distinguish
part of speech
verb (distinguish, distinguishes, distinguished, distinguishing)
meaning for a pupil
1) To see or understand the difference between two or more things: «distinguish between right and wrong». tree →
2) To be able to see, hear or notice something clearly: «I could just distinguish a shape.» tree →
3) To be the thing that makes someone or something different: «Its long neck distinguishes the giraffe.» tree →
4) «Distinguish yourself» means do something very well so people notice and respect you. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science, pupils distinguish between living and non-living things, or between mammals and reptiles. In reading, they distinguish fact from opinion. In safety lessons, they distinguish safe from unsafe situations, and real messages from scams. Phrases: «distinguish between», «distinguish A from B», «distinguishing features», «distinguish yourself».
examples
- Can you distinguish between a frog and a toad? tree →
- It was too dark to distinguish the path. tree →
- Learn to distinguish fact from opinion. tree →
- Its black and white fur distinguishes the panda from other bears. tree →
- She distinguished herself by winning every race. tree →
- The twins are so alike it's hard to distinguish them. tree →
- A scam email can be hard to distinguish from a real one. tree →
- ‘How am I to distinguish this awful thing when I see it?’ tree →
note
Patterns: «distinguish between A and B» or «distinguish A from B». Adjective: «distinguished» (famous and respected; also looking grand). «Distinguishing features» are marks that help identify someone.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «distinguish» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.