Punctuation: commas (,)

 We use commas to separate a list of similar words or phrases:

It’s important to write in clear, simple, accurate words.

They were more friendly, more talkative, more open than last time we met them.

We do not normally use a comma before and at the end of a list of single words:

They travelled through Bulgaria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland.

American English does use a comma in lists before and:

We took bread, cheese, and fruit with us.

We use commas to separate words or phrases that mark where the voice would pause slightly:

I can’t tell you now. However, all will be revealed tomorrow at midday.

We had, in fact, lost all of our money.

James, our guide, will accompany you on the boat across to the island.

Separating clauses with commas

When main clauses are separated by and, or, but, we don’t normally use a comma if the clauses have the same subject. However, we sometimes use commas if the clauses have different subjects:

They were very friendly and invited us to their villa in Portugal. (same subject)

Footballers these days earn more money but they are fitter and play many more matches. (same subject)

It was an expensive hotel in the centre of Stockholm, but we decided it was worth the money.(different subjects)

When a subordinate clause comes before the main clause, we commonly use a comma to separate the clauses. However, we do not always do this in short sentences:

If you get lost in the city centre, please don’t hesitate to text us or phone us.

If you get lost just phone us.

When we use subordinate or non-finite comment clauses to give further details or more information, we commonly use commas to separate the clauses:

You do need to wear a darker jacket, if I may say so.

To be honest, I thought they were very very rude.

Commas and relative clauses

We use commas to mark non-defining clauses. Such clauses normally add extra, non-essential information about the noun or noun phrase:

The ambulance, which arrived after just five minutes, took three people to the hospital immediately.

Hong Kong, where the first ASEAN meeting was held, is a very different city now.

The same is true for non-finite clauses:

The storm, lasting as it did for several days, caused serious damage to villages near the coast.

Warning: 

We don’t use commas to mark defining clauses:

Barcelona was the Spanish city that was selected for the Olympic Games.

Not: … the Spanish city, that was selected …

Commas and speech forms

We commonly separate tags and yes-no responses with commas:

They are going to the party, aren’t they?

No, thank you. I’ve already eaten too much.

We also usually separate vocatives, discourse markers and interjections with commas:

Open the door for them, Kayleigh, can you. Thanks. (vocative)

Well, what do you think we should do about it? (discourse marker)

Wow, that sounds really exciting. (interjection)

We use commas to show that direct speech is following or has just occurred:

He said in his opening speech, ‘Now is the time to plan for the future.’ (or He said in his opening speech: ‘Now is the time to plan for the future.’)

When the direct speech is first, we use a comma before the closing of the quotation marks:

‘We don’t want to go on holiday to the same place every year,’ he said impatiently.

Present perfect with time adverbials

 We often use the present perfect with adverbials which refer to the recent past:

recently, just, only just.

Scientists have recently discovered a new breed of monkey.
We have just got back from our holidays.

or adverbials which include the present:

so far     until now     up to now ever (in questions) yet (in questions and negatives)

Have you ever seen a ghost?
Where have you been up to now?
A: Have you finished your homework yet?
B: No, so far I've only done my history.

After a clause with the present perfect we often use a clause with since to show when something started in the past:

I've worked here since I left school.
I've been watching that programme every week since it started.

Make up 3 sentences in Present Perfect with time adverbials and post them below. 

 

Have been and have gone

 We use have/has been when someone has gone to a place and returned:

A: Where have you been?
B: I've just been out to the supermarket.

A: Have you ever been to San Francisco?
B: No, but I've been to Los Angeles.

But when someone has not returned, we use have/has gone:

A: Where's Maria? I haven't seen her for weeks.
B: She's gone to Paris for a week. She'll be back tomorrow. 

Make up 3 sentences with have been /have gone and post them in the commentary section below. 

Participial Construction & Absolute Construction: Difference Explained

Every learner of English ought to know the difference between participial construction and absolute construction . These two constructions are the source of many an error often committed by English - users. 

What is participial construction? It is a common type of sentence construction in English . It consists of a participial phrase or clause followed by the main clause. The participle may be present participle ( - ing) or past participle ( -ed or -en). Look at these sentences :

*Singing loudly, John entered the room . 

*Tired from work, Kate went to bed early. 

