absence
part of speech
noun (absence; an absence, absences)
meaning for a pupil
1) Absence is being away from a place, like school or work, when you should be there. tree →
2) An absence is a time when someone is away. tree →
3) Absence of something means it is not there or there is none of it. tree →
sense in the lessons
In school, absences are recorded in the register; too many absences are a problem, and parents write a note to explain. In science, «in the absence of light» plants cannot make food. In maths attendance problems, present = total − absent. Phrases: in the absence of, absence from school, a long absence, leave of absence.
examples
- She had three absences from school this term. tree →
- Your absence was noticed at the meeting. tree →
- In the absence of light, plants cannot make food. tree →
- After a long absence, the swallows returned. tree →
- There were 28 pupils and 3 absences, so 25 were present. tree →
- The absence of rain made the grass turn brown. tree →
- The teacher marked his absence in the register. tree →
- In his absence things are usually quiet on the island. tree →
note
Countable (an absence, absences) and uncountable. The adjective is «absent»; the opposite is «presence». Spelling trap: «absence» with -ence (not -ance or -sense). «Absence makes the heart grow fonder» is a saying meaning you miss people when they are away.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «absence» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.