accidental

«accidental» in Mova's school dictionary: Happening by chance, not planned or meant: an accidental… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adjective (accidental); noun (an accidental, in music)

meaning for a pupil

1) Happening by chance, not planned or meant: an accidental fall. tree →

2) (music) A sign such as a sharp or flat added to a note in music. tree →

3) Not essential or not part of the main thing (formal). tree →

sense in the lessons

In safety lessons accidental injuries are the ones that happen by mistake, such as falls, burns and cuts, and pupils learn how to prevent them. In stories it shows that something was not done on purpose. Phrases: accidental damage, accidental discovery, accidental death, purely accidental.

examples

• The broken window was accidental — the ball slipped. tree →
• Most accidental poisonings happen at home, so keep cleaning products locked away. tree →
• Penicillin was an accidental discovery. tree →
• It was an accidental tap on the shoulder, not a push. tree →
• The phone insurance covers accidental damage. tree →
• The music has an accidental, a sharp, in bar three. tree →
• Turning from one to another of these accidental illustrations, we by degrees create a mental picture which is not without its peculiar charm. tree →

note

Adverb: accidentally (note -ally, not "accidently"). Opposite: deliberate, intentional or on purpose. An accidental act can still need an apology.

In the corpora

• Reading your work aloud is the quickest way to hear an accidental tense slip.
• Turning off a saved card means the full card number must be typed in, which stops accidental buys.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «accidental» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.