TKG English Learner's Dictionary

half

halfdeterminer

American /hæf/ British /hɑːf/ The l is silent in both American and British English.
very commondefining vocabulary

  1. half of somethingused before a noun, or before a or an and a singular noun, to mean one of two equal parts of something

    Half goes directly before a or an and a singular noun (half an hour), or before the, this, or a possessive plus a noun (half the cake, half my salary). Half followed by of, or used alone as a noun (I'll have half), belongs to separate entries.

    Collocations

    phrase half an hour, half the time, half the amount

Word family

  • half
  • halfway

Usage

Half can take a singular or a plural verb depending on the noun it refers to: Half the cake is gone (uncountable), but Half the students are absent (plural).

Common mistakes

the half apple half the apple
Half comes before the, not after it: half the apple, not the half apple.

See also half

For translators

Grammar trap Half goes directly before a or an plus a noun (half an hour), which is the reverse of the usual English article order and differs from the word order of many languages.
Pronunciation trap The l is silent in both American and British English; American uses a short vowel, said haf, British a long one, hahf.