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Posts describing lessons or activities for the ESL classroom.

Activities

<p>Will you be talking about Easter in class this week? Hop to it and try our&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2394" target="_blank">Easter</a> vocabulary lesson&nbsp;with brand-new illustrations that kids will love! This nine-page <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons" target="_blank">Word Bank</a> lesson&nbsp;includes a colorful picture dictionary with images related to Easter. Activities such as a matchup, word choice, word search, word scramble, and spelling bee help make this lesson engaging and fun. Discussion questions at the end allow your students to use the new vocabulary in context. This lesson also has a listening activity. Our Word Bank lessons all come with a set of printable flashcards at the end. Hang them around your classroom for ready-made Easter decorations, or use them to elicit the vocabulary before the lesson or to quiz your students after the lesson. Find this lesson in the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons" target="_blank">Word Bank</a> section.</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/visual-learning/resources/2147-spring-easter-idioms-poster" target="_blank">Spring &amp; Easter Idioms</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/english-skit-for-ells-spring-fever" target="_blank">English Skit for ELLs: Spring Fever</a></li>
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/7/lessons" target="_blank">Spring &amp; Easter Collection</a> (includes Easter lessons for all levels)</li>
</ul>

Easter Vocabulary Lesson

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Learn tips on how to teach grammar and usage from our editors and grammar experts. 

Grammar & Usage

<p>Low-level English learners are taught to add ‑s to form a plural noun fairly early on. Fortunately, most English nouns follow this rule. Unfortunately, but perhaps not unexpectedly, there are&nbsp;exceptions!</p>

<p>Luckily these irregular plural forms can be mapped out into several recognizable patterns for the most part. Some plural nouns, such as <em>people</em>, <em>men</em>, <em>women</em>, <em>children</em>, <em>teeth</em>, and <em>feet</em> are so commonly used that they end up being pretty easy to remember. Other less common plurals, like <em>alumni</em>, <em>crises</em>, <em>lice</em>, or <em>sheep</em>, take a bit more exposure and&nbsp;practice.</p>

<p>Introduce the following chart to your English language learners, and then give some of the suggested practice activities a try. Your students will be comfortable with irregular plural nouns in no&nbsp;time!</p>

<h1>Chart</h1>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2680" target="_blank"><img alt="Irregular Plural Nouns resource" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/238/content_103_Irregular-Plural-Nouns_US.png" /></a></p>

<p class="caption">Grammar &amp; Usage Resources &ndash; <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2680" target="_blank">Irregular Plural Nouns</a></p>

<h1>Practice Activities</h1>

<h2>Eliciting</h2>

<p>Before handing out the chart, write ten or more of the words from the chart randomly on the board. Challenge students to find common patterns among the&nbsp;words.</p>

<h2>Ball Toss</h2>

<p>Bring in a soft ball (or use a small eraser or other small, soft object). Say a singular noun from the chart and toss the ball to a student. That student must give the plural form. Then that student will choose another singular noun and toss the ball to another student. Continue until all students have had a turn. You can choose to let them consult the chart or&nbsp;not.</p>

<h2>Additions</h2>

<p>Put your students in pairs and challenge them to add to the chart. Allow them to use their mobile devices or classroom computers to look up more irregular plurals. Make it more interesting by giving a time limit (the pair who has the most new words wins) or by insisting on five new words per category (or five new words in three categories of their&nbsp;choosing).</p>

<h2>Dialogues</h2>

<p>Put students into pairs and have them write their own dialogue using five (or ten) plural forms. Then have the pairs perform their dialogues for the class. Make it more interesting by having pairs use one&nbsp;<em>incorrect</em> plural form in their dialogue to see if the rest of the class can catch it during each&nbsp;performance.</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1621" target="_blank">Singular &amp; Plural Nouns</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2493" target="_blank">Regular &amp; Irregular Plural Nouns</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1613" target="_blank">Count Vs. Non-Count Nouns</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2184" target="_blank">Non-Count Nouns Chart</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/plural-endings-s-or-es" target="_blank">Plural Endings: -s or -es?</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/count-non-count-nouns/" target="_blank">Count &amp; Non-Count Nouns</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/confusing-possessive-plurals" target="_blank">Confusing Possessive Plurals</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/subject-verb-agreement-non-count-nouns-that-end-in-s/" target="_blank">Subject&ndash;Verb Agreement: Non-Count Nouns That End in -s</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/there-is-there-are" target="_blank">There Is/There Are + Nouns in a Series</a></li>
</ul>


Irregular Plural Nouns

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<p>When students learn how to form the plural of countable English nouns, they realize they have to memorize a lot of <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2493" target="_blank">irregular plural nouns</a>. At least if the word is regular, they only have to add <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span>. Or do they? Some English words ending in certain letters take <span class="inlineBlock">-es</span> instead of <span class="inlineBlock">-s.</span> Are there any rules we can teach our students to make English plurals a little easier to&nbsp;learn?</p>

<h1>Adding <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span></h1>

<p>Most regular count nouns take the <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span> ending to form the plural. Students learn this at an early level, and while it&rsquo;s a fairly straightforward rule, there are some tricky exceptions such as irregular plural forms (but that&rsquo;s a post for another&nbsp;day).</p>

<ul>
	<li>book &rarr; books</li>
	<li>dog &rarr; dogs</li>
	<li>movie &rarr; movies</li>
</ul>

<p>Do we add <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span> or <span class="inlineBlock">-es</span> to words ending in the vowel ‑o? Most of these words follow the normal pattern and take the <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span> plural&nbsp;ending.</p>

<ul>
	<li>radio &rarr; radios</li>
	<li>photo &rarr; photos</li>
	<li>kangaroo &rarr; kangaroos</li>
</ul>

