Mind - English Grammar Today - Cambridge Dictionary

Mind Grammar > Nouns, pronouns and determiners > Using nouns > Mind from English Grammar Today

Mind as a verb

We use the verb mind to mean ‘take care or be careful of or about something’, or ‘pay attention to something’. In this meaning, we usually use it in the imperative:

Mind your step!

Mind your head. This is a very small door!

Kathy, mind that you don’t trip over my bag. It’s right by the door.

See also:

• Imperative clauses (Be quiet!)

We can also use mind to mean ‘take care of someone or something’:

My mother has offered to mind the children while we are away.

Could you mind my bag for a moment?

Warning:

We don’t use mind to mean remember:

We must remember that it is our responsibility to protect and care for the environment.

Not: We must mind that …

I don’t mind, he doesn’t mind

We can use don’t/doesn’t mind to mean ‘not feel annoyed or worried by something’.

I don’t mind living near the train line. You get used to it.

She doesn’t mind waiting up late.

Warning:

We say I don’t mind, or it doesn’t matter. We don’t say it doesn’t mind:

A:

Sorry, there are no more chairs!

B:

I don’t mind. I can sit on the floor. (or It doesn’t matter. I can sit on the floor.)

Not: It doesn’t mind …

See also:

• Matter

Warning:

When we refer to the future, we use present (not future) verb forms after mind:

I don’t mind what day they come and stay as long as it’s not Tuesday 12th because I’m away.

Not: … what day they will come and stay …

Would you mind? and Do you mind?

We use the phrases would you mind + -ing form, and do you mind + -ing form to ask people politely to do things. Would you mind is more polite and more common:

Would you mind opening the window, please?

Do you mind turning down the volume a little, please?

Do you mind me turning on the light? (I want to turn on the light)

When we ask for permission politely, we can use would you mind if I + past or do you mind if I + present:

Would you mind if I turned on this light?

Do you mind if I sit here?

When someone asks for permission, we usually reply no …, meaning ‘I don’t mind’ or ‘I’m happy with that’. If we want to say that we are not happy, we usually begin with I’m afraid …:

A:

Would you mind if we sat here?

B:

No, not at all. (you can sit here – I don’t mind)

A:

Do you mind if I use your phone?

B:

I’m afraid the battery is dead.

Not: No. The battery is dead.

Never mind

We use the phrase never mind to tell someone not to worry about something because it is not important:

A:

Amy, I’m afraid I’ve broken a cup in your kitchen.

B:

Never mind, Liz. It’s only a cup!

A:

I really want to see that new Brad Pitt movie.

B:

It finished last week at the cinema.

A:

Oh, never mind. I’ll get it on DVD eventually.

Mind you

Spoken English:

We use the phrase mind you in speaking to mean ‘but we should also remember or take into account’:

We had such terrible weather on our holiday. Mind you, it was winter in Tasmania when we went there.

We also use mind you when we are joking:

[A is reading a newspaper headline]

A:

Lotto winner John builds golf-course in back yard.

B:

Oh yeah. That is one way of spending your money.

A:

Yeah.

B:

Yeah. Must have a big back yard, mind you, to have ten holes of golf.

Mind as a noun

The noun mind refers to the part of a person that enables them to think, feel emotions and be aware of things:

I was imagining fields of golden daffodils in my mind.

My mind was filled with ideas.

There are many commonly used phrases with mind:

Liam was going to come with us, but he’s changed his mind. (make a new or different decision about something)

We’ve made up our minds. We’re moving to New Zealand. (make a decision)

What’s on your mind? (what’s bothering you?)

As a detective, I have to keep an open mind. (be willing to consider all of the options and possibilities)

You will find other meanings of mind in a good learner’s dictionary.

Mind: typical errors

• We don’t use to-infinitive after would you mind or do you mind:

Would you mind getting me a newspaper?

Not: Would you mind to get me a newspaper?

• We don’t use mind to mean ‘remember’:

Many people refuse to give any importance to computers but they should remember they have better lives because of them.

Not: … they should mind they have better lives because of them.

