serve
part of speech
verb, noun (serve, serves, served, serving)
meaning for a pupil
1) To serve is to give food or drink to people. tree →
2) A dish that serves 4 is enough food for 4 people. tree →
3) To serve is to work for or help others, like a shop assistant serves customers. tree →
4) In tennis or volleyball, to serve is to hit the ball to start play; a serve is that hit. tree →
5) To serve in the army or on a team is to work in it. tree →
6) «It serves you right» means you deserved the bad thing. tree →
sense in the lessons
Interpretation: The same Hebrew word means both working and worshipping, so the tradition links honest work, slavery and prayer. It teaches that Israel was freed from serving Pharaoh in order to serve God. In the primary lessons: Maths: sharing food — a dish serves so many people; things served counted; «serves n» is a rate per item: items needed = people ÷ n (round up). Everyday: serving dinner, a serving spoon, being served in a shop. Sport: serve in tennis, badminton and volleyball. Phrases: serve up, first come first served.
examples
- Let peoples serve thee, and nations bow down to thee. (Torah GEN.27.29, JPS 1917) tree →
- Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. (Torah GEN.14.4, JPS 1917) tree →
- And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour. (Torah EXO.1.13, JPS 1917) tree →
- Will the wild-ox be willing to serve thee? (Writings JOB.39.9, JPS 1917) tree →
- What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? (Writings JOB.21.15, JPS 1917) tree →
- Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. (Writings PSA.2.11, JPS 1917) tree →
- One pizza serves 4 people. tree →
- The cafe served 120 meals today. tree →
- How many pizzas does she need to serve 20 people? tree →
- Each cook serves 15 plates an hour. tree →
- The waiter served our drinks first. tree →
- Are you being served? asked the shop assistant. tree →
- She served the ball hard over the net. tree →
- Grandma served in the navy when she was young. tree →
- Serve the soup while it is hot. tree →
- For dinner the Fox served soup. tree →
note
Regular verb: served, serving. A serving is one portion. «Serves n» is a rate per item: items needed = people ÷ n. Trap: a part item cannot be bought, so round up (21 people, pizzas serve 4: 6 pizzas, not 5.25). «Serve» someone (no «to»): serve the customers.
In the corpora
- Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.
- and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
- Let peoples serve thee, and nations bow down to thee.
- And Jacob loved Rachel; and he said: 'I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.'
- And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «serve» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.