<h1>Adding -es</h1>

<p>When do we add <span class="inlineBlock">-es</span> to form the plural? We usually write <span class="inlineBlock">-es</span> to demonstrate a change in pronunciation. It would be too difficult to pronounce an <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span> ending after certain similar-sounding consonants (<span class="inlineBlock">-s,</span> <span class="inlineBlock">-z,</span>, ‑x, ‑sh, and ‑ch), which is why we need to add an extra syllable. This syllable is written as <span class="inlineBlock">-es</span> and pronounced as&nbsp;<span class="inlineBlock">/əz/.</span></p>

<ul>
	<li>kiss &rarr; kisses /ˈkɪs əz/</li>
	<li>quiz &rarr; quizzes&nbsp;/ˈkwɪz əz/</li>
	<li>box &rarr; boxes&nbsp;/ˈbɑks əz/</li>
	<li>dish &rarr; dishes /ˈdɪ ʃəz/</li>
	<li>watch &rarr; watches /ˈw&aelig; tʃəz/</li>
</ul>

<p>What about a word like &ldquo;potatoes&rdquo;? Some words ending in <span class="inlineBlock">-o</span> must take <span class="inlineBlock">-es</span>. There aren&rsquo;t too many of these types of words, but some common ones&nbsp;include:</p>

<ul>
	<li>potato &rarr; potatoes</li>
	<li>tomato &rarr; tomatoes</li>
	<li>hero &rarr; heroes</li>
</ul>

<h1>Adding <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span> or ‑es</h1>

<p>What about words that can take either <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span> or <span class="inlineBlock">-es</span>? Many words ending in the vowel <span class="inlineBlock">-o</span> fall into this category, where either plural ending is acceptable and correct. In almost all of these cases, dictionaries list the <span class="inlineBlock">-es</span> form as the slightly more common&nbsp;form.</p>

<ul>
	<li>mango &rarr; mangoes/mangos</li>
	<li>mosquito &rarr; mosquitoes/mosquitos</li>
	<li>zero &rarr; zeroes/zeros</li>
	<li>volcano &rarr; volcanoes/volcanos</li>
	<li>tornado &rarr; tornadoes/tornados</li>
</ul>

<p>For these cases, should we teach our students one rule (i.e., to always add <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span> or always add <span class="inlineBlock">-es</span>) or to use the most common dictionary form? This question came up while we were developing our new Famous Things lesson on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/82/lessons/2669" target="_blank">Volcanoes</a>&mdash;we had to decide if we should use <em>volcanos</em> or <em>volcanoes</em> in the&nbsp;lesson.</p>

<p>Both <em>volcanoes</em> and <em>volcanos</em> are acceptable, correct spellings. We chose to use <em>volcanoes</em> since most dictionaries, such as&nbsp;<em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/volcano" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Merriam-Webster</a></em> and <a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/volcano" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Oxford</em></a>, list <em>volcanoes</em> as the main entry and&nbsp;<em>volcanos</em> as the variant. Though <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span> may be the &ldquo;easier&rdquo; rule, we felt it was important to teach the most common plural form to&nbsp;students.</p>

<h1>Conclusion &amp; Other Rules</h1>

<p>There is good news for students! The list of words ending in ‑o that take only <span class="inlineBlock">-es</span> is very short, with <em>potatoes</em>&nbsp;and <em>tomatoes&nbsp;</em>being the most common words. This means that if students can&rsquo;t remember if a word takes <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span> or <span class="inlineBlock">-es</span> more often (such as <em>mosquitos/mosquitoes</em>), they can add only <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span> and there&rsquo;s a high chance it will be an acceptable, correct spelling. Remind students, though, that it&rsquo;s best to use the more common spelling and to look it up when they&nbsp;can.</p>

<p>Some other rules that might be helpful for your students&nbsp;include:</p>

<ol>
	<li>If a word ends in <span class="inlineBlock">-oe</span>, add <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span> (e.g.,&nbsp;<em>toe &rarr; toes, shoe &rarr; shoes</em>).</li>
	<li>If the letter before the final <span class="inlineBlock">-o</span> is a vowel, add <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span> (e.g.,&nbsp;<em>patio &rarr; patios, video &rarr; videos</em>).</li>
	<li>If the word ending in <span class="inlineBlock">-o</span> is short for a longer word (e.g.,&nbsp;<em>photograph &rarr; photo,&nbsp;</em><em>automobile &rarr; auto</em>), add <span class="inlineBlock">-s</span> (e.g., <em>photos,&nbsp;autos</em>).</li>
</ol>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1621" target="_blank">Singluar &amp; Plural Nouns</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2493" target="_blank">Regular &amp; Irregular Plural Nouns</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/82/lessons/2669" target="_blank">Volcanoes</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/82/lessons/2736" target="_blank">Tornadoes</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/confusing-possessive-plurals" target="_blank">Confusing Possessive Plurals</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/forming-the-possessive-of-words-ending-in-s" target="_blank">Forming the Possessive of Words Ending in -s</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/count-non-count-nouns/" target="_blank">Count &amp; Non-Count Nouns</a></li>
</ul>


Plural Endings: -s or -es?

