we

«we» in Mova's school dictionary: the speaker and other people together — 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

pronoun (we, us, our, ours, ourselves)

meaning for a pupil

1) We or us means the speaker and other people together. tree →

2) We can mean all people: «We need water to live». tree →

3) (casual) «Us» is used for «me» in parts of the UK and Australia: «Give us a hand» means help me. tree →

4) (casual) «We» can mean the speaker's team or country: «We won!» even if the speaker did not play. tree →

5) (formal) Exams use «we» in rules («we observe that») or avoid it with «one», «it is» and the passive: «It is observed that». tree →

sense in the lessons

the class learning together; rules in maths are often said with «we»: «When we share equally, we divide»; phrases: «let us (let's)», «all of us», «our class», «we're four» (there are four of us); in casual talk «give us a go», «us lot», «we was» (nonstandard); in rough talk «we don't want you here» (excluding someone, unkind); in the exam voice «we observe that», «it is observed that», «one may deduce»

examples

• We have 20 crayons in our class. tree →
• When we share equally, we divide. tree →
• We breathe in air through our noses. tree →
• Let's go to the park after lunch. tree →
• All of us went to the museum. tree →
• We made the cake ourselves. tree →
• we're 4, need 3 each, how many sausages then tree →
• Give us a hand with these boxes, will ya? tree →
• We won 3 to 1, we're the best! tree →
• Us lot are getting pizza, 2 slices each. tree →
• It is observed that the quantity is divisible by 4. tree →
• One may deduce that each pupil receives 5 crayons. tree →
• "We have been asleep," they said. tree →

note

Forms: we (subject), us (object), our (owner), ours. Carries no operation clue. Trap: «we're 4» or «there are 4 of us» counts the speaker too. «Give us» may mean «give me». «One» and «it is observed» are the exam's way of saying «we». Trap: «our» and «are» sound alike in some accents; «our» shows belonging.

In the corpora

• That night she opens her banking app and groans: "The app says we've spent eighty dollars on takeaways this month."
• We can do this."
• Grown-ups often say "we're expecting" instead of "pregnant".
• In Melbourne, Mum smiles at Dad over dinner and says, "We've got some news.
• "We're expecting" means a baby is growing inside Mum and will be born in a few months.

Trees and pragmatics

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