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

Grammar & Usage

<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>


Transition Words & Phrases

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<p>Prepositions are little words with many functions. Prepositions like <em>in</em> and <em>on</em> get used for multiple purposes, including <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2112">place</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2110">time</a>, and <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2409">direction</a>. But even within a specific purpose such as prepositions of place used for transportation, <em>in</em> and <em>on</em> can be difficult for our English students to learn. Why do we say&nbsp;<em>in a car</em> but <em>on a&nbsp;bus</em>?</p>

<p>Try presenting the following guidelines to make transportation prepositions easier to teach and&nbsp;learn.</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2538"><img alt="Prepositions of Place resource" height="auto" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/239/content_103_Transportation-Prepositions-In-On_Page-2.png" width="400" /></a></p>

<p class="caption">Grammar &amp; Usage Resources &ndash; <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2538">Prepositions of Place: In&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;On</a></p>

<h1>Transportation Prepositions</h1>

<h2>Rule #1</h2>

<p>Use <em>in</em> when the noun is <strong>inside</strong> a <strong>small</strong> mode of transportation (such as a car). Note that we also use <em>in</em> with box or bowl shapes (such as wagon or canoe) even though they&rsquo;re not&nbsp;enclosed.</p>

<ul>
	<li>in a car</li>
	<li>in a truck</li>
	<li>in an SUV</li>
	<li>in a minivan</li>
	<li>in a Porsche</li>
	<li>in a taxi</li>
	<li>in a wheelchair</li>
	<li>in a stroller</li>
	<li>in a wagon</li>
	<li>in a canoe</li>
	<li>in a kayak</li>
	<li>in a rowboat</li>
</ul>

<h3>Note</h3>

<p>Depending on the type of chair, <em>in</em> and <em>on</em> are both&nbsp;possible:</p>

<ul>
	<li>in an armchair/recliner</li>
	<li>on a dining room chair/office chair/sofa</li>
</ul>

<h2>Rule #2</h2>

<p>Use <em>on</em> when the noun is <strong>on top of</strong> a <strong>small</strong> mode of transportation (such as a motorcycle) or <strong>inside </strong>a <strong>large</strong> vehicle (such as a&nbsp;bus).</p>

<ul>
	<li>on a bicycle</li>
	<li>on a tricycle</li>
	<li>on a motorcycle</li>
	<li>on a horse</li>
	<li>on a skateboard</li>
	<li>on a bus</li>
	<li>on a train</li>
	<li>on the subway</li>
	<li>on a boat</li>
	<li>on a ferry</li>
	<li>on a ship</li>
	<li>on an airplane</li>
</ul>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Note</h5>

<p>For some modes of transportation, <em>in</em> and <em>on</em> are both&nbsp;possible.</p>

<ul>
	<li>in/on a helicopter</li>
	<li>in/on a submarine</li>
</ul>
</div>

<h1>Practice Activity</h1>

<p>Have students cut out pictures of various modes of transportation from magazines (or use our <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/19/flashcard_categories/104">flashcard set</a>). Then have students quiz each other by holding up an image and asking <em>Where&rsquo;s the puppy?</em> Students must answer with <em>The puppy is in&hellip;</em> or <em>The puppy is&nbsp;on&hellip;</em>.</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2538-prepositions-of-place-in-on">Prepositions of Place: In &amp; On</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2112">Prepositions of Place: Grammar Lesson</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2515">Prepositions of Place: Grammar Lesson for Kids</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2418">Prepositions of Place: Vocabulary Lesson</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2516">Transportation: Word Bank Lesson</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/4/flashcard_categories/77">Prepositions of Place: Flashcards</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/19/flashcard_categories/104">Types of Transportation: Flashcards</a></li>
</ul>


Transportation Prepositions: In & On

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<p>A prefix is a syllable or two that has a specific meaning and can be attached to the beginning of many root words, such as <em class="inlineBlock">re-</em> (<em>review</em>, <em>revise</em>, <em>redo</em>) or <em class="inlineBlock">un-</em> (<em>unnecessary</em>, <em>unbelievable</em>,&nbsp;<em>undone</em>).</p>

<p>Do you specifically teach prefixes to your English students? When I first started teaching, I would only share a prefix&rsquo;s meaning if it came up in class. Then one day I decided to share a list of common prefixes with my intermediate‑level students, and I noticed it helped them pick up new vocabulary more easily. It gave my students confidence to see a new word and realize they already knew half the&nbsp;meaning.</p>

<p>The key is moderation. We don&rsquo;t want to give our students a list of 100 prefixes&mdash;that&rsquo;s overwhelming and frustrating. Instead, try presenting the condensed list of 23 common prefixes below, or try teaching only one a day. And practice makes perfect! The review activities suggested below will help the new meanings&nbsp;stick.</p>

<h1>Prefix Chart</h1>

<p>Check out our Grammar &amp; Usage resource on <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2521">Prefixes</a> for a list of common prefixes and a practice&nbsp;activity.</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2521"><img alt="Prefixes resource chart" height="auto" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/245/content_Tanya_Prefixes_Chart.png" width="400" /></a></p>

<p class="caption"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2521">Prefixes</a> &ndash; Grammar &amp; Usage</p>

<h1>Prefix Activities</h1>

<p>Here are some other activities you can do with your students! Some of these activities use flashcards. You&rsquo;ll find <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2522">Prefix Flashcards</a> in our <a href="https://ellii.com/resources">Grammar &amp; Usage Resources</a> section, but most activities can be adapted by writing the prefix on the board instead of holding up a&nbsp;flashcard.</p>

<h2>What Does It Mean?</h2>

<p>Divide the class into two teams. Hold up a flashcard in front of the class. Whoever calls out the meaning first gets a point for their&nbsp;team.</p>

<h2>How Many Words?</h2>

<p>Divide the class into two teams. Hold up one prefix and have students shout out as many words beginning with that prefix as they can. Alternatively, challenge pairs to write lists of words that match the prefixes you hold up. The team or pair with the most words for a given prefix is the winner of that&nbsp;round.</p>

<h2>Rooting Around</h2>

<p>As a review of common prefixes + root words, have students sit in a circle, and place the prefix flashcards face up in the center. Call out a root word, and any student can jump up and grab a matching prefix (or have them take turns to avoid collisions). Some roots may have more than one answer (e.g., <em>review</em>, <em>preview</em>) for bonus&nbsp;points.</p>

<h2>Quiz Time</h2>

<p>Put students into small groups or pairs and give them a set of flashcards. Have them take turns quizzing each other. If a student says the correct meaning, he or she can keep the card. The student with the most cards at the end is the&nbsp;winner.</p>

<h2>Mix &amp; Match</h2>

<p>Give pairs 20 slips of paper each and have them create a list of 10 words that use a prefix. They must write the prefix on one slip and the corresponding root word on the other. Then each pair can mix up their cards and pass them to another group. Challenge students to reassemble their classmates&rsquo; words by matching the prefixes and root&nbsp;words.</p>

<h2>Board Race</h2>

<p>On the board, write the meanings of the prefixes in two columns (use the same words in both columns but mix up the order so that it&rsquo;s harder to cheat off the other team). Then divide students into two teams and have them line up at the back of the class. Team members (one at a time per team) must run up to the board and fill in one of the prefixes. The next person in the team can only go when the first person has run back and tagged them. The first team to complete their list correctly is the&nbsp;winner!</p>

<h1>Related Resources</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2521">Prefix Chart &amp; Worksheet</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2522">Prefix Flashcards</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2316">Suffix Chart &amp; Worksheet</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2523">Suffix Flashcards</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/english-word-endings-suffixes-that-show-the-part-of-speech/">English Word Endings: Suffixes That Show the Part of&nbsp;Speech</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/105/resources/2201">Flying Affixes Warm-Up</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1605">Parts of Speech Grammar Lesson</a></li>
</ul>


Prefixes

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Stay up-to-date with ELT trends and ideas with articles from experts and teachers in the field.

