warn

«warn» in Mova's school dictionary: to tell them about a danger or problem before it happens… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (warn, warns, warned, warning); noun warning (a warning, warnings)

meaning for a pupil

1) To warn someone means to tell them about a danger or problem before it happens, so they can be careful or avoid it. tree →

2) To warn someone to do or not to do something means to strongly advise them. tree →

3) To warn can mean to tell someone what will happen if they keep doing something wrong. tree →

sense in the lessons

In safety lessons warnings save lives: warning signs (yellow triangles, «Danger», «Keep out»), warning labels on chemicals and medicines, alarms that warn of fire or smoke, and shouting to warn people. In nature, bright colours warn that an animal is poisonous (like wasp stripes), and animals give warning sounds (a dog's growl, a rattlesnake's rattle). In stories a warning often comes before trouble, and characters who ignore it get into danger. Phrases: warn someone about, warn someone not to, warning sign, without warning, a final warning.

examples

• The sign warned us that the ice was thin. tree →
• Mum warned me not to touch the hot oven. tree →
• The smoke alarm warns you if there is a fire. tree →
• The teacher gave him a warning for talking. tree →
• A growling dog is warning you to stay away. tree →
• The storm came without warning. tree →
• I warned my friend about the broken step. tree →
• Read the warning label before using any cleaning spray. tree →
• "Don't go to Paris!" the old clergyman warned her. tree →

note

Regular verb: warned. Not the same as «worn» (from wear), which sounds similar in many accents. Patterns: «warn someone about/of something» and «warn someone (not) to do something». A warning is a chance to stay safe, so take it seriously.

In the corpora

• One complaint is not a pattern; get facts before you warn people off a business.
• A spam filter can give points to warning words and flag a message when its points reach a set number.
• Small pieces are a choking danger for babies and toddlers, which is why boxes warn about children under three.
• A rabbit thumps its back foot to warn other rabbits of danger, and the thud travels through the ground into the burrow.
• Rabbits thump their back feet to warn others of danger, and the thump travels through the ground into burrows.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «warn» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.