men

Everyday

1. Plural of «man»: adult male people. tree →
2. People in general, in old-fashioned writing: «all men are created equal» (now many people prefer «people» or «everyone»). tree →
3. Soldiers or workers under a leader: «the captain and his men». tree →
4. Pieces in some board games: «chessmen», «the men in draughts». tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life: «men's toilets», «men and women», «men's football». In history texts you will meet «men» meaning all people, and «the king and his men». In maths problems: «3 men can paint a fence in 6 hours» – such problems are about rate of work. In games, draughts (checkers) pieces are called men. Phrases: «men and women», «the men's team», «one of the men».

Examples

• Two men were fixing the road outside school. tree →
• The men's race starts at ten o'clock. tree →
• The captain led his men across the river. tree →
• «All men are created equal» is a famous line from 1776. tree →
• My dad plays in a men's football team on Sundays. tree →
• In draughts, each player starts with twelve men. tree →
• Men and women can both be nurses, pilots and engineers. tree →
• If 2 men can build a wall in 6 days, 4 men might do it in 3 days. tree →

Note

Irregular plural: one man, two men (not «mans»). Possessive: «men's» (not «mens'»): «the men's room». Similarly woman → women. In maths work problems, more workers usually means less time (inverse proportion), if they work at the same rate.