Articles

<p>Are you looking for grammar lessons for young English learners? ESL&nbsp;Library&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons" target="_blank">Fun Grammar Lessons</a> section&nbsp;offers ready-made lessons on all the main grammar targets that make up the building blocks of English. These kid-friendly lessons are packed with visual support and fun activities to keep young learners&nbsp;engaged.</p>

<h1>Grammar Lesson Categories</h1>

<p>Our Fun Grammar Lessons are divided into the following&nbsp;categories:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Verbs</li>
	<li>Nouns &amp; Pronouns</li>
	<li>Adjectives &amp; Adverbs</li>
	<li>Prepositions</li>
	<li>Modals</li>
	<li>Gerunds &amp; Infinitives</li>
	<li>Sentence Constructions</li>
</ul>

<p>Lessons can be sorted into these categories using the tag filter on the main <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons" target="_blank">Fun Grammar Lessons</a> page. They can also be sorted&nbsp;alphabetically (A&ndash;Z icon) and from easiest to most difficult (1&ndash;9 icon). Note that the difficulty filter is very handy if you&#39;re looking for our suggested teaching order for all of these&nbsp;lessons!</p>

<p><img alt="Screenshot of filters" height="37" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2163/content_Tanya_FGL-Filters.png" width="141" /></p>

<h1>Levels</h1>

<p>These lessons have been categorized into the following&nbsp;levels:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Beg</li>
	<li>Beg &ndash; Low Int</li>
	<li>Low Int &ndash; Int</li>
	<li>Int</li>
	<li>Int &ndash; High Int</li>
</ul>

<p>Please preview the lessons to find out if the levels we&#39;ve chosen are suitable for your learners. To filter by level, use the sort buttons on the left of the main <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons" target="_blank">Fun Grammar Lessons</a> page.</p>

<p><img alt="Screenshot of level filters" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2164/content_Tanya_FGL-Level-Filters.png" width="154" height="37"></p>

<p>For the recommended teaching order of lessons within the same level, use the difficulty filter&nbsp;(1&ndash;9 icon) on the right of the main&nbsp;page.</p>

<h1>Lesson Tasks</h1>

<p>These comprehensive lessons can be stretched out to last several days. You can choose only those tasks (PDF or digital) that you&#39;d like to do, or you can do them all in the order we&#39;ve set. You can also save some tasks to assign for homework.</p>

<p>Here are some of the exercise types you will find in these lessons (note that task types vary slightly from the PDF to the digital version, though most content is the same):</p>

<ul>
	<li>Grammar notes</li>
	<li>Practice exercises</li>
	<li>Pair speaking tasks</li>
	<li>Writing tasks</li>
	<li>Fun activities (cards, games,&nbsp;etc.)</li>
	<li>Quizzes</li>
	<li>Class surveys</li>
</ul>

<h1>Sample Lesson</h1>

<p>If you aren&#39;t an <a href="https://ellii.com/pricing" target="_blank">ESL Library member</a> yet, check out our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2503" target="_blank">Simple Present</a> sample lesson to get a feel for what these lessons look like. (You can view a lesson from each of our lessons sections in our <a href="https://ellii.com/sample/lessons" target="_blank">Sample&nbsp;Lessons</a>&nbsp;area.)</p>

<p>Note: Our Fun Grammar Lessons were designed for teaching young learners. If you teach teen and adult learners, we recommend our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons" target="_blank">Grammar Practice Worksheets</a> section. You will find some overlap in these lessons, so please choose the lesson that is more suitable for your age&nbsp;group. Also note that many teachers have told us their teen and adult learners sometimes prefer our <a href="http://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons" target="_blank">Fun Grammar Lessons</a> since they are a easier and illustrated.</p>

<h1>More Fun for Kids</h1>

<p>Here are some other ESL Library sections that you can use with young learners and middle&nbsp;schoolers:</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="course"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons" target="_blank">Word Bank</a></li>
	<li class="course"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/117/lessons" target="_blank">Discovery</a></li>
	<li class="course"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/90/lessons" target="_blank">Grammar Stories</a></li>
	<li class="course"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/89/lessons" target="_blank">Basic Grammar Sentences</a></li>
	<li class="course"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons" target="_blank">Simple Sentences</a></li>
	<li class="course"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/83/lessons" target="_blank">Easy Readers</a></li>
</ul>

<h1>Flashcards</h1>

<p>Our Flashcard section can be used with our grammar lessons. You can edit the vocabulary to any word form or tense you need or even print the images without words for quizzes, games, and tests. Be sure to check out all of our new and updated <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/" target="_blank">Flashcards</a>.</p>


Fun Grammar Lessons for Teaching Young Learners

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<p>Commonly confused words are terms with similar sounds or meanings that English language learners often struggle with. In the past, I&#39;ve blogged about <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/make-vs-do" target="_blank">make vs. do</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/hope-vs-wish" target="_blank">hope vs. wish</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/commonly-confused-prepositions-above-over-below-under" target="_blank">above, over, under &amp; below</a>, to name a few. Today I want to discuss two verbs that my students often mix up:&nbsp;<strong>come </strong>and<strong><em>&nbsp;</em>go</strong>. I&#39;d often hear &quot;When I come back to Japan&#39;&quot;or &quot;When I go back to here&quot;&nbsp;in my Canadian&nbsp;classroom.</p>

<h1>Coming or Going?</h1>

<p>Though they have similar meanings, most cases of <em>come</em> and <em>go</em> are clear‑cut. <strong>Come</strong> means to move toward something. We often use it for sentences about visiting and&nbsp;home.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Come here.</li>
	<li>Come over.</li>
	<li>Come to my place around 7:00&nbsp;pm.</li>
	<li>My aunt is coming to visit next&nbsp;week.</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Go</strong> means to move in a direction. We often use it for sentences about travel or other&nbsp;outings.</p>

<ul>
	<li>I&#39;m going on&nbsp;vacation.</li>
	<li>Let&#39;s go to the&nbsp;movies.</li>
	<li>I can&#39;t wait to go to the beach next&nbsp;weekend!</li>
	<li>He will go to the grocery store on his way&nbsp;home.</li>
</ul>

<p>Sometimes either <strong>come</strong> or <strong>go</strong> is possible, with no substantial difference in meaning, especially with progressive (<em>-ing</em>)&nbsp;tenses.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Are you coming to my&nbsp;party?</li>
	<li>Are you going to my&nbsp;party?</li>
	<li>I&#39;m coming with&nbsp;you.</li>
	<li>I&#39;m going with&nbsp;you.</li>
</ul>

<p>In the expression<em>&nbsp;coming or going</em>,&nbsp;<strong>coming</strong> means&nbsp;<em>arriving</em> and&nbsp;<strong>going</strong> means&nbsp;<em>leaving</em>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>I&#39;m so glad I ran into you! Are you coming or&nbsp;going?</li>
</ul>

<h1>Come Back Vs. Go Back</h1>

<p>The expressions <em>come back&nbsp;</em>and&nbsp;<em>go back</em>&nbsp;follow a simple&nbsp;rule:</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Use &quot;come back&quot;&nbsp;if you are <strong>currently at the place</strong> you&#39;re referring&nbsp;to.</p>

<p>Use &quot;go back&quot;&nbsp;if you are <strong>not currently at the place</strong> you&#39;re referring&nbsp;to.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Let&#39;s compare!</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Example</th>
			<th>Notes</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>I want to <strong>come back</strong> to California next&nbsp;year.</td>
			<td>(I&#39;m on vacation in California right&nbsp;now.)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>I want to <strong>go back</strong> to California next&nbsp;year.</td>
			<td>(I&#39;m back home in Korea right&nbsp;now.)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td><strong>Come back</strong> after dropping your friend&nbsp;off.</td>
			<td>(We&#39;re at my house right&nbsp;now.)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td><strong>Go back</strong> and return the item you took by&nbsp;mistake.</td>
			<td>(We&#39;re outside of the store right&nbsp;now.)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Are you <strong>coming back</strong>&nbsp;later?</td>
			<td>(We are both at a party right now, and you are about to&nbsp;leave.)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Let&#39;s <strong>go back</strong> to&nbsp;class.</td>
			<td>(We are in the cafeteria right&nbsp;now.)</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p>Are there any other commonly confused words that your students mix up? Do you have any tips that will help students remember the differences? Share them with us in the Comments section&nbsp;below!&nbsp;</p>


