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Grammar Liz - Coggle Diagram
Grammar Liz
Common Errors
the vs Zero Article
the
The government
should spend more money on protecting
the environment
Zero article
Crime in society
has risen in recent years mainly due to poverty
people
or
things
in
general
Teenagers
can benefit from doing work experience if it is only part-time and properly supervised
Cars
emit gases which are harmful to the environment
Uncountable
nouns in
general
It is often said that
music
is essential to life
Preposition
invest
in
The government needs to
invest
its money
in
road and public transport infrastructure
been
to vs
gone
to
been to
- has visited and come back from there
gone to
- has gone somewhere and not come back, or not come back yet
result
in
If people drive over the speed limit, it can
result in
fatal casualties
beneficial to/for
spend time
doing sth
Spending more time watching
TV as a source of entertainment is not
beneficial to/for
children
spend time
with sb
spend money on
things
The government should
spend more money on
health and education
on TV/radio
in newspaper/photo
S-V agreement
The number
of private car
has
increased dramatically
A number of
scientists
argue
that climate change cannot be stopped (
some/several
)
Training
more teachers
is
a priority for many developing countries
The
content
our
children watch
on TV
is
often very harmful
Staff performance is
key to the success of a company. That is why
new techniques
for improving staff performance
are
so popular in the corporate world
Word Form
advise
(v) / advice (n)
affect
(v) / effect (n)
complain
(v) / complaint (n)
Public transport users often
complain about
overcrowding and delays
The most frequent
complaints
of public transport users are
about
overcrowding and delays
lack (v) / lack (n)
Many developing countries
are lacking in
good infrastructure, which limits their economic development
Many developing countries
lack
well-trained teachers and facilities in rural areas.
Many developing countries
have a lack of
well-trained teachers and facilities in rural areas.
In many developing countries,
there is a lack of
good medical and educational resources
UC Nouns
Countable
-
specific
meaning
Most people prefer to read the news online rather than buy
a paper
every day
Large, global companies are forcing many small
businesses
to close down
Uncountable
-
general
meaning
Paper
is one of the greatest inventions of humankind
Political instability is bad for
business
Referencing: it
Building wider roads helps solve
traffic congestion
, allowing
it
traffic
to move more easily
Relative Clauses
Don't need another object pronoun
when a relative pronoun is the
object
of the verb in the relative clause
It is unfair to make the next generation solve the
environmental problems
that we are largely responsible for
them
Do not
use
commas
in
defining relative clauses
Internet sites
,
which promote hatred should be banned
Contractions
Sentence Length
Linking Words
Never begin
a sentence with
But, Because, And
Forgetting
to use
and
when listing examples
Most children enjoy creative activities
,
such as drawing, dancing
and
singing
Sports professionals should earn less than other professionals who benefit society, for example doctors, teachers
and
nurses
Using Interrogatives
Avoid writing questions
Word Order
Indirect/reported
questions do
not require
an
auxiliary
Young people today wonder why
did
their parents' generation ignore the issue of climate change.
Adverbs
Frequency adverbs
usually come
after an auxiliary
but
before
the
main verb
Young offenders
are rarely offered
adequate rehabilitation programs.
Avoid separating
a
verb
and
its subject
with an
adverb
Young children
like being read to
very much
Order
of adverbs:
manner - place - time
The ice caps have been melting
gradually over the past decade
.
Flowery Language
Get to the point and avoid too much description
Adj & Adv
enough
(adv)
comes after adj
and
adv
, never before them
I believe that children are
intelligent enough to
understand art
Governments are not reacting
fast enough
to the threat of global warming
actual vs current
The
current
world population is about 8 billion (now)
economic vs economical
economical
- using very little money, energy, petrol, etc
economic
refers to the economy of a country
historic vs historical
historic
- sth is
important
or
famous
in history;
old buildings
, monuments or sites
historical
- relating to the past
Capital Letters
the
days
of the week and the
months
Tuesday
/
June
nationalities
and
languages
They are
Canadian
and they speak both
English
and
French
Linking
Time clauses
When / before / after / as soon as / while / since / until
time clause
starts
the sentence, use a
comma
Place clauses
where
We live in troubled times, and we never know
where
the next conflict will erupt
Expressing Contrast
not necessarily opposites
even though
> although / despite = in spite of
nevertheless
= however / on the other hand =
by contrast
nevertheless, = despite this being said,
while / whereas
compare
two
facts
and
highlight
the
difference
between them
but
never use
at the
start
of a sentence
Expressing Reason
the reason
(for/why)
Being able to gain work experience is
the reason for
many students
choosing
to take a gap year
Being able to gain work experience is
the reason
many students
choose
to take a gap year
as / since
can be used
either
at the
beginning
or
inside
the sentence
because of / owing to / due to
owing to / due to
more
formal
can
come at the
start
or in the
middle
of a sentence
, which is why ...