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<p>Many countries will celebrate Valentine&#39;s Day on February 14. In some schools, it&#39;s common to participate in Valentine&#39;s Day activities like giving out cards and candy in class. Your students will also love our colorful&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2616" target="_blank">Valentine&#39;s Day</a></strong> vocabulary lesson! This lesson is suitable for young learners and literacy students. Our nine-page <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons" target="_blank">Word Bank</a> lesson includes a colorful picture dictionary with 12 Valentine&#39;s Day words. Activities such as a matchup, word choice, word search, word scramble, spelling bee, and listening activity help make this lesson engaging and fun. Finish up with the discussion questions so that your students can try using the new vocabulary in context!</p>

<p>Check out our <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/21/flashcard_categories/107" target="_blank">Valentine&#39;s Day Flashcards</a> for even more theme-based vocabulary.</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/4/lessons" target="_blank">Love &amp; Relationships Lesson Collection</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1959" target="_blank">Valentine&#39;s Day &ndash; Beg </a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1863" target="_blank">Valentine&#39;s Day &ndash; Low Int </a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1862" target="_blank">Valentine&#39;s Day &ndash; High Int </a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources/2145" target="_blank">Love Idioms Poster</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/valentines-day-interview-a-love-story" target="_blank">Valentine&#39;s Day Interview: A Love Story</a></li>
</ul>


Valentine's Day Vocabulary Lesson & Flashcards

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<p>You never know what you&rsquo;ll find when you step out your door! My good friend found a set of fun puns taped to her community mailbox the other day, and we thought it&rsquo;d be great to share this idea on our&nbsp;blog.</p>

<p>We know how hard it is for teachers to keep coming up with interesting and educational warm‑ups and fillers, so we had our designer create a pdf based on these puns that you can download, print, and use in the classroom. This &ldquo;punny&rdquo; activity will be fun and challenging for your intermediate- to advanced‑level&nbsp;learners!</p>

<h1>Punny Stuff</h1>

<p><a href="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/136/content_Blog_Tearable-Puns.pdf" target="_blank"><img alt="a tearable puns sheet" height="auto" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/137/content_Blog_Tearable-Puns.png" width="400" /></a></p>

<p class="caption"><a href="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/136/content_Blog_Tearable-Puns.pdf" target="_blank">Download the Tearable Puns sheet</a></p>

<h1>Method</h1>

<p>Ask the class to explain the pun in the activity title (<em>tearable</em> because you can tear off the strips; <em>terrible</em> because some of the puns might make you groan). Then explain what a pun is (<em>a play on words; a joke involving a word or two similar‑sounding words that have two&nbsp;meanings</em>).</p>

<p>Next, put students into pairs (or small groups) and have each pair tear off a pun. Have them try to work out what makes their pun funny. Then have each pair explain the pun to the class. Discuss which puns they&nbsp;find hilarious and which make them roll their&nbsp;eyes.</p>

<p>Once you&rsquo;ve covered the puns in the first pdf, have your students research or write their own for the second (blank) pdf. You could also write your own with idioms or expressions you&rsquo;ve been studying in&nbsp;class.</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/8-ways-to-practice-idioms-in-class" target="_blank">8 Ways to Practice Idioms in&nbsp;Class</a></li>
	<li class="course"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/77/lessons" target="_blank">Everyday Idioms 1</a></li>
	<li class="course"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/78/lessons" target="_blank">Everyday Idioms 2</a></li>
	<li class="course"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/102/lessons" target="_blank">Everyday Idioms 3</a></li>
	<li class="course"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/79/lessons" target="_blank">Detective Series 1</a></li>
	<li class="course"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/101/lessons" target="_blank">Detective Series 2</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/105/resources" target="_blank">Warm-Ups &amp; Fillers</a></li>
</ul>


10 Tearable Puns: An English Language Activity

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<p>Nouns and adverbs and verbs, oh&nbsp;my!</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1605">Parts of speech</a> are the building blocks for English sentences, and studying them early on can be beneficial for English language learners. Along with common <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/english-sentence-patterns/">sentence patterns</a>, learning the parts of speech (nouns, verbs, prepositions, etc.) can help students form English sentences more&nbsp;easily.</p>

<p>But how do students know which vocabulary words are nouns, verbs, etc.? This is where <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/english-word-endings-suffixes-that-show-the-part-of-speech/">suffixes</a> (word endings) come into play. Learning common word endings can help students easily guess at the part of speech of a new vocabulary&nbsp;term.</p>

<p>Parts of speech and suffixes aren&rsquo;t just for beginner students. This knowledge can boost students&rsquo; abilities in both grammar and vocabulary at any level, and is quite useful for higher‑level students who need to decipher complex and unfamiliar words. Learning and practicing word families in context can help higher-level students with speaking and writing as well as on tests such as the&nbsp;TOEIC.</p>

<p>Try presenting the word family chart below to your intermediate- to advanced‑ level learners, and then see if they can complete the following practice exercise. Subscribers can access a printable pdf of the chart and exercise here: <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2668-advanced-word-families">Advanced Word Families</a>. See our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1605">Parts of Speech</a> lesson for lower‑level&nbsp;practice.</p>

<h1>Word Families</h1>

<div style="overflow-x: scroll; margin-bottom: 0;">
<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Verb</th>
			<th>Noun</th>
			<th>Adjective</th>
			<th>Adverb</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>act</td>
			<td>action</td>
			<td>active</td>
			<td>actively</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>apologize</td>
			<td>apology</td>
			<td>apologetic</td>
			<td>apologetically</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>beautify</td>
			<td>beauty</td>
			<td>beautiful</td>
			<td>beautifully</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>believe</td>
			<td>belief</td>
			<td>believable</td>
			<td>believably</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>benefit</td>
			<td>benefit</td>
			<td>beneficial</td>
			<td>beneficially</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>care</td>
			<td>care</td>
			<td>careful</td>
			<td>carefully</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>create</td>
			<td>creation</td>
			<td>creative</td>
			<td>creatively</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>decide</td>
			<td>decision</td>
			<td>decisive</td>
			<td>decisively</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>differ</td>
			<td>difference</td>
			<td>different</td>
			<td>differently</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>divide</td>
			<td>division</td>
			<td>divisive</td>
			<td>divisively</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>exclude</td>
			<td>exclusion</td>
			<td>exclusive</td>
			<td>exclusively</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>identify</td>
			<td>identification</td>
			<td>identifiable</td>
			<td>identifiably</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>justify</td>
			<td>justification</td>
			<td>justifiable</td>
			<td>justifiably</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>protect</td>
			<td>protection</td>
			<td>protective</td>
			<td>protectively</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>rely</td>
			<td>reliability</td>
			<td>reliable</td>
			<td>reliably</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>signify</td>
			<td>significance</td>
			<td>significant</td>
			<td>significantly</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>succeed</td>
			<td>success</td>
			<td>successful</td>
			<td>successfully</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>tolerate</td>
			<td>tolerance</td>
			<td>tolerable</td>
			<td>tolerably</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>understand</td>
			<td>understanding</td>
			<td>understandable</td>
			<td>understandably</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
</div>

