Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
You use ~ in conditional sentences to introduce the circumstances in which an event or situation might happen, might be happening, or might have happened.
She gets very upset ~ I exclude her from anything...
You can go ~ you want...
If you went into town, you’d notice all the pubs have loud jukeboxes...
Do you have a knack for coming up with ideas? If so, we would love to hear from you.
CONJ
2.
You use ~ in indirect questions where the answer is either ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
He asked ~ I had left with you, and I said no...
I wonder ~ I might have a word with Mr Abbot?
= whether
CONJ
3.
You use ~ to suggest that something might be slightly d~ferent from what you are stating in the main part of the sentence, for example that there might be slightly more or less of a particular quality.
Sometimes, that standard is quite d~ficult, ~ not impossible, to achieve...
I’m working on my fitness and I will be ready in a couple of weeks, ~ not sooner...
CONJ: with neg
4.
You use ~, usually with ‘can’, ‘could’, ‘may’, or ‘might’, at a point in a conversation when you are politely trying to make a point, change the subject, or interrupt another speaker.
If I could just make another small point about the weightl~ters in the Olympics...
CONJ
5.
You use ~ at or near the beginning of a clause when politely asking someone to do something.
I wonder ~ you’d be kind enough to give us some information, please?...
CONJ politeness
6.
You use ~ not in front of a word or phrase to indicate that your statement does not apply to that word or phrase, but to something closely related to it that you also mention.
She understood his meaning, ~ not his words, and took his advice.
PHRASE
7.
You use ~ to introduce a subordinate clause in which you admit a fact which you regard as less important than the statement in the main clause.
If there was any disappointment it was probably temporary...
CONJ
8.
You use ~ ever with past tenses when you are introducing a description of a person or thing, to emphasize how appropriate it is.
I became a distraught, worried mother, a useless role ~ ever there was one...
PHRASE emphasis
9.
You use ~ only with past tenses to introduce what you think is a fairly good reason for doing something, although you realize it may not be a very good one.
She writes me often, ~ only to scold me because I haven’t written to her...
PHRASE
10.
You use ~ only to express a wish or desire, especially one that cannot be fulfilled.
If only you had told me that some time ago...
PHRASE feelings
11.
You use as ~ when you are making a judgment about something that you see or notice. Your belief or impression might be correct, or it might be wrong.
The whole room looks as ~ it has been lovingly put together over the years...
PHRASE
12.
You use as ~ to describe something or someone by comparing them with another thing or person.
He points two fingers at his head, as ~ he were holding a gun...
PHRASE
13.
You use as ~ to emphasize that something is not true. (SPOKEN)
Getting my work done! My God! As ~ it mattered.
PHRASE emphasis
14.
You use ‘~ anything’ to introduce something which strengthens or changes the meaning of the statement you have just made, but only in a small or unimportant way.
Living together didn’t harm our friendship. If anything it strengthened it...
PHRASE: PHR with cl
15.
You use ‘It’s not as ~’ to introduce a statement which, ~ it were true, might explain something puzzling, although in fact it is not true.
I am surprised by the fuss she’s making. It’s not as ~ my personality has changed.
PHRASE: V inflects
16.
You say ‘~ I were you’ to someone when you are giving them advice.
If I were you, Mrs Gretchen, I just wouldn’t worry about it...
PHRASE: PHR with cl