Many people fail to recycle their plastic
, which is why
the government should offer an incentive to encourage people
because
never use
at the the
start
of a sentence
Expressing Result
so / as a result / as a consequence / consequently / therefore / for this reason
Public transport is crowded and unreliable,
and as a result
many people go to work by car
as a consequence / consequently
more formal
, use in the same way as a result
for this reason, use the
plural
form if give
more than one reason
hence
(formal)
=
that is the reason for / that explains
Crime is increasing in many cities worldwide,
hence
the importance of having more police on the streets
thus
(formal)
=
with this result ...
Deforestation is spreading far and wide across the globe,
thus
threatening an increasing number of plant and animal species
Expressing purpose
to / in order to =
so as to
Smart children can search the internet
so as to
acquire new knowledge
negative
infinite - cannot use
to
on its own
So as not to
endanger future generations, we should stop depleting our natural resources and polluting our environment
so that
often
used with a
modal
in the
purpose clause
( can/could/may/might/will/would)
University students like to do an internship
so that
they can find a better job later
use when the
S
of the main clause is different from the
S
in the purpose clause
Many
people
emigrate
so that
their children
can have a better education and a better life more generally
Adding infor
not only ... but also
introduce an idea that adds to sth you've already written
no commas
are used
same part of speech / the same type of phrase
and /
as well as ... also
and
-
never
be used at the
start
of a sentence
As well as
offering a better standard of education, university studies abroad in a developed country will
also
give graduates an advantage in the job market
in addition = moreover = furthermore = besides
Showing similarities # differences
similarly = likewise
instead / on the contrary / in contrast / rather
differ
slightly
in
meaning
Sadly, many schools do not even try to enable children to develop free and enquiring minds.
Rather,
they teach young people how to conform and become docile member of society
Only a few decades ago, teenagers used to play outdoors a lot.
In contrast,
adolescents today seem to spend most of their leisure time indoors surfing the internet or chatting online
I do not believe that disciplining students in front of others is effective in the long run.
On the contrary,
such harsh treatment only humiliates the recipient and risks alienating them completely
Prisons rarely give inmates opportunities to integrate back into society.
Instead,
they gradually turn them into outcasts
Adding emphasis
indeed
introduce a comment
that
strengthens
your point
School uniforms do not allow students to express themselves.
In deed
, having to wear a uniform encourages conformity.
in fact
introduce a comment
that
contradicts
or
modifies
your point
Science and maths are sometimes thought of as 'boys' subjects.
In fact,
girls usually do as well as, or even outperform, boys in science classwork.
Complex prepositions
(with regard to = with respect to = regarding = concerning = in connection with) ~ about
according to
(a) = in a way that
agrees
with a
particular plan, system, or set of rules
(a) Grouping students
according to
their ability has both advantages and disadvantages
(b) = in a way that
depends
on a
changing factor
(b) In my opinion, it can be unfair to pay workers
according to
the amount of work they do
apart from
= in addition to
Apart from strengthening family ties
, playing sports with your children is
also
good for your health
Apart from that,
it is
also
partly responsible for an increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
in conjunction with
=
together with
A ban on poaching,
in conjunction with
a clean-up forests and rivers, would save many endangered species
in terms of (+N) / in (+adj) terms
~ about
In terms of money,
working as a teacher does not really seem attractive
In financial terms,
working as a teacher does not really seem attractive
Noun Clause
What?
dependent
clauses, cannot stand alone
Begin with certain specific words:
how, how long, how much/how many, how often, that, the fact that, what, whatever, when, where, whether, which, whichever, who, whoever, why
Creating
N.C Word + N + V + Rest of clause
How much money is invested in schools
depends on various factors.
Whether people eat a balanced diet
will affect their health.
Environmentalists agree
that governments should put climate change at the top of their agenda
.
How often people do exercise, eat well and unwind
can affect their mental well-being.
N
could be
ordinary n/pronoun/noun phrase
How much
we
spend on space exploration should depend on the wealth of each country.
People have different opinions about whether
having university education
is beneficial or not
N.C Word + N + to-infinitive + Rest of clause
How much money to invest in the healthcare system
is often disagreed on.
Mainly used with
How many/much
Whichever
Which
What
How many people to allow into a museum at one time
must be regulated
Whichever candidate to hire
must be agreed on unanimously
How much effort to put into one's job
is and individual preference
Which product to purchase
usually depends on both the quality and the price
N.C Word + to-infinitive + Rest of clause
How much to invest in space exploration
is something people do not always agree on.