<h1>Practice</h1>

<p>Have students complete the sentences below with a form of the prompt word. Allow them to refer to the chart above. You may also want to have students identify the parts of speech. Note that they may have to change the word form by making a noun plural or conjugating a verb into the correct&nbsp;tense.</p>

<h2>Example</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>#</th>
			<th>Prompt</th>
			<th>Sentence</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Ex</td>
			<td>protect</td>
			<td>Female bears are very <strong>protective (adjective)</strong> of their&nbsp;young.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>Questions</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>#</th>
			<th>Prompt</th>
			<th>Sentence</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>1</td>
			<td>succeed</td>
			<td>Practice and patience are the keys to&nbsp;______&nbsp;.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>2</td>
			<td>rely</td>
			<td>My best friend has never let me down. I&nbsp;______&nbsp;on her many times in the&nbsp;past.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>3</td>
			<td>differ</td>
			<td>I can&rsquo;t see what&rsquo;s&nbsp;______&nbsp;in the second version of this&nbsp;document.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>4</td>
			<td>act</td>
			<td>______&nbsp;speak louder than words.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>5</td>
			<td>apologize</td>
			<td>After tripping me on my way to my desk yesterday, my coworker&nbsp;______&nbsp;profusely.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>6</td>
			<td>identify</td>
			<td>Please show me your&nbsp;______&nbsp;and your insurance&nbsp;papers.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>7</td>
			<td>understand</td>
			<td>He was&nbsp;______&nbsp;upset when he heard about the&nbsp;accident.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>8</td>
			<td>divide</td>
			<td>There were so many&nbsp;______&nbsp;issues that they called a mediator&nbsp;in.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>9</td>
			<td>decide</td>
			<td>Because the manager reacted&nbsp;______&nbsp;, the problem didn&rsquo;t spiral out of&nbsp;control.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>10</td>
			<td>benefit</td>
			<td>This document was a&nbsp;______&nbsp;resource for the&nbsp;project.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>Answers</h2>

<ol>
	<li>success (noun)</li>
	<li>have relied (verb)</li>
	<li>different (adjective)</li>
	<li>Actions (noun)</li>
	<li>apologized (verb)</li>
	<li>identification (noun)</li>
	<li>understandably (adverb)</li>
	<li>divisive (adjective)</li>
	<li>decisively (adverb)</li>
	<li>beneficial (adjective)</li>
</ol>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2668-advanced-word-families">Advanced Word Families</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1605">Parts of Speech Lesson</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2499">Parts of Speech Lesson &ndash; Young Learners</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2479-parts-of-speech-chart">Parts of Speech Chart</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2481-parts-of-speech-cards">Parts of Speech Cards</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2229-english-sentence-patterns">English Sentence Patterns</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2316-suffixes">Suffixes</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2523-suffix-flashcards">Suffix Flashcards</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2521-prefixes">Prefixes</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2522-prefix-flashcards">Prefix Flashcards</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/warm-ups-fillers/resources/2201-flying-affixes">Flying Affixes Activity</a></li>
</ul>


Word Families

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<p>Australia Day is on January 26. Take a trip down under with our Word Bank lesson on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2430" target="_blank"><strong>Australian Animals</strong></a>!</p>

<p>In this fun&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons" target="_blank">Word Bank</a> lesson, students will learn the spelling and pronunciation of common animals from Australia. This lesson includes plenty of illustrated activities for vocabulary review. Learners can also practice using the vocab in context with our discussion questions exercise.</p>

<p>The Australian animal images are also available as flashcards at the end of the PDF version of the lesson. Check out <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/10-ways-to-use-flashcards-in-class" target="_blank">10 Ways to Use Cards &amp; Flashcards in Class</a>&nbsp;for ideas on using animal flashcards!</p>

<h3>Activities include:</h3>

<ul>
	<li>Picture dictionary</li>
	<li>Matchup</li>
	<li>Word Choice</li>
	<li>Word Search</li>
	<li>Word Scramble</li>
	<li>Spelling Bee</li>
	<li>Discussion Questions</li>
	<li>Listening</li>
</ul>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1889" target="_blank">Australia Day</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/117/lessons/2601" target="_blank">Kangaroos</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2429" target="_blank">African Animals</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2427" target="_blank">Zoo Animals</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2411" target="_blank">Animal Families</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/14/flashcard_categories/6" target="_blank">Animal Flashcards</a></li>
</ul>


Australian Animals Vocabulary Lesson

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<p>English language learners are taught early on that English sentences take a <strong>subject</strong> and a <strong>verb.</strong> The common sentence pattern &ldquo;SVO&rdquo; (subject-verb-object) gets drilled into their brains. What happens when those students see sentences with <strong>no subject</strong>, such as &ldquo;Close the door&rdquo; or &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t run in the&nbsp;hallways&rdquo;?</p>

<p>Verbs that don&rsquo;t have an obvious subject are called&nbsp;<strong>imperative verbs</strong>, and they are usually taught early on since they use the simple present tense. Use the teaching tips below to make sure your students understand the form and function of these common&nbsp;verbs.</p>

<h1>Form</h1>

<p>Imperative verbs take the first position in a sentence, so you can teach students to think of the pattern as <strong>V&nbsp;(+&nbsp;O)</strong> instead of the usual S&nbsp;+&nbsp;V&nbsp;(+&nbsp;O).</p>

