Word of the Day: Even
The word “even” is used for amounts and conditions. It represents basic English, but for some beginning level learners, it can be a very challenging word:
amount
- I have five apples and you have five apples. That makes us even. We have an even number of apples. We each have five.
- The number four is an even number. It can be divided by two evenly. There’s not a remaining fraction after the number four is divided.
- The number three is not an even number. It can’t be divided evenly without a remaining fraction.
emphasis
- You said you would do better in school, but you aren’t even trying. (The word “even” provides emphasis.)
- Why are you laughing? This isn’t even funny.
- Don’t even think about doing quitting school.
situations and conditions
- The rivers will continue to rise even if we don’t get any more rain.
- Even the math teacher had a hard time trying to figure out the math problem.
- Even though I ate a foot-long subway sandwich, I’m still hungry. (This situation is not expected. I shouldn’t still be hungry.)
as a verb
- Our team was losing by two runs until Jose hit a homer and that evened the score, six to six.
- The hairstylist evened the ends of the girl’s hair with a pair of clippers.
- That evens things for us. (You don’t owe me anything and I don’t owe you anything.)
Essential English Dictionary
Visit the Popular English Words Beginning with E page to see the list of all words starting with letter E. For seeing the HiCafe dictionary, visit the Popular English Words with Meaning page.
