I saw a big blue bird.

Meaning: This means I used my eyes to look at a large, blue, warm-blooded animal that has wings and feathers.

Choice of Words: Saw means to use your eyes to look at something. Big means large in size. Blue is a color. Bird is a warm-blooded animal that has wings and feathers.

Alternative Expressions

A big blue bird was seen by me.

Meaning: This sentence describes the same observation as the first sentence, but it uses a different word order and emphasizes the speaker's role in making the observation.

Choice of Words: A is an indefinite article that refers to one unspecified item. Big is an adjective that describes something as having a large size. Blue is an adjective that describes something as having the color of the sky or the ocean. Bird is a noun that refers to a warm-blooded vertebrate animal that has feathers, a beak, and wings. Was is a past tense form of the verb to be, which is used to indicate that something existed or occurred in the past. Seen is a past participle form of the verb to see, which means to observe or perceive something with your eyes. By is a preposition that indicates the agent or doer of an action. Me is a personal pronoun that refers to the speaker, which is the person talking or writing.

There was a big blue bird that I saw.

Meaning: This sentence describes the same observation as the first two sentences, but it uses a different sentence structure and emphasizes the existence of the bird.

Choice of Words: There is a placeholder word that refers to the existence of something. Was is a past tense form of the verb to be, which is used to indicate that something existed or occurred in the past. A is an indefinite article that refers to one unspecified item. Big is an adjective that describes something as having a large size. Blue is an adjective that describes something as having the color of the sky or the ocean. Bird is a noun that refers to a warm-blooded vertebrate animal that has feathers, a beak, and wings. That is a relative pronoun that introduces a clause that provides more information about the noun it refers to. I is a personal pronoun that refers to the speaker, which is the person talking or writing. Saw is a past tense verb that means to observe or perceive something with your eyes.

Related Expressions