ruler
part of speech
noun (ruler, rulers)
meaning for a pupil
1) A ruler is a straight strip with marks, used to measure length and draw straight lines. tree →
2) A ruler is also a person who rules a country, like a king, queen or emperor. tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths: a measuring tool, usually 12 inches or 30 centimeters; rulers counted and bought; measuring from zero. In science and D&T: measuring lengths in mm and cm. In history and stories: rulers of kingdoms and empires, wise and cruel rulers.
examples
- A ruler is 30 cm long. tree →
- How many rulers fit along a 2 m table? tree →
- Each ruler costs $1.50. tree →
- She measured the line with a ruler: 8 inches. tree →
- Use a ruler to draw a straight line. tree →
- Start measuring from the zero mark on the ruler. tree →
- The ruler of the kingdom was a wise old queen. tree →
- My ruler has centimeters on one side and inches on the other. tree →
- Rulers of ancient Egypt were called pharaohs. tree →
- She was a wonderful woman, and an able ruler. tree →
note
A ruler often hides a length (12 inches = 1 foot, 30 cm). Trap: start measuring at the 0 mark, not at the very end of the ruler. A meter stick (USA: yardstick, 3 feet) is a long ruler. Trap: a «ruler» in a history text is a person, not a tool.
In the corpora
- When two lines look different in length, measure them with a ruler, because the brain can be fooled by their surroundings.
- In the Müller-Lyer illusion, two equal lines look different lengths because of the arrow ends; a ruler shows the truth.
- He froze — and then quietly slid the sandwich away with a ruler.
- Tom flicked his ruler at Lily to make his mates laugh; it caught the corner of her eye.
- Flicking rulers or throwing things near faces can injure eyes.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «ruler» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.