Conjunctions: contrast

Conjunctions join clauses or sentences and coordinate words in the same clause.

Contrast conjunctions connect ideas and clauses that contrast. The following words and phrases are contrast conjunctions: but, although, though, even though, even if, while, in spite of, while, whilst, whereas.

But

‘But‘ is one of the most common contrast conjunctions. We use ‘but‘ to connect ideas that contrast or oppose each other.

When we use ‘but’ to join two independent/main clauses (sentences), we must use a comma before ‘but‘. If there aren’t two independent clauses on either side of ‘but’, we don’t need a comma.

• I want to go for a walk, but it’s raining outside.
• That lady is nice but stern.

Although/though/even though

We use ‘although‘, ‘though‘ and ‘even though‘ to join the main clause to a subordinate clause that contains a surprise or unexpected results.

They do not connect two independent (main) clauses. The clause that contains ‘although‘, ‘though‘, or ‘even though‘ is a subordinate clause and cannot stand alone as a full sentence. When the subordinate clause comes first, we use a comma after it.

• Although I hate camping, I am going hiking and camping this weekend.
• Though she waited for almost an hour, her friend never showed up.
• Even though I got ready to go, we decided to just stay at home.

When the subordinate clause comes after the main clause, we do not need a comma.

• I am going hiking and camping this weekend although I hate camping.
• Her friend never showed up though she waited for almost an hour.
• We decided to just stay at home even though I got ready to go.

Both ‘although‘ and ‘though‘ have the same meaning, however, ‘although‘ is more formal and more common in writing. We can use ‘even + though‘ to add emphasis to ‘though‘.

Even if

‘Even if‘ is similar to ‘even though‘ and ‘although‘/’though‘, and it is used in the same way. ‘Even if‘ means “whether or not.”

Again, the clause with ‘even if‘ is a subordinate clause, so we must use a comma if the subordinate clause comes before the main clause.

• Even if you run fast, you’ll still be late for school.
• I’ll be happy even if I’m not chosen.

In spite of

We use ‘in spite of‘ to show unexpected results. The clause containing ‘in spite of‘ is a subordinate clause.

Just like with the previous conjunctions, when the subordinate clause comes first, we use a comma after it. ‘In spite of‘ is followed by either a gerund (‘-ing’ form of the verb) or a noun phrase.

• In spite of having a bad teacher, the students all did well on their test.
• The baby slept well in spite of all the noise.
• I enjoyed the party in spite of having a headache.

While/whilst/whereas

We use ‘while‘, ‘whilst‘, and ‘whereas‘ to join contrasting ideas. ‘While‘ and ‘whilst‘ mean the same thing though ‘while‘ is more common and ‘whilst‘ is more formal and more archaic English. They both mean ‘at/during the same time that something else is happening,’ or ‘in contrast with.’

• While/Whilst I prefer to eat at the table, my husband prefers to eat in front of the television. (contrast)
• You get some onions while/whilst I get the meat. (at the same time)

You can see that we use a comma when ‘while‘/’whilst‘ joins contrasting ideas regardless of whether the subordinate clause comes first or second. However, we do not use a comma when ‘while‘/’whilst‘ is used to mean “during the same time.”

We cannot use ‘whereas‘ to mean ‘at the same time.’ We only use ‘whereas‘ to join contrasting ideas. We use a comma with ‘whereas‘ in the same way that we do for ‘although‘/’though‘ and other subordinating clauses.

• Whereas I like to get up early and go for a run, my partner likes to sleep in and go for a run in the evening.
• John spends his money right away whereas Joan saves hers for a rainy day.

Prepositions: cause and result

Prepositions are words that connect and build relationships between other words, like nouns and verbs. One type of relationship is cause and effect (or result).

In the example below, ‘because of ‘ is a prepositional phrase. The first part of the sentence is the cause, and the second part is the effect. 

• Because of his criminal record, he couldn’t find a job.  
• Hard work leads to success.

In the above example, the preposition ‘to‘ is added to the verb ‘lead‘ to create the cause and effect meaning. Hard work is the cause, and success is the effect.  

