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# certain

«certain» in Mova's school dictionary: **sure, with no doubt: «I am certain»** — 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

adjective (certain); determiner (a certain, certain)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Certain means sure, with no doubt: «I am certain». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/certain/#m1)

2) A certain thing is one that will happen for sure. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/certain/#m2)

3) «A certain» means a particular one that is not named: «a certain boy in our class». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/certain/#m3)

4) «Certain» before a plural means some: «certain foods». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/certain/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In school maths: in chance problems an event that always happens (impossible, unlikely, even chance, likely, certain); also «a certain number» meaning some unknown number to find. In everyday life: «Are you certain?», «for certain». Phrases: «for certain», «make certain», «certain to», «a certain amount».

### examples

- It is certain that the ball is red if all balls are red. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/certain/#x1)
- A certain number plus 5 is 12. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/certain/#x2)
- Is it certain, possible or impossible? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/certain/#x3)
- He thinks of a certain number. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/certain/#x4)
- It is certain that the sun will rise tomorrow. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/certain/#x5)
- Are you certain you locked the door? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/certain/#x6)
- Certain plants are poisonous to dogs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/certain/#x7)
- Rain is likely but not certain. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/certain/#x8)
- “A schoolmate of his, a certain Pinocchio.” [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/certain/#x9)

### note

«Certain» is a bit stronger than «sure». «Certainly» means of course. Maths: «a certain number» is the unknown to find. In chance problems it means always (probability 1). Trap: «likely» is not «certain».

### In the corpora

- [Different families believe different things about what happens after death, and nobody knows for certain.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/24-when-someone-dies/7/)
- [Stripes might also confuse a lion trying to pick out one zebra from a running herd, but this is less certain.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/128-madagascar-real-zebras-hippos-and-giraffes/7/)
- [In tests honeybees learned to fly past a certain number of landmarks, up to about four, to find sugar water.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/388-surprising-brains-tool-using-fish-counting-bees-laughing-rats-and-clever-pigs/10/)
- [Sleeping a lot saves energy when food is poor or comes only at certain times.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/390-how-animals-sleep-half-asleep-dolphins-standing-horses-short-sleeping-giraffes-and-birds-that-nap-in-the-air/17/)
- [Water can hold only a certain amount of salt; after that it is saturated and extra salt settles at the bottom.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chemistry/6-mixing-and-dissolving/8/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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