Reported questions: if, whether and statement word order
Retell questions with if, whether or a question word. Practise subject–verb order, recognise subject questions and choose tense changes from context.
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Adjectives followed by that-clauses
Feelings and certainty can introduce a complete situation: connect an adjective to a clause with that, or sometimes leave it out.
Read and practiseReporting requests and instructions with ask and tell
Describe what someone asked or told another person to do. Use object plus to-infinitive, form negative instructions and distinguish requests from questions.
Read and practiseDefining relative clauses: identify people and things
Identify the neighbour, bag or coat you mean with who, which or that. Build defining relative clauses without commas or repeated subject and object pronouns.
Read and practiseInterested in and interesting to: describing reactions
A person can be interested in a subject, while that subject may be interesting to them. Choose the form and complement that fit.
Read and practiseWhen can you omit a relative pronoun?
Shorten defining relative clauses by omitting object who, which or that. Keep subject relatives, preserve stranded prepositions and avoid doubled objects.
Read and practiseWhose in relative clauses: belongings, family and connections
Connect a person or thing to its bicycle, father, rooms or cover with whose plus a noun. Distinguish whose from who's and match verbs to the correct subject.
Read and practiseWhere and when in relative clauses: place or time, not an object
Describe where an event happens or when it occurs with relative where and when. Contrast these with which or that when the noun is the clause's subject or object.
Read and practiseToo or very: degree and excess
A room can be very warm without being too warm. Compare strong descriptions with degrees that cause a problem.
Read and practiseVerbs followed by ing: enjoy, avoid, consider, finish and mind
Build natural verb patterns with enjoy doing, avoid doing and consider doing. Use finish, mind and miss with ing, including future possibilities and polite requests.
Read and practiseVerbs followed by to-infinitives: decide, hope, agree and manage
Express decisions, hopes, plans, agreements, refusals and achievements with to-infinitives. Keep the base verb and distinguish intended actions from successful ones.
Read and practiseEven with comparative forms
A difference can be surprising in its size: put even before a comparative to emphasize a greater or smaller degree.
Read and practiseVerb, object and to-infinitive: say who should do something
Name who should act with want, ask, advise, encourage, remind and expect plus an object and to-infinitive. Practise object pronouns and negative infinitives.
Read and practiseRemember and forget: a memory of doing or a task to do?
Distinguish remember doing from remember to do, and forgetting an experience from forgetting a task. Use context rather than a simple past-versus-future shortcut.
Read and practiseStop and try: how ing and to change the meaning
Contrast stop doing with stop to do, and trying a method with trying to achieve a result. Learn why an attempt can succeed and a tested method can fail.
Read and practiseAs if and as though: appearance and comparison
A dark sky can look as if rain is coming. Describe appearances and imaginary comparisons, and choose a tense that fits the meaning.
Read and practiseLet, make and help: when the infinitive has no to
Use let and make with an object and bare infinitive, restore to in passive be made to, and recognise both help someone do and help someone to do as correct.
Read and practiseNegative infinitives: decided not to or did not decide?
Place not with the action you mean to negate. Compare decided not to with have not decided, practise reminders and express a negative purpose with so as not to.
Read and practiseWhether or not: alternatives and uncertainty
A decision may be uncertain, or an action may happen in either case. See how this expression introduces both possibilities.
Read and practiseQuestion tags: isn't it, didn't she and aren't I?
Check information with English question tags. Match the auxiliary and subject, handle nobody and never, and practise the special tag after I am.
Read and practisePolite indirect questions: could you tell me where it is?
Ask for information with could you tell me, do you know and I'd like to know. Use statement word order inside the question and choose suitable punctuation.
Read and practiseNegative questions: didn't you and clear yes/no answers
Understand expectations in negative questions and answer with yes plus an affirmative verb or no plus a negative verb. Practise contracted and full not forms.
Read and practiseOtherwise as a sentence adverb
A warning, a precaution or a past action can lead to a different result; otherwise introduces that alternative outcome.
Read and practiseSo do I and neither do I: sharing the same situation
Say that an affirmative or negative statement also applies to you. Choose so or neither, match the auxiliary and distinguish so do I from so I do.
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