In the example below, the preposition ‘for‘ is joined by the reason to create the cause and effect meaning. In this sentence, horrible traffic is the cause and the late arrival is the effect.

• The reason for my late arrival is the horrible traffic.  

Here are more examples of prepositional phrases that can create the cause and effect meaning.

Here are examples of verbs followed by prepositions that create the same meaning.

Finally, here are examples of nouns followed by prepositions that create the cause effect meaning.

Adverbs: also, as well, too, so, either, neither

Also, as well, too

These three words mean ‘in addition’. We use them in positive sentences:

• I like basketball and I also like football.
• I like basketball and I like football too.
• I like basketball and I like football as well.

The main difference is their position in a sentence:

‘Also’ usually comes before the main verb or after the verb ‘to be’.

‘Too’ and ‘as well’ are usually at the end of the sentence.

‘Too’ and ‘as well’ are common in spoken and informal British English. (‘As well’ sounds formal or old-fashioned in American English.)

So

We can also use ‘so’ to mean ‘in addition’ in positive sentences:

• I like basketball and so does my brother.

(This means the same as ‘I like basketball and my brother likes basketball too’.)

In spoken English, we can say:

I can swim.

• I can swim too.
• I can too.
• Me too.
• So can I.

Not either, neither & neither… nor

– In negative sentences, we can use ‘not… either’:

• My sister doesn’t like basketball and she doesn’t like football either.

(NOT: She doesn’t like basketball and she doesn’t like basketball too.)

• She can’t dance and she can’t sing either.

– We can express the same idea with ‘neither’. The word order is inverted after ‘neither’:

• She doesn’t like basketball and neither does she like football.
• She can’t dance and neither can she sing.

– We can also express the same idea with ‘neither… nor’:

• She likes neither basketball nor football.
• She can neither dance nor sing.

– We can also use ‘neither’ like this:

• My sister doesn’t like basketball and neither does my mother.

(This means the same as ‘My sister doesn’t like basketball and my mother doesn’t like basketball either’.)

(NOT: I like basketball and so likes my brother.)

In spoken English, we can say:

I can’t play the guitar.

• I can’t play the guitar either.
• I can’t either.
• Me either.  (US English)
• Me neither.  (UK English)
• Neither can I.

Adverbs: degree

These adverbs tell us the intensity or degree of an action, adjective or another adverb.

• extremely, very, really, quite

We can use these words to modify the meaning of adjectives:

How was his football match?

• It was extremely good.
• It was very / really good.
• It was good.
• It was quite good.
• It wasn’t very good.
• It wasn’t very good at all.

We can also use these words to modify the meaning of adverbs:

How did he play?

• He played extremely well.
• He played very / really well.
• He played well.
• He played quite well.
• He didn’t play very well.
• He didn’t play very well at all.

So / Such

We can use ‘so’ and ‘such’ to make adjectives stronger:

so + adjective

• The football match was so good.

such + (a) + adjective + noun

• It was such a good football match.

We can also use ‘so’ to make adverbs stronger:

so + adverb

• I played so well.

We can also use ‘so… (that)’ and ‘such… (that)’. We often leave out ‘that’.

• The football match was so good (that) nobody wanted to go home.
• It was such a good football match (that) nobody wanted to go home.
• I played so well that I scored two goals.

Too / Enough

We can use ‘too + adjective’ and ‘too + adverb’ to say that there is a problem. It means ‘more than is good’ or ‘more than is necessary’:

• We’re not going outside because it’s too cold.
• This apartment is too small for us to get a dog.
• He swam too slowly to win the race.

We can use ‘not + adjective + enough’ or ‘not + adverb + enough’ in a similar way:

• It’s not warm enough to go outside today.
• I don’t think we can get a dog – our apartment isn’t big enough.
• He didn’t swim quickly enough to win the race.

We can also use the positive form ‘adjective + enough’ or ‘adverb + enough’:

• I think this pizza will be big enough for four people.
• Martin is 17 so he is old enough to get a driver’s licence.
• He did well enough in the exam to get into university.

We can say ‘too / enough… for somebody / something’.

