verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
depth of knowledge/understanding/experience
▪
I was impressed by the depth of her knowledge.
difficult (for sb) to understand/find/obtain etc
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That’s rather difficult for me to explain.
▪
He’s finding it difficult to get a job.
easily understood/identified etc
▪
It’s easily recognised by its bright blue tail feathers.
enlarge sb’s understanding/knowledge etc
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A good way to enlarge your vocabulary is to read a daily newspaper.
gain an understanding (= get knowledge based on learning and experience )
▪
Drama is one of the key ways in which children can gain an understanding of themselves and of others.
grasp/appreciate/understand the significance of sth
▪
The press was slow to grasp the significance of what had happened.
lead sb to believe/expect/understand sth
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He had led everyone to believe that his family was very wealthy.
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The hotel was terrible, and not at all what we had been led to expect.
little known/understood etc (= not known about by many people )
▪
a little known corner of the world
mutual respect/trust/understanding etc
▪
Mutual respect is necessary for any partnership to work.
▪
European nations can live together in a spirit of mutual trust.
understand a concept
▪
The class will help you understand the basic concepts of physics.
understand a point
▪
I’m sorry, I don’t understand your point.
understand the extent of sth
▪
Other people didn’t seem to understand the extent of his disability.
understand the meaning
▪
The pictures help the children understand the meanings of the words.
understand/see sb’s logic
▪
I could not understand the logic of her actions.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
better
▪
Now that I know that George was not his father I can better understand why they always clashed.
▪
I want to understand better why I quit.
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Now he has had a chance to work with them and perhaps better understands the intricacies of their job.
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S Department of Defense in the hopes of understanding better the concept of deception.
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One feels guilty about not having understood better what was going on.
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Promote effective two-way communication between employees at all levels to understand better the problems and concerns that affect productivity; 7.
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It does help our chances of success however, if we can better understand why reef fish are aggressive towards each other.
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Perhaps in the future we may come to better understand more complex processes, such as memory and learning.
easily
▪
Within these two sentences, the situation is easily understood and explained.
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If this problem were easily understood or amenable to fast solutions, there would be few work-inhibited students.
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Bosses still had to be bosses when the occasion required but that was understood easily and early.
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What is happening is most easily understood in terms of the wave picture of light.
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From a wave point of view this is easily understood .
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Meteor Crater is easily understood as the result of a surface impact of a body bearing about fifteen megatons of energy.
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Reality is sometimes too complex to understand easily .
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The modern trial is a contest in which justice is defined in easily understood , monetary terms-dollars.
fully
▪
Diana was sympathetic, but did not fully understand his unrest, nor his frantic soul-searching.
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Instead, when fully understood , the apparent contradiction may reveal a new causal factor that was not considered before.
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Most errors in radiocarbon dating arise because the excavator has not fully understood the formation processes of the context in question.
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Things that before had been mysterious are now fully understood .
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The technical question of how far the biological continuity between man and other animals is already fully understood is complex.
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So I fully understand and am in compliance with that kind of feeling.
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I don't fully understand why he does so much to distance me.
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For some reason we do not fully understand , the blotched tabby cat was a winner.
how
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To understand how engineers are preparing for earthquakes, one needs to know a little about how buildings behave when shaken.
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And so now, perhaps, you will understand how it is and has always been with us.
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I do not understand how so many Black men stay sane, look after their children and strive to walk beside them.
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They want leaders to spend time helping them understand how change can happen.
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Again we must delve back in history to understand how we got to this position.
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For now, the Raiders have something to enjoy, but they understand how quickly that can fade.
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I don't understand how anyone so musical can hum so out of tune with himself.
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I can understand how the school thing would be a problem for them.
never
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There was much about the Spencer children that I would never understand , especially their relationship with Raine.
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Never understood why Dandy Dan picked him but from all the others.
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He'd never understand women, he thought.
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We never understood them, and that was another surprise.
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The sergeant could never understand rich people with imperfect features who did not spend money on cosmetic surgery.
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He never understood her moral ignorance so well before.
