Use the word life in a sentence

Definition of Life

the state between birth and death in which one is functioning

Examples of Life in a sentence

The police tried to convince the man on the ledge that his life was worth living.

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Though the aging dog has lived a good life, he probably won’t make it another year.

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Elizabeth tries to live her life to the fullest so that she has no regrets when she dies.

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Since he was a little boy, Hank has lived his whole life loving horses and wanting to be a cowboy.

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A butterfly’s life happens in stages and starts with an egg then moves to a larva.

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Other words in the Time category:

Most Searched Words (with Video)

Lives vs. Lifes – What’s the Gist?

The confusion between these two words comes from the heteronym lives. Remember heteronyms have different meanings and sounds, but they share the same spelling.

• Lives primarily acts as present tense third-person singular verb.
• Lifes is not a word.

Actually, the plural of life is not lifes but rather lives.

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How to Use Lives in a Sentence

Lives definition: The word lives is a third-person singular verb; it is pronounced with a short i sound lĭvz. For the sake of having a broader application, we’ll define the word live instead.

Live lĭv as an intransitive verb is very nuanced. It means to be alive; or to subsist; or to inhabit a home; or realize eternal life; or endure in human memory; or to have a rich life experience; or to cohabitate.

For example:

• First responders live to serve and protect. (Present Tense Verb)
• After upgrading, the family lives in a larger, two-story home. (Present Tense Verb)
• Right after college, the couple lived together for several years. (Past Tense Verb)

Additionally, live lĭv functions as a transitive verb, passing action to either a subject or to a direct object, and means to spend the duration of; or to practice; or to exhibit enthusiasm; or to experience firsthand.

For example:

• The quarantined community lives their days sequestered from each other. (Present Tense Verb)
• She lives out her life by serving others and offering kindness everywhere she goes. (Present Tense Verb)
• In spite of setbacks, the injured athlete lives life fully. (Present Tense Verb)

Finally, the word live līv, pronounced with a long i, is an adjective, which means having life; or containing energy; or of a current interest; or broadcast at the time of production; or something that is in play.

For example:

• As the beachcomber walked along the water’s edge, he came upon a live crab. (Adjective)
• The newscast was live. (Adjective)
• The linebacker did not realize that the dropped football was a live ball. (Adjective)

As you can see, the denotations of the word live, pronounced either lĭv or līv, are many.

How to Use Lifes in a Sentence

Lifes definition: Because the plural of the word life is not lifes but rather lives, the noun life will be defined instead.

As a noun, life has many denotations: the distinguishing quality that reflects a vital, functional being; the physical and mental experiences that reflect the existence of an individual; the period from birth to death; a manner of living; duration of something; one providing interest or vigor; or something assigned animation.

For example:

• Frankenstein’s creature was given life. (Noun)
• My life is enriched by the deep and abiding friendships that had been cultivated over a lifetime. (Noun)
• The dash on the gravestone reflected his life on earth. (Noun)

Furthermore, the word life functions as an adjective, meaning lifelong or relating to insurance.

For example:

• Her life membership in the club ensured her consistent attendance. (Adjective)
• He purchased a life insurance policy to cover expenses. (Adjective)

Remember the plural for life is lives līvz, pronounced with a long i sound.

Outside Examples of Lives

• “It seems like it’s targeted at the older generation,” said the District resident, who lives with her 9-year-old granddaughter, whose father died a few years ago, and her 14-year-old grandson, whom Gentry has raised since infancy. –The Washington Post
• Andrew Busch, 33 years old, who lives outside Milwaukee, said gasoline in his area has fallen from about $2.60 a gallon toward the end of last year to below $2 currently. The senior financial analyst at financial-technology firm Fiserv Inc. normally drives to work with his wife, a health-care worker. Since Mr. Busch is now working remotely, he said he plans to still drive his wife just to get out of the house but will no longer need to travel to his office. –The Wall Street Journal
• The University of South Florida put out a statement late Tuesday afternoon, calling commencement a “vital element of the university community and an important milestone in the lives of students and their families.” –Tampa Bay Times
• In a live-streamed address Wednesday evening, he said the only way to save lives as the pandemic worsens in Pennsylvania is for nonessential businesses to heed his request to close shop and for people to stay home. –The Philadelphia Inquirer

Phrases That Use Lives

Even though there aren’t any common phrases for the word lives, there are several phrases that use the word live or life, including:

Live it up: To experience the moment fully engaged and reveling in it.