<p>Imperative verbs actually do have a subject, but it is never stated. That subject is <strong>you</strong> (the second person singular or&nbsp;plural).</p>

<p>Imperative verbs are always stated in the <strong>simple present</strong>. Because the subject is the unstated&nbsp;<em>you</em>, the verb form is the simple present, second person singular form (which looks like a base verb). It never takes an <em class="inlineBlock">-s</em> (third person singular)&nbsp;ending.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Relax</strong>.</li>
	<li><strong>Finish</strong> your&nbsp;homework.</li>
	<li><strong>Take</strong> a deep&nbsp;breath.</li>
</ul>

<p>The negative form of imperative verbs also follows the negative simple present, second person singular form (<strong>do + not + verb</strong>). It is often contracted to <strong>don&rsquo;t&nbsp;+&nbsp;verb</strong>.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Do not speak</strong> French.</li>
	<li><strong>Don&rsquo;t run</strong>.</li>
	<li><strong>Don&rsquo;t work</strong> too&nbsp;late.</li>
</ul>

<p>Imperative verbs don&rsquo;t have a regular question form. Questions in English almost always include a subject. For example, <em>Do you like pizza?</em> is correct, but <em>Do like pizza?</em> is not correct. For higher‑level learners, you may wish to point out that imperative verbs can be used for very informal questions (usually to confirm something). For example, we can say <em>Bring a jacket, right?</em> or <em>Pass you this one or that&nbsp;one?</em></p>

<h1>Function</h1>

<p>We use imperative verbs to give commands or directions, state rules, or give advice. In fact, the word <em>imperative</em> means <em>commanding/important/controlling</em>.</p>

<p>Remind English language learners that imperative verbs can be directed at one person (i.e., the second person singular) or two or more people (i.e., the second person plural). Common uses of imperative verbs&nbsp;include:</p>

<h2>Use #1</h2>

<h4>Parents telling children what to&nbsp;do</h4>

<ul>
	<li>Do your homework!</li>
	<li>Do the dishes.</li>
	<li>Eat your dinner.</li>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t play with your&nbsp;food!</li>
</ul>

<h2>Use #2</h2>

<h4>Teachers giving instructions to&nbsp;students</h4>

<ul>
	<li>Finish the exercise on page&nbsp;8.</li>
	<li>Stop talking!</li>
	<li>Open your books to Chapter&nbsp;2.</li>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t look at your phones in&nbsp;class.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Use #3</h2>

<h4>Employers giving instructions to&nbsp;employees</h4>

<ul>
	<li>Hand in that report by&nbsp;Friday.</li>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t forget about the meeting&nbsp;tomorrow.</li>
	<li>Turn your computer off when you&nbsp;leave.</li>
	<li>Stop by my office.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Use #4</h2>

<h4>People in authority, such as police officers, telling other people what to&nbsp;do</h4>

<ul>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t drink and&nbsp;drive.</li>
	<li>Put all metal objects into this&nbsp;container.</li>
	<li>Fill out this form.</li>
	<li>Show me your ID.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Use #5</h2>

<h4>Rules, guidelines, or&nbsp;laws</h4>

<ul>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t run by the&nbsp;pool.</li>
	<li>Do not trespass.</li>
	<li>Take off your shoes.</li>
	<li>Dress appropriately.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Use #6</h2>

<h4>Friends or family members giving&nbsp;advice</h4>

<ul>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t forget to call him&nbsp;back.</li>
	<li>Follow up with an email.</li>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t borrow money from&nbsp;friends.</li>
	<li>Ask me for help anytime.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2818">Imperative Verbs</a> &ndash; Grammar Practice Worksheets</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2831">Imperative Verbs</a> &ndash; Fun Grammar Lessons</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/92/lessons/1755">Following Procedures</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/92/lessons/2119">Following Instructions</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/1991">How to Write a Recipe</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources/2482">Following Instructions at the Pool</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/visual-learning/resources/2215-following-the-teacher-s-instructions">Following the Teacher&rsquo;s Instructions</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/warm-ups-fillers/resources/2205-whose-to-do">Whose To-Do?</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/4/flashcard_categories/27">Daily Routines Flashcards</a></li>
</ul>


Imperative Verbs

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<blockquote>
<p>What are you gonna do in&nbsp;2018?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Though speaking quickly in another language can seem overwhelming at first, learning common language reductions (such as whacha, wanna, or gonna) can give students confidence in their speaking and listening&nbsp;abilities.</p>

<p>My students always enjoyed practicing reduced pronunciation&mdash;we&rsquo;d have a lot of laughs together even when they&rsquo;d get tongue‑tied. Two things help learners feel more confident when practicing reduced pronunciation: guided practice with lots of modeling and handy tips to help them, and plenty of encouragement along the&nbsp;way.</p>

<p>Remind students that even though reductions may sound like a whole other language at first, practicing reduced pronunciation means they&rsquo;ll be able to better decipher quick, natural speaking when listening to native speakers, and they&rsquo;ll sound more natural when speaking,&nbsp;too.</p>

<p>The beginning of a new year is a great time to focus on be going to. This future phrase is commonly used at this time of year when people are making and discussing New Year&rsquo;s resolutions and goals. Teach your learners how to pronounce <strong>going to</strong> as <strong>gonna</strong>, and encourage them to use it whenever they&rsquo;re discussing future&nbsp;plans.</p>

<h1>Practice</h1>

<p>In English, it is common to use be going to + verb instead of will + verb for expressing the simple future. (See <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/simple-future-teaching-the-three-forms/" target="_blank">Simple Future: Teaching the Three Forms</a> for more teaching tips and information.) When English speakers are speaking at a normal rate of speech, it is common to reduce&nbsp;going to to gonna. The main reason for this is that be going to isn&rsquo;t conveying much important information&mdash;the main verb that follows is the important information in the&nbsp;sentence.</p>

