folks
part of speech
noun, plural (folks); singular folk (folk, folks)
meaning for a pupil
1) (informal) Folks means people, especially ordinary people: «Folks round here are friendly». tree →
2) (informal) Your folks are your parents or family: «I'll ask my folks». tree →
3) (informal) Folks is a friendly word to talk to a group: «That's all, folks!» tree →
4) Folk (adjective) describes traditional music, stories and dances of ordinary people, as in folk songs and folk tales. tree →
sense in the lessons
Used in friendly speech, US and Canadian talk especially, in cartoons, by teachers and presenters addressing a group. Phrases: «my folks», «hi, folks», «old folks», «folk tale», «folk music».
examples
- Hi, folks, welcome to the show! tree →
- I'll ask my folks if I can come to the sleepover. tree →
- That's all, folks! tree →
- Old folks love it when we sing at the care home. tree →
- The folks next door have a new puppy. tree →
- Okay, folks, line up quietly. tree →
- We read folk tales from Ireland and Ghana. tree →
- My grandma's folks came from Scotland. tree →
- I work for quite common folks,’ says his master. tree →
note
Informal; in formal writing use «people» or «parents». «Folk» and «folks» both mean people; «folks» is more common in American English. The l is silent: say «fokes».
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «folks» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.