tea
part of speech
noun (tea, uncountable; a tea, teas)
meaning for a pupil
1) Tea is a hot drink made by pouring boiling water onto dried leaves of the tea plant. tree →
2) Tea also means the dried leaves themselves. tree →
3) In the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, «tea» can mean an evening meal, especially for children; «afternoon tea» is a light meal with cakes and sandwiches. tree →
4) Some drinks made from other plants are also called tea, like mint tea. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life tea is drunk with milk or lemon, often from a mug. In safety lessons hot tea is a common cause of burns for small children: keep hot drinks away from the edge of tables and never carry them near babies. In stories «having tea» can be a cosy scene. In science, tea shows dissolving: sugar dissolves faster in hot tea. Phrases: a cup of tea, make tea, cream tea, iced tea, teatime, teapot.
examples
- Would you like a cup of tea? tree →
- Grandma puts milk in her tea. tree →
- What's for tea tonight, Mum? (UK) tree →
- Keep hot tea away from the baby. tree →
- Sugar dissolves quickly in hot tea. tree →
- We had afternoon tea with scones and jam. tree →
- In summer, my aunt drinks iced tea. tree →
- Tea leaves come from a plant grown in hot, wet places. tree →
- She gimme back rashuns er sassafac tea. tree →
note
Uncountable for the drink (some tea), but «two teas» means two cups. «Tea» meaning dinner is common in the north of England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Do not confuse with «tee» (a peg in golf) or the letter «T». Many teas contain caffeine.
In the corpora
- Scene: in Leeds, Nan is at the window with her tea.
- Tea and coffee are plants too.
- Fruit and herbal teas are not really tea, just other plants in hot water.
- All real tea, green or black, comes from one plant, and rice grows in flooded fields that drown weeds.
- Alice reaches the March Hare's house and finds a tea-table under a tree.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «tea» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.