Fly meaning in English
Learn how to use Fly correctly with Gymglish.
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Definition
to fly: to travel or move through the air; to drive, to pilot, to operate (a plane)
The bird flew out of the cage.
This is an irregular verb:
I fly / I flew / I have flown
a flight: a journey or trip through the air (for example in an airplane or helicopter)
a fly: a small buzzing insect that flies (often black)
Pronunciation examples
UK: Would you like to fly to Australia?
US: I flew in a plane last year and felt sick.
Examples
- "On an island where we once flew"
- "Jean : You left us, but where did you fly?"
- "Enjoy your flight, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for flying Big Generic Airlines."
- "But about nests and flying."
- "Jean : The pigeons don't fly anymore."
- "By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?"
- "Flying is very dangerous"
- "I will be flying on Lucky Duck Air (flight number: LUK 7453), and arriving in Hong Kong Wednesday evening at 9.45pm. My reservations, at the Shangri-La Hotel, are from Wednesday until the following Tuesday."
- "I fly like paper, get high like planes."
- "Engineers are currently developing craft which would be able to fly from London to New York in 35 hours."
- "But your expense form clearly says that you flew business class."
- "I even flew under the Golden Gate Bridge and then I crashed into the ocean."
- "He'll be flying with you from San Francisco to New York next Wednesday."
- "Feel the thrust of a rocket motor reaching Mach 25 as you fly beyond the Earth's atmosphere."
- "Jump as high as a kangaroo flies when you're wearing Outback Cologne!"
- "Expect big hair, small pants, and bottles flying through the air."
- "Joan : A sky flying machine!"
- "Delavigne, San Francisco's renowned playboy, insisted on piloting the balloon himself, despite having no previous experience flying thermal airships or dirigibles, and smelling of liquor."
Exercise 1
Put each of the verbs below in the simple present tense form.
Every weekend Horatio to the park around noon. Before leaving his home, he a breakfast of bananas and orange juice.
Every morning Luna for one hour, and every evening she a crystal to talk with the moon.
Kevin recently discovered that Philip currently from vertigo. He was surprised by this because Philip to Florida every other month.
Every weekend Horatio to the park around noon. Before leaving his home, he a breakfast of bananas and orange juice.
Every morning Luna for one hour, and every evening she a crystal to talk with the moon.
Kevin recently discovered that Philip currently from vertigo. He was surprised by this because Philip to Florida every other month.
Put each of the verbs below in the simple present tense form.
Every weekend Horatio [not done] goes 1 to the park around noon. Before leaving his home, he [not done] eats 2 a breakfast of bananas and orange juice.
Every morning Luna [not done] meditates 3 for one hour, and every evening she [not done] uses 4 a crystal to talk with the moon.
Kevin recently discovered that Philip currently [not done] suffers 5 from vertigo. He was surprised by this because Philip [not done] flies 6 to Florida every other month.
Every weekend Horatio [not done] goes 1 to the park around noon. Before leaving his home, he [not done] eats 2 a breakfast of bananas and orange juice.
Every morning Luna [not done] meditates 3 for one hour, and every evening she [not done] uses 4 a crystal to talk with the moon.
Kevin recently discovered that Philip currently [not done] suffers 5 from vertigo. He was surprised by this because Philip [not done] flies 6 to Florida every other month.
1 goes: We must put this verb in the third person form in the present tense. 'To go' is an irregular verb: Go/Went/Gone. The simple present tense is used to describe regular or habitual actions. The phrase 'every weekend' tells us that Horatio visits to the park regularly.
2 eats: This is the best choice here, since Horatio eats this particular breakfast 'every weekend'. We must put this verb in the third person, singular form: 'he eats'.
3 meditates: This is the correct choice here. We must put this verb in the third person form in the present tense.
4 uses: This is the correct choice. We must put this verb in the third person form in the present tense.
5 suffers: This is correct. We must put this verb in the third person singular form of the present tense: 'he/she/it suffers'.
6 flies: This is correct. We must put this verb in the present third person singular form. 'To fly' is an irregular verb: fly/flew/flown.
Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks with the following terms from the broadcast you just heard. Conjugate the verbs appropriately.
devastating | dress | to hear | a flood | an attempt | to fly | to hit | a pilot
Not all the terms are used in the exercise!
Last Tuesday, Horatio and Bruno to Germany to see the first match of the World Cup. On the plane, Bruno wore a tuxedo while Horatio opted for a traditional Amazonian . When the two arrived at the stadium, Bruno and Horatio were surprised to see in the parking lot. Someone told them that a nearby brewery had exploded, and now the entire place was covered in beer, sausages, Bavarian pretzels and lederhosen. Horatio made to swim to the stadium, where the match was about to begin, but he didn't have the strength to make it through the sauerkraut. The pain of not being able to attend the World Cup was for Bruno and Horatio, who will have to wait another 4 years to try again.