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Choose your language English (UK) English (US) Español Português 中文 (简体) 正體中文 (繁體) Dansk Deutsch Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Polski Русский Türkçe Tiếng Việt Svenska Українська 日本語 한국어 ગુજરાતી தமிழ் తెలుగు বাঙ্গালি मराठी हिंदी Contents Adjectives Adjectives: forms Adjectives: order Adjective phrases: functions Adjective phrases: position Adjectives and adjective phrases: typical errors Comparison: adjectives (bigger, biggest, more interesting) Comparison: clauses (bigger than we had imagined) Comparison: comparisons of equality (as tall as his father) As … as Adverbs Adverb phrases Adverbs and adverb phrases: position Adverbs and adverb phrases: typical errors Adverbs: forms Adverbs: functions Adverbs: types Comparison: adverbs (worse, more easily) Fairly Intensifiers (very, at all) Largely Much, a lot, lots, a good deal: adverbs Pretty Quite Rather Really Scarcely Very About Ago Already Always Early Ever Hardly ever, rarely, scarcely, seldom Next No longer, not any longer No more, not any more Now Often Once Soon Still Then Usually Eventually Adverbs as discourse markers (anyway, finally) Adverbs as short responses (definitely, certainly) Afraid Alike Hard Long Only Same, similar, identical Likely and unlikely As well (as) Even Hardly Hopefully Surely Too Ultimately Above or over? Across, over or through? Advice or advise? Affect or effect? All or every? All or whole? Allow, permit or let? Almost or nearly? Alone, lonely, or lonesome? Along or alongside? Already, still or yet? Also, as well or too? Alternate(ly), alternative(ly) Although or though? Altogether or all together? Amount of, number of or quantity of? Any more or anymore? Anyone, anybody or anything? Apart from or except for? Arise or rise? Around or round? Arouse or rouse? As or like? As, because or since? As, when or while? Been or gone? Begin or start? Beside or besides? Between or among? Born or borne? Bring, take and fetch Can, could or may? Classic or classical? Come or go? Consider or regard? Consist, comprise or compose? Content or contents? Different from, different to or different than? Do or make? Down, downwards or downward? During or for? Each or every? East or eastern; north or northern? Economic or economical? Efficient or effective? Elder, eldest or older, oldest? End or finish? 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Opposite or in front of? Other, others, the other or another? Out or out of? Permit or permission? Person, persons or people? Pick or pick up? Play or game? Politics, political, politician or policy? Price or prize? Principal or principle? Quiet or quite? Raise or rise? Remember or remind? Right or rightly? Rob or steal? Say or tell? So that or in order that? Sometimes or sometime? Sound or noise? Speak or talk? Such or so? There, their or they’re? Towards or toward? Wait or wait for? Wake, wake up or awaken? Worth or worthwhile? A/an and the Determiners (the, my, some, this) Determiners and types of noun Determiners: position and order Determiners: typical errors Determiners used as pronouns Every Possession (John’s car, a friend of mine) Such This, that, these, those Whole Nouns Nouns: form Nouns and prepositions Nouns: compound nouns Nouns: countable and uncountable Nouns: forming nouns from other words Nouns: singular and plural Accommodation Equipment Furniture Information Luck and lucky News Progress Weather Noun phrases: dependent words Noun phrases: order Noun phrases: uses Noun phrases: noun phrases and verbs Noun phrases: two noun phrases together Pronouns Each other, one another Everyone, everybody, everything, everywhere It Gender No one, nobody, nothing, nowhere One One and one’s Pronouns: personal (I, me, you, him, it, they, etc.) Pronouns: possessive (my, mine, your, yours, etc.) Pronouns: reflexive (myself, themselves, etc.) Pronouns: indefinite (-body, -one, -thing, -where) Pronouns: one, you, we, they Relative pronouns Questions: interrogative pronouns (what, who) Someone, somebody, something, somewhere That A bit All Any Both Either Enough Least, the least, at least Less Little, a little, few, a few Lots, a lot, plenty Many More Most, the most, mostly Much, many, a lot of, lots of: quantifiers No, none and none of Plenty Some Some and any How What When Where Which Who, whom Whose Why Piece words and group words Comparison: nouns (more money, the most points) Nouns and gender Reported speech: reporting nouns Age Half Holiday and holidays Mind Opinion Promise Reason Sort, type and kind Thing and stuff View Way Work (noun) Prepositions Prepositional phrases Above After, afterwards Against Among and amongst As At At, in and to (movement) At, on and in (place) At, on and in (time) Below Beneath Beyond By During For For + -ing From In front of In spite of and despite In, into Near and near to Of On, onto Over To Under Until With Within Without Collocation Commands and instructions Commentaries Invitations Offers Requests Greetings and farewells: hello, goodbye, Happy New Year Suggestions Telephoning Warnings Dates Measurements Number Time Geographical places Names and titles: addressing people Nationalities, languages, countries and regions Place names