tuna
part of speech
noun (a tuna, tuna or tunas; tuna, uncountable as food)
meaning for a pupil
1) A tuna is a large, fast sea fish that swims in warm oceans. tree →
2) Tuna is the meat of this fish, often sold in tins and used in sandwiches and salads. tree →
sense in the lessons
In science lessons about oceans, tuna are strong swimmers and predators, eating smaller fish. In everyday life, «a tuna sandwich» or «tuna pasta» is a common lunch. In maths shopping problems, tins of tuna are counted and priced. Phrases: «a tin of tuna», «a can of tuna», «tuna salad», «tuna sandwich».
examples
- I had a tuna sandwich for lunch. tree →
- Tuna can swim very fast. tree →
- Mum opened a tin of tuna for the pasta. tree →
- Dolphins sometimes swim near tuna. tree →
- A can of tuna costs $2, so three cans cost $6. tree →
- Some tuna are bigger than a person. tree →
- We made tuna and sweetcorn salad. tree →
note
As food it is uncountable: «some tuna». For the fish, the plural is «tuna» or «tunas». Pronounced «TYOO-na» or «TOO-na». Watch out for sharp edges on opened tins.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «tuna» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.