*Having read the book, she returned it to the library. 

The first part of the sentence is called a participial phrase. The verbs in participial phrases are in the participle forms, present or past, and their subjects (not mentioned) are always the same as the subjects in the main clauses. So , remember that if you put a noun or pronoun other than the real subject (that is, subject of the participial phrase) at the beginning of the main clause, it may result in confusion ! Look at this sentence :

Walking in the grass, a snake bit her . 

What impression do you get? Was the snake walking? If you re-write the sentence as

Walking in the grass, she was bitten by a snake 

the sentence would make sense . 

Now, let me discuss Absolute Construction. This type of sentence construction makes use of absolute phrases. What is an absolute phrase? Well, it is different from participial phrases in that it explicitly mentions the subject. The subject is never mentioned in participial phrases. For example, "being rich" is a participial phrase , "he being rich" is an absolute phrase. Another difference between participial construction and absolute construction is that the subjects of absolute phrases are always different from those of their main clauses. For this reason the syntactic relation between the absolute phrase and the main clause is always a fragile one. Hence the name absolute construction. You know absolute means "independent" or "not related " etc. The absolute phrases serves to give additional details in a hurried manner, so to speak. Nonetheless, there is a strong semantic relation between the absolute phrase and the main clause. Look at these sentences:

*The party being over, the guests began to depart. 

*Her husband being away, she felt lonely and miserable. 

*All government offices will remain closed tomorrow, tomorrow being a holiday. 

*The doctor having arrived, she looked happy and cheerful. 

Make up 3 sentences with the absolute construction and post them below. 

 

Past simple or present perfect

Definite time in the past

We use the past simple to refer to definite time in the past (when we specify the time or how long) and usually with past time expressions such as yesterday, two weeks ago, last year, in 1995:

We met in January 1975. We went to America together in 1978.

Not: We have met in January 1975. We have gone to America together in 1978.

Time up to now

We use the present perfect to talk about time up to now, that is, events that took place in the past but which connect with the present. The present perfect is often used with time expressions which indicate time up to now, for example today, this year, in the last six months:

I haven’t seen her since January 1995.

Not: I didn’t see her since January 1995.

Compare

I haven’t seen her for over 20 years.	The last time I saw her was over 20 years ago.
I didn’t see her for over 20 years and then I bumped into her last week.	I saw her last week but the last time I saw her before last week was over 20 years ago.

 

Compare

I finished my homework an hour ago.	Definite time in the past. I finished my homework at a time in the past (one hour ago).
I haven’t finished my homework yet.	From a time in the past up to now. I started my homework at a time in the past and it is not finished yet (yet means ‘up to now’).
We had a good day yesterday.	Definite time in the past. We had a good day in the past (yesterday).
We have had a good day so far.	From a time in the past up to now. The day has been good until now but it hasn’t finished yet.
We didn’t see Diana last week.	Definite time in the past (last week).

We haven’t seen Diana this week.	From the beginning of the week until now.
I didn’t have any lunch today.	Today is not finished but it is almost the end of the day and past lunchtime.
I haven’t had any lunch today.	It is still today and not too late to have lunch.

Make up 5 sentences with Present Perfect and Past Simple and post them below.

Phrasal Verbs

 Look at these examples to see how phrasal verbs are used.

This is the form. Please can you fill it in?
Why are you bringing that argument up now?
Police are looking into connections between the two crimes.
We need to come up with a solution.

Phrasal verbs are very common in English, especially in more informal contexts. They are made up of a verb and a particle or, sometimes, two particles. The particle often changes the meaning of the verb.

I called Jen to see how she was. (call = to telephone)
They've called off the meeting. (call off = to cancel)

In terms of word order, there are two main types of phrasal verb: separable and inseparable. 

Separable

With separable phrasal verbs, the verb and particle can be apart or together.

They've called the meeting off.
OR
They've called off the meeting.

However, separable phrasal verbs must be separated when you use a pronoun. 

The meeting? They've called it off.

Here are some common separable phrasal verbs:

I didn't want to bring the situation up at the meeting.
(bring up = start talking about a particular subject)

Please can you fill this form in?
(fill in = write information in a form or document)

I'll pick you up from the station at 8 p.m.
(pick up = collect someone in a car or other vehicle to take them somewhere)

She turned the job down because she didn't want to move to Glasgow.
(turn down = to not accept an offer)

Non-separable

Some phrasal verbs cannot be separated. 

