I. DEMONSTRATIVE USES
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
Please look at category 20 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1.
You use ~ to refer back to an idea or situation expressed in a previous sentence or sentences.
They said you particularly wanted to talk to me. Why was ~?...
Some members feared Germany might raise its interest rates on Thursday. That could have set the scene for a confrontation with the US.
PRON
•
That is also a determiner.
The most important purpose of our Health Care is to support you when making a claim for medical treatment. For ~ reason the claims procedure is as simple and helpful as possible.
DET
2.
You use ~ to refer to someone or something already mentioned.
The Commissioners get between ?50,000 and ?60,000 a year in various allowances. But ~ amount can soar to ?90,000 a year...
DET
3.
When you have been talking about a particular period of time, you use ~ to indicate ~ you are still referring to the same period. You use expressions such as ~ morning or ~ afternoon to indicate ~ you are referring to an earlier period of the same day.
The story was published in a Sunday newspaper later ~ week...
DET
4.
You use ~ in expressions such as ~ of and ~ which to introduce more information about something already mentioned, instead of repeating the noun which refers to it. (FORMAL)
A recession like ~ of 1973-74 could put one in ten American companies into bankruptcy...
PRON: PRON of n, PRON pron-rel
5.
You use ~ in front of words or expressions which express agreement, responses, or reactions to what has just been said.
‘She said she’d met you in England.’—‘That’s true.’...
‘I’ve never been to Paris.’—‘That’s a pity. You should go one day.’
PRON
6.
You use ~ to introduce a person or thing ~ you are going to give details or information about. (FORMAL)
In my case I chose ~ course which I considered right...
DET
7.
You use ~ when you are referring to someone or something which is a distance away from you in position or time, especially when you indicate or point to them. When there are two or more things near you, ~ refers to the more distant one.
Look at ~ guy. He’s got red socks...
Where did you get ~ hat?...
DET
•
That is also a pronoun.
That looks heavy. May I carry it for you?
PRON
8.
You use ~ when you are identifying someone or asking about their identity.
That’s my wife you were talking to...
I answered the phone and this voice went, ‘Hello? Is ~ Alison?’
PRON
9.
You can use ~ when you expect the person you are talking to to know what or who you are referring to, without needing to identify the particular person or thing fully. (SPOKEN)
Did you get ~ cheque I sent?...
DET
•
That is also a pronoun.
That was a terrible case of blackmail in the paper today...
PRON
10.
If something is not ~ bad, funny, or expensive for example, it is not as bad, funny, or expensive as it might be or as has been suggested.
Not even Gary, he said, was ~ stupid...
ADV: with brd-neg, ADV adj/adv
11.
You can use ~ to emphasize the degree of a feeling or quality. (INFORMAL)
I would have walked out, I was ~ angry...
= so
ADV: ADV adj/adv emphasis
12.
see also those
13.
You use and all ~ or and ~ to refer generally to everything else which is associated with what you have just mentioned. (INFORMAL)
I’m not a cook myself but I am interested in nutrition and ~.
PHRASE: cl/group PHR vagueness
14.
You use at ~ after a statement which modifies or emphasizes what you have just said.
Success never seems to come but through hard work, often physically demanding work at ~...
PHRASE: n/adj PHR emphasis
15.
You use ~ is or ~ is to say to indicate ~ you are about to express the same idea more clearly or precisely.
I am a disappointing, though generally dutiful, student. That is, I do as I’m told...
PHRASE: PHR with cl/group
16.
You use ~’s it to indicate ~ nothing more needs to be done or ~ the end has been reached.
When he left the office, ~ was it, the workday was over.
PHRASE: V inflects
17.
You use ~’s it to express agreement with or approval of what has just been said or done.
‘You got married, right?’—‘Yeah, ~’s it.’
= exactly
CONVENTION formulae
18.
You use just like ~ to emphasize ~ something happens or is done immediately or in a very simple way, often without much thought or discussion. (INFORMAL)
Just like ~, I was in love...
PHRASE: PHR with cl emphasis
19.
You use ~’s ~ to say there is nothing more you can do or say about a particular matter. (SPOKEN)
‘Well, if ~’s the way you want it,’ he replied, tears in his eyes, ‘I guess ~’s ~.’
PHRASE: V inflects
20.
like ~: see like
this and ~: see this
this, ~ and the other: see this
II. CONJUNCTION AND RELATIVE PRONOUN USES
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
You can use ~ after many verbs, adjectives, nouns, and expressions to introduce a clause in which you report what someone has said, or what they think or feel.
He called her up one day and said ~ he and his wife were coming to New York...
We were worried ~ she was going to die...
CONJ
2.
You use ~ after ‘it’ and a link verb and an adjective to comment on a situation or fact.
I’ve made up my mind, but it’s obvious ~ you need more time to think...
CONJ: it v-link adj CONJ cl
3.
You use ~ to introduce a clause which gives more information to help identify the person or thing you are talking about.
...pills ~ will make the problem disappear.
...a car ~ won’t start...
PRON
4.
You use ~ after expressions with ‘so’ and ‘such’ in order to introduce the result or effect of something.
She became so nervous ~ she shook violently...
CONJ: so/such group CONJ cl