whereabouts
part of speech
noun (whereabouts; treated as singular or plural); adverb (whereabouts — informal question)
meaning for a pupil
1) (noun) The place where someone or something is. tree →
2) (adverb, question) In or near what place: «Whereabouts do you live?» tree →
sense in the lessons
In news and stories: the police ask about a missing person's whereabouts. In everyday talk (especially UK, Ireland, Australia): «Whereabouts in town?» asks for a rough place. In safety: always tell an adult your whereabouts.
examples
- The whereabouts of the missing cat are still unknown. tree →
- Always tell your parents your whereabouts. tree →
- Whereabouts did you leave your coat? tree →
- The detective found out the thief's whereabouts. tree →
- Whereabouts in Ireland is your gran from? tree →
- His whereabouts remain a mystery. tree →
- "Whereabouts is your death, O Koshchei?" tree →
note
The noun ends in -s but means one place; it can take «is» or «are». Never «a whereabout». Safety habit: let a trusted adult know where you are going and when you will be back.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «whereabouts» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.