Golden rule 1
Avoid contractions in formal writing: use apostrophes only to indicate possession.
James Joyce's "Araby" is about a boy who has a crush on his friend's sister. This sentence is fine—the apostrophes in "Joyce's" and "friend's" indicate possession. It would be improper in a formal essay to write, "The narrator of 'Araby' doesn't realize that he isn't truly in love with Mangan's sister until his romantic illusions about the bazaar are shattered." "Doesn't" and "isn't" should be expanded to "does not" and "is not."
Golden rule 2
Avoid the second person in formal academic writing—never use the words "you," "your," or "yours" except in quotations of someone else's words.
In casual speech it is okay to say, "The first time you jump out of an airplane is bound to scare you, no matter how brave you are." In formal writing, though, the ambiguity of this generalized "you" is unacceptable. Literally, "you" refers to the reader—the reader could be someone who would never consider jumping out of an airplane, so the "you" would not apply to that reader at all. Say instead, "The first time someone jumps out of an airplane is scary, no matter how brave a person is," or "The first time is scary for all skydivers, no matter how brave they are."
Golden rule 3 (a "major error")
Pronouns (including possessives their, her, his, etc.) must agree in number and gender with their antecedents. In particular, "they," "their," and "them" must always refer to plural subjects.
In conversation we might say, "If someone likes reading Aristotle for fun, they need their head examined." But formal writing requires that "they" and "their" always refer to plural antecedents—"someone" is singular. Write instead, "People who read Aristotle for fun should have their heads examined," or, "The person who reads Aristotle for fun should have his or her head examined."
GR3s ("s" short for "sexist language"): In the past it was correct to say "he," "him," or "his" when referring to a person whose gender was not specified, as in "Even the grumpiest reader is sure to smile when he reads Huck Finn." Today, though, we recognize that the unspecified reader might be named Janelle or Melissa, so we write, "Even the grumpiest reader is sure to smile when he or she reads Huck Finn." Or better yet, "Even grumpy readers are sure to smile when they read Huck Finn." The awkwardness of repeating "he or she," "his or her," and "him or her" can often be avoided by making the antecedent plural and keeping the "they," "their," "them," etc. plural.
GR3o ("o" short for "one"): Be wary of avoiding the gender issue with the neutral pronoun "one," as in "When one watches La Femme Nikita, one is always entertained." Although grammatically correct—and used sparingly, "one" may be preferable to "he or she"—frequent use of "one" gives writing an undesirable stilted tone.
GR3/: Avoid using slashes between third-person pronouns to indicate either/or in formal writing: instead of "he/she" or "s/he," "his/her," and "him/her," write "he or she," "his or her," and "him or her."
GR3ip ("ip" short for "indefinite pronoun"): Many collective or indefinite pronouns that might seem plural are grammatically singular and should not be used with "they," "their," and "them." "Everyone" and "everybody," for instance, refer collectively to more than one person, but "everyone" and "everybody" are grammatically singular and thus cannot be paired with "they," "their," or "them."
Collective or indefinite pronouns frequently problematic with "they," "their," and "them":
| anyone | everyone | nobody |
| anybody | everybody | someone |
| each | neither | somebody |
| either | no one |
Golden rule 4
Avoid using "this," "that," "these," and "those" as freestanding pronouns. Use these words only as demonstrative adjectives: say "this [blank]," "that [blank]," etc.
The problem with using "this," "that," "these," and "those" as freestanding pronouns is that sometimes the antecedents of these pronouns are not perfectly clear, making the reader pause to figure out what "this," "that," "these" or "those" means.
Example: As Bob Uecker once pointed out, late in a close World Series game the fans are more nervous than the players on the field. This includes the players in the dugout. It is unclear what the "this" refers to: it could mean that the players in the dugout are as nervous as the fans, or it could mean that the players in the dugout are as calm as their teammates on the field.We can hardly write without using the words "this," "that," "these," and "those." But we express ourselves most clearly by using these words as adjectives rather than freestanding pronouns, as in Late in a close World Series game, the fans are more nervous than the players on the field. This designation of "fans" includes the players in the dugout, who have no more control over events on the field when they are not in the game than the peanut vendors do. Instead of saying just "this is . . .," say specifically what "this" refers to—"this what?"
Note: "This," "that," "these," and "those" are most problematic when used as pronouns at the beginning of a sentence. Be especially vigilant to avoid beginning sentences with these words used as freestanding pronouns.
Golden rule 5 (a "major error")
Avoid sentence fragments. Although sentence fragments are sometimes effective in journalism, fiction, and other types of writing, formal academic writing requires that all sentences have both subject and predicate and operate grammatically as independent clauses.
Sentence fragments are often missing either subject or predicate (verb, primarily).