Come Vs. Go

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<p>Can we start a sentence with a conjunction such as&nbsp;<em>and</em> or&nbsp;<em>but</em>? In the not-too-distant past, this was a big no-no. How many times did your teachers tell you to never start a sentence with&nbsp;<em>and</em>? I heard this countless times growing up, and it&#39;s a hard habit to break. But break it we should! These days, many style guides and grammarians advocate for starting sentences with conjunctions.&nbsp;Out with the old, outdated, prescriptivist grammar rules, they&nbsp;say! This is all well and good for native speakers, but what about English language learners? Let&#39;s review the different types of conjunctions in English, see what the major style guides have to say on the subject, and decide what&#39;s best to teach our&nbsp;students.</p>

<h1>Review: Conjunctions</h1>

<p>Conjunctions are words that <strong>link</strong> two words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. Some conjunctions provide information&mdash;the four main functions they serve include <strong>contrast, time, cause and effect,</strong> and <strong>conditional</strong>. Though our focus today is on <strong>coordinating conjunctions</strong>, here is a brief overview on the three main types of conjunctions in&nbsp;English.</p>

<h2>Coordinating Conjunctions</h2>

<p>These conjunctions link words, phrases, clauses, or sentences that contain similar parts of speech. They function as indicators of similarity, opposition, choice, etc. Conjunctions in this category include the famous &quot;fanboys&quot;&nbsp;(<em>for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so</em>). For more practice and examples, try our grammar lesson on&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1615" target="_blank">Conjunctions</a>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>They like pizza <strong>and</strong>&nbsp;pasta.</li>
	<li>Do you want to go to the beach&nbsp;<strong>or</strong> hang out&nbsp;here?</li>
	<li>She knows how to snowboard, <strong>but</strong> he&nbsp;doesn&#39;t.</li>
	<li>I&#39;m not sure what time I get off work today, <strong>so</strong> I&#39;ll get back to you about our dinner&nbsp;plans.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Subordinating Conjunctions</h2>

<p>This type of conjunction is at the start of a dependent clause that gives information about contrast, time, cause and effect, or hypothetical situations. Subordinating conjunctions include&nbsp;<em>after, as, although, because, before, if, since, though, unless, until, when, where, while,&nbsp;</em>etc. Conjunctions and clauses of this type are also called conjunctive adverbs, transition words, adverb clauses, and adverb phrases. For more examples, see these posts on <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/adverb-clauses" target="_blank">Adverb Clauses</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/adverb-phrases" target="_blank">Adverb&nbsp;Phrases</a>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>I went to the store <strong>after</strong> my mother asked me to buy&nbsp;milk.</li>
	<li><strong>After</strong> my mother asked me to buy milk, I went to the&nbsp;store.</li>
	<li>He&#39;s eating pizza <strong>although</strong> he doesn&#39;t usually eat&nbsp;gluten.</li>
	<li><strong>Although</strong> he doesn&#39;t usually eat gluten, he&#39;s eating&nbsp;pizza.</li>
	<li>She will take her son to the hospital <strong>because</strong> he twisted his&nbsp;ankle.</li>
	<li><strong>Because</strong> her son twisted his ankle, she will take him to the&nbsp;hospital.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Coorelative Conjunctions</h2>

<p>These paired terms link words and phrases. The first part of the coorelative conjunction provides emphasis and can often be dropped. For examples, see this post on <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/parallel-structure-and-paired-joining-terms">Parallel Structure and Paired Joining&nbsp;Terms</a>.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Both&nbsp;</strong>Mark&nbsp;<strong>and&nbsp;</strong>John have read this&nbsp;book.</li>
	<li>We can have&nbsp;<strong>either</strong> chicken&nbsp;<strong>or&nbsp;</strong>steak for dinner&nbsp;tonight.</li>
	<li>Sasha has <strong>neither</strong>&nbsp;finished her homework <strong>nor</strong> done the&nbsp;dishes.</li>
	<li>You have<strong> not only</strong>&nbsp;failed the last text,&nbsp;<strong>but also</strong>&nbsp;neglected to hand in your essay on&nbsp;time.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Reference: Style Guides</h1>

<p>Most major style guides agree that we can begin a sentence with a coordinating&nbsp;conjunction:</p>

<blockquote>
<p>There is a widespread belief&mdash;one with no historical or grammatical foundation&mdash;that it is an error to begin a sentence with a conjunction such as and, but or so. In fact, a substantial percentage (often as many as 10 percent) of the sentences in first-rate writing begin with conjunctions. It has been so for centuries, and even the most conservative grammarians have followed this&nbsp;practice.</p>
<p class="attribution">&mdash;<em>Chicago Manual of Style</em>, 16th edition, 5.206</p>
</blockquote>

<blockquote><p>Part of the folklore of usage is the belief that there is something wrong in beginning a sentence with&nbsp;<em>but</em>.</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;<em>Merriam-Webster&#39;s Dictionary of English Usage</em>, entry for&nbsp;<em>but</em></p>
</blockquote>

<blockquote><p>The argument against using &quot;and&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;but&quot;&nbsp;to introduce a sentence is that such a sentence expresses an incomplete thought (or &quot;fragment&quot;) and is therefore incorrect. However, this is a stylistic preference rather than a grammatical &quot;rule&quot;. If your teachers or your organization are inflexible about this issue, then you should respect their opinion, but ultimately, it&rsquo;s just a point of view and you&rsquo;re not being&nbsp;ungrammatical.</p>
<p class="attribution">&mdash;<em><a href="http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2012/01/can-i-start-a-sentence-with-a-conjunction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Oxford Dictionaries</a></em> blog</p>
</blockquote>

<h1>Conjunctions: To Begin or Not To Begin</h1>

<p>So what do we teach our English language&nbsp;learners?</p>

<h2>Informal Writing</h2>

<p>As the style guides listed above suggest, most people consider starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunction perfectly acceptable. Though I admit it&#39;s a hard habit to break, I do tell my students that they can begin a sentence with conjunctions&nbsp;in informal, casual&nbsp;writing.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Can you believe it? <strong>And</strong> here I thought I was the only&nbsp;one.</li>
	<li>I have two cats that I love very much. <strong>But</strong> I don&#39;t have anything against dog&nbsp;people.</li>
	<li>Do you want fish for dinner? <strong>Or</strong> we can have chicken if you&#39;d prefer&nbsp;that.</li>
</ul>

<p>But just because it&#39;s acceptable to start a sentence with a conjunction doesn&#39;t mean you have to do it or should <em>only</em> write that way! Encourage students to use conjunctions to link up shorter words, phrases, and clauses within the same sentence, and teach them that using a conjunction to begin a sentence repeatedly doesn&#39;t sound&nbsp;great.</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="incorrect">I went to the store. <strong>And</strong> I bought milk. <strong>And</strong> I paid for it with my debit&nbsp;card.</li>
	<li class="correct">I went to the store <strong>and</strong> I bought milk. I paid for it with my debit&nbsp;card.</li>
</ul>

<p>Also, remind students that it is common practice to join long clauses with a coordinating conjunction in the same sentence. Point out that when joining two clauses, coordinating conjunctions are often preceded by a comma, especially when the first independent clause is long or has a different subject. For more examples and explanations of comma use in sentences, see this blog post:&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/commas-in-independent-dependent-clauses/" target="_blank">Commas in Independent &amp; Dependent&nbsp;Clauses</a>.</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="correct">I&#39;d like to thank everyone who came here tonight, <strong>and</strong> I&#39;d like to start by introducing our first&nbsp;speaker.</li>
	<li class="correct">He spent hours cleaning the house, <strong>but</strong> she didn&#39;t even&nbsp;notice.</li>
</ul>

<p>You might also want to mention that it&#39;s not considered best practice to put a comma after a coordinating conjunction. In their entry for&nbsp;<em>but</em>,&nbsp;<em>Merriam-Webster&#39;s Dictionary of English Usage</em> states that &quot;the force of the&nbsp;<em>but</em> is weakened by the unneeded&nbsp;comma.&quot;</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="incorrect">The book wasn&#39;t where our teacher said it would be. <strong>But,</strong> that doesn&#39;t mean we should give up looking for&nbsp;it.</li>
	<li class="correct">The book wasn&#39;t where our teacher said it would be. <strong>But</strong>&nbsp;that doesn&#39;t mean we should give up looking for&nbsp;it.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Formal Writing</h2>

