mini
part of speech
adjective/prefix (mini — before a noun: a mini quiz); noun (a mini, minis); proper noun (a Mini — a car)
meaning for a pupil
1) Mini means very small or smaller than usual: a mini pizza, a mini test. tree →
2) As the start of a word (mini-), it means "small": minibus, minibeast, miniskirt, mini-golf. tree →
3) A Mini is a small British car. tree →
4) (informal) A mini is a short skirt (a miniskirt). tree →
sense in the lessons
In school, mini is everyday talk: «mini whiteboards», «a mini quiz», «minibeasts» (small creatures like woodlice and beetles in science), «a mini project». In maths, «mini» is not a measurement; it only tells you something is small. Phrases: «mini whiteboard», «minibeast hunt», «mini-golf», «mini version», «mini break».
examples
- Write your answer on your mini whiteboard. tree →
- We went on a minibeast hunt and found three snails. tree →
- The party had mini sausages and mini muffins. tree →
- Our class went to the zoo in a minibus. tree →
- Let's have a mini quiz before lunch. tree →
- Grandma drove a little red Mini. tree →
- We played mini-golf on holiday. tree →
note
Often joined to the next word (minibus) or with a hyphen (mini-golf), or written separately before a noun (mini quiz). Opposite: maxi, mega, giant. «Mini» comes from «miniature». Capital M for the car brand. Not a number: «mini» does not tell you how small.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «mini» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.