ENGLISH
REFERENCE

explaining

v.
A2 Elementary US //ɪksˈpɫeɪnɪŋ// UK //ɛksplˈeɪnɪŋ// ex·plain·ing

v. making something clear or easy to understand by giving more details. You do this when you tell someone how something works or why it happened.

v. making an idea, situation, or problem clear to someone by describing it in more detail or revealing relevant facts. Present participle form of 'explain'.


SIMPLE

She is explaining the rules of the game to us.

CONTEXTUAL

The teacher spent the entire afternoon explaining the complex math problem to the students until they finally understood it.

COMPLEX

By explaining the historical context of the treaty, the professor provided the students with a much deeper appreciation for the current geopolitical tensions in the region.

Synonyms
Usage

The verb is transitive and often takes a direct object followed by 'to' and the indirect object.

Pitfall

explaining me the problemexplaining the problem to meThe verb requires the preposition 'to' before the person receiving the explanation.

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