The word of the day is CASE

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Hello Students,

Just in case you aren't paying attention to the Word of the Day section on our website, I've included an example of the sort of vocabulary that you'll find there. The point behind the word of the day is that you examine words carefully for their varied applications. It's especially important for you to pay attention to small words in English because they may be used in so many different ways. The word of the day changes every day, so it's a good idea to bookmark that page on your browser and return to it daily. Just click on "Bookmarks" and then "Bookmark This Page."  

The word of the day for today is "case."

(You may listen to your teacher read the word of the day by clicking on this link.)

CASE

The word "case" may refer to a few different things.

A case might be a thing that is used to carry or hold other things:

• I went to the store and bought a case of beer.

• Restaurants buy wine by the case.

• Golf balls are expensive, but if you buy them by the case, the cost per ball drops considerably.

• Workers at a grocery store unpack fresh fruit and vegetables that arrive in a case.

• Rachel carries her guitar around in a guitar case.

This word is found in compound nouns (two nouns together):

• A bookcase holds books.

• You use a staircase to move between floors of a building or a house.

• Milk, cheese, and yogurt are found in the dairy case at a grocery store.

• A gun case hold guns,

• Charles carries a briefcase to work. (briefcase = a rectangular box used for carrying important paper and documents.)

A case might also be a situation:

• The detectives are dealing with a difficult case that involves a person's homicide.(murder)

• Scientists are studying an unusual case of influenza that is affecting people in southeast Asia.

• Tony has a case of the flu.

• Martha is conducting a case study on diabetes in children. (case study = research)

• A lawyer might spend half a year or more preparing for a legal case.

The word "case" is used for letters:

• all of these words are in a lower case.

• ALL OF THESE WORDS ARE IN AN UPPER CASE.

• The beginning of a sentence or question uses an upper case letter.

• Proper nouns use an upper case.

If the word "case" is used as a verb, it means that a person is looking for something or preparing to do something.

• Thieves cased the jewelry store for several days before robbing it. (case = to prepare for a theft)

• Police are casing the neighborhood looking for clues to a murder.

Combine the preposition "in" with "case" to form "in case." We use "in case" to describe preparations for possible activity:

• People carry umbrellas in case it rains.

• There's a spare tire in my car in case I get a flat.

• In case of an emergency, it's good to carry around a cell phone.

• Tim secretly hides money in his shoe--just in case.

That's all for now.  Remember, if you are working in the Blue or Red Level along with the other students, you will advance at the end of the week depending on how well you do on the review or the tests. 

 

Have a nice day! 

 

 

Your teacher, 

Paul

PEACE!