paper

Paper comes from the wood of trees:

After a tree is cut down, it’s sent to…	…a mill where the wood becomes…	…paper.

In these sentences, paper is a noun:

• Have you read the paper yet today? (paper = newspaper)
• We’re out of paper. We need to get more paper for our printer.
• Most books are made of paper.
• It’s easy to recycle paper.
• A contract is an important piece of paper.

You can do many different things with paper:

• We use wax paper for cooking and food preparation.
• Toilet paper is used in the bathroom.
• Wall paper is used to decorate homes.
• Tissue paper is used by children in creating school projects.
• Wrapping paper is used for covering gifts.

It’s also common to hear the word "paper" when describing important documents and work for business, government, and school:

• All of their profits are on paper. (A profit or a loss isn’t realized until something is sold.)
• Mary signed some papers that finalized her divorce. (Notice that "paper" is a count noun in this sentence.)
• Sumitra has a paper due tomorrow for a class. (a paper = an assignment, usually several pages long)
• Our teacher assigned a 10-page research paper.
• Several papers have been published documenting the decline of animal species around the world.

In these sentences, "paper" is an adjective or part of a compound noun:

• Julio has a lot of paperwork to finish at his job.
• Children like to work with paper mache in creating projects.
• They also like to make paper airplanes.
• The paperboy delivers newspapers on his bike.
• I have a paper shredder in my office.

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February 23, 2013