struggle
part of speech
verb (struggle, struggles, struggled, struggling); noun (a struggle, struggles)
meaning for a pupil
1) To struggle means to try very hard to do something difficult. tree →
2) To struggle means to fight or twist your body to get free. tree →
3) A struggle is a hard effort or a fight. tree →
sense in the lessons
At school, pupils «struggle with» hard subjects (fractions, spelling) — that is normal and a part of learning; asking for help is smart. In science and stories, animals struggle to survive in harsh habitats. In safety, if someone struggles in water, do not jump in: shout for help and throw something that floats. Phrases: struggle with, struggle to, a struggle for, struggle free, it was a struggle.
examples
- I struggled with my long division at first. tree →
- The baby bird struggled to get out of its egg. tree →
- Getting up early on Monday is a struggle. tree →
- The cat struggled out of my arms. tree →
- Plants struggle to grow in the desert. tree →
- He was struggling to carry the heavy box, so I helped. tree →
- If you see someone struggling in the water, shout for a lifeguard. tree →
- The struggle began, and a terrible struggle it was. tree →
note
Regular verb: struggled, struggling. «Struggle with» (a problem) and «struggle to do» (an action). Struggling does not mean you are bad at something; it often means you are learning.
In the corpora
- «Why strive? why struggle?» (strive = try hard)
- "Reluctant reader" means a child who dislikes or struggles with reading.
- "Struggling learner" means a weak student.
- Many children who struggle in class simply cannot see or hear well, and a check-up can fix it.
- Kids who look after a poorly or struggling parent are called young carers, and there are groups and help for them.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «struggle» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.