and S1 W1 / ə nd, ə n; strong ænd/ BrE AmE conjunction
[ Language: Old English ]
1 . used to join two words, phrases etc referring to things that are related in some way:
He’s gone to get some fish and chips.
The film starred Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine.
We’ve dealt with items one, two, and eleven.
He was tall, dark, and handsome.
He plays the guitar and sings folk songs.
She didn’t speak to anyone and nobody spoke to her.
2 . used to say that one action or event follows another:
Sit down and tell me all about it.
She picked up the kitten and put it in the box.
He knocked on the door and went in.
You’ll have to wait and see what happens.
3 . used to say that something is caused by something else:
I missed supper and I’m starving!
She fell downstairs and broke her leg.
4 . used when adding numbers:
Six and four is ten.
5 . especially British English used after verbs such as ‘go’, ‘come’, and ‘try’ to show what your intention is:
Shall we go and have a cup of coffee?
I’ll see if I can try and persuade her to come.
6 . spoken used to introduce a statement, remark, question etc:
And now I’d like to introduce our next speaker, Mrs Thompson.
‘She’s getting married in June.’ ‘And who’s the lucky man?’
REGISTER
In written English, avoid starting a sentence with and :
▪ And now we come onto the issue of homelessness. ➔ We now come onto the issue of homelessness.
7 . used between repeated words to emphasize what you are saying:
More and more people are losing their jobs.
We waited for hours and hours!
That was years and years ago.
We ran and ran.
8 .
a) used before saying the part of a large number which is less than 100:
a hundred and four
five hundred and seventy-six
by the year two thousand and ten
b) used when saying a number which consists of a whole number followed by a ↑ fraction :
three and three-quarters
in about two and a half hours’ time
five and a quarter per cent
9 . used between repeated plural nouns to say that some things of a particular kind are much better than others:
‘They said this guy was an expert.’ ‘Yes, but there are experts and experts.’
10 . and? spoken used when you want someone to add something to what they have just said:
‘I’m sorry.’ ‘And?’ ‘And I promise it won’t happen again.’