Meaning & use
teaches
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
Third person singular of teach: helps people learn a subject or skill by explaining and showing it.
Grammar: Used with he, she, or it: She teaches math. It can take an object or stand alone.
Patterns
- teaches someone something
- teaches at somewhere
- teaches someone to do something
My aunt teaches biology at a local high school.
He teaches his daughter to ride a bike.
The coach teaches the team how to pass under pressure.
verbtransitive
Third person singular of teach: makes someone understand something through experience or example.
Grammar: Often with a thing as the subject: Experience teaches us caution.
Patterns
- something teaches someone something
- teaches someone a lesson
Failure teaches us to try harder.
The trip teaches children about other cultures.
That mistake teaches him patience every time.
Word forms
| base form | teach |
|---|---|
| past tense | taught |
| past participle | taught |
| -ing form | teaching |
Common combinations
- teaches English
- She teaches English to adult learners.
- teaches a class
- He teaches a class on Tuesday evenings.
- teaches children
- She teaches children to swim.
- teaches at a university
- My uncle teaches at a university in Chicago.
- teaches a lesson
- A small loss teaches a lesson about saving.
Synonyms and how they differ
- instructs
- Instructs is more formal and often means giving directions for a practical task, not general teaching.
- trains
- Trains suggests practice to reach a skill or job standard, while teaches is broader.
- educates
- Educates suggests wide, formal schooling and is more general than teaches.
- coaches
- Coaches suggests personal guidance, usually in sport or performance.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: teaches or learns? teaches or tutors?
teaches vs learns
Teaches is what the teacher does, while learns is what the student does.
teaches vs tutors
Tutors means teaches one person or a small group, often privately, while teaches covers any size of class.
Practice
Choose the correct form: My brother ___ guitar at the community center.
Choose one answer.
With a third person singular subject in the present tense, teach takes -es. Taught is past, and teached is not a word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “teaches”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.