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# both

«both» in Mova's school dictionary: **the two of them together, not just one: both hands** — 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

determiner, pronoun (both, both of); conjunction (both … and)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Both means the two of them together, not just one: both hands. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#m1)

2) «Both … and» joins two things that are true together: both tall and strong. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#m2)

3) (casual) «Both of yous» or «yous both» (Ireland, Australia, parts of UK) means «you two». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#m3)

4) (rough) «Both of you, out!» or «You're both as bad as each other» tells off two people together. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#m4)

5) (formal) The exam voice says «each of the two», «the pair», «jointly», «the two aforementioned». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

two things that act the same way, or two parts counted together («how many do they have both together?» = add); «both have 5 each» = 2 groups of 5; in everyday life «both of us», «use both hands», «both sides of the road», «look both ways»; in casual talk «yous both», in rough talk «both of you, shut it»; in the exam voice «jointly», «in combination», «each of the two pupils»

### examples

- «How many more … than» and «how many fewer … than» both ask for the difference: subtract. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#x1)
- Ana has 6 shells and Ben has 4. How many shells do they have both together? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#x2)
- Both boys have 5 cards each. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#x3)
- Hold the cup with both hands. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#x4)
- Both my parents work in a hospital. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#x5)
- She is both clever and kind. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#x6)
- Look both ways before you cross. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#x7)
- Both of the puppies are asleep. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#x8)
- Right, both of yous, in the car now! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#x9)
- You're both as bad as each other, stop fighting over 2 crisps. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#x10)
- Determine the number of shells held jointly by the two pupils, given that Ana holds 6 and Ben holds 4. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#x11)
- They both bent over the corpse. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/#x12)

### note

«both … together» asks for a total of two parts: add; «jointly» and «in combination» in an exam mean the same. Trap: «both have 5 each» is two equal groups: 2 × 5. «Both» always means exactly two; for more than two use «all». «yous» is a casual plural «you», common in Ireland and Australia, not standard in writing.

### In the corpora

- [Both are normal ways to live.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/6-paying-for-a-home-and-the-bills/3/)
- [Important translations should be checked by a person who speaks both languages.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/18-cars-doctors-translators/7/)
- [Headlines about AI can exaggerate in both directions, overhyping or overscaring, so it is wise to read beyond the headline.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/23-news-tricked-bots-discoveries/9/)
- [In The Lion King musical the puppets are designed so you see both the actor and the animal.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/arts/27-theatre-stage-actors-backstage/8/)
- [Reindeer are the only deer in which both males and females usually grow antlers.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/6-the-arctic/17/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «both» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/both/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.