• There wasn’t enough room for us to stretch our legs out.

We can also say ‘too / enough… to do something’.

• He’s too small to reach the door handle.

Almost & nearly

We can use ‘almost’ or ‘nearly’ to modify the meaning of verbs:

• I remembered my passport two minutes before leaving the house.  I almost / nearly forgot my passport.
• I arrived at the airport very late, but I managed to catch my plane.  I almost / nearly missed my flight.

Only just

We can also use ‘almost’ in negative sentences.  However, it is more common to make a positive sentence with ‘only just’:

• I only just remembered my passport.

(This means the same as, ‘I almost didn’t remember my passport’.)

• I only just caught the plane.

(This means the same as, ‘I almost didn’t catch the plane’.)

Hardly

‘Hardly’ also has a similar meaning to ‘almost not’. We can use it to say that something is only just possible or true.

• I am so excited.  I can hardly wait for my next holiday in Mexico.
• The first time I went there, I hardly spoke any Spanish.

‘Almost’, ‘nearly’, ‘only just’ and ‘hardly’ come before the main verb.

USAGE

1. Many adverbs of degree like ‘very’, ‘really’, ‘quite’, ‘barely’, ‘not particularly’, etc. can be used with gradable adjectives, making them stronger or weaker:

• This movie is extremely interesting.
• The game was really impressive.
• Your brother is quite talented.
• The street is barely illuminated.

2. Certain adverbs like ‘absolutely’, ‘completely’, ‘totally’, ‘nearly’, ‘practically’, ‘almost’ etc. are used only with non-gradable adjectives. They are used to describe things that possess some quality entirely or almost entirely.

• Our journey was totally fascinating.
• Today I feel myself perfectly well.
• Mary’s new dress is absolutely amazing.
• The students in our university are mostly American.
• These two cars are practically identical.

3. Adverbs ‘really’, ‘fairly’ and ‘pretty’ can be used both with gradable and non-gradable adjectives:

• It’s a really good idea (gradable, meaning the idea is very good).
• It’s a really great idea (non-gradable, meaning the idea is absolutely the best).

4. Adverbs of degree ‘quite’, ‘really’ and ‘absolutely’ can also be used with the verbs. They are put before the verbs to modify their meaning a little.

• I quite enjoy running (meaning it gives me pleasure).
• I really like running (meaning I do it quite often and I like it).
• I absolutely love running (meaning I can’t live without it).

Adverbs: superlative

Adverbs, like adjectives, can have superlative forms to show extreme difference in the way things happen. Superlative adverbs come after the verb in a sentence, and they are almost always preceded by the word ‘the‘.

• Which animal runs the most quickly?
• Caterpillars move the slowest.
• Dave visits doctors the least frequently.

1. Adverbs ending in ‘-ly‘

To make superlative forms of most adverbs, use:

the ‘most’ or ‘least’ + adverb:

• Of all aircrafts autogyro flies the most safely.
• You should consider my proposal the  most seriously.
• Bob is lazy, he cleans his flat the least frequently.
• This music sounds the least harmoniously.

2. Adverbs with the same form as an adjective

Some short adverbs, like ‘early’, ‘fast’, ‘slow’, ‘hard’, ‘high’, ‘long’, have superlative forms of adjectives with ‘-est’ at the end:

• Your walk the slowest I can imagine, let’s hurry up!
• This aircraft can fly the highest in its class.
• I can run this distance the fastest in my age group.
• Of all his colleagues Phil works the hardest, and his boss appreciates that.

3. Irregular comparatives

Some common adverbs have irregular comparatives that we just have to learn:

• good → well → Stephanie plays violin the best in her group.
• bad → badly → Ben knows multiplication table the worst.

Omitting the group of comparison

Adverbs: comparative

Adverbs, like adjectives, can have comparative forms to show how differently things happen. Comparative adverbs come after the verb in a sentence.

• Could you speak more quietly, please?
• It’s Sunday, so Pete can get up later.
• Jack drives better than his brother.

There are three ways in which the comparative adverbs are formed, depending on the spelling of the base adverb.