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Nevertheless, as combat approached, the pilots became intensely alive in a way that Skull could always recognise but never understand .
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Everything had changed for me, and words that I had never understood before suddenly began to make sense.
really
▪
In reality, most attorneys have made almost no preparation for this phase and do not really understand it.
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Of all the servants, the only one who really understood my need to do things for myself was Koju.
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Start with the very simplest pattern, possibly imitating Card No. 1 to make sure that you really understand the system.
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It took me four years to really understand the business and begin to turn it around.
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Some one who really understands me and knows all my secrets.
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Both are nuts, leave a bad taste and no one really understands why this tradition continues.&038;.
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I still meet research managers from other businesses who feel that their companies don't really understand or want them.
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He really understands how to sell things.
why
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I can't understand why Mum hates her.
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He never could understand why Morgan was so good, why she moved him so.
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But a spokesman said that while the authority had every sympathy for Richard it understood why the school had expelled him.
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On the other hand, we understand why you would prefer not to see usable food go down the garbage disposal.
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He could not understand why he should not put them in the moats.
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Excavators have been reluctant to put dates to their finds and one can understand why . carbon dating being expensive.
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I understand why the Government have maintained an exemption for small businesses, for which survival is of the essence.
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I couldn't understand why they bothered to take him on, because he hadn't won anything for years.
■ NOUN
meaning
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The story has to be decoded in order to understand its meaning .
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Children understand your meaning by perceiving the tone of your voice.
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Seek confirmation that the other party understands your meaning .
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If we can understand the identity of the criteria of sameness of use, then we can understand the sameness of meaning .
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This tension between change and continuity is the key to understanding the inner meaning as opposed to the outward form of working-class sport.
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You will use your powers of anticipation and imagination to read between the lines, to understand message and meaning .
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Even so, those with grace always know how to be graceful and she would probably understand the true meaning of the gesture.
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I understood their meaning and was full of jealousy.
nature
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For everyone there is a problem in understanding the nature of the crime when no motive can be identified.
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Therefore, self-understanding comes to have a transformative effect on our understanding of the nature of reality.
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As we have discussed, there is now available a conceptual framework for adequately understanding the changing nature of contemporary civil society.
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The overriding goal of this chapter is to understand the nature of markets and how prices and outputs are determined.
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How then could we ever understand the nature and functioning of the whole belt?
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One can understand why a cheerful nature is important.
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Consent means that the patient must be capable of understanding the nature , purpose and likely effects of the proposed treatments.
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He very likely does not understand the nature of the risk that he describes.
need
▪
Managers will need help to understand people's needs during a period of transition and also their own reactions to change.
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Of all the servants, the only one who really understood my need to do things for myself was Koju.
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You must make him understand the need for secrecy.
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He understood the need to eat.
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NatWest understands your needs and is pleased to help.
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On board there was now a widespread and unspoken understanding of the need to husband our resources.
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That's because I understand her needs and I don't make demands.
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Which people in which jobs understand the need for and nature of the changes at hand?
problem
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Some fresh approach to understanding the management problems in secondary schools could be much needed after the upheavals of 1985/86.
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More research needs to be done to attempt to understand these problems but statistical modelling is not appropriate.
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She begins to understand the health problems of having too many kids.
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Peer pressure was a key factor in understanding the problem , he said.
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Based on this experience they came to an understanding of a fundamental problem of flight: control.
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Professionals often intervene before they understand the problem in full and so fail.
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His own rise from the bottom of the heap guarantees that he understands problems of a class-ridden society, he tells audiences.
process
▪
As long as you understand the process , it will all come together, whatever the terms and instructions.
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They understood statistical process control, total quality customer service, reengineering, and the economics and finance of film manufacturing.
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What had to be understood was the process which led to the evolution of society seen in this new light.
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Regardless of how fantastic our political visions are, it is important to understand the processes of political communication that support them.
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Like de Schweinitz, Moore seeks to understand the relationship between processes of economic development and political form through comparing few countries.
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Must gain an understanding of the political process .
