used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/
later than; following
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
anew
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
AlfrednounUS /ˈælfrəd/
king of Wessex; defeated the Vikings and encouraged writing in English (849-899)
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
cathedralnounUS /kəˈθiːdrəl/
any large and important church
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
fortnightnounUS /ˈfɔːrtnaɪt/
a period of fourteen consecutive days
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading Was not Alfred glad when he read that!
the act of departing
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
Maggie
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Was not Alfred glad when he read that!
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
PAPER-CHASE
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE PAPER-CHASE.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading Was not Alfred glad when he read that!
conforming to the established language usage of educated native speakers
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
deliver by singing
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PAPER-CHASE.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
precisely as stated
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
at the time that
From this reading Was not Alfred glad when he read that!
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Two days after this, Alfred received a letter from his mother which made him very happy.
in the company of; together with
From this reading His father was much better, and he was coming with his mother, and Maggie as well, to see Alfred and hear him sing in the fine old cathedral.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading The letter said that his father would be back in about a fortnight, and would have time to come home for a few days before going away again.
