WOTW: tend
| - Tim Lake |
“Tend” is a verb with two very different meanings. Let’s find out what they are and look at some examples.
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The most common meaning of the verb “tend” is regularly do or behave in a particular way, or have a particular feature.
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+ Written English tends to be more formal than spoken English.
+ She tends to be late.
+ He tends to do everything as cheaply as possible.
+ Most people who take TOEIC tend to run short on time in the reading section.
+ When I was younger, I tended to drink too much.
+ Apartments in Japan tend to be smaller than the US.
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The noun form is “tendency”.
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The second meaning of the verb “tend” is to care for or look after something.
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+ She tends to the plants on her balcony every morning.
+ The fire-fighters tended to people injured in the gas explosion.
+ She tended to his needs while he was recovering from illness.
+ I like to tend my garden. It’s relaxing.
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The pronunciation is / tɛnd /.
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This word is in the New General Service List, a list of the 3,000 most common words in English communication. You can get the full list on our website by clicking here.
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この単語は、英語で最もよく使われる3,000の単語のリストであるNew General Service Listからのものです。完全なリストはこちらから。
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