• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Articles & lessons
    • Grammar & vocabulary lessons
    • IELTS preparation
    • British culture
    • All articles and lessons
  • About
  • Contact
Crown Academy of English

English lessons and resources




You are here: Home / English lessons / 3 ways to use the word BUSY

3 ways to use the word BUSY

13th September 2018 by Andrew

Pronunciation of busy:         /ˈbɪz.i/

“busy” is an English adjective. An adjective modifies a noun. An adjective gives us more information about a noun.

We use “busy” to describe 3 different types of noun:

1) A person.
2) A period of time.
3) A place.


In this lesson, we will look at each one in detail with example sentences.

“busy” to describe a person

Meaning:
If a person is busy, they are working hard on something.
A busy person is giving their attention to something.
A busy person is occupied by something. The person is not available.

Examples:
Mark is busy in the kitchen.
Mark is busy cooking.

Notice the form of the above example:
busy + ING form of the verb
busy cooking

The verb in the ING form is the activity that the person is doing. It is why the person is busy!

More examples:

David is busy doing his homework.
David is busy with his homework.

Salesman: Hello, could I speak to Mr Jones please?
Secretary: No, I’m sorry. Mr Jones is busy in a meeting.

Mark: Would you like to go to the cinema?
Jane: No I can’t, I’m busy.

(In the above example, Jane says that she is busy but she doesn’t give any more information or explain why. She says she is busy as an excuse. This is a very common use of “busy” – to refuse an invitation.)

An expression with “busy”

to be busy as a bee.

bee

Explanation: A bee is an insect that works very hard gathering pollen and taking it back to the beehive to make honey. Bees are very active.

Meaning of the expression:
to be very busy.
to be very active.
to have lots of work or things to do.

Example:
Mark: How was your work today?
Jane: There were lots of customers. I was busy as a bee!

(This expression is only for a person.)

“busy” to describe a period of time

Meaning:
A busy period of time has lots of activity. Lots of things are happening.

Example sentences:

Next week will be busy.

Christmas is a very busy time of the year.

Mark: How are you?
Jane: I’m exhausted. I have had a busy day.

“busy” to describe a place

Meaning:
A busy place has lots of people or activity. There are often crowds of people.

Examples:

The restaurant is busy today.

restaurant

I hate London. It’s always so busy!

Busy London

This road is very busy.

traffic jam

(A busy road has lots of traffic. If a road is busy, you should be careful when you cross it.)

More lessons

The difference between AFFECT and EFFECT
Prepositions of time IN, ON and AT
Common English proverbs
Past simple tense in English
Over 180 video lessons on our YouTube channel.

Video lesson

Watch more English video lessons on our YouTube channel.

Filed Under: English lessons

More lessons

Potatoes

Plural forms of English nouns

In this lesson, you will learn how to form the plural form of nouns. Only countable nouns have a plural forum. Uncountable nouns (example "milk", … [Read More...] about Plural forms of English nouns

man running to work

COME or GO – English lesson

Both "come" and "go" describe movement from one place to another place. Example:I'm coming to the shop.I'm going to the shop. Both of these … [Read More...] about COME or GO – English lesson

Third conditionals in English

The third conditional describes hypothetical situations in the past. We are imagining the result of something that did not happen. We are imagining a … [Read More...] about Third conditionals in English

maths symbols

Maths symbols and operations – English vocabulary

This is an English lesson. It is not a maths lesson! In this lesson, you will learn English vocabulary for the basic mathematical symbols and … [Read More...] about Maths symbols and operations – English vocabulary

Give a hand

English idoms and expressions with GIVE

The verb "give" is irregular in English. Past form: gavePast participle: given Here are 5 expressions / idioms with the verb GIVE. For each … [Read More...] about English idoms and expressions with GIVE

Primary Sidebar

Lessons

native english speaker

How to understand native English speakers

girl reading

How to improve your English vocabulary

peas on spoon

“a little” and “a few ” to describe quantity

doctor

The difference between practice and practise

Girl wearing headphones

Difference between hear and listen

handbag

compliment or complement





Footer

Follow us on social media

Crown Academy of English on YouTube Crown Academy of English on Twitter

Privacy policy

Privacy policy

Recent

  • 8 ways to say that something is FREE in English
  • English idioms and expressions related to CRIME
  • How to use either and neither – English lesson
  • Learn English vocabulary – Vegetables
  • English Idioms related to speed

Search