ENGLISH
REFERENCE

NAM

pron.
B1 Intermediate US //ˈnæm// nam Archaic Informal

pron. a very casual way to say 'them'. You use it when you are speaking quickly or in a relaxed way with friends.

pron. a reduced, enclitic form of 'them', typically used in informal speech or represented in writing to reflect a colloquial register.


SIMPLE

I saw the keys and grabbed 'nam.

CONTEXTUAL

If you find any old magazines in the attic, just throw 'nam away.

COMPLEX

The manager told the staff to take the leftover pastries home rather than letting 'nam go to waste at the end of the shift.

Usage

Always follows a verb or preposition; usually written with an apostrophe to show the missing letters.

Pitfall

I like 'nam books.I like those books.'Nam is a pronoun replacing a noun, not a determiner used before one.

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