first sentence)
I really enjoyed my school days. Those were the best days of my life.
(Those links with school days)
Pronouns
The runners are ready to go. They are waiting for the starting pistol.
(They links with the runners)
I don’t like my maths teacher. He shouts a lot.
(He links with my maths teacher)
Conjunctions
I will need to save up some money before I can buy a new phone.
(before shows time relationship)
Please let me know when you want to go home.
(when shows time relationship)
Adverbs
I clean my teeth. Then I get dressed. (Then shows time relationship)
I get dressed. Next I make my lunch. (Next shows time relationship)
Connectives
Conjunctions and adverbs are also known as connectives. They connect ideas between clauses and sentences.
I am scared of horses. Nevertheless, I am going riding tomorrow.
We are moving house. Therefore, I will be changing schools.
Some other connectives are:
later
afterwards
previously
similarly
furthermore
moreover
on the other hand
in contrast
however
meanwhile
Ellipsis
Ellipsis is missing out a word or phrase that you would normally include. By doing this, you can link clauses and sentences.
Do you like jazz? I don’t like it.
> Do you like jazz? I don’t.
Julie looked behind and she started to run.
> Julie looked behind and started to run.
Ellipsis is also the name of a punctuation mark. You can see more about this on page 58.
Ambiguity
Ambiguity is when something is not clear and could confuse the reader. For example:
The dog bit the man and he barked.
Who barked? The man or the dog?
The dog bit the man and then barked.
By removing the pronoun he and adding the adverb then, you get rid of the ambiguity.
Avoiding repetition
You use pronouns to avoid repeating nouns in a piece of writing.
My aunt lives in Rome. My aunt has lived there for twenty years. My aunt works as a translator.
> My aunt lives in Rome. She has lived there for twenty years. She works as a translator.
Expressing possibility
You can express the idea of possibility or uncertainty in two ways.
Modal verbs
You can use verbs like may, might, could and should to show that something is not certain.
We may be getting a puppy.
I might not be here when you get home.
The team could be moving to a new stadium.
Robert should be able to meet you at the station.
Adverbs
You can also use certain adverbs to show that something is not definite.
Maybe we can go next week.
Perhaps you can help me with this?
She is possibly too late to join the class now.
Types of English
The way you talk to your friends is not the same way that you talk to your head teacher. We write and speak in different ways, depending on the situation.
Informal language
This is how you write to friends or close family, for example in emails or texts:
Hey how R U? Soz i missed ur call. @ lazergame with jack n anna. It was beast! cant wait 2 go again. I’ll phone u l8r. ☺
Some features of informal language:
• slang words (beast)
• contracted forms (I’ll)
• abbreviations (R U, soz, ur, n)
• smileys or emoticons (☺)
• lack of punctuation (jack, anna, cant, i)
• informal greeting (Hey)
• short simple sentences
• simple vocabulary
• numbers or symbols (2 for to, @ for at or l8r for later)
Question tags
A question tag is a short question at the end of a statement. They are used to check that the listener agrees with the speaker. They are common in speech and informal writing but you should not use them in formal writing:
You’ve cleaned your room, haven’t you?
We’re not going to that, are we?
Formal language
This is the language you should use when you are writing things for school.
Dear Mrs Jenkins
I am sorry I missed your telephone call yesterday. I was out with two of my friends, Jack and Anna. We were at an attraction called Lazergame, where you chase and shoot each other with lasers. It was really good fun and I am hoping to go again soon.
I will see you at five o’clock on Friday,
