pair
part of speech
noun (pair, pairs); verb (pair, pairs, paired, pairing)
meaning for a pupil
1) A pair is two things of the same kind that go together: a pair of socks. tree →
2) A pair is one thing made of two parts: a pair of scissors, a pair of trousers. tree →
3) A pair is two people or animals together. tree →
4) To pair up is to make groups of two. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In Sefer Yetzirah it means the letters combined two by two to form the 231 gates. In the Prophets and Writings it also means two together, as horsemen riding in pairs, a pair of shoes, or teeth that come in matched twos. Interpretation: The tradition reads the combining of letters in pairs as the way God formed the world, and the 231 gates as every possible pair out of the 22 letters. The prophets' pairs of horsemen and the pair of shoes are read as ordinary things counted in twos. In the primary lessons: two of a kind: «N pairs» is N × 2 things; in class we work in pairs; number pairs that make 10 (3 and 7); phrases: «a pair of», «in pairs», «pair up», «number pairs»
examples
- Thus in combining all together in pairs are produced these two hundred and thirty-one gates of knowledge. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1887) tree →
- And, behold, there came a troop of men, horsemen by pairs. (Prophets ISA.21.9, JPS 1917) tree →
- That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes, and sell the refuse of the corn?' (Prophets AMO.8.6, JPS 1917) tree →
- Thy teeth are like a flock of ewes, which are come up from the washing; whereof all are paired, and none faileth among them. (Writings SNG.6.6, JPS 1917) tree →
- How many socks are in 6 pairs of socks? tree →
- Max has seven pairs of gloves. tree →
- Anna buys 3 pairs of shoes. tree →
- Work in pairs to check your answers. tree →
- I need a new pair of scissors. tree →
- 4 and 6 are a pair that makes 10. tree →
- A pair of swans swam on the lake. tree →
- Pair up with the person next to you. tree →
- One day the pair unexpectedly met a Lion. tree →
note
«A pair is 2 things.» «N pairs» is N × 2 things. Trap: the question may ask for pairs, not single things; then do not multiply. Trap: a pair of scissors or jeans is one thing. «pair», «pear» (a fruit) and «pare» sound the same.
In the corpora
- And, behold, there came a troop of men, horsemen by pairs.
- The tabla is a pair of Indian hand drums; pressing the skin while striking it changes the pitch.
- Centipedes always have an odd number of pairs of legs, so no centipede has exactly 100 legs.
- A hoverfly has one pair of wings and can hover still in the air, while a wasp has two pairs.
- Swans, many parrots and albatrosses keep the same partner for years, and some albatross pairs stay together for 50 years or more.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «pair» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.