saying
part of speech
noun (a saying, sayings); verb form (-ing of say: say, says, said, saying)
meaning for a pupil
1) A saying is a short, well-known phrase that gives advice or states something many people believe to be true, such as «Practice makes perfect». tree →
2) Saying is the -ing form of say: speaking words. tree →
sense in the lessons
Literacy: proverbs and sayings, what they mean and when to use them (e.g. «Don't count your chickens before they hatch»). Everyday speech: «as the saying goes», «that goes without saying» (it is obvious). Verb use: «What are you saying?». Phrases: as the saying goes, an old saying, it goes without saying, I'm just saying.
examples
- «Look before you leap» is an old saying. tree →
- As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. tree →
- What is she saying? tree →
- It goes without saying that you should wear a helmet. tree →
- Grandma has a saying for everything. tree →
- He left without saying goodbye. tree →
- Do you know the saying «Many hands make light work»? tree →
note
Countable as a noun: a saying, sayings. A saying is like a proverb; the meaning is not always literal («It's raining cats and dogs» is an idiom, not about animals). The verb past is «said», not «sayed».
In the corpora
- A text saying a parcel is held and asking for a small payment is a common scam to steal bank details.
- Moving means packing everything, doing paperwork and saying goodbye all at once, so it is very stressful.
- Coming home with flowers the day after a row is making up, a way of saying sorry and wanting to be friends again.
- Saying "I was wrong" is a strength, not a weakness.
- «I'm not saying anything, but…» is still saying something; it hints at a story without any facts.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «saying» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.