1. Adverbs ending in ‘-ly’

To make comparative forms of most adverbs, use ‘more’ or ‘less’ + adverb (…than):

• People can cycle more safely on special cycling roads.
• You should prepare for your exams more seriously than you do now.
• Tommy did his homework less accurately than Mary.
• Jacks talks to people less politely than Ben.

2. Adverbs with the same form as an adjective

Some short adverbs, like ‘early’, ‘fast’, ‘slow’, ‘hard’, ‘high’, ‘long’, have comparative forms of adjectives with ‘-er’ at the end:

• Turtles move slower than hedgehogs.
• I came to the office earlier than my colleagues.
• Timothy always runs faster than his friends.
• Kate works harder than you, so please be more friendly to her.

3. Irregular comparatives

Some common adverbs have irregular comparatives that we just have to learn:

• good → well → I can cook better than you.
• bad → badly → Sally sings worse than her sister Emily.

Intensifiers and mitigators

We use these words and phrases as intensifiers with these patterns:

much – far – a lot – quite a lot – a great deal – a good deal – a good bit – a fair bit

• I forget things much more often nowadays.

We use these words and phrases as mitigators:

a bit – just a bit – a little – a little bit – just a little bit – slightly

• She began to speak a bit more quickly.

Adverbs: manner

Adverbs of manner are used to describe how things happen. They are usually put after the verb.

• The boy runs quickly.
• The music plays loudly.
• Frank speaks English very well.

Formation

I.   Adverbs of manner are usually formed by adding ‘-ly’ to the adjective:

• careful → You should drive carefully at night.
• polite → Mary looks sad. Could you ask her politely, what has happened to her?
• serious → Seriously speaking, I don’t like this idea.

1) If the adjective ends in ‘-le’, remove ‘-e’ and add ‘-y’:

• gentle → This mechanism should be cleaned very gently.
• terrible → I will miss you terribly.

2) If the adjective ends in a consonant + ‘-y’, change ‘-y’ to ‘-ily’:

• angry → She looked at me angrily.
• easy → Jack can do grammar exercises easily.  
• noisy → Your old printer works noisily, you should change it for a new one.

3) If the adjective ends in ‘-ful’, double the ‘-l’ and add ‘-y’:

• beautiful → Mary has cooked the meat beautifully.
• successful → Not all students passed their exams successfully.

II.  Some adverbs of manner are not formed by adding ‘-ly’:

1) ‘Well’ is the adverb of ‘good’. We often use ‘very’ and ‘quite’ with ‘well’:

• Jane speaks German and French very well.
• Nick runs long distances quite well.

2) Some adjectives ending in ‘-ly’, like ‘friendly’, ‘lovely’, ‘silly’, ‘ugly’, don’t change to become adverbs.

• He spoke to me in a friendly manner. (NOT: He spoke to me friendlyly)
• Her dancing is so lovely. (NOT: She dances so lovelyly).

3) Adverbs of manner, like ‘early’, ‘late’, ‘fast’, ‘hard’, ‘low’, have the same form as their adjectives:

• The bus is late again (adjective).
• A am afraid, we’ll arrive late (adv).
• Tom drives very fast, it’s dangerous.
• We’re working hard all day long.

Adjectives: comparative structures

Comparative adjectives

When we make comparisons, we often use comparative adjectives:

One-syllable adjectives

• England is smaller than Australia.
• Australia is larger / bigger than England.

Usually, we add ‘-er’ – so ‘small’ becomes ‘smaller’.

If the adjective ends in ‘e’, we just add ‘-r’ – so ‘large’ becomes ‘larger’.

If the adjective has a ‘consonant-vowel-consonant’ pattern, we double the final consonant and then add ‘-er’. ‘Big’ becomes ‘bigger’ (and ‘hot’ becomes ‘hotter’).

Longer adjectives

• – José: Spanish is easier than Arabic.
• – Ahmed: No!  Spanish is more difficult than Arabic!

With two-syllable adjectives ending in ‘y’, there is a spelling change. ‘Easy’ becomes ‘easier’ (and ‘busy’ becomes ‘busier’).