• After finals week was over, the coeds were living it up.

Live up to: To fulfill an expectation or meet a standard anticipated by someone else.

• The younger son tried to live up to his mother’s expectation by following in his older brother’s footsteps.

It’s a dog’s life: To live in a deplorable or miserable state. However, this term can be used to mean the opposite—that a dog has an easy life.

• Lying on the sofa, eating at will, and using the dog door carte blanche meant the family pet had a dog’s life indeed.

The good life: To have an existence that reflects the best that life has to offer with few concerns or worries.

• After getting the job of her dreams, the woman experienced the good life for the first time.

How to Remember These Words

Because these two words, live and life share a heteronym of lives, you need to keep the meaning and the pronunciation clear in your mind.

Lives, pronounced lĭvz, is the third person singular verb of live lĭv. The plural of the noun life is lives, pronounced līvz.

For example:

• He lives down the road.
• Their lives were spared.

Article Summary

Is lives or lifes correct? These heteronyms are easily confused. Ask yourself whether you need either a verb or a noun. If you are looking for a transitive verb that expresses action or an intransitive verb which expresses being, pick the word lives pronounced with the short i sound.

If you need a plural noun, pick the word lives pronounced with the long i sound.

• Lives functions primarily as a third-person singular verb.
• Lifes is not a word, but the term lives is the plural form of the noun life.

Contents

• 1 Lives vs. Lifes – What’s the Gist?
• 2 How to Use Lives in a Sentence
• 3 How to Use Lifes in a Sentence
• 4 Outside Examples of Lives
• 5 Phrases That Use Lives
• 6 How to Remember These Words
• 7 Article Summary

Once again, I have to emphasize the importance of using correct spellings because there are several reasons why this is so. 

Correct spelling helps to ensure that the intended meaning of a word or phrase is conveyed clearly. If a word is misspelled, it may be difficult for the reader to understand what is being communicated, or they might misinterpret the message. This often leads to confusion or misunderstandings and can affect the overall effectiveness of written communication.

In addition to that, using incorrect spelling can be seen as a lack of attention to detail or a lack of care, which can reflect poorly on you.

This brings us to the topic at hand: “lifes vs. lives.” 

What is the correct word? How can we use these words? I have all the answers in this short read. Let’s get started.

One way to describe “lives” is that it is the plural form of “life,” which refers to the existence of an individual or multiple individuals. It is used to refer to the physical existence of living beings, the duration of a person’s time on earth, or to give someone’s location (or place of residence). 

To sum up these statements, we can say that the word “lives” originates from the noun “life” and the verb “live,” which means to inhabit a place.

For example, you might say, “He has led a full and meaningful life,” “the cat has nine lives,” or “he lives in New York.”

On the other hand, “lifes” is not a word. It is a common misspelling of “lives.” If you want to refer to multiple living entities, the correct way to spell it is “lives.”