<p>On the flip side, teachers are often expected to also teach formal, academic writing. When writing academic essays, it is probably best to avoid starting a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. Students can instead use subordinating conjunctions (also called conjunctive adverbs, adverbial expressions, transition words, etc) such as&nbsp;<em>however, in addition, furthermore, on the other hand</em><em>,&nbsp;</em>etc. You should also point out the punctuation used in formal writing. For more examples with&nbsp;<em>however</em>, see <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/however-7-sentence-positions-2-uses/">However: 7 Sentence Positions &amp; 2&nbsp;Uses</a>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>There are many pros and cons to the argument.&nbsp;<strong>However</strong>, many researchers have hypothesized that the cons outweigh the&nbsp;pros.</li>
	<li>There are many pros and cons to the argument; <strong>however</strong>, many researchers have hypothesized that the cons outweigh the&nbsp;pros.</li>
	<li>Many resources are listed on this website. <strong>In addition</strong>, several books have been written on the&nbsp;subject.</li>
	<li>Many resources are listed on this website;&nbsp;<b>moreover</b>, several books have been written on the&nbsp;subject.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Conclusion</h1>

<p>What should we teach our students? I tell my learners that it&#39;s fine to use a coordinating conjunction such as <em>and</em> or&nbsp;<em>but</em>&nbsp;to start a sentence in informal writing, but that it&#39;s still best to avoid doing so in formal writing. For academic and business writing, it&#39;s best to use transition words (at least for&nbsp;now).</p>

<h1>Related Resources</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<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>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/or-or-and-in-negative-sentences/" target="_blank">Or or And in Negative Sentences?</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 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="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/88/lessons/1605" target="_blank">Parts of Speech</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2479-parts-of-speech-chart" target="_blank">Parts of Speech Chart</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2481-parts-of-speech-cards" target="_blank">Parts of Speech Cards</a></li>
</ul>

Can We Start a Sentence with a Conjunction?

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<p>English grammar often follows logical patterns and rules, which makes it easier to teach and learn. However, there are times when English grammar isn&rsquo;t logical, such as when the indefinite subject <em>there</em> is followed by a series of nouns. What&rsquo;s the best way to present this tricky grammar point to our&nbsp;students?</p>

<h1>Subject-Verb Agreement</h1>

<p>In English, a plural subject takes a plural verb. We often use the conjunction <em>and</em> to create a plural&nbsp;subject.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Friends</strong> are&nbsp;important.</li>
	<li><strong>Mika and Juan</strong> are&nbsp;classmates.</li>
</ul>

<p>Sentences that begin with the indefinite subject&nbsp;<em>there</em> are very common in English. They are used to describe a situation (often involving preposition of place and a location). When we use <em>there</em> as a subject, the verb must agree with the nouns that come&nbsp;<strong>after</strong> the&nbsp;verb.</p>

<ul>
	<li>There is <strong>a book</strong> on the&nbsp;table.</li>
	<li>There are <strong>five books</strong> on the&nbsp;table.</li>
</ul>

<p>But when <em>there</em> refers to a series of nouns using a conjunction like&nbsp;<em>and </em>or<em> or</em>, it seems like logic goes out the window. We know that <em>X and Y</em> means at least <em>two</em>, so why would there ever be a singular verb used in this case? It can be very surprising for students to learn that it is not only possible but also common to see a singular verb before more than one&nbsp;noun.</p>

<ul>
	<li>There is <strong>a cat and a dog</strong> on my&nbsp;bed.</li>
	<li>There is <strong>a fork, a knife, and a spoon</strong> in front of&nbsp;me.</li>
</ul>

<p>Let&rsquo;s take a closer look at the not-so-logical rules for noun series with&nbsp;<em>there</em>.</p>

<h1>Rule 1: There Is</h1>

<p>When the first noun in the series is <strong>singular</strong> or <strong>non-count</strong>, use <em>there&nbsp;is</em>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>There is a book and a pen in my&nbsp;bag.</li>
	<li>There is a computer, a whiteboard, and an overhead projector in the&nbsp;classroom.</li>
	<li>There is a pillow, sheets, and two blankets on my&nbsp;bed.</li>
	<li>There is cream and sugar on the&nbsp;table.</li>
	<li>There is juice, milk, and soft drinks in the&nbsp;fridge.</li>
	<li>There is a lot of dirt and pebbles on my son&rsquo;s&nbsp;clothes.*</li>
</ul>

<p>*(<em>Dirt</em> is non-count, so we use&nbsp;<em>is&nbsp;</em>even with the plural quantifier&nbsp;<em>a lot&nbsp;of</em>.)</p>

<h1>Rule 2: There Are</h1>

<p>When the first noun in the series is <strong>plural</strong>, use&nbsp;<em>there&nbsp;are</em>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>There are flowers and herbs in my mom&rsquo;s&nbsp;garden.</li>
	<li>There are cookies and a sandwich in my lunch&nbsp;bag.</li>
	<li>There are three pens, a pencil, and two erasers in that desk&nbsp;drawer.</li>
	<li>There are chips and popcorn at the&nbsp;party.</li>
	<li>There are many types of music and food at this&nbsp;event.</li>
	<li>There are a lot of pebbles and dirt on my son&rsquo;s&nbsp;clothes.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Notes</h1>

<h2>1. Contractions</h2>

<p>It is very common to shorten <em>there is</em> to <em>there&rsquo;s</em> in informal speaking and writing. However, <em>there&rsquo;re</em> is almost never used because it is awkward to say and write (and to me it&rsquo;s wrong, though some people say it&rsquo;s possible). I encourage my students to use <em>there&rsquo;s</em>, but I teach them not to use <em>there&rsquo;re</em>.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>There&rsquo;s</strong> a box and some packing tape in the storage&nbsp;room.</li>
	<li><strong>There&rsquo;s</strong> a lot of money and help available for refugees in my&nbsp;city.</li>
</ul>

<h2>2. Articles</h2>

<p>Even though <em>there is</em> and <em>there are</em> are describing a specific noun, they are almost always followed by <em>a</em>, not <em>the</em> (see <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/there-is-a-vs-there-is-the" target="_blank">this post</a> for a few exceptions). Make sure students realize that the second noun in the sentence (that describes the location) will take&nbsp;<em>the</em>, as&nbsp;usual.</p>

<ul>
	<li>There is <strong>a</strong> bird and <strong>a</strong> squirrel in <strong>the</strong>&nbsp;tree.</li>
	<li>There is <strong>a</strong> piano and two guitars on <strong>the</strong>&nbsp;stage.</li>
</ul>

<h2>3. There, There</h2>

<p>Can we have&nbsp;<em>there</em> twice in a sentence? It&rsquo;s definitely possible. The first <em>there</em> is an indefinite subject with no real meaning, while the second&nbsp;<em>there</em> is a location that&rsquo;s usually a bit further away (i.e., the opposite of&nbsp;<em>here</em>).</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>There</strong> is a gas station and a grocery store over&nbsp;<strong>there</strong>.</li>
	<li>You mean the parking lot behind the school? <strong>There</strong> is a car and three trucks&nbsp;<strong>there</strong>.</li>
</ul>

<h2>4. Tenses</h2>

<p>Tell learners that this rule can be used in any tense (e.g., <em>there was/were</em>, <em>there has been/have been</em>, etc.). You should also point out that modal constructions only have one form, so students can&rsquo;t go wrong here (e.g.,&nbsp;<em>there will be</em>, <em>there can be</em>, <em>there should be</em>,&nbsp;etc.).</p>

<ul>
	<li>There <strong>was</strong> a business conference and a wedding going on at our hotel last&nbsp;night.</li>
	<li>There <strong>were</strong> two canoes and a kayak out on the lake last&nbsp;weekend.</li>
	<li>There <strong>will be</strong> a luncheon and an awards ceremony next&nbsp;Friday.</li>
	<li>There <strong>will be</strong> refreshments and drinks at the&nbsp;meeting.</li>
</ul>