* A brewery is the place where beer is distilled and fermented. * Sauerkraut is chopped cabbage, salted and fermented in its own juice.
devastating | dress | to hear | a flood | an attempt | to fly | to hit | a pilot
Not all the terms are used in the exercise!
Last Tuesday, Horatio and Bruno to Germany to see the first match of the World Cup. On the plane, Bruno wore a tuxedo while Horatio opted for a traditional Amazonian . When the two arrived at the stadium, Bruno and Horatio were surprised to see in the parking lot. Someone told them that a nearby brewery had exploded, and now the entire place was covered in beer, sausages, Bavarian pretzels and lederhosen. Horatio made to swim to the stadium, where the match was about to begin, but he didn't have the strength to make it through the sauerkraut. The pain of not being able to attend the World Cup was for Bruno and Horatio, who will have to wait another 4 years to try again.
* A brewery is the place where beer is distilled and fermented. * Sauerkraut is chopped cabbage, salted and fermented in its own juice.
Fill in the blanks with the following terms from the broadcast you just heard. Conjugate the verbs appropriately.
devastating | dress | to hear | a flood | an attempt | to fly | to hit | a pilot
Not all the terms are used in the exercise!
Last Tuesday, Horatio and Bruno flew 1 to Germany to see the first match of the World Cup. On the plane, Bruno wore a tuxedo while Horatio opted for a traditional Amazonian dress 2. When the two arrived at the stadium, Bruno and Horatio were surprised to see a flood 3 in the parking lot. Someone told them that a nearby brewery had exploded, and now the entire place was covered in beer, sausages, Bavarian pretzels and lederhosen. Horatio made an attempt 4 to swim to the stadium, where the match was about to begin, but he didn't have the strength to make it through the sauerkraut. The pain of not being able to attend the World Cup was devastating 5 for Bruno and Horatio, who will have to wait another 4 years to try again.
* A brewery is the place where beer is distilled and fermented. * Sauerkraut is chopped cabbage, salted and fermented in its own juice.
devastating | dress | to hear | a flood | an attempt | to fly | to hit | a pilot
Not all the terms are used in the exercise!
Last Tuesday, Horatio and Bruno flew 1 to Germany to see the first match of the World Cup. On the plane, Bruno wore a tuxedo while Horatio opted for a traditional Amazonian dress 2. When the two arrived at the stadium, Bruno and Horatio were surprised to see a flood 3 in the parking lot. Someone told them that a nearby brewery had exploded, and now the entire place was covered in beer, sausages, Bavarian pretzels and lederhosen. Horatio made an attempt 4 to swim to the stadium, where the match was about to begin, but he didn't have the strength to make it through the sauerkraut. The pain of not being able to attend the World Cup was devastating 5 for Bruno and Horatio, who will have to wait another 4 years to try again.
* A brewery is the place where beer is distilled and fermented. * Sauerkraut is chopped cabbage, salted and fermented in its own juice.
1 flew: "Flying" describes the act of traveling through the air, as birds, planes and helicopters do. The verb "to fly" is irregular, and becomes "flew" in the third person form of the simple past tense. To fly: fly/flew/flown.
2 dress: "A dress" is an article of clothing, usually worn by women. The noun "dress" (without an article) can also refer to clothing in general (the style of an outfit for example). We might say: Traditional Japanese dress includes Kimonos. The verb "to dress" describes the act of putting on clothes.
3 a flood: "A flood" is an inundation of land which is normally dry. As a verb, "to flood" describes the act of inundation. To flood can also be used figuratively to describe a heavy concentration or outpouring of something. Example: We've been flooded with phone calls since our commercial was televised yesterday.
4 an attempt: An "attempt" is a "try" or an "effort". "To make an attempt to swim" is to try to swim. In the broadcast above, Moira reports that there was assassination attempt on the Prime Minister, meaning that somebody tried to kill the Prime Minister (but failed to kill him or her).
5 devastating: The verb "to devastate" means to destroy or ruin. If an old building is "devastated" it has been completely destroyed. The adjective "devastating" can be used to describe an event or action which hurts emotionally, or causes tremendous damage or pain. Bruno and Horatio were very sad after missing their chance to see the first match of the world cup.
Exercise 3
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the term fly. All three forms were used in the audio!