People usually mistake the word by putting an “s” at the end of life instead of changing the “f” to “v” and then adding an “s.” For example, you can’t say,

• Cats have nine lifes. (Incorrect) 

This sentence is incorrect because “lifes,”which is not a word, is being used as the plural of the word life. To correct the sentence above, we can rewrite it as;

• Cats have nine lives. (Correct)

Defining the Root Word: Life

“Life” has a lot of dictionary definitions, but let me explain a few basic ones:

1. The characteristic that distinguishes physical entities having biological processes, such as growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli, from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased (death), or because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate.
2. The period between the birth and death of an individual. 
3. The quality that makes living things and plants different from non-living things, and which is not found in non-living things. 
4. The general or universal condition of human existence: the human condition.
5. The driving force of something or an inspiring entity/factor (i.e. the life of the party).
6. Vigor, vibe, vitality, dynamism, or energy (i.e. everyone knew that Joe was full of life).

When to use Lifes in a sentence

Never use “lifes” in any sentence. “Lifes” is a misspelling of the plural of “life.” To form the plural of life, you must follow a rule that is also applicable to words such as the ones below:

• The plural of “leaf” is leaves.
• The plural of “calf” is calves. 
• The plural of “wolf” is wolves. 
• The plural of “knife” hoof is hooves, 
• The plural of “knife” is knives

do not simply add an ‘s’ but the ‘f’ is replaced with a ‘v’ and add ‘s’ creating the plural ‘lives’ an example below;

• The presence of a father figure played a massive role in their lives. (correct)

And not-

• The presence of a father figure played a massive role in their lifes. (Incorrect)

When to Use “Lives” In a Sentence

Lives as a Noun

“Lives” is the plural of the singular word “life.” To live is to simply be alive and not dead; to experience and survive a life-threatening encounter; and so many other definitions of “life.” 

Lives also point out a specified part of a person’s life as expressed in these examples; 

• They keep their private lives separate from everyone.
• College students make sure they maintain their social lives.

Other examples:

• He put all our lives at risk. In this example, lives is a noun originating from life made plural lives.
• They would start their lives together and live happily ever after. 
• Do not play with people’s lives.
• They could no longer cope with the loneliness in their lives

Lives can also mean the plural of “live video feed,” whether on television or the internet. For example, we can say:

• I have seen all of John’s Facebook Lives.

Lives as a Verb 

The examples above show “lives” as a noun. “Lives” as a verb can be used to show a storage area or location. In this case, “lives” acts as a present-tense, third-person singular verb.

Take a look at the examples below:

• The silverware lives here (location)

It can also be used to show that someone is still remembered even after death or to be kept in memory or record, one can say;

• He lives in us all. (a memory)
• This lives as a mark of his cordiality towards everyone who has met him. (remembered for something)

The word lives can be used to point out where a person resides; 

• They/he/she lives in Paris
• He/she lives in a flat above mine.

When using “lives” to describe someone or the condition of a place, it can be classified as a verb. Here are examples; 

• The community lives its days in fear of contracting the virus.
• Despite the danger cancer has posed to her life, Telly lives happily

Lives or lifes: How to remember

The temptation to add an “s” to life to make the word plural will always be strong, especially for non-native English speakers. These two words can be confusing, but some things can help everyone remember when and how to use them. 

Working on the pronunciations of the two words is the most effective route. The noun form of “lives” is pronounced as “livez.” 

• Their lives (livez) depended on the arrival of the packages.
• They needed this in their lives (livez).

The verb form is pronounced “livz.” 

• He lives (livz) in the United States. (He resides in the United States)
• The cat lives (livz) here because its owner left it some months ago. 

It can also be helpful to practice spelling the word “lives” correctly by writing it out a few times. This can help to reinforce the correct spelling in your memory.