Mainly used with
How / How often
How long
How much / many
Whether
What
Who
Where / When
How to improve a country's economy
is important to assess before providing aid.
Whether to donate money or provide food and shelter
is a difficult decision to make when helping the homeless.
Where to build new housing
must be decided carefully.
When to take up a hobby
can sometimes depend on a person's time in life.
How long to stay in one job
might be determined by the promotional prospects within the company.
NC with whoever/whatever
N.C word + N/P + V + Rest of clause
Whatever education people have in childhood
affects the rest of their lives
Whatever solution the government decides
must reflect the will of the people
N.C word + V + Rest of clause
Companies should hire
whoever has the most experience and qualifications.
We can decide
whatever happens next
Functions
Subject
Object
Subject complement
(
be
,
become
)
The problem
is
that many people are not recycling
Some philosophers say that we
become
what we are
Complement of an adjective
Many people are not
sure
how much to donate to charities
People are
afraid
that another financial crisis might arise
Complement of a preposition
A good teacher listen
to
what students have to say
Sometimes, it can be very useful to stop and think
about
why we do what we do
Noun Phrase
Creating
Post-modification
companies
with large resources
Consists
one or more of
prepositional phrases
a person
with a big social media presence
countries
without enough resources
people
on a low income
(pl.)
schools
in rural areas
(pl.)
people
at a certain stage of life
visitors
from abroad
relative clauses
a person
who speaks two languages
a company
that offers housing to employees
non-finite clauses
people
working long hours
jobs
involving many responsibilities
sports centers
offering free lessons
a restaurant
offering vegetarian meals
companies
employing many staff
a person
employed by an international company
Pre-modification
a successful working
mother
Consists
determiners
(articles, demonstratives, possessives, numbers, quantifiers)
those
skills
quantifiers
a significant number of
people (pl.)
a high volume of
traffic (sg.)
a range of
skills (pl.)
a lot of
businesses (pl.)
very few
students (pl.)
adjectives
participles
a
publishing
company / a
published
author
an
exhausting
job /
exhausted
nurses
breaking
news /
broken
promises
a
writing
desk / a
written
report
other nouns
a children's author
language skills development theories
Pre- and post-modification
a successful working
mother
with children
international
companies
with large resources
Gerund Phrases
always singular
Earning a high salary
should depend on a person's contribution to society
Relative Clauses
Defining
Subject
of the Verb
who, which or that
determines
the
verb
in
both clauses
:star:
define the subject (a specific group)
Children
who
watch
TV for long hours every day
are
likely to develop concentration problems
A child
who
watches
TV for long hours every day
is
likely to develop concentration problems
:green_heart:
give essential info
:forbidden:
no commas
Object
of the Verb
who, which or that
The
teachers
who
we remember
best
are
the enthusiastic and dedicated ones
The
teacher
who
I remember
best
is
the enthusiastic and dedicated ones
only determines
the
verb
in the
main clause
:warning:
can be
left out
with
whose
can stand for
his / her / their
Marie Curie was a scientist
whose
work was crucial in developing the use of X-rays in medicine
with
prepositions
who, whom, which
preposition
come at the
end
,
who
can be used
The strangers
who
teenagers chat online
with
are not always trustworthy
preposition
come
before
relative pronoun,
must
use
whom
not who
The strangers
with whom
teenagers chat online are not always trustworthy
Non-Defining
add extra info
:warning:
require commas
Subject
(which/
who
)
determines
the
verb
in
both clauses
:star:
:warning:
cannot be omitted
or
replaced
by another word
(
whom/that
)
Budget holidays
, which
are
becoming increasingly cheaper,
are
resulting in more people traveling by air and thus adding to the problem of air pollution
A student
from a more modest background, who often
has
to work and study at the same time, sometimes
feels
less integrated into campus life than their peers.
with
whose
Firefighters, coastguards and doctors
, whose mission is to save human lives,
should definitely earn more than pop stars and footballers.
:warning:
cannot be omitted
or
replaced
by another word
with
prepositions
often
comes just
before
the
relative pronoun
People such as doctors and teachers,
without whom
society could not function properly, are very often underpaid.
using
which
to
refer
to a
whole sentence
Plastic bags are rarely disposed of properly
,
which
causes
them to end up in rivers and lakes
=
The fact that
plastic bags are rarely disposed of properly causes them to end up in rivers and lakes
Object
(which/
whom
)
only determines
the
verb
in the
main clause
:warning:
:warning:
cannot be omitted
or
replaced
by another word
(
who/that
)
Ex-convicts
, whom
society tends
to push aside, mostly
want
to return to normal life.
Practical industry
experience
, which many
students try
to gain while at university,
is
highly valued by employers