The University is expected to reach its target of 5000 students next September. (=achieve its target)
They failed to meet their target of having a computer in every classroom.
He set himself the target of raising over $1 million for cancer research.
intention noun [uncountable and countable] something that you intend to do:
Their intention was to sail on February 10th, but bad weather made this impossible.
She went to Hollywood with the intention of starting a career in movies. (=that was the reason she went there)
Rafsanjani said that Iran had no intention of developing nuclear weapons. (=they definitely did not intend to do this)
The reader can never be 100% sure of the writer's original intentions.
It was never their intention to encourage people to break the law.
It is not my intention here to give a detailed account of all the events that led up to the war.
mission noun [countable] something that a person or organization hopes to achieve, which they consider to be very important and forms the basis of their activities:
The agency's mission is to provide medical and psychological help to victims of the war.
Our mission is to educate people about the disease.
The students are on a mission to record and preserve the history of their area. (=they are trying hard to do something, because they feel it is very important)
the point noun [singular] the purpose of doing something and the reason why it is right or necessary:
The point of the experiment is to show how different metals react with oxygen.
People sometimes find it difficult to see the point of studying subjects such as Latin at school. (=they find it difficult to understand why it is necessary)
He felt that his critics were completely missing the point. (=they failed to understand the most important purpose or reason for something)
ends noun [plural] the result that someone is trying to achieve, when this is bad or dishonest:
Several politicians were accused of trying to exploit the situation for their own ends. (=use it in order to get advantages for themselves)
The terrorists will do almost anything to achieve their ends.
Approximate / Exact
Words meaning approximately
Words meaning exactly
1. Words meaning approximately
approximately adverb used when saying that a number or amount is not exact, and it may be a little more or a little less:
Approximately 30% of adults who have the disease will die from it.
The last earthquake of this size occurred approximately 60 years ago.
In 1994, the U.S. Government paid farmers approximately $10 billion in grants.
STUDY NOTE: Grammar
Approximately is more formal than about, and is usually used in more technical contexts.
about adverb used when saying that a number or amount is not exact, and it may be a little more or a little less:
They arrived at about 10 o'clock in the evening.
It takes about 2 hours from London to Leeds on the train.
There were about 50 people at the meeting.
roughly adverb approximately - used especially when you are trying to give someone a general idea of the size, number, or amount of something:
The two countries are roughly the same size.
Roughly half of all Italy's gas is imported.
The amount of caffeine in one can of cola is roughly equivalent to four cups of coffee. (=it contains about the same amount)
(somewhere / something) in the region of approximately. Used with very large numbers or amounts:
A new stadium would cost somewhere in the region of $100 million.
The painting is worth something in the region of £15,000.
circa preposition used before a year, usually one that is long time ago, to say that something happened near that time, but perhaps not exactly in that year:
The house dates from circa 1600.
The picture shows a building under construction, circa 1848.
STUDY NOTE: Grammar
Circa is originally a Latin word, meaning 'about'.
The written abbreviation of circa is c or c. , and this is often used instead of the full form:
He was born c 1830.
Heston, who died c. 1357, was a noted academic. or more
10 years / 20% / 100 kilos etc or more used when the total may be a lot more, and you want to emphasize that this is a large amount:
It can take 6 months or more to get a visa.
Olson weighed 250 pounds or more.
2. Words meaning exactly
exactly adverb no more and no less than a particular number, amount, or time:
They finished at exactly 6pm.
Every patient received exactly the same amount of the drug.
Exactly 60 years ago, two scientists at the University of Birmingham demonstrated the first device that used microwaves.
to be exact used when you are giving a more exact figure or amount. To be exact is used at the end of the sentence:
The rocks there are very old: more than 3 billion years old, to be exact.
precisely adverb a word meaning exactly, used when you want to emphasize what you are saying:
The meeting began on time, at precisely eight o'clock.
He always left his office at 2 o'clock precisely.
No one knows precisely how many people were killed or injured.
right adverb
right in the middle of / next to / in front of etc used when you are emphasizing that something is in a particular position:
The arrow was right in the middle of the target.
The two explosions happened right next to each other.
directly adverb
directly in front of / behind / under etc exactly in a particular position:
It was a small house, directly behind the church.
You need to sit directly in front of the screen.
A statue stood directly below the stained-glass window.
Causes
*see also Effects, Giving reasons, Linking parts of a sentence
To cause something to happen
Tays of saying that something is caused by another thing
To be one of the things that cause something to happen
Tomething that causes another thing to happen
1. To cause something to happen
make verb [transitive] to make something happen, or make someone do something: