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# understand

«understand» in Mova's school dictionary: **to know what something means or how it works** — 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

verb (understand, understands, understood, understanding)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To understand is to know what something means or how it works. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/understand/#m1)

2) To understand someone is to know how they feel or why they act as they do. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/understand/#m2)

3) «I understand that …» can mean «I have heard that …». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/understand/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In school, understanding is more than remembering: you understand a maths method when you can explain why it works. Teachers ask «Do you understand?» — it is fine to say no and ask again. In getting along with others, understanding feelings helps friendships. Phrases: «make yourself understood», «understand each other», «understanding» (kind and forgiving).

### examples

- Do you understand the question? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/understand/#x1)
- I don't understand this word. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/understand/#x2)
- Now I understand how magnets work. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/understand/#x3)
- My mum understands how I feel. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/understand/#x4)
- Read it again until you understand it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/understand/#x5)
- She understood the joke at last. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/understand/#x6)
- We understand each other without words. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/understand/#x7)
- Can you make yourself understood in French? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/understand/#x8)
- She did not understand even now. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/understand/#x9)

### note

Irregular: understand, understood, understood. Not usually used in -ing form for this meaning: say «I understand», not «I am understanding». «Misunderstand» means understand wrongly. «Understanding» as an adjective means kind and patient.

### In the corpora

- [Knowing this helps you understand why a family's week is planned round a piece of paper on the fridge.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working/4/)
- [Sometimes grown-ups close a door, lower their voices or spell out words so children won't understand.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/35-closed-doors-whispers-and-secrets/0/)
- [Never sign something you do not understand; asking questions first is what sensible adults do.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/38-looking-after-yourself-and-a-home/17/)
- [Parents may ask to see the chat or the TV history to understand what happened and fix it, not to spy.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/59-the-parents-walk-in-how-good-parents-react/20/)
- [This is why it can say "I understand how you feel" in a kind voice: kind people often write that.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/ai/2-guessing-the-next-word/3/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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