certain
part of speech
adjective (certain); determiner (a certain, certain)
meaning for a pupil
1) Certain means sure, with no doubt: «I am certain». tree →
2) A certain thing is one that will happen for sure. tree →
3) «A certain» means a particular one that is not named: «a certain boy in our class». tree →
4) «Certain» before a plural means some: «certain foods». tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: Used as in older English to mean "a particular, unnamed" person or group. In the primary lessons: In school maths: in chance problems an event that always happens (impossible, unlikely, even chance, likely, certain); also «a certain number» meaning some unknown number to find. In everyday life: «Are you certain?», «for certain». Phrases: «for certain», «make certain», «certain to», «a certain amount».
examples
- And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field. (Torah GEN.37.15, JPS 1917) tree →
- And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; and he took her, and went in unto her. (Torah GEN.38.2, JPS 1917) tree →
- And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. (Torah GEN.38.1, JPS 1917) tree →
- And of the Levites, certain courses in Judah were joined to Benjamin. (Writings NEH.11.36, JPS 1917) tree →
- Then there went certain persons, and told David how the men were served. (Writings 1CH.19.5, JPS 1917) tree →
- Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. (Prophets EZK.14.1, JPS 1917) tree →
- It is certain that the ball is red if all balls are red. tree →
- A certain number plus 5 is 12. tree →
- Is it certain, possible or impossible? tree →
- He thinks of a certain number. tree →
- It is certain that the sun will rise tomorrow. tree →
- Are you certain you locked the door? tree →
- Certain plants are poisonous to dogs. tree →
- Rain is likely but not certain. tree →
- “A schoolmate of his, a certain Pinocchio.” tree →
note
«Certain» is a bit stronger than «sure». «Certainly» means of course. Maths: «a certain number» is the unknown to find. In chance problems it means always (probability 1). Trap: «likely» is not «certain».
In the corpora
- And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field.
- And a certain woman cast an upper millstone upon Abimelech's head, and broke his skull.
- Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying:
- and Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him, into Egypt;
- Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «certain» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.