stay
part of speech
verb, noun (stay, stays, stayed, staying)
meaning for a pupil
1) To stay means to remain in the same place: stay at home. tree →
2) To stay means to keep being the same: stay calm, stay dry. tree →
3) To stay with someone is to live in their home for a short time. tree →
4) A stay is a time spent somewhere: a short stay in hospital. tree →
5) To stay up is to not go to bed. tree →
6) (casual) «Stay over» or «sleepover» means sleep at a friend's house; «stay in» means not go out. tree →
7) (casual, rough) «Stay out of it» means don't get involved; «stay put» means don't move. tree →
8) (formal) «Remain», «reside» and «sojourn» (very old, formal) are stiff words for stay; a «stay of execution» (law) is a delay. tree →
9) «Stay!» is a command to a dog: do not move. tree →
10) To stay can also mean to last or go on for a while, as a pain might. tree →
sense in the lessons
Maths: time spent somewhere (stay for 3 nights), or an amount that does not change; «stayed» often marks the part that is left. Safety: stay with your group, stay away from the edge, stay on the path. Everyday: stay over, stay up late, stay in (not go out). In casual talk: «can I stay at Mia's?», «stay put». In the exam voice: «the number of pupils remaining», «remained constant». Phrases: «stay calm», «stay away», «stay in touch», «here to stay».
examples
- They stayed at the hotel for 4 nights. tree →
- 5 children went home and 12 stayed. tree →
- The price stayed the same. tree →
- How many days did she stay? tree →
- Stay close to me in the crowd. tree →
- We stayed with Grandma during the holidays. tree →
- Can I stay up to watch the film? tree →
- Drink water to stay healthy. tree →
- can i stay over at jack's, his mum said yes (casual) tree →
- Stay out of it, it's none of your business. (rough) tree →
- Stay put till I come and get you. tree →
- Of 17 pupils, 5 subsequently departed; determine the number who remained. (formal exam) tree →
- But de ache don't stay long. tree →
note
Regular: stayed. «Stayed» often marks the part that is left, as in «5 left and 12 stayed», so the total was 17. Trap: «the same number stayed» means no change, not a new amount to add. Trap: «stayed 4 nights» is 4 nights but 5 days of the calendar touched — read which one is asked. Formal «remained» = stayed; «remained constant» = did not change. Safety: «stay put» when lost is good advice.
In the corpora
- A local anaesthetic only numbs one part of the body, and the person stays awake.
- Staying up too late makes adults tired the next day, and children's sleep matters even more for growing and learning.
- Then it stays between you two, bro."
- The film is pretend, but the feelings it makes are real, and they can stay with you after the screen goes dark.
- In every case it is a strong guess, not a certainty, so people still check, decide and stay in charge.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «stay» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.