TIME CLAUSES

we use the following time conjunctions to introduce time clauses: when, as, while, before,
after, since, until/till, whenever, as long as, by the time, as soon as, the moment that, no
sooner… than, hardly… when, once, immediately, the first/last/next time…

e.g Whenever he is in town, he visits us.

e.g. He visit us whenever he is in town.

Tenses

Main clause Time clause

Present simple / future / imperative Present simple or present perfect
Past simple / past perfect Past simple or past perfect

e.g. She takes off her shoes the moment that she gets home.

e.g. I will call you as soon as I get to the hotel.

e.g. Turn off the lights before you leave.
e.g. He took a shower after he had finished painting the room
e.g. They had reserved a table before they went to the restaurant.

Ago / before

ago= before now

e.g. My parents got married 20 years ago. (20 years before now)

before = before a past time

e.g. Mary and Peter got married last month. They had met six months before. (six months
before last month)

Until/till – by the time

Until/till = up to the time when

e.g. You must stay in the office until/till you finish/have finished the report (up to the time when
you finish the report)

by the time + clause = not later than the moment something happens

e.g. I will have set the table by the time you come home. (before, no later than the moment
you arrive home)

by = not later than.

e.g. I’ll let you know my decision by Friday. (not later than Friday)

During – while/as
During + noun = in the time period
e.g. We learnt some interesting facts during the lecture.

While/as + clause

e.g. We learnt some interesting facts while/as we were listening to the lecture.

When (time conjunction) + present simple

e.g. We will order some pizzas when our friends get here.

When (question word) + will / would

e.g. I’m not sure when we will order the pizzas.

CLAUSES OF CONTRAST

Clauses of contrast are used to express a contrast. They are usually introduced with the
following words or expressions:

But, although/even though/though, in spite of / despite, however, while/whereas, yet,

nevertheless, on the other hand…

- But

e.g. it was cold, but he wasn’t wearing a coat.

- Although / even though / though

Even though is more emphatic than although.

Though is informal and is usually used in everyday speech. It can be put at the end of the
sentence.

e.g. Although / Even though / Though it is winter, it is quite warm.

It is quite warm although / even though / though it is winter.

It is winter, it is quite warm, though.

Although I studied a lot, I failed the exam.

Even though I studied a lot, I failed the exam.

- In spite of / Despite + noun / -ing form

e.g. In spite of / Despite his qualifications, he couldn’t get the job.

e.g. He couldn’t get the job despite / in spite of being qualified.

- in spite of / despite the fact that + clause

e.g. In spite of / Despite the fact that he was qualified, he couldn’t get the job.

-However / Nevertheless

A comma is always used after however/nevertheless.

e.g. The man fell off the ladder. However/Nevertheless, he wasn’t hurt.

-While/whereas

e.g. She is tall, while/whereas her brother is rather short.

- yet / still (yet is formal)

e.g. My car is very old. Still, it is in very good condition.

e.g. The fire was widespread, yet no property was damaged.

- On the other hand

e.g. Cars are not environmentally friendly. On the other hand, bikes are.

Bikes, on the other hand, are.

CLAUSES OF RESULT

These clauses are used to express the result of something. They are introduced with this
expressions:

as a result, therefore, consequently/as a consequence, so, so/such…. That….

As a result/therefore/consequently…

e.g. The teacher was ill and, as a result/therefore/consequently the class was cancelled.

e.g. The teacher was ill. As a result/therefore/consequently, the class was cancelled.

So

e.g. It was hot, so I turned on the air-conditioning.

Such a/an + adjective+singular countable noun.

e.g. It was such an interesting book (that) I couldn’t put it down.

Such + adjective + Plural/uncountable noun.

e.g. It was such expensive furniture (that) I couldn’t afford it.

Such a lot of + plural/uncountable noun

e.g. He has such a lot of money (that) he doesn’t know what to do with it.

So + adjective / adverb

e.g. He speaks so quickly that I can’t understand him.

e.g. He speaks very quickly, so I can’t understand him.

So much/little + uncountable noun

so many/few + countable noun
e.g. There is so much traffic that we won’t be on time.

e.g. She made so many mistakes that she failed.

e.g. He pays so little attention to what I say that it makes me angry.

e.g. There are so few wolves that we have to protect them.

CLAUSES OF REASON

Clauses of reason to express the reason for something. They are introduced with the following
words/expressions:

Because, as/since, the reason for/why, because of, on account of, due to, now that, for, etc…

- because:

e.g. I took a taxi because it was raining.

e.g. Because it was raining, I took a taxi.

