demand

«demand» in Mova's school dictionary: to ask for something firmly, as if you have the right to… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (demand, demands, demanded, demanding); noun (a demand, demands; demand — uncountable)

meaning for a pupil

1) To demand means to ask for something firmly, as if you have the right to it: she demanded an answer. tree →

2) A demand is a firm request. tree →

3) Demand is how much people want to buy something: high demand for ice cream in summer. tree →

4) To demand can mean to need: the job demands patience. tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday life and manners: demanding things rudely («Give me that!») is not polite; asking nicely works better. In maths and money lessons: when demand is high and supply is low, prices often go up (supply and demand). In stories, villains demand a ransom, kings demand taxes. Phrases: demand to know, demand an answer, in demand, on demand (whenever you ask), supply and demand.

examples

• The customer demanded his money back. tree →
• «Where have you been?» Dad demanded. tree →
• Ice cream is in great demand on hot days. tree →
• You can watch the show on demand. tree →
• Looking after a puppy demands a lot of time. tree →
• The king demanded more gold from the villagers. tree →
• Workers made demands for better pay. tree →
• 'What are you doing?' demanded Makoma. tree →

note

Regular verb. Say «demand something» or «demand to do», not «demand for something» as a verb (but the noun «a demand for» is fine). Adjective: demanding (needing a lot of effort, or always wanting attention). Trap: in French «demander» just means «ask» — in English «demand» is much stronger.

In the corpora

• A final demand is a warning that a bill is very overdue and stronger action will follow, so acting early is easier.
• I demand an instant explanation.»
• "Dynamic pricing" means raising prices when demand is high, that is, when lots of people want to buy.
• Attention is limited: the brain cannot focus fully on two demanding things at the same time.
• If an older child demands your money, you may give it if you feel unsafe, then tell a trusted adult straight away.

Trees and pragmatics

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