accusing

«accusing» in Mova's school dictionary: the -ing form of «accuse»: saying someone did something… — 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

verb form (accuse, accuses, accused, accusing); adjective (an accusing look)

meaning for a pupil

1) Accusing is the -ing form of «accuse»: saying someone did something wrong. tree →

2) As an adjective, an accusing look, voice or finger shows that you think someone has done something wrong. tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories, an «accusing finger» or «accusing eyes» show blame without words. In everyday life and friendships, children learn not to keep accusing others without proof and to say how they feel instead. Phrases: «accusing someone of», «an accusing look», «point an accusing finger».

examples

• Are you accusing me of eating the cake? tree →
• She gave him an accusing look. tree →
• Stop accusing your brother; it might have been the dog. tree →
• He pointed an accusing finger at the broken window. tree →
• The cat stared with accusing eyes at its empty bowl. tree →
• They kept accusing each other of cheating. tree →
• Her voice sounded accusing. tree →
• Before accusing anyone, check the facts. tree →
• What is the use of accusing him? tree →

note

Pattern: accuse someone OF something + -ing: «accusing her of lying». Adverb: accusingly. Trap: «accusing» describes the person blaming; «accused» is the person who is blamed.

In the corpora

• Accusing someone of cheating because you are jealous of their win is unfair and can make them cry.
• Accusing someone of stealing is serious and hurts them if it is wrong, so you need evidence before saying it out loud.

Trees and pragmatics

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