How to Use "Shift" with Example Sentences

shift (n): a change in place or position; a particular time of work

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Used with adjectives:

"There has been a major shift in the economy."
(major, massive, huge, important, significant, gradual)

"We noticed a slight shift in the opinion polls."
(slight, small)

"The military made a sudden shift in position."
(sudden, abrupt)

"She works a double shift every weekend."
(double, long)

"He hardly sees his children because he works the early shift."
(early, late, graveyard, night)

"I prefer to work the evening shift."
(evening, morning, weekend, afternoon, day)

Used with verbs:

"The protest represents a dramatic shift in attitude toward the war."
(represents, marks, indicates, reflects, signals)

"The new president can bring about an economic shift."
(bring about, drive, lead, produce)

"The climate shift occurred gradually."
(occurred, happened, took place)

"She starts her shift early in the morning."
(starts, begins, ends)

"He works the night shift."
(works, does)

Used with nouns:

"She made arrangements with the shift supervisor."
(supervisor, manager)

"He asked for a shift change."
(change)

Used with prepositions:

"There was a shift in direction."
(in)

"I noticed a gradual shift toward hiring part-time employees."
(toward, towards)

shift (v): to move to a different place or position

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Used with verbs:

"The two boys tried to shift the blame onto someone else."
(tried to, attempted to)

"Music tends to shift with a new generation."
(tends to)

"The students' attitudes began to shift after tuition prices increased."
(began to, started to)

Used with adverbs:

"Julie shifted uncomfortably in her seat."
(uncomfortably, restlessly, nervously, impatiently)

"He gradually shifted the responsibility onto other people."
(gradually, slowly, quickly, suddenly)

Used with prepositions:

"The public attitude has shifted away from raising taxes."
(from)

"They shifted the blame onto someone else."
(onto)

"My attention shifted to the next table."
(to, toward, towards)

"The car shifted into second gear."
(into, to)

Used with nouns:

"I shifted my attention to the other table."
(attention, eyes, focus)

"He tried to shift his responsibility onto others."
(responsibility, blame)

"She started to shift her balance between her feet."
(balance, weight)