Once upon a time meaning in English
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Definition
once upon a time: a long time ago, in ancient times (traditional start of children's stories)
Once upon a time is often followed by the expression there lived:
Once upon a time, there lived a princess in a castle.
Pronunciation examples
UK: Once upon a time, there lived a little family of cats.
US: Once upon a time, I used to enjoy cartoons.
Examples
- "Once upon a time, in a faraway land called Europe, there lived a man who loved the smells of life."
- "Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a man who loved the smells of life."
Exercise 1
a princess kissed a toad, and it turned into a prince. The two got married and lived happily ever after.
Once upon a time a princess kissed a toad, and it turned into a prince. The two got married and lived happily ever after.
Once upon a time: 'Once upon a time' is an idiom commonly used in fairy tales. The expression indicates that something (a story, an event) occurred long ago in the past.
There was once a time: 'There was once a time' is not the proper way to express this common idiom, although it is grammatically correct.
Upon a time once: 'Upon a time once' is grammatically incorrect. The wording of the phrase is out of order.
One at a time: 'One at a time' is incorrect. We might say 'one (person) at a time', but this does not make sense in the example given.
Exercise 2
Choose the expression which could best begin this email (just before the phrase "Bruno is a very busy man"):
Choose the expression which could best begin this email (just before the phrase "Bruno is a very busy man"):
Because both Polly and Kevin work for the Delavigne Corporation, it doesn't make sense to write "on behalf of..." in this email.
This is a good way to start a fairy tale, but not a professional email.
"As a result of company policy" suggests that the email will be related to company rules and regulations. In this email, Polly is simply explaining to Kevin that Bruno is busy.
"As you may already be aware" is an expression which suggests that one person already has knowledge of a given subject. To be "aware (of the issue)" means to "have knowledge" or "be informed" of the issue, for example: I am aware of the problem and I will deal with it soon.
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