Abroad Away and away from Back Inside Nearby Outside Up Politeness Reported speech Reported speech: direct speech Reported speech: indirect speech Sexist language Pronunciation Intonation Politeness Interjections (ouch, hooray) Tags Chunks Ellipsis Headers and tails Hyperbole Vague expressions Downtoners Hedges (just) Substitution All right and alright Please and thank you Here and there Just Kind of and sort of Oh So and not with expect, hope, think, etc. So Yes Anyway Discourse markers (so, right, okay) In fact Okay, OK Well You know You see British and American English Dialect Double negatives and usage Formal and informal language Newspaper headlines Register Slang Standard and non-standard language Swearing and taboo expressions According to Actual and actually Approximations (around four o’clock) At all Else Hear that, see that However, whatever, whichever, whenever, wherever, whoever It’s time May as well and might as well More or less Of course Point of view Apostrophe (’) Apposition Contractions Contrasts Detached impersonal style Internet discourse and text messages It, this and that in paragraphs Paragraphs Punctuation Speech into writing Spelling Such as Past simple (I worked) Past continuous (I was working) Past continuous or past simple? Past simple or present perfect? Used to Past perfect simple (I had worked) Past perfect continuous (I had been working) Past perfect simple or past perfect continuous? Past perfect simple or past simple? Past verb forms referring to the present Past: typical errors Present continuous (I am working) Present perfect continuous (I have been working) Present perfect simple (I have worked) Present perfect simple or present perfect continuous? Present perfect: typical errors Present simple (I work) Present simple or present continuous? Present: typical errors Present verb forms referring to the past Future: will and shall Future: be going to (I am going to work) Future: other expressions to talk about the future Future continuous (I will be working) Future in the past Future perfect continuous (I will have been working here ten years) Future perfect simple (I will have worked eight hours) Future: present continuous to talk about the future (I’m working tomorrow) Future: present simple to talk about the future (I work tomorrow) Future: typical errors Going to Finite and non-finite verbs Imperative clauses (Be quiet!) Infinitives with and without to Infinitive: active or passive? Perfect infinitive with to (to have worked) Verbs: basic forms Verbs: formation Hate, like, love and prefer Hear, see, etc. + object + infinitive or -ing Help somebody (to) do Look forward to Stop + -ing form or to-infinitive Verb patterns: verb + infinitive or verb + -ing? Verb patterns: verb + that-clause Verb patterns: with and without objects Would like Would rather, would sooner Phrasal verbs and multi-word verbs Get passive Have something done Passive: forms Passives with and without an agent Passive: uses Passive: other forms Passive: typical errors Can Could Could, may and might Dare Had better May Might Modality: forms Modality: meanings and uses Modality: tense Modality: other verbs Modality: other modal words and expressions Must Need Ought to Shall Should Will Would Conditionals Conditionals: if Conditionals: other expressions (unless, should, as long as) Conditionals: typical errors If only In case (of) Suppose, supposing and what if Wish Verbs: types Verb phrases Verbs and verb phrases: typical errors Appear Ask and ask for Be Be expressions (be able to, be due to) Come Do Enable Enjoy Explain Get Go Happen Have Have got and have Hope Know Let, let’s Like Look Made from, made of, made out of, made with Make Marry and divorce Matter Mean Miss Prefer Put See Seem Suggest Take Think Want Table of irregular verbs Word classes and phrase classes Word formation Prefixes Suffixes Compounds Abbreviations, initials and acronyms -ish and -y Diminutives (-let, -y and mini-) Hyphens Word order and focus Word order: structures Cleft sentences (It was in June we got married.) Fronting Inversion No sooner Not only … but also And As if and as though As long as and so long as Because, because of and cos, cos of Before But Conjunctions Conjunctions: adding Conjunctions: causes, reasons, results and purpose Conjunctions: contrasting Conjunctions: time Either … or… If In order to Or Since Unless Whereas Whether While and whilst Yet Adjuncts Clauses Clauses: finite and non-finite Clause types Complements Dummy subjects Exclamations Heads Objects Sentences Subjects Subject complements Subject–verb agreement Relative clauses Relative clauses referring to a whole sentence Relative clauses: defining and non-defining Relative clauses: typical errors Neither, neither … nor and not … either Not Neither, neither … nor and not … either Not Forming negative statements, questions and imperatives Negation: two negatives Negative clauses with any, anybody, anyone, anything, anywhere Negation in non-finite clauses Negative prefixes and suffixes Negative adverbs: hardly, seldom, etc. Negation: emphasising Negation of think, believe, suppose, hope Questions: alternative questions (Is it black or grey?) 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