Shine meaning in English
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Definition
to shine: the sun, gold, and lights all do this
The sun is shining, the birds are singing... what a beautiful day!
to shine shoes: to clean, to polish shoes
to shine through (the darkness): to appear as a light through (the darkness)
to shine through also means "to appear", "to stand out".
Pronunciation examples
UK: Stop shining your torch in my eyes.
US: The sun shone on every day of our vacation
Examples
- "As for today, look for partly cloudy skies, with a few rays of sun shining through in the afternoon: highs of 60, 62."
- "I have an appointment to have my shoes shined at 3:00, and I don't like to be rushed."
- "Despite his humble beginnings in the deepest, darkest Amazon, General Oléré stood out like a shining star."
- "Good luck, and don't forget to shine your shoes!"
- "When there's a shine on your shoes, there's a melody in your heart..."
Exercise 1
Complete each sentence with the correct word:
The sun shines the clouds and on to the trees.
The rain falls upon the city.
The skies should clear by tomorrow afternoon.
The sun shines the clouds and on to the trees.
The rain falls upon the city.
The skies should clear by tomorrow afternoon.
Complete each sentence with the correct word:
The sun shines through 1 the clouds and on to the trees.
The rain falls down 2 upon the city.
The skies should clear up 3 by tomorrow afternoon.
The sun shines through 1 the clouds and on to the trees.
The rain falls down 2 upon the city.
The skies should clear up 3 by tomorrow afternoon.
1 through: To "shine through" is a common idiom used often to describe the sun or light in general. The phrase can also be used in other contexts. For example: "His intelligence really shone through during the political debates".
1 around: It is unlikely that one would use the term around to describe the sun "shining". We are expressing that sunlight penetrates the clouds, not that the sunlight "surrounds" the clouds.
1 down: The construction "the sun shines down the clouds" is grammatically incorrect. However, we could say "the sun shines down on the city below".
2 down: The expression "to fall down" is one of the most common phrasal verbs in English. We often say that someone has "fallen down". "Down" indicates the direction that the rain falls (from top to bottom).
2 up: The basic laws of gravity tell us that nothing ever "falls up". One day, perhaps we will defy the earth's gravitational pull, but until that day, this answer will be incorrect.
2 around: We cannot use the preposition "around" to complete this sentence. We cannot follow the preposition "around" with another preposition (upon).
3 up: The expression "to clear up" is often used to describe the weather improving or getting better, especially when the clouds "disappear". This expression can also be used in other contexts. For example "Polly is trying to clear up the mystery of the missing monkey". In this case "to clear up" means "to resolve" or "to understand better".
3 down: One cannot "clear down" something.
3 around: One cannot "clear around something".
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