Learn how to use the verb "Air"
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| Hi, everybody! Welcome back to Know Your Verbs. |
| My name is Alisha, and in this episode, we’re going to talk about the verb “air.” |
| Let’s get started! |
| Let’s begin with a basic definition of the verb “air.” |
| The basic definition is to broadcast on radio or TV. |
| Some examples: |
| “When is this episode going to air?” |
| “This radio show airs every week.” |
| Now, let’s take a look at the conjugations for each verb. |
| Present: air, airs |
| Past: aired |
| Past Participle: aired |
| Progressive: airing |
| So, now, let’s talk about some additional meanings for this verb. |
| The first additional meaning of the verb “air” is “to express opinions.” This is often, though, complaints or problems. |
| Some examples: |
| “They aired their grievances at the meeting.” |
| “Please air any issues with this policy at the next conference.” |
| So, in these example sentences, we see “air” used to talk about expressing something, expressing an opinion. But as I said, this is typically some kind of problem, there’s an issue, there’s something that people want to complain about. So, when we air a grievance, as in the first example sentence, it means to express a complaint, really, or say a complaint, make a complaint. But to air a grievance sounds quite formal, so a grievance is like something you are grieving. In other words, something that makes you unhappy, but it’s a noun, a grievance. |
| So, “to air a grievance” means to express a complaint, to talk about a problem that you have. |
| In the second example sentence, where the expression “air any issues you have with the policy,” it means, again, to complain about a policy or to share your opinions about this policy. To share any, maybe, problems you have about the policy. |
| So, “to air” means to express an opinion. |
| The second additional meaning is “to expose to air for ventilation.” |
| We often use “out” with this meaning. |
| Let’s take a look at some examples: |
| “He aired his laundry outside.” |
| “We’re airing out the bedding today.” |
| So, in the first example sentence, “He aired his laundry outside,” we see that he is exposing his clothes, probably, to air outside somewhere. So that means, like hanging up clothes, so that air can flow through them. “Air” is a noun here. That means that the breeze or sunlight or whatever, makes the clothes feel fresh, hopefully. |
| So, “to air laundry” refers to letting laundry be exposed to, like sunlight, to be outdoors. |
| In the second example sentence, “We’re airing out the bedding today,” it means the same thing. It means our bedding. So “bedding” refers to, like sheets or, like covers or pillowcases, for example. |
| “To air out bedding” means to expose that to sunlight, to air, to the breeze, so that it becomes more fresh. So, “to air out” is sometimes used or we might just see “air,” “to air (something)” as well. It means to expose it to fresh air, to expose it to the sun as well. |
| This is definitely a short episode, but I think it’s important to keep in mind that “air,” actually as a verb, has some very interesting and quite different meanings, so keep an eye out for it the next time you see it used as a verb in a sentence. |
| I hope that you found something new. Anyway, if you have any questions or comments about this verb, please feel free to let us know in the comment section of this video. Thanks very much for watching this episode of Know Your Verbs and we’ll see you again soon. Bye-bye! |
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