find
part of speech
verb (find, finds, found, finding); noun (a find)
meaning for a pupil
1) To find is to see or get something you were looking for, or by chance: find a coin. tree →
2) To find out is to learn something: find out the answer. tree →
3) To find is to work out in maths: find the total. tree →
4) To find something easy or hard is to feel it is so. tree →
5) A find is something good that was found. tree →
6) In law, a court finds someone guilty or not guilty: it decides. tree →
7) (casual) «Good find!» praises a good discovery; «finders keepers» is a children's saying that whoever finds a thing keeps it. tree →
8) (formal) The exam voice says «determine», «ascertain», «compute», «evaluate», «establish», «locate» where a child would say «find». tree →
sense in the lessons
getting more things («found 6 more» = add); also «find how many more» (work out a difference); in maths «find the sum», «find the missing number», «find the area»; in science «find out» by experiment; in everyday life «lost and found», «find your way»; in safety: if you find something sharp or a medicine, tell an adult; in casual talk «finders keepers», «good find»; in the exam voice «determine», «ascertain», «compute», «evaluate»
examples
- Anna found 8 cards and then found 6 more. How many cards did Anna find altogether? tree →
- Ben finds 3 shells on the beach. tree →
- Find how many more apples Sam has than Kim. tree →
- I can't find my other shoe! tree →
- Find the missing number: 5 + ? = 12. tree →
- Let's find out how plants drink water. tree →
- I find maths fun. tree →
- If you find a needle, don't touch it; tell a grown-up. tree →
- found 2 quid in me coat lol, now got 7 tree →
- Finders keepers, it's mine now! tree →
- That old shop was a great find. tree →
- Ascertain the total number of cards located by Anna, given that she located 8 and subsequently a further 6. tree →
note
Past form «found» (not «finded»). Finding things makes you have more: add. Trap: «find how many more … than» is about working out a difference: subtract. «Find», «determine», «ascertain», «compute» and «evaluate» in a question all just mean «work out». Do not mix «found» (past of find) with «found» (to start a school or a town). «Finders keepers» is a game rule, not a law: lost things should go back to their owner.
In the corpora
- Grown-ups in love show affection with hugs and kisses, and it is normal for children to find it embarrassing.
- Mixing two families takes time, and it is normal to find it hard at first.
- Grown-ups also tease children about girlfriends and crushes, and older people sometimes find new partners late in life.
- An older person who finds a new partner after losing a husband or wife has not forgotten the one who died.
- Families make phone rules so meals are for talking, and adults find them hard to keep because phones are built to grab attention.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «find» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.