intervening

Everyday

1. Coming or lying between two things, places or times (the intervening weeks, the intervening hills). tree →
2. (verb form) Stepping in to stop or change something (the teacher is intervening). tree →

In the lessons

In stories and history texts: "In the intervening years, the town grew." In geography: intervening hills block the view. As a verb form, an adult intervening in a fight steps in to stop it. Phrases: in the intervening time, the intervening period, intervening years.

Examples

• We met in spring and again in autumn; in the intervening months we wrote letters. tree →
• The intervening hills hid the sea from view. tree →
• The intervening pages explain how the machine works. tree →
• A teacher is intervening to stop the argument. tree →
• In the intervening time, finish your reading. tree →
• Nothing important happened in the intervening days. tree →

Note

Adjective use comes before the noun: the intervening years. Verb: intervene (one n at the end of "vene"); noun: intervention. In maths word problems "the intervening days" means the days in between, which usually does not count the first and last day: between day 3 and day 7 there are 3 intervening days (4, 5, 6).