Idioms Containing “Life,” Lives,” Or “Live”

Here are a few idioms that contain the words “life,” “lives,” or “live”:

1. “To live life to the fullest” – This means to make the most of one’s life, to fully experience and enjoy all that life has to offer.
2. “To live in the moment” – This means to focus on the present moment, rather than worrying about the past or future.
3. “To live on the edge” – This means to lead a risky or dangerous lifestyle.
4. “To live up to expectations” – This means to meet or fulfill the expectations that others have of you.
5. “To live by one’s wits” – This means to rely on one’s intelligence, resourcefulness, and quick thinking to survive or succeed in life.
6. “To live and let live” – This means respecting other people’s right to live their lives as they see fit, without interference.
7. “To live in fear” – This means to be constantly afraid or anxious.
8. “To live through something” – This means to experience something difficult or traumatic but to survive it.
9. “To live in sin” – This means to cohabit or have a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

Lives or Lives FAQs

1. Where can I use life and lives?

Life is singular and lives is plural; here are two examples to help you get a clear picture

• I love my life 
• They love their lives 

2. Is it daily life or daily lives?

There is no difference in the question; “daily life” is singular and “daily lives” is plural, so it depends on the context.

3. How do I remember the difference between “lives” and “lifes?”

A simple memory trigger to differentiate the two words is to check their pronunciation. Lives is pronounced “livez” if it’s a noun and “livz” if it’s a verb. lifes, the incorrect version of the noun is pronounced as ‘li-fes’ 

4. Is life plural or singular?

Life is singular, and its plural is “lives.”

4. Is lifes a word?

No, “lifes” is not a word.

Wrapping up “Lifes vs. Lives”

As I stressed in the introduction, using correct spelling is important for academic and professional writing, as it demonstrates a level of literacy and competency that is expected in these contexts. 

Incorrect spelling can hinder the credibility and authority of the writer and may even be viewed as a disqualifying error.

This is why it is so important for you to get small but crucial spelling problems such as “lives and lifes.” I’m sure that you’re no longer going to have problems with this word having read this post.

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What’s the Difference Between Lifes and Lives?

Lifes and lives seem like they could be two alternate spellings of the same word. However, lifes is actually not a word at all. It is just a common misspelling of the word lives.

Lifes is a common incorrect way to spell lives. Those who use it intended to use the plural of life and forgot to change the f to a v when adding an s.

• Some people believe that cats have nine lifes. (incorrect spelling – use lives instead)

Lives can act as either a noun or a verb. It relates to existing, and not being dead.

• The firefighters couldn’t risk their lives to go back into the burning house to rescue the pets. (noun form)
• She lives in Germany. (verb form)

Let’s look at some of the ways to use, and not use, these words in English.

Using Lifes in a Sentence

When to use lifes: Never use the word lifes. If you want to use the plural form of life, you must change the f into a v.

This is a spelling rule that you can see in other singular/plural word pairs such as wolf/wolves, calf/calves, hoof/hooves, knife/knives, leaf/lives, and others.

Life is a noun that refers to the animate existence of animals and plants.

For example,

• Dozens of lifes were lost in the school shooting. (incorrect spelling – use lives instead)
• Some people believe each person has only one life to live. I disagree. I believe we all have many lifes to live. (incorrect spelling – use lives instead)

Most singular words change into plural words simply by adding s. Life and the other words ending in f and fe can be tricky to remember because they are an exception to this rule. Adding s is not enough for this word. Therefore, the word lifes is never correct and you must always avoid using it.

Using Lives in a Sentence

When to use lives: Lives can be either the plural noun form of life or the third-person singular conjugation of the verb live. In both cases it refers to animate existence.

For example:

• Teenagers always drive so recklessly! It’s like they don’t even value their lives! (plural noun form)
• She always is sky diving and doing other wild stuff. She lives an exciting life. (verb form)

There are also some common expressions and idioms with lives or live:

• to live on the edge: to lead a perilous lifestyle
  • He hiked Mount Everest all by himself. He really lives on the edge.
• to live a lie: to live while hiding a big secret about one’s true self
  • He’s gay but can’t tell anyone because it is illegal in his country. He lives a lie every day.
• to live off the land: to get one’s needs from the land directly rather than through buying them
  • She grows all of her own food and even makes her own clothes from her livestock. She lives off the land and hardly ever buys anything.

There are many more expressions that use live or life without an s. However, the expressions above are among the more common ones that use the plural noun or third-person singular conjugation.

