used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
in the past
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.
cause to be bored
From this reading But she bore it all like a good patient queen as she was.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But she bore it all like a good patient queen as she was.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
travel across or pass over
From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.
the specified day of the month
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading I feel ill-used."
Not remembered; lapsed from memory.
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading But she bore it all like a good patient queen as she was.
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
hasauxiliary verbUS /hæz/
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
ill-usedadjective
(of persons) taken advantage of
From this reading I feel ill-used."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading But she bore it all like a good patient queen as she was.
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
not any; not one
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
on one occasion
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
a person who requires medical care
From this reading But she bore it all like a good patient queen as she was.
The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
queensnounUS /kwiːnz/
a borough of New York City
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But she bore it all like a good patient queen as she was.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
plural of “story” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
in or at that place or location
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.
uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/
a formal word for “on”
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But she bore it all like a good patient queen as she was.
which person or people
From this reading The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.
in the company of; together with
From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.
