I am to leave tomorrow.
                I would drive you, were I to obtain a car.
          15. v. (transitive, copulative) Used to link a subject to a measurement.
                This building is three hundred years old.
                I am 75 kilograms.
                He’s about 6 feet tall.
          16. v. (transitive, copulative, with a cardinal numeral) Used to state the age of a subject in years.
                I’m 20. (= I am 20 years old.)
          17. v. (with a dummy subject) it Used to indicate the time of day.
                It is almost eight. (= It is almost eight o’clock.)
                It’s 8:30 read eight-thirty in Tokyo.
                What time is it there? It’s night.
          18. v. (With since) Used to indicate passage of time since the occurrence of an event.
                It has been three years since my grandmother died. (similar to My grandmother died three years ago, but emphasizes the intervening period)
                It had been six days since his departure, when I received a letter from him.
          19. v. (often, impersonal, with it as a dummy subject) Used to indicate weather, air quality, or the like.
                It is hot in Arizona, but it is not usually humid.
                Why is it so dark in here?
          20. v. (dynamic/lexical "be", especially in progressive tenses, conjugated non-suppletively in the present tense, see usage notes) To exist or behave in a certain way.
                "What do we do?" "We be ourselves.".
                Why is he being nice to me?
in
     1. prep. Used to indicate location, inclusion, or position within spatial, temporal or other limits.
     2. prep.          Contained by.
                   The dog is in the kennel.
     3. prep.          Within.
     4. prep.          Surrounded by.
                   We are in the enemy camp.   Her plane is in the air.
     5. prep.          Part of; a member of.
                   One in a million.   She's in band and orchestra.
     6. prep.          Pertaining to; with regard to.
                   What grade did he get in English?
                   Military letters should be formal in tone, but not stilted.
     7. prep.          At the end of a period of time.
                   They said they would call us in a week.
     8. prep.          Within a certain elapsed time
                   Are you able to finish this in three hours?   The massacre resulted in over 1000 deaths in three hours.
     9. prep.          During (said of periods of time).
                   in the first week of December;  Easter falls in the fourth lunar month;   The country reached a high level of prosperity in his fi
     10. prep.          (grammar, phonetics, of sounds and letters) Coming at the end of a word.
                   English nouns in -ce form their plurals in -s.
     11. prep. Into.
           Less water gets in your boots this way.
     12. prep. Used to indicate limit, qualification, condition, or circumstance.
           In replacing the faucet washers, he felt he was making his contribution to the environment.
     13. prep.          Indicating an order or arrangement.
                   My fat rolls around in folds.
     14. prep.          Denoting a state of the subject.
                   He stalked away in anger.   John is in a coma.
     15. prep.          Indicates, connotatively, a place-like form of someone's (or something's) personality, as his, her or its psychic and physical characteristics.
                   You've got a friend in me.   He's met his match in her.
     16. prep.          Wearing (an item of clothing).
                    I glanced over at the pretty girl in the red dress.
     17. prep. Used to indicate means, medium, format, genre, or instrumentality.
     18. prep.          (of something offered or given in an exchange) In the form of, in the denomination of.
                   Please pay me in cash — preferably in tens and twenties.
                   The deposit can be in any legal tender, even in gold.
                    Her generosity was rewarded in the success of its recipients.
     19. prep.          Used to indicate a language, script, tone, etc. of a text, speech, etc.
                   Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" in C minor is among his most popular.
                   His speech was in French, but was simultaneously translated into eight languages.
                   When you write in cursive, it's illegible.
     20. v. (obsolete, transitive) To enclose.
     21. v. (obsolete, transitive) To take in; to harvest.
     22. adv. (not comparable) Located indoors, especially at home or the office, or inside something.
           Is Mr. Smith in?
     23. adv. Moving to the interior of a defined space, such as a building or room.
           Suddenly a strange man walked in.
     24. adv. (sports) Still eligible to play, e.g. able to bat in cricket and baseball.
           He went for the wild toss but wasn't able to stay in.
     25. adv. (UK) Abbreviation of in aid of.
           What's that in?
     26. adv. After the beginning of something.
     27. n. A position of power or a way to get it.
           His parents got him an in with the company
     28. n. (sport) The state of a batter/batsman who is currently batting – see innings
     29. n. A re-entrant angle; a nook or corner.
     30. adj. In fashion; popular.
           Skirts are in this year.
     31. adj. Incoming.
           the in train
     32. adj. (nautical, of the sails of a vessel) Furled or stowed.
     33. adj. (legal) With privilege or possession; used to denote a holding, possession, or seisin.
           in by descent; in by purchase; in of the seisin of her husband
     34. adj. (cricket) Currently batting.
     35. n. Inch.
an
     1. art. Form of a used before a vowel sound
     2. art. (now quite rare) Form of a used before 'h' in an unstressed syllable
     3. art. (nonstandard) Form of a used before 'h' in a stressed syllable
     4. conj. (archaic) If
     5. conj. (archaic) So long as.
           An it harm none, do what ye will.
     6. conj. (archaic) As if; as though.
     7. n. The first letter of the Georgian alphabet, ა (Mkhedruli), Ⴀ (Asomtavruli) or ⴀ (Nuskhuri).
     8. prep. In each; to or for each; per.
           I was only going twenty miles an hour.
intellectual
     1. adj. Belonging to, or performed by, the intellect; mental or cognitive.
           intellectual powers, activities, etc.
     2. adj. Endowed with intellect; having the power of understanding; having capacity for the higher forms of knowledge or thought; characterized by intelligence or mental capacity
           an intellectual person -
     3. adj. Suitable for exercising the intellect; formed by, and existing for, the intellect alone; perceived by the intellect
           intellectual employments -
     4. adj. Relating to the understanding; treating of the mind.
           intellectual philosophy, sometimes called "mental" philosophy
     5. adj. (archaic, poetic) Spiritual.
     6. n. An intelligent, learned person, especially one who discourses about learned matters.
     7. n. (archaic) The intellect or understanding; mental powers or faculties.
dilemma
     1. n. A circumstance in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives that seem equally undesirable.
     2. n. A difficult circumstance or problem.
     3. n. (logic) A type of syllogism of the form "if A is true then B is true; if C is true then D is true; either A or C is true; therefore either B or D is true".
     4. n. (rhetoric) Offering to an opponent a choice between two (equally unfavorable) alternatives.
Dictionary entries from Wiktionary