Past participle: "Captain Donny Dare is an experienced pilot, he has many aeroplanes in his life."
Preterit: "Last week, he over a cuckoo's nest."
Noun: "Donny Dare was the captain of the forty-first commercial of the Concorde."
Past participle: "Captain Donny Dare is an experienced pilot, he has many aeroplanes in his life."
Preterit: "Last week, he over a cuckoo's nest."
Noun: "Donny Dare was the captain of the forty-first commercial of the Concorde."
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the term fly. All three forms were used in the audio!
Past participle: "Captain Donny Dare is an experienced pilot, he has flown 1 many aeroplanes in his life."
Preterit: "Last week, he flew 2 over a cuckoo's nest."
Noun: "Donny Dare was the captain of the forty-first commercial flight 3 of the Concorde."
Past participle: "Captain Donny Dare is an experienced pilot, he has flown 1 many aeroplanes in his life."
Preterit: "Last week, he flew 2 over a cuckoo's nest."
Noun: "Donny Dare was the captain of the forty-first commercial flight 3 of the Concorde."
1 flown: Because we are describing many events that have occurred in Donny Dare's life (from the past to the present) we must use the present perfect tense. "Flying" describes the act of traveling through the air. The verb "to fly" is irregular, and becomes "flown" in the past participle form of the present perfect tense. To fly: fly/flew/flown.
2 flew: The past simple (or preterit) tense is used to indicate an action or event that began and ended in the past. Since this event occurred "last week", the past simple tense must be used. The verb "to fly" is irregular, and becomes "flew" in the past simple tense. To fly: fly/flew/flown.
3 flight: The word "flight" refers to a journey through the air or by aeroplane, it is the noun form of the verb "to fly". Example: Flight number BA961 is now boarding at gate 12. Jean says "I spend many hours playing on my computer with Microtosh Flight Simulator", meaning that he spends a lot of time playing on a computer game which reproduces or "simulates" the conditions of flying.
Exercise 4
Find the term used in the dialogue which means "journey" or "voyage":
Did you enjoy your to the North Pole?
The verb to fly is used several times in the dialogue, and it is irregular! Complete the sentences below!
I fly to work in my helicopter every day.
Yesterday, I to Hong Kong in a plane.
I have already in a hot air balloon, and I don't want to do it again!
Did you enjoy your to the North Pole?
The verb to fly is used several times in the dialogue, and it is irregular! Complete the sentences below!
I fly to work in my helicopter every day.
Yesterday, I to Hong Kong in a plane.
I have already in a hot air balloon, and I don't want to do it again!
Find the term used in the dialogue which means "journey" or "voyage":
Did you enjoy your trip 1 to the North Pole?
The verb to fly is used several times in the dialogue, and it is irregular! Complete the sentences below!
I fly to work in my helicopter every day.
Yesterday, I flew 2 to Hong Kong in a plane.
I have already flown 3 in a hot air balloon, and I don't want to do it again!
Did you enjoy your trip 1 to the North Pole?
The verb to fly is used several times in the dialogue, and it is irregular! Complete the sentences below!
I fly to work in my helicopter every day.
Yesterday, I flew 2 to Hong Kong in a plane.
I have already flown 3 in a hot air balloon, and I don't want to do it again!
1 trip: "Trip" is the best term here. A "trip" is a "journey" or a "holiday". Here's another example: "I'd like to take a trip to Marseille this summer".
2 flew: "Flew" is the right answer here. The verb to fly is conjugated as: I fly/I flew/I have flown. In this sentence, we need the preterit tense, due to the time marker "yesterday". Here's another example: "The bird stole my ring, flew through the air, and landed on a very high branch".
3 flown: "Flown" is the correct conjugation here. We say "I fly/I flew/I have flown". This is an example of the present perfect tense, which is needed when we want to say that we "have already done something". Another example: "-Have you ever flown on the back of a dragon? -No, I've never even seen a dragon!".
Exercise 5
Last night, Luna DeLune that she to the moon in a turquoise spaceship.
Last night, Luna DeLune [not done] dreamt 1 that she [not done] was flying 2 to the moon in a turquoise spaceship.
1 dreamt: The verb 'to dream' can be conjugated two different ways in the past tense: 'dreamed' or 'dreamt'. Either form is acceptable in this construction. We put this verb in the past tense because of the phrase 'last night' at the beginning of the sentence.
2 was flying: The past continuous form of the verb (was flying) is acceptable here to indicate that the action of Luna's dream (flying) was continuous. Note: The past simple tense of the verb (flew) is also acceptable here. We put this verb into a past tense form because of the phrase 'last night' at the beginning of the sentence.
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