<h2>5. Euphony</h2>

<p>When how something sounds to the ear trumps grammatical logic, it is known as <em>euphony</em>. <em><a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/euphony" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Merriam-Webster</a></em> defines euphony as &ldquo;pleasing or sweet sound; <em>especially</em>: the acoustic effect produced by words so formed or combined as to please the ear.&rdquo; Euphony helps explain the less-than-logical situation of <em>there is</em> + nouns in a&nbsp;series.</p>

<h2>6. Controversy</h2>

<p>Note that not everyone agrees on how to treat <em>there</em> with a series of&nbsp;nouns.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Some grammar books consider the rules mentioned in this post to be standard. For example,&nbsp;<em>Collins Cobuild English Grammar</em> states &ldquo;You use a singular form of &lsquo;be&rsquo; when you are giving a list of items and the first noun in the list is singular or&nbsp;uncountable.&rdquo;</li>
	<li>Other grammar books state that the above rules are only for <strong>informal&nbsp;</strong>English. They say that in formal English, you should always use a plural verb with a series of nouns, even if the first noun is singular. Consider Azar&rsquo;s&nbsp;<em>Understanding and Using English Grammar</em>, which states: &ldquo;Sometimes in informal English, a singular verb is used after <strong><em>there</em></strong> when the first of two subjects connected by <em><strong>and</strong></em> is singular. For example: <em>Formal: There<strong> are a book and a pen</strong> on the desk. Informal: There <strong>is a book and a pen</strong> on the&nbsp;desk.&rdquo;</em></li>
</ul>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2478-there-is-there-are-nouns-in-a-series" target="_blank">There Is/There Are Grammar &amp; Usage&nbsp;Resource</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1609" target="_blank">Subject-Verb Agreement</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2028" target="_blank">Articles 1</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1606" target="_blank">Articles 2</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/there-is-a-vs-there-is-the/" target="_blank">&ldquo;There Is A&rdquo; Vs. &ldquo;There Is&nbsp;The&rdquo;</a></li>
</ul>


There Is/There Are + Nouns in a Series

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<p>Why are there so many verbs associated with using our eyes in English, and how do we explain the differences to our students? The verbs <em>see</em>, <em>look</em>, and <em>watch </em>don&rsquo;t always follow the rules that action (active) and non-action (stative) verbs normally&nbsp;follow.</p>

<p>While I was writing the grammar notes for our reformatted&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1593" target="_blank">Simple Present Vs. Present Progressive</a> lesson the other day, the phrase &ldquo;seeing a movie&rdquo; came up. Head writer Tara and I debated questions like <em>Can we use this present progressive form to mean present time, or does it only indicate the future?</em> and <em>Would we ever use this to mean at home, or do we only use it for a&nbsp;theater?</em></p>

<p>We also discussed what the best verb was for <em>fireworks</em> since it was the end of June at the time, and <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1882" target="_blank">Canada Day</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1883" target="_blank">Independence Day</a>, and <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/2471" target="_blank">Bastille Day</a> (La F&ecirc;te Nationale) were all about to take place in July. Do we <em>see</em>, <em>look at</em>, or <em>watch</em>&nbsp;fireworks?</p>

<p>Let&rsquo;s take a closer look at the basic rules and the many exceptions for&nbsp;<em>see</em>, <em>look</em>, and <em>watch</em> and see if we can&rsquo;t answer all these&nbsp;questions.</p>

<h1>Overview</h1>

<p>In general, here are the rules for the three &ldquo;seeing&rdquo;&nbsp;verbs:</p>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>#</th>
			<th>Rule</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>1</td>
			<td>Use <em>see</em> for <strong>instant</strong>&nbsp;actions.</td>
			<td>I see an accident up&nbsp;ahead.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>2</td>
			<td>Use <em>look</em> for <strong>short</strong>&nbsp;actions.</td>
			<td>He is looking at his&nbsp;watch.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>3</td>
			<td>Use <em>watch</em> for <strong>longer</strong>&nbsp;actions.</td>
			<td>We are watching&nbsp;TV.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>See Vs. Watch</h1>

<h2>See</h2>

<p><em>See</em> is classified as a non-action (stative) verb because it happens in that instant only. It is one of the &ldquo;five senses&rdquo; verbs that also include <em>hear</em>, <em>smell</em>, and&nbsp;<em>taste</em>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>See this? It&rsquo;s my new&nbsp;tablet.</li>
	<li>Do you see what I see? Is it a&nbsp;UFO?</li>
	<li>I can see you from across the&nbsp;room.</li>
</ul>

<p>We normally don&rsquo;t use progressive forms with non‑action&nbsp;verbs.</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="correct">I see a black&nbsp;cat.</li>
	<li class="incorrect">I am seeing a black&nbsp;cat.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Watch</h2>

<p><em>Watch</em> is classified as an action verb that is the longest of the three verbs. We can use <em>watch</em> for a few minutes or a few hours. Progressive forms are common with this&nbsp;verb.</p>

<ul>
	<li>I watch TV for two hours every&nbsp;day.</li>
	<li>I am watching a TV&nbsp;show.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Exceptions</h2>

<p>In informal speaking and writing, <em>see</em> can take on the role of a longer action verb. We use <em>see</em> in place of <em>watch</em> in certain expressions, the most common of which is with movies and plays at a theater. See <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/non-action-verbs-exceptions">Non-Action Verbs &amp; Exceptions</a> for more&nbsp;examples.</p>

<ul>
	<li>She is seeing a movie with her friends on&nbsp;Friday.</li>
	<li>They are seeing a play this&nbsp;afternoon.</li>
</ul>

<p><a class="button" href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources/2148" target="_blank">Check out our Eye Idioms poster</a></p>

<h2>Notes</h2>

<h3>Note #1</h3>

<p>It is interesting to note that we would never use&nbsp;<em>see</em> when watching a movie at home. Use it only when at a movie&nbsp;theater.</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="correct">They are watching a movie at&nbsp;home.</li>
	<li class="incorrect">They are seeing a movie at&nbsp;home.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Note #2</h3>

<p>Also note that the progressive&nbsp;<em>see</em> is used for future actions, not present&nbsp;ones.</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="correct">He is seeing a movie&nbsp;tomorrow.</li>
	<li class="incorrect">He is seeing a movie&nbsp;now.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Note #3</h3>

<p>We can use <em>watch a movie/play</em> for the present and <em>see a movie/play</em> for the future. Another common future option is <em>go to a movie/a play/the movies*</em> (*remind/teach students that <em>the movies</em> means a movie&nbsp;theater).</p>

<ul>
	<li>We are watching a movie&nbsp;now.</li>
	<li>We are seeing a movie this&nbsp;weekend.</li>
	<li>We are going to a movie later&nbsp;tonight.</li>
	<li>We are going to the movies this&nbsp;weekend.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Note #4</h3>

<p>When else do we use <em>see</em> for a long action? <em>See</em> (future) or <em>watch</em> (present) are common for a movie, play, show, musical, or performance. For a concert <em>go</em> (future) or <em>be</em> (present) are the most natural-sounding&nbsp;verbs.</p>

<ul>
	<li>We are seeing/watching a movie/play/show/musical/performance.</li>
	<li>We are going to a concert. <em>or</em> We are at a&nbsp;concert.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Note #5</h3>

<p>Remember our <em>fireworks</em> question from this post&rsquo;s intro? Stick with <em>watch</em>.</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="correct">We are watching the&nbsp;fireworks.</li>
	<li class="incorrect">We are seeing the&nbsp;fireworks.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Note #6</h3>

<p>Can we ever use <em>watch</em> as an instant non-action verb? We can indeed. <em>Look</em>, too. Because English. Note that the meaning becomes less about using our eyes and more about being&nbsp;careful.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Watch out!</li>
	<li>Look out!</li>
</ul>

<h3>Note #7</h3>

<p>For higher-level students, point out that <em>see</em> can also mean <em>date</em> in English. For this case, the active, progressive form is also possible, and we can use it to indicate present time, unlike with the &ldquo;watch&rdquo; meaning of&nbsp;<em>see</em>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>He is seeing someone new&nbsp;now.</li>
	<li>We&rsquo;ve been seeing each other for two&nbsp;months.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Look: Two Uses</h1>