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In order to understand the process , the study focuses upon important incidents that subjects can recall or are experiencing.
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Before beginning the proposal writing task, an overall understanding of the research process is essential to the writer.
word
▪
The reason, quite simply, is that pruning is little understood - again that word why.
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Neither of them understood the words but the music represented all that was fair and just.
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It became clear to them that she had understood their every word .
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He doubted that the policeman had understood a word he had said.
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You could understand every word when I was singing.
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But this time - and the photographer couldn't understand why - the words had less effect.
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Other symptoms of dyslexia can include difficulty in writing, calculating or even understanding the spoken word .
■ VERB
begin
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It was only now she began to understand her cruelty.
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I began to understand why they gave you a talk before they give you the money.
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Philip himself now began to understand Innocent better.
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But after seeing the tomographic maps, researchers began to understand why the continents had no effect.
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Creed began to understand why Evelyn had imposed a diet.
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And you might begin to understand the scale of the problem.
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During the early school years, a child can begin to understand the physical basis for some of his feelings.
fail
▪
No one who had ever struggled in the mire as she had, could fail to understand .
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Even ten years later, he felt the sting of the rebuke, the motive for which he still fails to understand .
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In all probability he failed to understand the consequences of his actions.
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If they failed to understand the settled peasants, the latter returned the compliment.
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Student leaders accuse him of failing to understand the system.
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The two men failed to understand each other.
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Mysticism is the product of those who fail to understand , the substitute for comprehension and the margarine of philosophy.
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She is described by the Argive elders as speaking in riddles because they fail to understand her predictions.
help
▪
It helps you understand other people's tasks, avoid problems and keep in mind that crucial overview I spoke of earlier.
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He was clear about what he wanted, but gave the dancers evocative images to help them understand and deepen their interpretations.
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The historical background provided in this chapter helps us understand some of these diagnoses as well as some of the prescriptions.
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They want leaders to spend time helping them understand how change can happen.
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Gardens A garden is useful in helping the children to understand space comparisons and the seasons.
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It helps me to understand things.
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Having done the job myself, it helps me to understand that departments are being asked to review everything continuously.
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She helps the girls understand issues such as puberty, hygiene, boys, crime, and drugs.
try
▪
We also seek wisdom when we try to deepen our understanding of what the world is like.
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Users need not spend their time trying to understand where something is.
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I must say it was a great relief not to have to try to understand it all from books.
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Let us try to understand the basics of special relativity in terms of the magnificent space-time of Minkowski.
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Not content with stars and galaxies, they try to understand the whole universe, its provenance and fate.
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Now, and not later, I will try to understand .
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We are all aware of the problems of trying to understand a complex document written for a specialist audience.
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He calmed himself, trying to understand why he was imprisoned and who was responsible.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
I fail to see/understand
▪
I fail to see the humor in this situation.
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How presumptuous my claims to knowledge based only on what I see, leaving out what I fail to see.
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However I fail to see firstly what you are trying to prove with your figures.
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Last year? I failed to see the connection.
can't begin to understand/imagine etc
gain an understanding/insight/impression etc
▪
By analysing simple situations, with essential features in common, we can gain insight into the behaviour of these complicated beams.
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It is difficult to see how avoiding teaching about what is distinctive of religion can help people gain an understanding of it!
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One way to gain insight into these issues is to view them through the work of some of the main protagonists.
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Pupils use drama to gain insights into moral and social issues in works of literature.
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Self-assessment Building self-esteem is about appreciating strengths and developing them as much as it is about gaining an understanding of weaknesses.
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The trust wants to gain an insight into the county's butterfly population.
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This guidance helped them gain insight into the characteristics that inhibited their own ability to persist and to complete schoolwork.
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To visit them is to gain an insight into what many of our own wetlands must have been like.
get to like/know/understand sb/sth
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All I had to do was got to know his taste in food.
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Come to think of it, he'd seemed rather a decent chap, some one it might be worth getting to know.
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He got to know Bill Clinton quite well when they were together at Oxford as Rhodes scholars.
