boasting
part of speech
verb, -ing form of «boast» (boast, boasts, boasted, boasting); noun (boasting — no plural)
meaning for a pupil
1) Talking too proudly about yourself, what you have or what you can do, to make others feel smaller. tree →
2) (noun) The act of talking like this. tree →
sense in the lessons
In lessons on feelings and friendship, boasting is seen as unkind or annoying: it is fine to be proud, but showing off makes others feel bad. In stories and fables, a boastful character (like the hare in «The Tortoise and the Hare») often learns a lesson. Phrases: «boast about», «stop boasting», «nothing to boast about».
examples
- Stop boasting about your new bike! tree →
- He kept boasting that he was the fastest runner. tree →
- The hare was boasting, so he took a nap and lost the race. tree →
- Nobody likes boasting at the lunch table. tree →
- She won the prize but didn't go around boasting. tree →
- "I'm the best!" he said, boasting again. tree →
- Boasting about grades can hurt your friends' feelings. tree →
- My score is nothing to boast about. tree →
- Then the Warlock began boasting again. tree →
note
Base verb «boast». The adjective is «boastful». Similar: «brag», «show off». Opposite: being modest or humble. Being proud and saying thank you when praised is not boasting; repeating how great you are is.
In the corpora
- Boasting makes others feel small and pushes friends away.
- Boasting makes others feel small and pushes friends away, so you share the fun instead.
- After a compliment, say thank you and leave it there, because boasting spoils the good feeling.
- Boasting about having more things makes others feel small and pushes friends away; sharing the fun brings them closer.
- Good friends let others finish speaking and share the fun instead of boasting.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «boasting» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.