<h2>Action Verb</h2>

<p><em>Look</em> is usually an action verb where we use our eyes for a short period of time. It is often followed by a preposition such as&nbsp;<em>at</em> or&nbsp;<em>out</em>. The progressive form can be used and is very&nbsp;common.</p>

<ul>
	<li>She is looking at him&nbsp;again.</li>
	<li>They are looking out the&nbsp;window.</li>
	<li>I am looking for the answer&nbsp;online.</li>
	<li>You have looked at your watch 10 times in the past five&nbsp;minutes.</li>
	<li>He looks at his phone every morning as soon as he wakes&nbsp;up.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Non-Action Verb</h2>

<p><em>Look</em> also has a non-action meaning that has nothing to do with using our eyes. It describes a state of being/feeling that is used in place of the verb <em>to be</em>. Like most non-action verbs, the progressive form is rarely used with this&nbsp;case.</p>

<ul>
	<li>He looks nervous.</li>
	<li>You look beautiful!</li>
	<li>They look like they could use a&nbsp;break.</li>
</ul>

<p>The difference between <em>be</em> and the non-action <em>look</em> depends on&nbsp;<strong>who</strong> is noticing the state of being. We can use <em>be</em> when the subject knows something or when the observer knows something. We can only use <em>look</em> when the observer observes something (and usually doesn&rsquo;t know for&nbsp;sure).</p>

<ul>
	<li>She is tired. <em>(She knows she is tired and/or I know she is&nbsp;tired.)</em></li>
	<li>She looks tired. <em>(I think she is tired because she has bags under her&nbsp;eyes.)</em></li>
</ul>

<h2>Tip</h2>

<p>Tell students to look for a <strong>preposition.</strong> If <em>look&nbsp;</em>is followed by a preposition, it is an action verb meaning &ldquo;use one&rsquo;s eyes&rdquo; and can take the progressive form. If <em>look</em> isn&rsquo;t followed by a preposition, it is a non-action verb meaning &ldquo;be/seem&rdquo; and cannot take the progressive form. For more tips and examples on the two uses of <em>look</em>, see <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/look-appear-feel-adjective-or-adverb" target="_blank">Look, Appear, Feel + Adjective or&nbsp;Adverb?</a></p>

<h1>Related Resources</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1593" target="_blank">Simple Present Vs. Present Progressive</a>&nbsp;(grammar&nbsp;lesson)</li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/simple-present-vs-present-progressive" target="_blank">Simple Present Vs. Present Progressive</a>&nbsp;(blog&nbsp;post)</li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2329-non-action-verbs-exceptions" target="_blank">Non-Action Verbs</a>&nbsp;(chart)</li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/non-action-verbs-exceptions" target="_blank">Non-Action Verbs</a>&nbsp;(blog&nbsp;post)</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1596" target="_blank">Simple Future</a>&nbsp;(grammar&nbsp;lesson)</li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/simple-future-teaching-the-three-forms/" target="_blank">Simple Future: Teaching the Three Forms</a>&nbsp;(blog&nbsp;post)</li>
</ul>


Commonly Confused Verbs: See, Look, Watch

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<p>Is it easy to learn the conditional mood in English? If&nbsp;only!</p>

<p>After English students learn the <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/an-easy-way-to-teach-conditionals">four types of conditionals</a> with <em>if-clauses</em> and figure out when to use each one, they are told that there are other words and patterns to indicate the conditional mood, such as <em>unless</em>, <em>even if</em>, and&nbsp;<em>should</em>.</p>

<p>Students often struggle with the <em>conditional should</em> (also called <em>should-inversion</em>) for a few reasons. First, the pattern differs from other conditional patterns, and second, the meaning is unrelated to <em>should</em> as a modal of advice. It is also quite formal, so students don&rsquo;t come across it all that&nbsp;often.</p>

<p>But much like any grammar target in English, the <em>conditional should</em> can be explained and learned fairly painlessly using patterns and&nbsp;examples.</p>

<h1>Meanings</h1>

<p><em>Conditional should</em> and <em>modal should</em> have very different&nbsp;meanings.</p>

<p>Students first learn that&nbsp;<em>should</em> is a modal of advice. The meaning of <em>modal should</em> is a&nbsp;<em>suggestion.</em></p>

<ul>
	<li>You <strong>should</strong> pay attention in&nbsp;class.<br />
	<em>(I <strong>suggest</strong> that you pay attention in&nbsp;class.)</em></li>
</ul>

<p><em>Conditional should</em> means&nbsp;<em>if</em> and is used for hypothetical&nbsp;situations.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Should</strong> you need anything else, please call this&nbsp;number.<br />
	<em>(<strong>If</strong> you need anything else, please call this&nbsp;number.)</em></li>
</ul>

<h1>Patterns</h1>

<p><em>Conditional should</em> and <em>modal should</em> have different patterns in&nbsp;English.</p>

<p><em>Modal should</em> follows the typical <strong>S-V-O</strong> sentence&nbsp;pattern:</p>

<p><strong>subject +&nbsp;</strong><strong>modal + base&nbsp;verb</strong></p>

<p><em>Conditional should</em> has&nbsp;<strong>inversion</strong> in the sentence, which means that the subject and verb are switched. This is confusing for students because although inversion is common in questions, it rarely occurs in&nbsp;sentences.</p>

<p>The pattern of a <em>conditional should</em> sentence&nbsp;is:</p>

<p><strong>modal + subject + base&nbsp;verb</strong></p>

<table class="horizontal has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Function</th>
			<th>Type</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th rowspan="2">Modal</th>
			<td>sentence</td>
			<td>She <strong>should</strong> <strong>study</strong> for tomorrow&rsquo;s&nbsp;exam.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>question</td>
			<td><strong>Should</strong> we <strong>study</strong> for tomorrow&rsquo;s&nbsp;exam?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th rowspan="2">Conditional</th>
			<td>sentence</td>
			<td><strong>Should</strong> you <strong>call</strong> after hours, leave a&nbsp;message.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>question</td>
			<td><strong>Should</strong> I happen to&nbsp;<strong>call</strong> after hours, is it possible to leave a&nbsp;message?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p>The patterns for <em>conditional if</em> and <em>should</em> are fairly similar, but note that if-clauses follow normal tense conjugation patterns with <em><strong>-s</strong></em>, <em><strong>-ed</strong></em>, etc., whereas <em>conditional should</em> takes a&nbsp;<strong>base verb</strong> (as modals always&nbsp;do).</p>

<table class="horizontal has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Word</th>
			<th>Type</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th rowspan="2">If</th>
			<td>sentence</td>
			<td><strong>If</strong> he <strong>calls</strong>, please answer right&nbsp;away.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>question</td>
			<td><strong>If</strong> he&nbsp;<strong>calls</strong>, can you please answer right&nbsp;away?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th rowspan="2">Should</th>
			<td>sentence</td>
			<td><strong>Should</strong> he&nbsp;<strong>call</strong>, please answer right&nbsp;away.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>question</td>
			<td><strong>Should</strong>&nbsp;he&nbsp;<strong>call</strong>, can you please answer right&nbsp;away?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>Examples &amp; Usage</h1>

<p>The <em>conditional should</em> is a formal expression that we don&rsquo;t use in speaking too often. It is more common to see in written form, such as in guidelines or regulations, on signs, or in legal&nbsp;documents.</p>

<ul class="spaced-list">
	<li><strong>Should</strong> anything <strong>happen</strong>, call this&nbsp;number.</li>
	<li><strong>Should</strong> the computer <strong>lock</strong> you out, try resetting the&nbsp;password.</li>
	<li><strong>Should</strong> you <strong>fail</strong> to comply with these regulations, you will be banned from the&nbsp;organization.</li>
	<li><strong>Should</strong> we <strong>be unable to reach</strong> our goal, we will try again next&nbsp;year.</li>
</ul>

<p>The <em>conditional should</em> is most often used in place of the zero or first conditional. Remind your learners that the zero conditional is used for true facts or repeated actions, and the main clause is formed with a <em>simple present verb</em>. The first conditional is used when an outcome is&nbsp;<em>likely</em> or&nbsp;<em>possible</em>, and the main clause is usually formed with&nbsp;<em>will + base&nbsp;verb</em>.</p>