<p>Model the following sentences for your students (or play the audio clip below) and have students repeat them using the same stress patterns and speed. I often used the expression &ldquo;<strong>Race to the Verb!</strong>&rdquo; with my students to help them remember to say everything before the main verb quite quickly, and then to slow down and stress the main&nbsp;verb.</p>

<ul>
	<li>&nbsp;I&rsquo;m gonna <strong>practice</strong> English every day. (Remind students that they will see it written as &ldquo;I&rsquo;m <strong>going to</strong> practice&hellip;&rdquo; because gonna is only used in spoken&nbsp;English.)</li>
	<li>Are you gonna <strong>go out</strong>&nbsp;tonight?</li>
	<li>He&rsquo;s gonna <strong>do</strong> his&nbsp;homework.</li>
	<li>She&rsquo;s gonna <strong>buy</strong> a new&nbsp;dress.</li>
	<li>We&rsquo;re gonna <strong>play&nbsp;</strong>our new video&nbsp;game.</li>
	<li>Are they gonna <strong>go</strong> to Disneyland next&nbsp;year?</li>
</ul>

<p><iframe frameborder="1" height="154" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://audioboom.com/boos/2764121-reduced-pronunciation-gonna/embed/v3?eid=AQAAAOkyo1RZLSoA&amp;player_theme=light&amp;link_color=%2358d1eb&amp;image_option=none&amp;show_title=true" width="480"></iframe></p>

<h1>Notes</h1>

<h2>Note #1</h2>

<p>Remember that&nbsp;gonna is only used in&nbsp;<strong>speaking</strong>. We should <strong>never write gonna</strong> (with the possible exception of texting between&nbsp;friends).</p>

<h2>Note #2</h2>

<p>Point out that not all instances of going to can be reduced to&nbsp;gonna! It is only possible when the future phrase be going to is followed by a verb. The present progressive of go followed by the preposition of direction to can look similar to the future phrase be going to, but it is not the same and can&rsquo;t be reduced. Tell students that <strong>no verb = no gonna</strong> (we can&rsquo;t say&nbsp;gonna if it isn&rsquo;t followed by a verb). Note the following&nbsp;examples:</p>

<ul>
	<li>I&rsquo;m going to <strong>call</strong> my friend later. (gonna = correct / followed by a verb / we can say I&rsquo;m gonna&nbsp;call)</li>
	<li>I&rsquo;m going to <strong>the store</strong> later. (gonna = incorrect / not followed by a verb / we can&rsquo;t say I&rsquo;m gonna the&nbsp;store)</li>
</ul>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2502" target="_blank">Simple Future</a>&nbsp;(Fun Grammar Lessons &ndash; YL)</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1596" target="_blank">Simple Future</a> (Grammar Practice Worksheets)</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/89/lessons/1568" target="_blank">Future &ndash; What Are You Going to Do Tonight?</a> (Basic Grammar Sentences)</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/90/lessons/1638" target="_blank">Simple Future Stories</a> (Grammar Stories)</li>
</ul>


Reduced Pronunciation – Gonna

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<h3>Christmas is coming!</h3>

<p>Our&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2438" target="_blank">Christmas Word Bank Lesson</a>&nbsp;</strong>is a fun, educational way to learn about this holiday. This nine-page lesson starts off with a fun, colorful picture dictionary and is followed by a variety of activities that will help your young learners stay engaged while they review the new words. This lesson also includes discussion questions so that your students can try using the new vocabulary in&nbsp;context!</p>

<h3>Activities include:</h3>

<ul>
	<li>Picture dictionary</li>
	<li>Matchup</li>
	<li>Word Choice</li>
	<li>Word Search</li>
	<li>Word Scramble</li>
	<li>Spelling Bee</li>
	<li>Discussion Questions</li>
	<li>Listening</li>
</ul>

<p>Find this lesson in our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2438" target="_blank">Word Bank</a>&nbsp;section.</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/16/lessons" target="_blank">December Holidays Collection</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/21/flashcard_categories/20" target="_blank">Christmas Flashcards</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/visual-learning/resources/2185-holiday-idioms-expressions" target="_blank">Holiday Idioms &amp; Expressions</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/warm-ups-fillers/resources/2221-how-to-make-a-paper-snowflake" target="_blank">How to Make a Paper&nbsp;Snowflake</a></li>
</ul>


Christmas Vocabulary Lesson

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<p>Describing people is something that students learn to do early on. They learn how to use adjectives and nouns to describe people&rsquo;s appearance, personality, and feelings. But I&rsquo;ve often found that, whether it&rsquo;s a beginner‑level or intermediate‑level class, my students usually struggle with the answer to <strong>&ldquo;What is he/she like?&rdquo;</strong> Their automatic answer is to describe someone&rsquo;s&nbsp;appearance.</p>

<p>Students often have trouble grasping the differences between the questions and answers for <strong>&ldquo;What is he/she like?&rdquo;</strong> and <strong>&ldquo;What does he/she look like?&rdquo;</strong> They sometimes get <strong>&ldquo;What does she like?&rdquo;</strong> mixed up as well, since likes and dislikes are also covered in early learning stages. I&rsquo;ve found that pointing out a few key points about these three questions and answers all at once helped students keep them&nbsp;straight.</p>

<h1>1. Verb Used</h1>

<p>The verb is the easiest way to determine which question is being asked. For each of the questions, ask your students what the main verb&nbsp;is.</p>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Verb</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>What <strong>is</strong> he/she&nbsp;like?</td>
			<td><strong>be</strong></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What <strong>does</strong> he/she <strong>look</strong>&nbsp;like?</td>
			<td><strong>look</strong></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What [noun] <strong>does</strong> he/she&nbsp;<strong>like</strong>?</td>
			<td><strong>like</strong></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>2. Part of Speech</h1>

