Despite the fact that: full-clause contrast
A surprising result can follow a full clause introduced by despite the fact that; compare this formal phrase with the shorter although.
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Not only but also: add emphasis with parallel structure
Two linked ideas gain emphasis when their forms match. Explore paired elements and the inversion used at the start of a clause.
Read and practiseFuture perfect continuous: duration measured in the future
Count how long an activity will have lasted at a future point using will have been and -ing. Distinguish duration from completion and keep the full auxiliary sequence.
Read and practiseAlternatives in dependent clauses
A decision, an indirect question or an outcome can involve alternatives. Compare balanced clauses and infinitive phrases in formal and everyday English.
Read and practiseWhereas and while for contrast
Two facts can point in different directions: connect contrasting characteristics clearly and distinguish comparison from a time meaning.
Read and practiseIn order that: formal purpose clauses
Formal purpose clauses explain an intended result and connect an action to what someone can, could or may do.
Read and practiseLest and for fear that: unwanted outcomes
Formal clauses can describe an outcome someone wants to prevent, from losing a file to waking a sleeping child.
Read and practiseWhatever and whichever: choices without knowing which
An open choice or a choice from a known set can both be expressed in a clause. Distinguish the two forms and use them with or without a noun.
Read and practiseFuture in the past: would, was going to and arrangements
Describe plans and expectations viewed from an earlier moment. Use would, was or were going to and past continuous without assuming every plan failed.
Read and practiseWhoever and whomever in embedded clauses
A person can be the subject or object inside a clause, even when the whole clause plays a different role in the sentence.
Read and practiseNo matter what, where and who
A result can stay the same despite an unknown person, place or choice. Explore concessive clauses and their word order.
Read and practisePast deductions: must have, might have and can’t have
Infer earlier events with modal plus have and a past participle. Distinguish confident conclusions, uncertain possibilities and negative deductions, including may not have.
Read and practiseReduced relative clauses with past participles
A passive relative clause can often be shortened after a noun: discover when a past participle preserves the intended meaning.
Read and practiseReduced relative clauses with -ing
A person carrying a bag or a bridge connecting villages: an active -ing phrase can identify a noun without a full relative clause.
Read and practiseCould have: unused opportunities and uncertain explanations
Distinguish an available option that was not taken from a possible explanation of a past event. Use could have plus a participle and interpret the surrounding evidence.
Read and practiseQuantifiers in relative clauses: subsets
A group can be followed by extra information about some or all of its members, using a quantifier and a relative pronoun.
Read and practiseWhich referring to a whole clause
A whole event can be followed by a comment about its result or effect. See how a comma and a relative clause connect the two ideas.
Read and practiseNeedn’t have: an unnecessary action that was completed
Contrast needn’t have with didn’t need to. Identify an unnecessary completed action, use have plus a participle, and read context before deciding whether an action happened.
Read and practiseReporting claims with the passive
A claim can be reported without naming its source: compare an impersonal clause with a subject followed by a passive reporting verb.
Read and practiseThird conditional: imagining a different past and its result
Reconstruct an alternative past with if plus past perfect and would have plus a participle. Decode ’d, use could or might for different meanings, and recover the actual events.
Read and practiseReporting an earlier event with a perfect infinitive
A passive reporting verb and a perfect infinitive let you report a claim about an event that happened before the reporting.
Read and practiseMixed conditionals: past causes, present results and lasting traits
Connect an imagined past change to a present result, or a continuing trait to a past result. Choose the verb forms from the timeline instead of memorising one fixed pair.
Read and practiseReported speech: time and place changes
Reporting someone’s words later or elsewhere can change expressions of time and place while preserving the original reference.
Read and practiseProvided and as long as: attach a condition to an agreement
Set conditions with provided, providing, as long as and on condition that. Practise permissions, arrangements, optional that and the difference from duration.
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