<ul class="spaced-list">
	<li>If no one <strong>answers</strong>, please <strong>call</strong> <strong>back</strong>&nbsp;tomorrow.</li>
	<li>Should no one <strong>answer</strong>, please <strong>call</strong> <strong>back</strong>&nbsp;tomorrow.</li>
	<li>If I <strong>pass</strong> the test, I <strong>will</strong>&nbsp;<strong>graduate</strong>.</li>
	<li>Should I <strong>pass</strong> the test, I <strong>will</strong>&nbsp;<strong>graduate</strong>.</li>
</ul>

<p>It is possible, though not common, to use the <em>conditional should</em> in place of the second conditional when an outcome is <em>unlikely</em> or <em>impossible</em>. The main clause is usually formed with <em>would + base verb</em>. Remind students that the verb following <em>conditional should</em> must be a base verb (not a past&nbsp;verb).</p>

<ul>
	<li>If I <strong>were</strong> rich, I <strong>would</strong> <strong>travel</strong> around the&nbsp;world.</li>
	<li>Should I <strong>become</strong> rich, I <strong>would</strong> <strong>travel</strong> around the&nbsp;world.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Practice</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2164-conditionals-chart">Conditionals Chart</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1602">First Conditional</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1603">Second Conditional</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1604">Third Conditional</a></li>
</ul>


How to Use the Conditional "Should"

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<p>Uppercase, lowercase, ...CamelCase? With all the texting and tweeting out there, teachers would do well to become familiar with this modern capitalization technique to share with their students (or, more importantly, so that they know what the heck their students are talking about). Let&#39;s take a closer look at the formation and usage of&nbsp;<em>CamelCase</em>.</p>

<h2>Form</h2>

<p>This fairly recent way of capitalizing,&nbsp;known as <em>camel case,&nbsp;</em><em>camelCase, camel caps, medial capitals</em><em>,&nbsp;</em>or&nbsp;<em>CamelCase&nbsp;</em>(my fave), is formed by adding a capital letter to the second noun in a joined compound noun. A preceding noun is also usually capitalized, whereas a single letter is not. This stylish term gets its name from the humps of a Bactrian camel (as demonstrated in the banner above). Recognizable examples include <em>WordPerfect, FedEx,</em>&nbsp;<em>eBay,</em>&nbsp;and<em>&nbsp;iPhone.</em></p>

<h2>Function</h2>

<p>Using CamelCase&nbsp;in company names has been the norm for a while now, but recently&nbsp;hashtags, usernames, and other social media tools using CamelCase have been in the spotlight. Some benefits of using CamelCase&nbsp;include:</p>

<ul>
	<li>ease of reading, instant comprehension (e.g., #worldoceansday becomes #WorldOceansDay)</li>
	<li>decipherable first and last names in usernames (e.g., harbinderbahl becomes HarbinderBahl)</li>
	<li>ease of reading of domain names (e.g., redriverpress becomes RedRiverPress)</li>
	<li>pronounceable words (e.g., most screen readers can recognize words written with CamelCase)</li>
</ul>

<p>Facebook&#39;s use of CamelCase&nbsp;for hashtags is mentioned in Inverse Innovation&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.inverse.com/article/15607-the-juiciest-bits-from-facebook-s-28-page-guide-on-trending-topics">article</a>, &quot;The Juiciest Bits from Facebook&#39;s 28-Page Guide on Trending Topics&quot;:</p>

<blockquote>&quot;The editorial team pays close attention to hashtags and attempts to make them as easy for users to comprehend at a quick glance as possible. The guidelines use the example of turning long hashtags into up style #teacherappreciationweek becomes #TeacherAppreciationWeek.&rdquo;</blockquote>

<p>Here at ESL Library, we often use CamelCase&nbsp;in hashtags such as&nbsp;<em>#AuthenticMaterials,</em>&nbsp;in URL links such as&nbsp;<em><a href="http://bit.ly/AffectEffectComparison">http://bit.ly/AffectEffectComparison</a>,&nbsp;</em>and in domain names such as&nbsp;<em>SproutEnglish&nbsp;</em>and&nbsp;<em>YumiClass</em>. When and why do you use CamelCase?</p>

What Is CamelCase?

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<p>Questions are an essential part of communicating in English. From classroom instruction to small talk, English language learners need to grasp the basics of question formation early on in their studies. A subscriber recently asked us for a <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2462">resource on question formation</a>, and we decided to share it on our blog as well. So how exactly do we form questions in&nbsp;English?</p>

<h1>Question Formation Chart</h1>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2462"><img alt="Question formation chart" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/247/content_Tanya_Question-Formation_Chart.jpg" /></a></p>

<p class="caption"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2462">Question Formation</a> &ndash; Grammar &amp; Usage&nbsp;Resources</p>

<h2>Chart Key</h2>

<ul>
	<li>S = Subject</li>
	<li>Aux = Auxiliary</li>
	<li>V = Verb</li>
	<li>O = Object</li>
</ul>

<h1>Notes</h1>

<h2>Note #1</h2>

<p>When the <strong><em>Be</em> verb</strong> is the main verb in a question, it has a different pattern in the simple present and past&nbsp;tenses.</p>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Question</th>
			<th>Pattern</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Yes/No</th>
			<td>Be + S</td>
			<td>Is this your dog?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Wh-</th>
			<td>Wh‑ + Be + S +&nbsp;O</td>
			<td>When were you in&nbsp;Rome?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>Note #2</h2>

<p>The auxiliaries <em>do</em>, <em>be</em>, and <em>have</em> take an <em>‑s</em> in the <strong>third person singular</strong> form (with <em>he</em>, <em>she</em>, <em>it</em>, singular count nouns, and non‑count&nbsp;nouns).</p>

<ul>
	<li>Does she like ice&nbsp;cream?</li>
	<li>How is your son feeling&nbsp;today?</li>
	<li>Has everyone left&nbsp;yet?</li>
</ul>

<h2>Note #3</h2>

<p><em>Wh-</em> words usually act as the <strong>object</strong> of a&nbsp;sentence.</p>

<h4>Wh- + Aux + S + V</h4>

<ul>
	<li>She&nbsp;(S) likes&nbsp;(V) pizza&nbsp;(O).</li>
	<li>What&nbsp;(O) does&nbsp;(Aux) she &nbsp;(S) like&nbsp;(V)?</li>
</ul>

<p>However, some <em>Wh-</em> words, especially <em>who</em> and <em>what</em>, can also act as <strong>subjects</strong> in&nbsp;English.</p>

<h4>Wh- + V (+ O)</h4>

<ul>
	<li>Nobody&nbsp;(S) cares&nbsp;(V).</li>
	<li>Who&nbsp;(S) cares&nbsp;(V)?</li>
</ul>

<ul>
	<li>Something&nbsp;(S) happened&nbsp;(V).</li>
	<li>What&nbsp;(S) happened&nbsp;(V)?</li>
</ul>

<h2>Note #4</h2>

<p><strong>Auxiliary phrases</strong> like <em>be going to</em>, <em>be able to</em>,&nbsp;<em>have to</em>, etc. follow the usual&nbsp;patterns.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Are you going to call me&nbsp;later?</li>
	<li>Does he have to&nbsp;leave?</li>
</ul>

<h1>Fun Activity</h1>

<p>For an easy warm-up or filler activity, try doing a student-designed Q&amp;A.</p>

<ul>
	<li>First, cut up enough blank cards to have five (or ten) per&nbsp;student.</li>
	<li>Next, get students to write conversation questions of their choosing on their cards. (You can give students free reign or choose to practice only Yes/No questions, Wh‑ questions, questions in a certain tense,&nbsp;etc.)</li>
	<li>If needed, put some examples on the board (e.g., <em>What&rsquo;s your favorite dish? When did you start studying English? Do you prefer summer or&nbsp;winter?</em>).</li>
	<li>When they&#39;ve finished writing their questions, collect the cards and shuffle them&nbsp;together.</li>
	<li>Now put students into small groups and divide the cards up&nbsp;evenly.</li>
	<li>Finally, have students take turns choosing a question and asking it to one or more of their group members. (You can choose a time limit, such as 20 minutes, or let them talk until their cards run&nbsp;out.)</li>
</ul>

