evidence
part of speech
noun (evidence — uncountable); verb (evidence, evidenced — formal)
meaning for a pupil
1) Evidence is facts, signs or objects that show something is true or help to prove it. tree →
2) In a court, evidence is what is shown to help decide if someone did a crime. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science lessons evidence comes from observations and tests and backs up a conclusion; in history evidence comes from sources. In stories detectives look for evidence. Phrases: «find evidence», «there is no evidence», «evidence of», «scientific evidence», «use evidence from the text».
examples
- Fossils are evidence that dinosaurs lived long ago. tree →
- The detective looked for evidence. tree →
- Use evidence from the text to answer the question. tree →
- There is no evidence that the moon is made of cheese. tree →
- Muddy footprints were evidence that the dog had come in. tree →
- Scientists collect evidence before they decide. tree →
- The police kept the evidence safe. tree →
note
Uncountable: «some evidence», «a piece of evidence», never «an evidence» or «evidences». Adjective: evident (clear). Evidence supports an idea but one piece is not always proof; good thinking asks «what is the evidence?» before believing a claim.
In the corpora
- Scientists still study why we dream; there is no evidence that dream pictures have fixed hidden meanings.
- Every zebra has its own stripe pattern, and the best evidence says the stripes help keep biting flies from landing.
- There is no good evidence that real elephants are especially afraid of mice.
- A few trackways show raptors walking together, but the evidence for pack hunting is thin, so scientists keep an open mind.
- Alice is curious who it will be, since they have hardly any evidence yet.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «evidence» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.