Category: Class

Level: Intermediate-Advanced

The best way to explain the subordinating conjunction is through the conjunction ‘because’. This subordinating conjunction shows the cause and effect between the main clause and the subordinate clause.

A clause beginning with ‘because’ would not have a complete sense.

Because she sprained herself.

This statement has an incomplete thought. Adding an independent clause will make this statement complete.

Mary doesn’t go to ballet lessons anymore.

This is how the sentence looks like when the two clauses are combined by a subordinating clause of cause and effect in a complex sentence:

Mary doesn’t go to ballet lessons anymore because she sprained herself.

In this sentence, “Mary doesn’t go to ballet lessons anymore” is the independent clause. It is a complete sentence and thus can stand alone. The clause that shows a causal relationship “because she sprained herself”, typically called the ‘clause of purpose’ answers the question “Why?” or “For what purpose?”.

Here are other subordinating conjunctions that demonstrate cause-and-effect relationships and function the same way as ‘because’:

because of – There were so many tourists on the beach because of the beautiful weather last weekend.

for – Waiting for the new episode of the series on TV, never being able to watch it, of course, for it is aired very late at night.

as  – The traffic was terrible on Friday evening as everyone expected.

since – They didn’t have to explain the procedures to her again since she understood it right away.

therefore – They were unable to practice a lot and therefore had to improvise during the performance.

hence  – A healthy work environment improves employees’ motivation, and hence productivity.

as a result  –   Jackson missed his scheduled interview; as a result, lost the chance at a job at Google.

consequently – I binge-watched so many episodes and consequently had very few to watch by the end of my holiday.

though – He plays cello quite well, though he has only started learning a year ago.

due to – Many residents got sick due to poor sanitation in their area.

provided that – Some parents let their children work during their holidays provided that it is only for a couple of hours per day.

unless – She normally doesn’t talk much unless you start the conversation with her.  

as a result of – The company’s revenues have decreased as a result of this quarter’s decline in sales.

so – My head started throbbing so I stopped reading.

so that – They’ll go by car so that they can bring more suitcases.

Their ballet routines for the upcoming recital is getting more and more difficult, hence Mary decided not to go to rehearsals anymore after getting sprained.

Since Mary sprained her ankle, her ballet teacher has prohibited her from attending the rehearsals.

Level: Intermediate-Advanced

Correlative conjunctions function much like coordinating conjunctions – to relate one sentence element to another. The only difference between correlative conjunctions from coordinating conjunctions is that they always come in pairs.

Here are some of the most common pairs of correlative conjunctions:

either/or
I am saving up to go on a trip either to Machu Picchu or Petra.

both/and
I’ll have both the cashmere and wool jacket.

whether/or
They were wondering whether to go for a drive or take a plane to Lisbon.

neither/nor
Neither our boss nor our client approved this proposal.

not only/but also
He not only made a scene at the party but he also disrespected the hosts.

not/but
She is in need not of financial but moral support from her family and friends.

as/as
Swimming is not as dangerous as bungee jumping.

such/that
It was such a difficult project that I ended up getting burned-out.

scarcely/when
She had scarcely arrived to work when she got a call from her supervisor.

as many/as
There weren’t as many books to choose from at the bookstore as I thought.

no sooner/than
She’d no sooner started working than there was a power outage and she had no electricity.

rather/than
I’d rather get a taxi than take the bus.

Uses of Participle Clauses

Participle clauses can have the same meaning as if-conditionals, so or therefore, because or since, or when, while or as soon as.

CONDITION (same meaning as if-conditional)

Raised accordingly, children will grow up well-rounded. (=If you raise them accordingly, children will grow up well-rounded.)

RESULT (same meaning as so or therefore)

They broke up, breaking her heart to pieces. (=They broke up so her heart was broken to pieces.)

REASON (same meaning as because or since):

She had no time to finish her homework, having spent so much time watching TV. (=She had no time to finish her homework because she had spent so much time watching TV.)

TIME (same meaning as when, while or as soon as):

Waiting at the bus stop, he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten his laptop in the office. (=While waiting at the bus stop, he suddenly remembered that he had forgotten his laptop in the office.)

Level: Intermediate-Advanced

Intensifiers

Intensifiers are used to make adjectives stronger. Some examples are very, really, extremely, amazingly, exceptionally, incredibly, particularly, remarkably, and unusually.

very                       She was studying very hard but still failed the exam.
really                     That was a really delicious meal.
extremely           She is extremely smart.
amazingly            They are amazingly creative.
exceptionally      Her children are exceptionally talented.
incredibly            It was incredibly rude of him to say that.
particularly          I am not particularly fond of romance films.
remarkably         She lives in a remarkably crowded city.
unusually             You are unusually quiet this morning.

Enough

When using enough as an intensifier, it is placed after the adjective. It is used to talk more about the adjective.

If you are eighteen, you are old enough to vote.
He was not allowed to ride the rollercoaster. He is not tall enough.

Intensifiers with strong adjectives

Very is not used with strong adjectives such as:

very small            tiny

very big               huge, enormous

very clever          brilliant

very bad              awful, dreadful, disgusting, terrible

very good            excellent, ideal, perfect, splendid, wonderful

very tasty            delicious

very sure             certain

Instead, intensifiers such as absolutely, completely, exceptionally, particularly, really, quite, totally,and utterly are used.

Their proposal was absolutely terrible.
Anne is an exceptionally brilliant employee.
After her cosmetic surgery went wrong, she looked really dreadful.