<h1>Related Resources</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1627">Wh- Questions</a> &ndash; Grammar Practice Worksheets lesson</li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/grammar-usage/resources/2462-question-formation">Question Formation</a> &ndash; Grammar &amp; Usage resource</li>
	<li class="course"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/110/lessons">Super Simple Questions</a> &ndash; 12&nbsp;lessons</li>
	<li class="course"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/89/lessons">Basic Grammar Sentences</a> &ndash; 41&nbsp;lessons</li>
</ul>


Question Formation in English

https://esllibrary-staging.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/1574/Tanya_Grammar_Banner.png

<p>A <em>clause</em> is a stand-alone statement in English that includes a subject and a verb that shows tense and agreement. A <em>phrase</em> is a reduced form where the subject is usually dropped and the verb is shortened to a participle form. Phrases can be tough for English language learners to understand because they&#39;re not so easy to recognize. Let&#39;s take a closer look at a common type:&nbsp;<em>adverb&nbsp;phrases</em>.</p>

<h1>Clause Vs. Phrase</h1>

<p>Students should be aware of the difference between&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/adverb-clauses/" target="_blank"><em>adverb clauses</em></a> and&nbsp;<em>adverb phrases</em>. Remind learners&nbsp;that a clause is a complete sentence with a subject and verb (and possibly an object), while a phrase isn&#39;t a complete&nbsp;sentence.</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Example</th>
			<th>Note</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>I learned a lot&nbsp;<strong>while&nbsp;I was&nbsp;studying</strong>.</td>
			<td>Adverb clause: subject <em>I</em>, verb <em>was&nbsp;studying</em></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>I learned a lot&nbsp;<strong>while&nbsp;studying</strong>.</td>
			<td>Adverb phrase: no subject, incomplete verb&nbsp;<em>studying</em></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>Phrase Rules</h1>

<p>How do we reduce an adverb clause to a phrase in English? Follow these simple&nbsp;rules:</p>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>#</th>
			<th>Part of Speech</th>
			<th>Rule</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>1</td>
			<td>Subject</td>
			<td>Drop the subject of the adverb clause.</td>
			<td>&mdash;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>2</td>
			<td>One-part verb</td>
			<td>Change a simple present or past verb into the present participle (<em>-ing</em>) form.</td>
			<td>leave&nbsp; <strong>leaving</strong>, danced&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>dancing</strong></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>3</td>
			<td>Two-part verbs with&nbsp;<em>be</em></td>
			<td>Drop the&nbsp;<em>be</em>&nbsp;auxiliary verb and leave&nbsp;the second&nbsp;form.</td>
			<td>was walking <strong>walking</strong></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>4</td>
			<td>Two-part verbs with&nbsp;<em>have</em></td>
			<td>Drop the&nbsp;<em>have</em>&nbsp;auxiliary verb and change the second form into the present&nbsp;participle.</td>
			<td>had graduated <strong>graduating</strong> (or, less commonly, <strong>having&nbsp;graduated</strong>)</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>Phrase&nbsp;Examples</h1>

<table class="has-borders">
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Adverb Clause</th>
			<th>Adverb&nbsp;Phrase</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
			<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; width: 100%;">
				<li>I lock all the doors before I leave my&nbsp;house.</li>
				<li>Before I leave my house, I lock all the doors.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
			<td>
			<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; width: 100%;">
				<li>I lock all the doors before <strong>leaving</strong> my&nbsp;house.</li>
				<li>Before <strong>leaving</strong>&nbsp;my house, I lock all the&nbsp;doors.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
			<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; width: 100%;">
				<li>He&nbsp;sang while he danced.</li>
				<li>While he danced, he sang.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
			<td>
			<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; width: 100%;">
				<li>He sang while <strong>dancing</strong>.</li>
				<li>While <strong>dancing</strong>, he sang.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
			<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; width: 100%;">
				<li>I ate breakfast&nbsp;while I was walking&nbsp;to the bus&nbsp;stop.</li>
				<li>While I was walking&nbsp;to the bus stop, I ate&nbsp;breakfast.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
			<td>
			<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; width: 100%;">
				<li>I ate&nbsp;my breakfast while <strong>walking</strong>&nbsp;to the bus&nbsp;stop.</li>
				<li>While <strong>walking</strong> to the bus stop, I ate&nbsp;my&nbsp;breakfast.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
			<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; width: 100%;">
				<li>She got a new job after she had&nbsp;graduated.</li>
				<li>After she had graduated, she got a new&nbsp;job.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
			<td>
			<ul style="margin-bottom: 0; width: 100%;">
				<li>She got a new job after <strong>graduating</strong> /&nbsp;<strong>having&nbsp;graduated</strong>.</li>
				<li>After <strong>graduating</strong> /&nbsp;<strong>having graduated</strong>, she got a new&nbsp;job.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>Phrase&nbsp;Notes</h1>

<h2>Note #1</h2>

<p>An&nbsp;adverb phrase&nbsp;is dependent (meaning it cannot stand alone), and it can come&nbsp;<strong>before</strong> or&nbsp;<strong>after</strong> the independent (main)&nbsp;clause.&nbsp;If it comes&nbsp;<strong>before</strong> the main clause, use a&nbsp;<strong>comma</strong>.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>While traveling through Europe,&nbsp;</strong>I met many&nbsp;people.</li>
	<li>I met many people&nbsp;<strong>while traveling through&nbsp;Europe</strong>.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Note #2</h2>

<p>Adverb phrases are only possible with&nbsp;the&nbsp;<strong>same</strong>&nbsp;<strong>subject</strong>. If the subject of the independent clause and the subject of the adverb clause are different,&nbsp;the adverb clause <strong>cannot</strong> be reduced to an adverb phrase. This is a common error called a <em>dangling participle&nbsp;phrase</em>.</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="correct"><strong>While she was soaking in the bath,&nbsp;</strong>she felt very relaxed.&nbsp;(adverb&nbsp;clause)</li>
	<li class="correct"><strong>While soaking in the bath,&nbsp;</strong>she felt very relaxed. (adverb&nbsp;phrase)</li>
	<li class="correct"><strong>While she was soaking in the bath,&nbsp;</strong>her kids made dinner. (adverb&nbsp;clause)</li>
	<li class="incorrect"><strong>While soaking in the bath,&nbsp;</strong>her kids made dinner.&nbsp;(incorrect adverb phrase&mdash;the dropped subject&nbsp;<em>she&nbsp;</em>and the subject&nbsp;<em>her kids</em>&nbsp;are&nbsp;different)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Note #3</h2>

<p><em>While&nbsp;</em>can sometimes be <strong>omitted</strong> from&nbsp;an adverb phrase, but only when the phrase is at the beginning of a sentence and only if the phrase is more than one&nbsp;word.</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="correct">While traveling through Europe,&nbsp;I met many&nbsp;people.</li>
	<li class="correct">Traveling through Europe,&nbsp;I met many&nbsp;people.</li>
	<li class="correct">While traveling,&nbsp;I met may&nbsp;people.</li>
	<li class="incorrect">Traveling,&nbsp;I met many people.&nbsp;(incorrect because the adverb phrase only has one&nbsp;word)</li>
	<li class="incorrect">I met many people<strong>&nbsp;traveling through Europe&nbsp;</strong> (incorrect&mdash;this is&nbsp;an adjective phrase reduced from the adjective clause&nbsp;<em>people who were&nbsp;traveling through&nbsp;Europe</em>)</li>
</ul>

<h1>Related Resources</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/adverb-clauses" target="_blank">Adverb Clauses</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1616" target="_blank">Adverb Clauses of&nbsp;Time</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1619" target="_blank">Adverb Clauses of&nbsp;Contrast</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/7-adverb-patterns" target="_blank">7 Adverb Patterns</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/adverbs-of-frequency/" target="_blank">Adverbs of Frequency</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/adverbs-of-manner/" target="_blank">Adverbs of Manner</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/adverbs-with-two-forms/" target="_blank">Adverbs with Two&nbsp;Forms</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/already-yet-still" target="_blank">Already, Yet &amp;&nbsp;Still</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/whats-the-deal-with-because-since-as-and-due-to" target="_blank">What&#39;s the Deal with Because, Since, As &amp; Due&nbsp;To?</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.&nbsp;Although</a></li>
</ul>