Remembering Lifes vs. Lives

It is hard for people to remember to change the f to a v when making life plural. This is because not all words ending in f or fe change to v when plural. A couple examples of words that don’t change are giraffe/giraffes and chief/chiefs.

There is one mnemonic device that can help you to remember that life is one of the words that does change its final consonant when it becomes plural. Look at the f in life. It looks almost like a crude stick figure of a single person.

This can help you remember that a single life is spelled with an f. Likewise, look at the v in lives. The two lines in the v look like an even cruder drawing of two people. This can help you remember that two people means two lives, and therefore you should spell live with a v.

Outside Examples

• “I think it’s important for law enforcement to understand these kids and what their lives are like, and for kids to see law enforcement as people who are on their side to keep them safe. Our goal is that we can build that bridge,” she said. –Chicago Sun Times
• “Since the hours after Deborah Danner’s killing Ed Mullins has been proclaiming Sgt. Hugh Barry’s innocence,” Hawk Newsome, president of Black Lives Matter Greater New York, said in a statement. “He has insulted the mayor and publicly degraded the police commissioner.” –New York Daily News
• A Utah mother of three — killed, allegedly by her husband, aboard a cruise ship off Alaska — was “the light of our lives,” her grieving family said. –New York Post
• Returning to the Senate after surgery and a brain cancer diagnosis, he delivered a stirring speech on Tuesday calling on lawmakers from both parties to reach “agreements made in good faith that help improve lives and protect the American people.” –New York Times

Quiz: Lives vs. Lifes

Select the correct word to fill in the blanks, either lives or lifes.

1. She _________________ off campus.
2. People think fish can’t feel pain, but they actually can. I think their ______________ are equally important to other animals’ ______________. (correct spelling)
3. I don’t care about the _______ of other people. My life is the only one that is important! (incorrect spelling)

See answers below.

Article Summary

Should I use lifes or lives? Only use lives. There is no situation in which lifes is the correct usage.

• Lifes is a common error for someone trying to spell the plural of life.
• Lives is the correct spelling of the plural word for life. It also is the third-person singular conjugation for the verb to live.

Using the context above can help ensure you always remember to change f to v when forming the plural of life.

Answers

1. lives
2. lives, lives
3. lifes

In your question, you mentioned being confused about the usage of an article in conjunction with «life»: «Sometimes I see an article (a and the) before the noun (life) but sometimes I also see the noun without any article»

Here’s my take on it :

If you were speaking about a person’s or, say, a pet’s life, you should use an article before the word. In other words, if you were talking about a particular life..

Eli led an exemplary life and was a great inspiration to all those around him.
Liza lived a good life before we had to put her down.
The life of a dragonfly is short but filled with action.

…and if you were talking about life in general or the very nature of life then there’s no need for an article, usually.

Life can be so hard sometimes.
If life gives you lemons, squeeze them in people’s eyes.
It is not the length of life, but the depth that matters.

I know it’s probably more complicated than the overly simple explanation I gave above, but I thought you’d have a better understanding with a couple of examples.

Synonym: dwell, exist, house, inhabit, occupy, reside, room, stay. Antonym: dead, die. Similar words: liver, live out, live on, deliver, live up to, live with, delivery, oblivious. Meaning: [lɪv]  v. 1. inhabit or live in 2. lead a certain kind of life; live in a certain style 3. continue to live; endure or last 4. support oneself 5. have life, be alive 6. have firsthand knowledge of states, situations, emotions, or sensations 7. pursue a positive and satisfying existence. adj. 1. actually being performed at the time of hearing or viewing 2. exerting force or containing energy 3. possessing life 4. highly reverberant 5. charged with an explosive 6. elastic; rebounds readily 7. abounding with life and energy 8. in current use or ready for use 9. of current relevance 10. charged or energized with electricity 11. capable of erupting. adv. not recorded.