prayer
part of speech
noun (a prayer, prayers)
meaning for a pupil
1) A prayer is words that someone says to God or a god, to thank, praise or ask for help. tree →
2) Prayer is the act of praying. tree →
3) «Not have a prayer» means to have no chance at all. tree →
sense in the lessons
In religious education children learn that many faiths use prayer: Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and others. Prayers can be said aloud, sung, or thought silently, at home, at school assemblies or in places of worship. In stories a prayer shows hope or fear. Phrases: say a prayer, a prayer for, in prayer, morning prayers, the answer to my prayers.
examples
- Grandpa says a prayer before every meal. tree →
- The family bowed their heads in prayer. tree →
- Muslims say prayers five times a day. tree →
- We sang a prayer at assembly. tree →
- The rain was the answer to the farmers' prayers. tree →
- With that old bike, he doesn't have a prayer of winning. tree →
- Little Gerda repeated the Lord's Prayer. tree →
note
Countable: a prayer, prayers; also uncountable for the activity: «in prayer». Pronounced like «prair», one syllable. The verb is «pray» — do not confuse with «prey» (an animal hunted by another), which sounds the same.
In the corpora
- If a family says grace (a short prayer of thanks) before eating, you wait quietly until they finish.
- The priest said he was forgiven, gave him a short prayer as penance, and asked him to put the coin back.
- In confession a person tells their sins honestly to a priest, who gives absolution and usually a small penance, like a prayer.
- Giggling during prayers can disturb people who are praying around you.
- Prayer is a quiet talk with God, not a box to tick.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «prayer» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.