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Home > Articles > English lessons > 3 ways to use the word BUSY

3 ways to use the word BUSY

13th September 2018 by Andrew Leave a Comment

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.)

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