- as / since (= because)

e.g. They bought him a gift because/as/since it was his birthday.

e.g. As/Since it was his birthday, they bought him a gift.

- the reason for + noun / -ing form

- The reason why + clause

e.g. The reason for her resignation was (the fact) that she had been offered a better job.

e.g. The fact that she had been offered a better job was the reason for her resignation. (for her
resigning)

e.g. The reason why she resigned was (the fact) that she had been offered a better job.

- Because of / on account of / due to + noun

e.g. All the flights have been cancelled because of / on account of / due to the thick fog.

- Because of the fact that/ on account of the fact that/ due to the fact that + clause

e.g. He asked for a few days off because of the fact that / on account of the fact / due to the
fact that he was exhausted.

- Now (that) + clause

e.g. Now (that) I have children, I have less free time.

- For (= because) (in formal written style)

e.g. The citizens of Novelda are very upset. For a new factory is to be built near their town.
CLAUSES OF PURPOSE

Clauses of purpose are used to express the purpose of doing something / an action. That is,
they explain why someone does something. They are introduced with words or expressions:
to, in order to / so as to, so that / in order that, in case, for…

- to + infinitive

e.g. She went shopping to buy some clothes.

- in order to / so as to (formal)

e.g. He did a postgraduate course in order to / so as to widen his knowledge about

international politics.

In negative sentences we use in order not to / so as not to. We never use not to alone.

e.g. I wrote the number down in order not to / so as not to forget it.

e.g. I wrote the number down not to forget it.

- so that + can/will (present or future reference)

e.g. He has booked a first-class ticket so that he can travel in comfort.

- so that + could / would (past reference)

e.g. She recorded the concert so that she could listen to it later.

In order that has the same structure as so that. However, it is not used very often as it is quite
formal.

e.g. We will send you the forms in order that you can make your application.

- in case + present tense (present or future reference)

e.g. Take your umbrella in case it rains.

- in case + past tense (past reference)

e.g. He took his credit car in case he run out of cash.

In case is never used with will or would.

- For + noun (when we want to express the purpose of an action)

e.g. He went to the doctor’s for a check-up

- For + -ing form (when we want to express the purpose or function of something)

e.g. We use a spade for digging

but
e.g. He dug a hole (with a spade) in the garden to bury his cat.

Clauses of purpose follow the rule of the sequence of tenses, like time clauses.

He borrowed some money so that he could pay his phone bill.

He has borrowed some money so that he can pay his phone bill.

We can express negative purpose by using:

a) prevent + noun/pronoun + (from) + -ing form

e.g. My mother covered the sofa with a sheet to prevent if (from) getting dirty.

b) avoid +-ing form

e.g. We set off early in the morning to avoid getting stuck in traffic.

CLAUSES OF MANNER

Clauses of manner are introduced with as if / as though and are used to express the way in
which something is done/said, etc.

We use as if / as though after verbs such as act, appear, be, behave, feel, look, seem, smell,
sound, taste to say how somebody or something looks, behaves, etc.

e.g. He is acting as if / as though he has bad news.

We also use as if / as though + past tense when we are talking about an unreal present
situation. Were can be used instead of was in all persons.

e.g. He spends his money as if / as though he was/were a millionaire. (But he isn’t.)

e.g. He behaves as if / as though he owned the place. (But he doesn’t.)

We can use like instead of as if / as though in spoken English.

e.g. She looks like she is going to faint. (informal spoken English)

ADDITION

- Positive addition

and, both… and, besides, moreover, what is more, in addition (to), also, as well as,
furthermore…

She is both intelligent and beautiful.

- Negative addition

neither… nor, nor, neither, either

Neither John nor David goes to university. (John doesn’t go to university and David doesn’t go
to university)

EXCLAMATIONS
They are words or expressions we use to express admiration, surprise…

so + adj / adverb
e.g. this cake is so tasty!
e.g. He works so hard!

Such + a/an + (adjective) + singular countable noun.

e.g. This is such an original design!

Such+ (adjective) + uncountable / plural nouns

e.g. You gave me such valuable information!

e.g. She is wearing such elegant clothes!

What + a/an (adjective)+ singular countable noun.

e.g. What a lovely view!

e.g. What a day!

What + (adjective) + uncountable / plural noun.

e.g. What expensive furniture!

e.g. What comfortable shoes!

How + adjective / adverb

e.g. How clever he is!

e.g. How well she behaved!

Negative question (exclamation mark)

e.g. Isn’t she a graceful dancer!