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I would like to get to know customers well 8.
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It was one of Brian's three daughters, Karen, who got to know Kirsty.
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Mrs Nowak and Taczek must have got to know most of the truth and stuck by the cover story.
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She had seen a leaflet about the YCs and thought that this would provide a good way of getting to know people.
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So I got , I sort of got to know her.
give sb to understand/think/believe sth
▪
A parting sniff as she left the room gave the gentleman to understand that he had disappointed her.
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But he had also given her time to think what she was doing.
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But the knotted tensions between people and groups of people give us plenty to think about.
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He would have given anything to believe that Isambard was lying.
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Ireland would be given something new to think about.
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It obviously gave him plenty to think about.
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She'd given more time to thinking about Lucy than anything else for months.
know/understand what it means to be sth
▪
If you are overweight, then you know what it means to be in emotional pain.
make yourself heard/understood/known etc
▪
As we will soon see, the inability to make oneself understood properly was at the root of the crisis in Vicos.
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But only one side was making itself heard.
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Hardly a practicable solution when she didn't even know if she could make herself understood.
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He makes himself known with a tiny, metallic clink-clink-clink from within the bushes.
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I yelled to make myself heard above the deafening roar of the wind and the sea.
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To leave was to admit defeat in this peculiar ritual of making myself known.
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Yet lay people had almost no way of making themselves heard in Rome.
not hear/understand/believe a word
▪
Do not believe a word of it.
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For the rest of the journey Maria prattled on about Bradford, but Ruth did not hear a word .
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However, it also shows that they are not very useful, for Hera did not believe a word of it.
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I kept it up until I was certain you were not hearing a word .
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To date I've not heard word one about such a plague in the Czech Republic.
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We had not heard a word about my father all this time.
on the understanding that
▪
We said he could stay with us on the understanding that it would just be temporary.
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Darrel had mysteriously signed Littlecote over to Sir John in 1586 on the understanding that he would still be allowed to remain.
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It was possible for a person to be given a legacy on the understanding that he would manumit a slave.
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The reader who has bought your book has bought it on the understanding that this is what will happen.
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The work would be carried out on the understanding that the resulting products would be returned to the country of origin.
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They forget I took the job on the understanding that management of a national team can only be part-time employment.
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They hanged the couple on the understanding that Combe would become part of Berkshire and remain so.
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This expedition was sanctioned on the understanding that there was good money to be won at wrestling.
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This reaction was based on the understanding that atomic bombs cause widespread death and destruction and extreme human suffering.
sb's understanding (of sth)
▪
My understanding is that none of us are required to attend.
▪
What's your understanding of the letter?
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Ben asked a few questions to make sure he understood what to do.
▪
Computer manuals should be written in a way that is easy to understand .
▪
Doctors still do not fully understand the process by which the disease is transmitted.
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Don't worry. I understand perfectly.
▪
How can I make you understand ?
▪
I'm sorry. I still don't understand . Can you say it slower?
▪
I'm sure if you talk to your boss, he'll understand .
▪
I'm sure your teacher will understand .
▪
I understand how you feel, but I still think you should apologize to her.
▪
I completely understand how things are when money is tight.
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I didn't understand the teacher's instructions.
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She spoke slowly and clearly so that everyone could understand .
▪
Sondra doesn't understand football at all.
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The witness said he understood that he was swearing to give true and correct information.
▪
Unfortunately she doesn't understand English.
▪
We're trying very hard to understand what she's going through.
▪
When he's old enough to understand , we'll tell him he's adopted.
▪
You can only apologize, and hope that she'll understand .
▪
You don't need to understand how a computer works to use it.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
A person watching could understand and almost envy it.
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Bateson now argued that the direct study of variation was the only way of trying to understand how evolution actually works.
▪
Naturally June couldn't understand why it was that I went on cutting her.
▪
The second cost associated with producing fund accounts relates to the investment of time and skill needed to understand them.
▪
They understand what we say better than we understand them.
▪
Unlike many political appointees, she was determined to understand the most complex details of her job.