Who looks after the baby when you're at work?

Even when there is a pronoun, the verb and particle remain together.

Who looks after her when you're at work?

Here are some common non-separable phrasal verbs:

I came across your email when I was clearing my inbox. 
(come across = to find something by chance)

The caterpillar turned into a beautiful butterfly. 
(turn into = become)

It was quite a major operation. It took months to get over it and feel normal again. 
(get over = recover from something)

We are aware of the problem and we are looking into it. 
(look into = investigate)

Some multi-word verbs are inseparable simply because they don't take an object.

I get up at 7 a.m.

With two particles

Phrasal verbs with two particles are also inseparable. Even if you use a pronoun, you put it after the particles.

Who came up with that idea? 
(come up with = think of an idea or plan)

Let's get rid of these old magazines to make more space. 
(get rid of = remove or become free of something that you don't want)

I didn't really get on with my stepbrother when I was a teenager.
(get on with = like and be friendly towards someone)

Can you hear that noise all the time? I don't know how you put up with it. 
(put up with = tolerate something difficult or annoying)

The concert's on Friday. I'm really looking forward to it. 
(look forward to = be happy and excited about something that is going to happen)

Read the explanation and make up 5 sentences with phrasal verbs.

Challenge Finn: The third conditional

• The third conditional is used for a past situation that didn't happen. 

In the video, Finn is lost. He says:

If I had paid attention…

In other words, in the past he did not pay attention. The past situation that did not happen is: Finn paying attention. That's the part we call the conditional clause, or the if clause. Next we have the result:

… I wouldn't have got lost

This is the result of the past situation! It's the result clause or the main clause. Finn did get lost, but if the past was different, he wouldn't have got lost.

... And he wouldn't have found the big number three which was useful for this video.

Use third conditional in sentences of your own and post them below.

Conditionals

Zero Conditional

Time: General

Function: Habits, tendencies, rules, and scientific facts.

Structure: When + Present Simple, Present Simple.

Example: When he is stressed, he exercises.

 

First Conditional

Time: Future

Function: Probable future, predictions, promises, threats, and offers.

Structure: If + Present Simple, will/ modal + verb

Example: If Sally is hungry later, she will eat something.

Second Conditional

Time: Hypothetical future, abstract

Function: Fantasy, improbable future, hypothesis, and negotiations.

Structure: If + Past Simple, would/ modal + verb

Example: If I was rich, I would travel around the world.

 

Third Conditional

Time: Hypothetical past

Function: Regrets, comments about past situations.

Structure: If + Past Perfect, would/ modal + have + past participle.

Example: If I had not studied English, I would have studied Arabic.

 

Mixed Conditional

Time: Past (condition) and present (consequence).

Function: Regrets, comments about past situations that have present consequences.

Structure: If + Past Perfect, would/ modal + verb

Example: If I had studied Arabic at school, I could speak Arabic now.

To take a test on conditionals click here

Make up 4 sentences with each type of conditionals and post them below.

 

Wish + verb forms in the that-clause

 

The verb forms we use in that-clauses after wish are similar to the verb forms in conditional clauses after if. We use a past verb form for present and future meanings.

Compare

if	wish
It would be good if we had a bigger car.	I wish we had a bigger car.
It would be good if I knew how to use this DVD player.	I wish I knew how to use this DVD player.

When we wish something about the past, we use the past perfect after wish:

I wish I had known Charlie was coming. I would have invited Jane. (I didn’t know it and did not invite Jane.)

I wish I hadn’t said that. I can see I’ve upset you. Sorry. (I did say it; it would have been better if I had not said it.)

Wish + would

We can use wish + would if we are annoyed about something that is or is not happening, or about something that will or will not happen:

I wish you’d stop making so much noise! (You are making a noise; it would be better if you didn’t.)

I wish you wouldn’t come through the kitchen with your dirty boots on. (You do come through the kitchen; it would be better if you didn’t.)

In informal situations, we can use wish in the continuous form like this:

He’s embarrassing everyone. I’m just wishing he would go away!

Make up 3 sentences with 'wish' and post them in the commentary section below.