topic
part of speech
noun (a topic, topics)
meaning for a pupil
1) A topic is the subject that people talk, write or learn about. tree →
2) In school, a topic is a theme the class studies for some weeks, such as «Space» or «The Romans». tree →
sense in the lessons
In English lessons a topic sentence tells the main idea of a paragraph. In school, a class «topic» links work in many subjects. In everyday talk, «change the topic» means start talking about something else; «off topic» means not about the main subject. Phrases: «topic sentence», «change the topic», «on topic», «off topic», «a hot topic».
examples
- Our topic this term is the rainforest. tree →
- Choose a topic for your speech. tree →
- The first sentence of a paragraph is often the topic sentence. tree →
- Dinosaurs are my favourite topic. tree →
- When I asked about my report card, Dad changed the topic. tree →
- Please stay on topic during the discussion. tree →
- Climate is a hot topic on the news. tree →
- "Oh no," replied the counsellor; "I can only discourse on topics which every one should understand." tree →
note
Countable noun: a topic, topics. «Topic» means the subject, not the whole text. Do not confuse with «tropic» (a line on the globe) or «topical» (connected with what is happening now).
In the corpora
- Asking a bot for practice questions is a smart way to revise, if they cover the right topics.
- A report gives facts about a topic, grouped by idea rather than by time.
- Rhythm is the beat of a poem, and it can match the topic, like a fast beat for a rushing train.
- TiPToP is a way to remember when to start a new paragraph: a change of Time, Place, Topic or Person.
- The first sentence of a paragraph often tells the reader what it is about; it is called a topic sentence.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «topic» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.