Meaning & use
failed grade
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Meanings
nouncountable
A mark showing that a student did not pass a test, class, or course.
Grammar: Countable: one failed grade, several failed grades.
Patterns
- get a failed grade
- a failed grade in something
- receive a failed grade
She was upset about the failed grade in chemistry.
If you hand the essay in late, you may get a failed grade.
He had two failed grades last term and had to retake the exams.
nouncountable
The result of not passing a particular exam or assignment.
Grammar: Often used with 'in' plus the subject: a failed grade in math.
Patterns
- a failed grade in a subject
A failed grade in one subject does not mean you are bad at school.
The teacher offered extra help after his failed grade.
Word forms
| plural | failed grades |
|---|
Common combinations
- get a failed grade
- Students who miss too many classes often get a failed grade.
- a failed grade in a subject
- She was worried about a failed grade in history.
- receive a failed grade
- He received a failed grade and had to repeat the course.
- a failed grade on a test
- A failed grade on the midterm made him study harder.
Synonyms and how they differ
- failing grade
- Very close in meaning, but 'failing grade' often describes the mark itself, while 'failed grade' stresses that the student did not pass.
- fail
- Informal and shorter; 'a fail' is common in British student talk, while 'failed grade' sounds more neutral and formal.
Opposites
Word family
- fail verb
- To not succeed in a test or course.
- failure noun
- A lack of success, or a person or thing that does not succeed.
Commonly confused: failed grade or failing grade?
failed grade vs failing grade
Both refer to a bad mark, but 'failing grade' usually means a mark below the pass level, while 'failed grade' focuses on the student having failed.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'failed grade' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
'Failed grade' is a noun phrase, so it fits after 'her' as the thing she is sad about. The other options wrongly use it as a verb or in the wrong order.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “failed grade”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.