three
part of speech
number (three, threes); noun (a three); ordinal third
meaning for a pupil
1) Three is the number 3, one more than two. tree →
2) A three is the digit 3 or a card, die face or team with 3 on it. tree →
3) A third is one of three equal parts. tree →
4) (casual) «Threesies», «three-peat» (US sport, winning three times) and «a three» (a basket worth 3 points) are slang. tree →
5) (casual) «Three's a crowd» means two friends want to be alone. tree →
6) (formal) Exams may write «thrice» (three times), «triple», «a triad» or «a trio», and numbers in words: «three hundred and three». tree →
sense in the lessons
Interpretation: Three is often a sign of firmness in tradition: three patriarchs, three pilgrim festivals, and three days of preparation before Sinai. In the primary lessons: an amount told in words; «three times» is × 3; «third» is the place after second; a triangle has 3 sides; phrases: «three times as many», «three in a row», «three quarters», «the three Rs» (reading, writing, arithmetic); in casual talk «three's a crowd», «a three-pointer», «give me three secs»; in rough talk «I'll count to three, then you're in trouble» (a warning); in the exam voice «thrice», «treble», «a trio of», «a third part thereof»
examples
- And Noah begot three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Torah GEN.6.10, JPS 1917) tree →
- And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob. (Torah GEN.30.36, JPS 1917) tree →
- And he put them all together into ward three days. (Torah GEN.42.17, JPS 1917) tree →
- These things did the three mighty men. (Prophets 2SA.23.17, JPS 1917) tree →
- And Abimelech was prince over Israel three years. (Prophets JDG.9.22, JPS 1917) tree →
- The children of Harim, three hundred and twenty. (Writings EZR.2.32, JPS 1917) tree →
- I put three spoons on the table. tree →
- Three friends share 9 grapes equally. tree →
- Ben is three years older than Tom. tree →
- A triangle has 3 sides and 3 corners. tree →
- Count in threes: 3, 6, 9, 12. tree →
- The baby is three years old. tree →
- Ready, steady, go on three! tree →
- Gimme three secs, I'm nearly done. tree →
- I'm counting to three, then you're in big trouble. tree →
- He sank a three and won the game. tree →
- A quantity is trebled and yields 27. Determine the original quantity. tree →
- A third of 12 is 4. tree →
- Three brothers are ploughing over there. tree →
note
A number word: read it as 3. Trap: «three times as many» is × 3, not + 3. «third» is the order word: the third girl, a third of a cake (÷ 3). «thrice», «treble» and «triple» all mean × 3. «three's a crowd» has no number meaning in a problem.
In the corpora
- For the three and twentieth to Mahazioth, his sons and his brethren, twelve;
- The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze is the biggest power station in the world by power.
- Big numbers often use commas to group digits in threes: 1,000 and 25,000.
- Threes are tricky; say how you feel before you start sulking.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «three» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.