<p>One of the reasons these questions are so confusing is that <em>like</em>&nbsp;can be a <a href="http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/like" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">verb, noun, preposition, adjective, adverb, and conjunction</a> in English! Pointing out the part of speech helps learners realize that <em>like</em> can have different meanings (and therefore different responses to these&nbsp;questions).</p>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Part of Speech</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>What is he/she <strong>like</strong>?</td>
			<td><strong>preposition</strong></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What does he/she look&nbsp;<strong>like</strong>?</td>
			<td><strong>preposition</strong></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What [noun] does he/she&nbsp;<strong>like</strong>?</td>
			<td><strong>verb</strong></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>3. Meaning</h1>

<p>Now that your English language learners are familiar with the different structures of these three questions, let&rsquo;s take a look at the all‑important meaning&nbsp;differences.</p>

<p>When we ask about someone&rsquo;s <strong>personality</strong>, we want to know about that person&rsquo;s traits (e.g., funny, serious, shy, outgoing, intelligent, helpful, etc.). <strong>Appearance</strong> is a physical description (e.g., tall, short, blonde, brunette, light-skinned, dark-skinned, etc.). If the question includes another noun, we are asking about someone&rsquo;s personal <strong>preference</strong> (e.g., movie, food, season, school subject,&nbsp;etc.).</p>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Use</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>What is he/she&nbsp;like?</td>
			<td>to ask about someone&rsquo;s&nbsp;<strong>personality</strong></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What does he/she look&nbsp;like?</td>
			<td>to ask about someone&rsquo;s&nbsp;<strong>appearance</strong></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What [noun] does he/she&nbsp;like?</td>
			<td>to ask about someone&rsquo;s&nbsp;<strong>preference</strong></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>4. Examples</h1>

<p>The more examples your students see, the more confident they will feel in giving the right response to these questions. Show students the examples below, and then take it further by having students practice asking and answering in pairs, groups, or as a class. You may wish to point out that some answers about appearance may be considered <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/inclusive-language-in-elt" target="_blank">offensive or hurtful</a>&mdash;remind students not to describe someone&rsquo;s weight, age, or physical&nbsp;disability.</p>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Example Question</th>
			<th>Example Answer</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>What is your teacher&nbsp;like?</td>
			<td>She is kind, intelligent, and&nbsp;helpful.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What is your brother&nbsp;like?</td>
			<td>He is funny and&nbsp;talented.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What does your roommate look&nbsp;like?</td>
			<td>She is a beautiful, tall, Black girl.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What do you look&nbsp;like?</td>
			<td>I am short and have curly, red hair and&nbsp;freckles.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What kind of music do you&nbsp;like?</td>
			<td>I love hip-hop. I also like country&nbsp;music.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>What school subjects does he&nbsp;like?</td>
			<td>He likes math and&nbsp;French.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>Related</h1>

<p>Need more practice describing people? Try some of our lessons and&nbsp;flashcards!</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/92/lessons/1751" target="_blank">Describing People</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/20/flashcard_categories/29" target="_blank">Flashcards &ndash; Descriptive Adjectives</a>&nbsp;</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2093" target="_blank">Adjectives &ndash; Grammar Practice Worksheets</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2496" target="_blank">Adjectives &ndash; Fun Grammar&nbsp;Lessons</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/adjective-order-and-punctuation" target="_blank">Adjective Order &amp;&nbsp;Punctuation</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2499" target="_blank">Parts of Speech</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/group-projects/3768-zodiac-project">Zodiac Project</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/word-bank/4231-hair">Hair</a></li>
	<li class="video"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/3486" target="_blank">What&#39;s She Like? A Valentine&#39;s Story</a></li>
</ul>


Look Like Vs. Like

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<p>Transition words and phrases are used to connect ideas in formal writing and speaking. Using transitions helps a piece of writing flow seamlessly from one thought to the next. These terms also help readers understand the purpose of the next thought (adding information, giving an example, contrasting a previous point,&nbsp;etc.).</p>

<p>Intermediate to advanced learners can benefit from studying typical transition words and phrases to use in academic and business prose, but it&rsquo;s not enough to simply hand students a list of words. They must also learn how to use them correctly, and this includes learning the various sentence positions, punctuation rules, and exceptions. Try presenting transition words and phrases using the chart, rules, and examples&nbsp;below.</p>

<h1>Word List</h1>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
			<h5>Addition</h5>

			<ul>
				<li>in addition</li>
				<li>moreover</li>
				<li>furthermore</li>
				<li>additionally</li>
				<li>as well</li>
				<li>also</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
			<td>
			<h5>Contradiction</h5>

			<ul>
				<li>however</li>
				<li>on the other hand</li>
				<li>on the contrary</li>
				<li>conversely</li>
				<li>nevertheless</li>
				<li>unlike</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
			<h5>Comparison</h5>

			<ul>
				<li>similarly</li>
				<li>in comparison</li>
				<li>comparatively</li>
				<li>at the same time</li>
				<li>likewise</li>
				<li>like</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
			<td>
			<h5>Order &amp; Sequence</h5>

			<ul>
				<li>first / first of all</li>
				<li>next</li>
				<li>then</li>
				<li>finally</li>
				<li>previously</li>
				<li>meanwhile</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
			<h5>Example</h5>

			<ul>
				<li>for example</li>
				<li>for instance</li>
				<li>such as</li>
				<li>like</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
			<td>
			<h5>Cause &amp; Effect</h5>

			<ul>
				<li>therefore</li>
				<li>as a result</li>
				<li>consequently</li>
				<li>thus</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
			<h5>Clarification</h5>

			<ul>
				<li>in other words</li>
				<li>that is</li>
				<li>as mentioned</li>
				<li>again</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
			<td>
			<h5>Conclusion</h5>

			<ul>
				<li>in conclusion</li>
				<li>in summary</li>
				<li>in brief</li>
				<li>overall</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p>Check out our Grammar &amp; Usage resource on <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2546" target="_blank">Transition Words&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Phrases</a>.</p>

