letter

«letter» in Mova's school dictionary: one of the signs we use to write words, like A, b or Z — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (letter, letters); verb (letter, letters, lettered — rare)

meaning for a pupil

1) A letter is one of the signs we use to write words, like A, b or Z. tree →

2) A letter is a written message you send to someone, usually in an envelope by post. tree →

3) In maths, a letter like x or n can stand for an unknown number. tree →

4) «To the letter» means exactly as told. tree →

sense in the lessons

In school, letters are counted in words and spelling lists; capital and small letters; vowels and consonants. In maths, letters stand for unknown numbers (n, x), and letters are things counted when delivered. In everyday life: writing letters, a letter from school to parents, a letter to Santa. Phrases: «capital letter», «letter box», «to the letter».

examples

• The word «apple» has 5 letters. tree →
• The mailman delivers 120 letters a day. tree →
• She wrote 3 letters to her friends. tree →
• Let the letter n stand for the number of apples. tree →
• Start every sentence with a capital letter. tree →
• The English alphabet has 26 letters. tree →
• The school sent a letter home about the trip. tree →
• He posted a letter to his grandma in Ireland. tree →
• She followed the recipe to the letter. tree →
• What a tour that letter had made! tree →

note

Countable. Vowel letters are a, e, i, o, u; the others are consonants. A letter is a sign; a sound is what we hear, and they do not always match (the «k» in «knee» is silent). The English alphabet has 26 letters. Maths: counted things or a name for an unknown. Trap: a stamp per letter means letters × price of a stamp.

In the corpora

• Many people feel let down by politicians, but they can still vote, write letters and get involved.
• Vivid example: in Toronto, red letters slide across the bottom of a cartoon: BREAKING NEWS.
• Translation tools help families who speak other languages understand letters, but they can make mistakes.
• Thinking about the future, for example by writing letters to it, helps us decide what we want now.
• Counting letter by letter, slowly, beats guessing quickly, and you can show each step.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «letter» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.