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TASKS Related conditional phrases
. There are a number of commonly-used phrases which are in fact 'hidden' or 'embedded' if-structures. There is not much point in learning these through the full application of the Conditional rules: it...
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Compare & contrast
. . [A thought from a chinese student] . . I came across this gem in an exam script once ... and experienced that 'blank-out' feeling : you understand every single word, but sadly only as single words...
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TASKS Tenses compared
As an English B student you probably know about the basic structure of verbs in English, but if you think about it, perhaps you... These limitations may not be very apparent. You can probably speak and...
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Conditionals, explored
'The Conditional structure is one of the most complex in English grammar.' This is a truism among teachers of English language, but ... what do we mean by 'complexity' in grammar? In my view, the Conditional...
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TASKS Basic & 1st Conditionals
Let's just review the overall structure of the Conditional tenses: (0) 'Basic' - IF (present)..., + (present)... If it rains, people get wet If there is enough rain, plants grow properly(1)...
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TASKS 2nd Conditional
Let's just review the overall structure of the Conditional tenses: (0) 'Basic' - IF (present)..., + (present)... If it rains, people get wet If there is enough rain, plants grow properly(1)...
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TASKS Linkers & passage structure
The basic, common linkers are usually learnt and practised in relatively short sentences, dealing with simple clear ideas. This is the approach behind the pages Basic linkers and Linkers wheel - both...
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Basic linkers Free
I suggest that there are ten basic ways to link ideas together, and that these can be organised in pairs. The point of knowing these ten link systems is that they help to organise ideas in a coherent,...
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Tenses, explored
That's all simple enough, and every language in the world has some way of dealing with those three areas of time. But the English language structures time, through verb tenses, in some slightly more complicated...
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TASKS Practising linkers
. The page Basic linkers (click if you want to see the page) suggests that there are ten basic ways to link ideas together, and that these can be organised in pairs. The point of knowing these ten link...