<h1>Sentence Positions</h1>

<p>Most transition words and phrases can appear in four places in a sentence. Note the typical punctuation associated with each&nbsp;position.</p>

<h2>Position #1</h2>

<h4>At the beginning</h4>

<ul>
	<li>Hurricanes claim many lives each year. <strong>Moreover</strong>, these powerful storms cause millions of dollars in&nbsp;damage.</li>
	<li>Initial research seemed to support the theory. <strong>However</strong>, the latest test results weren&rsquo;t&nbsp;conclusive.</li>
	<li>Anxiety disorders can manifest in physical symptoms. <strong>For</strong> <strong>example</strong>, a patient may become dizzy or have trouble&nbsp;breathing.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Position #2</h2>

<h4>In the middle (usually after the subject)</h4>

<ul>
	<li>Hurricanes claim many lives each year. These powerful storms, <strong>moreover</strong>, cause millions of dollars in&nbsp;damage.</li>
	<li>Initial research seemed to support the theory. The latest test results, <strong>however</strong>, weren&rsquo;t&nbsp;conclusive.</li>
	<li>Anxiety disorders can manifest in physical symptoms. A patient, <strong>for</strong> <strong>example</strong>, may become dizzy or have trouble&nbsp;breathing.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Position #3</h2>

<h4>At the end</h4>

<ul>
	<li>Hurricanes claim many lives each year. These powerful storms cause millions of dollars in damage, <strong>moreover</strong>.</li>
	<li>Initial research seemed to support the theory. The latest test results weren&rsquo;t conclusive, <strong>however</strong>.</li>
	<li>Anxiety disorders can manifest in physical symptoms. A patient may become dizzy or have trouble breathing, <strong>for&nbsp;example</strong>.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Position #4</h2>

<h4>Between two sentences</h4>

<p>Note that in formal writing, the two sentences can also be joined by a semi‑colon before the transition word (instead of a&nbsp;period).</p>

<ul class="spaced-list">
	<li>Hurricanes claim many lives each year; <strong>moreover</strong>, these powerful storms cause millions of dollars in&nbsp;damage.</li>
	<li>Initial research seemed to support the theory; <strong>however</strong>, the latest test results weren&rsquo;t&nbsp;conclusive.</li>
	<li>Anxiety disorders can manifest in physical symptoms; <strong>for</strong> <strong>example</strong>, a patient may become dizzy or have trouble&nbsp;breathing.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Exceptions</h1>

<p>Some transition words don&rsquo;t follow the normal rules for sentence&nbsp;position.</p>

<h2>Exception #1</h2>

<p><em>Such as</em> appears after a noun (never at the beginning or end of a&nbsp;sentence).</p>

<ul class="spaced-list">
	<li>There are many ways to improve one&rsquo;s quality of sleep, <strong>such as</strong> no TV before bed and no food after 8:00&nbsp;pm.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Exception #2</h2>

<p><em>Also</em> can appear at the beginning or end of a sentence. At the end, it is not preceded by a comma. <em>As well</em> should only come at the end of a sentence with no preceding&nbsp;comma.</p>

<ul>
	<li>New employees are expected to start at 9:00&nbsp;am sharp. <strong>Also</strong>, they must dress professionally at all&nbsp;times.</li>
	<li>New employees are expected to start at 9:00&nbsp;am sharp. They must dress professionally at all times&nbsp;<strong>also</strong>.</li>
	<li>New employees are expected to start at 9:00&nbsp;am sharp. They must dress professionally at all times <strong>as&nbsp;well</strong>.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Exception #3</h2>

<p><em>Thus</em>, <em>again</em>, <em>likewise</em>, <em>like</em>, and <em>unlike</em> usually only appear at the beginning of a sentence. Note that&nbsp;<em>like</em> and&nbsp;<em>unlike</em> should be followed by a&nbsp;noun.</p>

<ul>
	<li>There was no conclusive evidence. <strong>Thus</strong>, the scientists decided to begin testing all over&nbsp;again.</li>
	<li>This essay has demonstrated the relationship between vitamins and good health. <strong>Again</strong>, taking vitamin supplements ensures the body receives proper&nbsp;nutrients.</li>
	<li>Dogs make great pets. <strong>Likewise</strong>, cats are wonderful&nbsp;companions.</li>
	<li><strong>Like</strong> cats, dogs make great&nbsp;pets.</li>
	<li><strong>Unlike</strong> snakes, dogs make great&nbsp;pets.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Exception #4</h2>

<p><em>Meanwhile</em> can appear at the beginning of a sentence or after a&nbsp;subject.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Hiring had begun. <strong>Meanwhile</strong>, interviews were still taking&nbsp;place.</li>
	<li>Hiring had begun. Interviews, <strong>meanwhile</strong>, were still taking&nbsp;place.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Related Resources</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2035" target="_blank">How to Write a Compound Sentence</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/1968" target="_blank">How to Compare and Contrast</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/1831" target="_blank">How to Write Body Paragraphs</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/92/lessons/1755" target="_blank">Following Procedures</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/however-7-sentence-positions-2-uses" target="_blank">However: 7 Sentence Positions &amp; 2&nbsp;Uses</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/adverb-clauses/" target="_blank">Adverb Clauses</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/adverb-phrases" target="_blank">Adverb Phrases</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/commas-in-independent-dependent-clauses" target="_blank">Commas in Independent &amp; Dependent Clauses</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1608" target="_blank">Complete Sentences</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-explain-despite-vs-although" target="_blank">How to Explain Despite Vs. Although</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/can-we-start-a-sentence-with-a-conjunction" target="_blank">Can We Start a Sentence with a&nbsp;Conjunction?</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1615" target="_blank">Conjunctions</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/90/lessons/1632" target="_blank">Connector Stories</a></li>
</ul>


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