instant
part of speech
adjective (instant); noun (an instant, instants)
meaning for a pupil
1) Happening at once, with no wait: «an instant reply». tree →
2) (of food or drink) Made very quickly, usually by adding hot water: «instant noodles». tree →
3) (noun) A very short moment: «For an instant, nobody moved». tree →
4) (the instant) As soon as: «Call me the instant you arrive». tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life: instant noodles, instant coffee, instant messaging, an instant camera. In stories «in an instant» or «for an instant» shows something happened very fast or for a moment. Phrases: «in an instant», «at that instant», «the instant (that)», «instant replay». Adverb: instantly.
examples
- The magic potion had an instant effect. tree →
- We had instant noodles for lunch. tree →
- In an instant, the lights went out. tree →
- Come here this instant! tree →
- Call me the instant the cake is ready. tree →
- The film was an instant success. tree →
- For an instant, I thought I saw a ghost. tree →
- In an instant he was there. tree →
note
«An instant» (vowel sound). Adverb: instantly. Do not confuse with «instance» (an example: «for instance»). «This instant» means right now, often in a strict command.
In the corpora
- I demand an instant explanation.»
- The Badger: «He must never be left an instant unguarded … till the poison has worked itself out of his system».
- Instant coffee is coffee liquid that was dried; ground coffee does not fully dissolve, so it needs a filter.
- Power tools such as drills, saws and hedge trimmers cut and crush in an instant.
- Light is fast but not instant: sunlight that warms your face on the beach left the Sun about 8 minutes 20 seconds ago.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «instant» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.