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# common

«common» in Mova's school dictionary: **happening often or found in many places: a common cold, a…** — 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 (common, commoner or more common, commonest or most common); noun (common, commons — a public field)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Common means happening often or found in many places: a common cold, a common bird. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/common/#m1)

2) Common means shared by two or more: a common factor, common interests. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/common/#m2)

3) Common means ordinary, not special: the common people. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/common/#m3)

4) A common is an open grassy area in a town that everyone can use. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/common/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In maths: shared by two numbers or groups (common factor, common multiple, common denominator); «most common» asks for the value seen most often (the mode). In science: the common cold, common birds and plants. In everyday talk: common sense, in common. Phrases: in common, common sense, common factor, common multiple, common denominator, common knowledge, most common.

### examples

- Find a common factor of 12 and 18. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/common/#x1)
- What is the most common number of pets? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/common/#x2)
- 4 is a common multiple of 2 and 4. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/common/#x3)
- They have 5 friends in common. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/common/#x4)
- Sparrows are common birds in towns. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/common/#x5)
- The common cold makes you sneeze and cough. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/common/#x6)
- Use your common sense and wear a coat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/common/#x7)
- The two fractions need a common denominator. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/common/#x8)
- We flew kites on the village common. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/common/#x9)

### note

Opposite: rare, uncommon. «Common» means shared by both. «Most common» asks for the value seen most often. Trap: a «common» bird is not a «bad» one; it just means there are many.

### In the corpora

- [Debt is common and can be sorted.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/8-borrowing-and-debt/9/)
- [A text saying a parcel is held and asking for a small payment is a common scam to steal bank details.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/9-when-money-is-tight/18/)
- [Feeling jealous of a new baby is very common, and parents still love the older child just as much.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/19-a-new-baby-in-the-house/9/)
- [Family arguments about politics are very common, because big choices affect everybody and people's views come from their own lives.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/31-votes-parties-and-the-people-in-charge/12/)
- [Parking rows are common, and knocking politely usually works better than an angry note.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/33-neighbours-the-council-rules-and-fairness/13/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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