I. TIME
(~er, ~est)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
Long means a great amount of time or for a great amount of time.
Repairs to the cable did not take too ~...
Have you known her parents ~?...
I learned ~ ago to avoid these invitations...
The railway had obviously been built ~ after the house...
...~-established social traditions.
ADV: ADV with v, oft ADV adv/prep
•
The expression for ~ is used to mean ‘for a great amount of time’.
‘Did you live there?’—‘Not for ~.’...
Developing countries won’t put up with the situation for much ~er...
For too ~ there was a huge gap in the market.
PHRASE: PHR after v
2.
A ~ event or period of time lasts for a great amount of time or takes a great amount of time.
We had a ~ meeting with the attorney general...
They sat looking at each other for a ~ while...
He must have started writing his book a ~ time ago.
? short
ADJ: usu ADJ n
3.
You use ~ to ask or talk about amounts of time.
How ~ have you lived around here?...
He has been on a diet for as ~ as any of his friends can remember...
She reflected no ~er than a second before she decisively slit the envelope.
ADV: how ADV, as ADV as , ADV compar than
•
Long is also an adjective.
How ~ is the usual stay in hospital?...
The average commuter journey there is five hours ~.
ADJ: how ADJ, amount ADJ
4.
A ~ speech, book, film, or list contains a lot of information or a lot of items and takes a lot of time to listen to, read, watch, or deal with.
He was making quite a ~ speech...
This is a ~ film, three hours and seven minutes.
? short
ADJ: usu ADJ n
5.
If you describe a period of time or work as ~, you mean it lasts for more hours or days than is usual, or seems to last for more time than it actually does.
Go to sleep. I’ve got a ~ day tomorrow...
She was a TV reporter and worked ~ hours...
This has been the ~est week of my life.
? short
ADJ: usu ADJ n
6.
If someone has a ~ memory, they are able to remember things that happened far back in the past.
? short
ADJ: usu ADJ n
7.
Long is used in expressions such as all year ~, the whole day ~, and your whole life ~ to say and emphasize that something happens for the whole of a particular period of time.
We played that record all night ~...
Snow is sometimes found all summer ~ upon the highest peaks.
ADV: n ADV emphasis
II. DISTANCE AND SIZE
(~er, ~est)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
Something that is ~ measures a great distance from one end to the other.
...a ~ table...
A ~ line of people formed outside the doctor’s office...
Her hair was ~ and dark...
? short
ADJ
2.
A ~ distance is a great distance. A ~ journey or route covers a great distance.
His destination was Chobham Common, a ~ way from his Cotswold home...
The ~ journey tired him...
I went for a ~ walk.
? short
ADJ: usu ADJ n
3.
A ~ piece of clothing covers the whole of someone’s legs or more of their legs than usual. Clothes with ~ sleeves cover the whole of someone’s arms.
She is wearing a ~ black dress.
...a ~-sleeved blouse.
? short
ADJ: ADJ n
4.
You use ~ to talk or ask about the distance something measures from one end to the other.
An eight-week-old embryo is only an inch ~...
How ~ is the tunnel?...
In the roots of the olives, you could find centipedes as ~ as a pencil.
ADJ: amount ADJ, how ADJ, as ADJ as , ADJ-compar than
•
Long is also a combining form.
...a three-foot-~ gash in the tanker’s side.
COMB in ADJ
III. PHRASES
(~er)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
Please look at category 6 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.
1.
If you say that something is the case as ~ as or so ~ as something else is the case, you mean that it is only the case if the second thing is the case.
The interior minister said he would still support them, as ~ as they didn’t break the rules...
The president need not step down so ~ as the elections are held under international supervision.
PHRASE
2.
If you say that someone won’t be ~, you mean that you think they will arrive or be back soon. If you say that it won’t be ~ before something happens, you mean that you think it will happen soon.
‘What’s happened to her?’—‘I’m sure she won’t be ~.’...
If every tune from Radiohead is as good as this one it, it can’t be ~ before they are household names.
PHRASE: oft it PHR before cl
3.
If you say that something will happen or happened before ~, you mean that it will happen or happened soon.
German interest rates will come down before ~...
Before ~ he took over the editing of the magazine.
PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl
4.
Something that is no ~er the case used to be the case but is not the case now. You can also say that something is not the case any ~er.
Food shortages are no ~er a problem...
I noticed that he wasn’t sitting by the door any ~er.
PHRASE: PHR group/cl, PHR with v
5.
You can say so ~ as an informal way of saying goodbye.
Well, so ~, pal, see you around.
= bye
CONVENTION formulae
6.
a ~ face: see face
at ~ last: see last
in the ~ run: see run
a ~ shot: see shot
in the ~ term: see term
~ in the tooth: see tooth
to take the ~ view: see view
to go a ~ way: see way
IV. VERB USES
(~s, ~ing, ~ed)
If you ~ for something, you want it very much.
Steve ~ed for the good old days...
I’m ~ing to meet her...
He ~ed for the winter to be over.
VERB: V for n, V to-inf, V for n to-inf
see also ~ing