With other adjectives which have two or more syllables, we use ‘more + base adjective’ – so ‘difficult’ becomes ‘more difficult’ (and ‘interesting’ becomes ‘more interesting’).

We can also use ‘less + base adjective’:

• Arabic is less difficult than Spanish!

Irregular adjectives

Some common adjectives have irregular comparative forms:

‘good’ becomes ‘better’, ‘bad’ becomes ‘worse’ and ‘far’ becomes ‘further’ or ‘farther’.

Big differences

• Australia is much bigger than England.
• Australia is a lot bigger than England.
• Australia is far bigger than England.

(We don’t say ‘Australia is very bigger than England’.)

Small differences

• Portugal is a bit bigger than Austria.
• Portugal is slightly bigger than Austria.
• Portugal is a little (bit) bigger than Austria.

(Not) as… as…

We can also use (not) as + adjective + as:

• England is not as big as Australia.

(This means the same thing as ‘Australia is bigger than England’.)

We use the positive form to say that two things are equal:

• Today is as hot as yesterday.

(The two days were the same temperature.)

(Not) the same as… / Different from / to…

• Life in England is not the same as life in Australia.

(Life in England is different from / to life in Australia).

Like / As

We can use ‘like’ to talk about things which are similar or the same:

• It’s raining again.  I hate weather like this.
• My sisters are both teachers like me.
• He can swim like a fish.

We use like + noun / pronoun.  We can’t use ‘as’ in this way:

• I hate weather as this.
• My sisters are both teachers as me.
• He can swim as a fish.

Sometimes we can use either ‘like’ or ‘as’:

• Everything went just as I had planned.
• Everything went just like I had planned.

We use as + subject + verb.

More and more…

We can use ‘double comparatives’ to talk about changes:

• I must stop eating so much chocolate.  I’m getting fatter and fatter.
• Apartments in the city centre have become more and more expensive.

The + comparative… the + comparative…

We can also use comparatives to talk about things which change together:

• The hotter the weather (is), the less energetic I feel.
• The more you practise, the easier it is.

We use the + comparative + subject + verb.  

Adjectives: formation

Adjectives are words that describe nouns. We can make adjectives by adding prefixes and suffixes.

Suffixes go on the end of words.  They change a word from one part of speech, such as a noun or a verb, to another, such as an adjective.  

For example, if you add ‘-able’ to ‘solve’, you create the adjective ‘solvable’.  

• They told me the problem was not solvable, but I thought it was easy.
• The professional secretary was very helpful. She immediately understood what I needed.

The word ‘professional’ comes from ‘profession’, and ‘helpful’ comes from ‘help’.

The most common adjective suffixes and their meaning:

• His lecture bored the class so everyone fell asleep.  
• I was so bored in his class that I fell asleep.
• You are boring me with all this information about insects.
• This is a very boring subject.   

Prefixes go at the beginning of words.

The most common adjective prefixes and their meaning:

• I cannot read anything she writes; her writing is illegible.
• Companies don’t like to work with dishonest employees.  

Spelling rules for il-, im-, ir-, in-

1. Use ‘il-’ for words starting with ‘l’, such as legal (illegal) and legible (illegible).
2. Use ‘ir-’ for words starting with ‘r’, such as relevant (irrelevant) and rational (irrational).  
3. Use ‘im-’ for words starting with ‘m’ or ‘p’, such as mature (immature) and polite (impolite). 
4. For other adjectives, use ‘in-’, such as convenient (inconvenient) and active (inactive).

Pronouns and determiners: each, every, either, neither, both, half, all

Each, every, either, neither, both, half, and all are distributive determiners. They refer to individual members of a group, or to a group of people, animals, or things. They express how something is distributed, divided, or shared.

Each, every, either, neither, both, half, all as determiners

Each

We use ‘each’ to refer to members of a group as separate individuals. We only use ‘each’ before countable nouns, usually singular nouns. We usually use ‘each’ in affirmative and interrogative sentences. We use ‘each’ with a singular verb.

• Each boy has his own helmet.
• We want to speak to each teacher privately.

We can use ‘each’ with of and an article. We can also use ‘each’ after an object – direct or indirect.

• Each of them received a gift.
• Would you like to speak to each of the boys?
• I want to give them each a kiss before I go.

Every

We use ‘every’ almost the same way as we use ‘each’, and often, they are interchangeable. But we use ‘every’ to refer to people or things together in a group. We also use ‘every’ with a singular verb.

• Pass it around so that every student gets one.
• We’d like to hear from every member of the group.

Either/neither

We use ‘either’ to refer to one or the other of two people, animals, or things.

We use ‘either’ in affirmative and interrogative sentences.

• Either color will do; I don’t care.
• Would you like either one of these last two desserts?

‘Neither’ is the opposite of ‘either’. We use ‘neither’ to mean not one nor the other of two people, animals, or things.

We use ‘neither’ in negative sentences.

Sometimes, we use ‘neither’ followed by of, with or without an article. We must always use of when neither comes before a pronoun.

When we use ‘neither’ with of and another determiner, (my, his, these, the, etc.), we use it before a plural noun.

• Neither of the boys admitted his guilt.
• Neither parent knew where the child had gone.
• Neither of us wants to be here.

We use ‘neither’ with a singular verb unless it is followed by of, in which case we can use singular or plural, with the plural verb being less formal.

All/half

Both ‘all’ and ‘half’ tell us the quantity of a group. We use ‘all’ to refer to the whole group or everyone or thing in the group. ‘All’ means that nothing and/or no one has been left out. We use ‘all’ with both countable and uncountable nouns in negative, affirmative, and interrogative statements.

• All life is important.
• All students deserve the help they need.

We can also use ‘all’ with the definite article the to describe a specific group, as well as with of the. We can use ‘all’ with other determiners.

• Where are all the children?
• I want to see all of the students in my office now.
• Where are all my toys?

We can use both a singular or plural verb with ‘all’, depending on the noun it is modifying. If it modifies a noun that takes a plural verb, we use the plural and vice versa.

We use ‘half’ to refer to a part of a group that is divided into two sections. We also use ‘half’ to refer to measurements, followed by an indefinite article. We can also use ‘half’ and the definite article the, as well as other determiners.

• The recipe calls for half a lime.
• Only half of the group wants to go hiking.

Both

We use ‘both’ to refer to a pair of people or things. We can only use ‘both’ with plural, countable nouns because it refers to two things. We use ‘both’ with a plural verb.

• I had both children in Hawaii.
• Both flights have been delayed.

We can use ‘both’ with of, with or without an article. However, when both is followed by a plural pronoun, we must use of after both.

• Both of us want kids.
• Both of the children were born there.

Each, either, neither, all, half, and both as pronouns

Each

We can use ‘each’ as a pronoun where the noun is known or obvious. However, using ‘each one’ or ‘each of them’ is more common.

• I have two sisters, and each has her own style.
• What desserts do you want? I would like one of each, please.

Either/neither

We can use ‘either’ as a pronoun when the noun is known or obvious. Again, we use a singular verb.

• Do you want the red shirt or black shirt? Either is fine. (either refers to the shirts)
• There are two kinds, but either will do. (either refers to two kinds)

We can use ‘neither’ as a pronoun when the noun to which it refers is known or obvious.

• The two boys knew the truth, but neither wanted to admit it. (neither refers to the two boys)
• Would you like the orange or black tie for your costume? Neither. (neither refers to the ties)

All/half

We can use ‘all’ and ‘half’ as pronouns when the noun is known or obvious.

• How much ice cream do you want? Can I have it all? (all refers to ice cream)
• All has been forgiven.
• Can I have a piece of that apple? You can have half. (half refers to the apple)
• Half are already gone.

Again, ‘all’ and ‘half’ take both singular and plural verbs depending on the noun to which it refers.

Both

We can also use ‘both’ as a pronoun when the noun is known or obvious. We always use a plural verb because ‘both’ is plural.

• Are my parents here? Yes, both arrived at the same time. (both refers to parents)
• We have two options. I’d like to see both. (both refers to two options)