Example: Pro football teams have only one mission. To win at all costs. There is no subject in the phrase "to win at all costs." The fragment should be a) given a subject, as in "Their mission is to win at all costs," or b) combined with the preceding sentence, as in "Pro teams have only one mission—to win at all costs." Example: Carol likes only certain types of men. Guys with goatees, mainly. There is no predicate, or verb, in "guys with goatees, mainly." This fragment should be a) given subject and verb, as in "She likes guys with goatees, mainly," or b) combined with the preceding sentence, as in "Carol likes only certain types of men, mainly guys with goatees."Many sentence fragments contain subject and predicate but are not complete sentences because they are dependent upon something in another sentence to make grammatical sense or be grammatically complete—they are subordinate clauses, or dependent clauses.
Example: The Lady Vols might win their eighth national championship in basketball this year. Because they always have great talent. "Because they always have great talent" does not work as a freestanding sentence—the "because" depends upon the preceding sentence to make grammatical sense. Obviously, the fragment could be attached to the preceding sentence: "The Lady Vols might win their eighth national championship in basketball this year because they always have great talent." The dependent clause could also be made independent by dropping the subordinating conjunction "because," as in "The Lady Vols might win their eighth national championship in basketball this year. They always have great talent."
Golden rule 6 (a "major error")
Avoid fused sentences (one form of "run-on" sentence). A sentence is fused when two independent clauses are joined together with no punctuation.
Example: The Atlanta Braves usually have strong pitching they are a dominant team every year.Definition: an independent clause contains both subject and predicate (verb) and could stand alone as a complete sentence. In the example, "The Atlanta Braves usually have strong pitching" and "they are a dominant team every year" are both independent clauses and could stand separately as complete sentences.
For ways to correct
fused sentences, see the next golden rule. Note
that if you simply place a comma between two independent clauses you create
a comma splice, another "major error."
Golden rule 7 (a "major error")
Avoid comma splices (another form of "run-on" sentence). Comma splices incorrectly link or splice together two independent clauses with only a comma between them.
Example: The Atlanta Braves usually have strong pitching, they are a dominant team every year.Four methods of fixing comma splices and fused sentences: 1) Splitting the two independent clauses into separate sentences: The Atlanta Braves usually have strong pitching. They are a dominant team year in and year out.
2) Linking the independent clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction: The Atlanta Braves usually have strong pitching, and they are always a dominant team. Or: The Atlanta Braves always have strong pitching, so they are always a dominant team.
Note: The seven coordinating conjunctions are easy to remember by the acronym FANBOYS: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, and So.
3) Joining the two independent clauses with a semicolon: The Atlanta Braves usually have strong pitching; they are a dominant team every year.
Tip: Stylistically, semicolons join independent clauses most smoothly when the semicolon is followed by a conjunctive adverb ("however," "nevertheless," or "therefore," e.g.) or transitional phrase ("all the same," "in fact," "on the other hand," e.g.). Examples:4) Subordinating one of the independent clauses, making it a dependent clause that can no longer stand on its own as a complete sentence: Since the Atlanta Braves always have strong pitching, they are always a dominant team. Or: The Atlanta Braves always have strong pitching, which makes them a dominant team year after year.
The Atlanta Braves always have strong pitching; consequently, they are always a dominant team.
Invariably, the Atlanta Braves have strong pitching; as a result, they kick National League butt every year.
- (Common subordinating
conjunctions or "subordinators" are such words as since, which, that, although,
because, while, etc.).
GR7fc (faulty conjunction): One
particularly frequent comma splice problem involves the misuse of the words "however" and
"therefore" as coordinating conjunctions. "However" and "therefore"
can follow a semicolon to join independent clauses, but not a comma (There's
neither "H" nor "T" in the acronym, FANBOYS.).
- Comma splice:
The Yankees always have strong pitching and excellent
hitting, therefore they
are a dominant team.Comma splice:
The Atlanta Braves used to win their division every
year, however, they have won the World Series only once, in 1995.
GR7q (quotation): Comma splices also occur when quotations are introduced with an independent clause followed by a comma.
- Comma splice:
Some of the biblical proverbs are unkind to
women, "It is better to
dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house,"
reads one, for example (Proverbs 21.9).
When quotations are introduced with independent clauses, a colon, not a comma, should precede the quote, as in "Proverbs 21.9 counsels men to avoid contentious women: 'It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.'"
- Commas follow phrases
or clauses introducing quotes when those phrases or clauses are not "independent"
and cannot stand on their own as complete sentences.
Examples:
According to Proverbs 21.9, "It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house."As wise King Solomon advises, "It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house" (Proverbs 21.9).
- For more on integrating
quotations, see Nugget
3
Golden rule 8
Make sentence elements that are parallel in meaning and grammatical function parallel also in grammatical form.
In the sentence, "Two of my greatest passions are cooking and to eat," "cooking" and "to eat" are both "passions," and they serve the grammatical function of the subject complement, but cooking is a gerund and to eat is an infinitive. The sentence should read, "Two of my greatest passions are cooking and eating." "Grammatical form" often translates into "parts of speech," and nouns should usually be parallel with nouns, prepositional phrases with prepositional phrases, adjectives with adjectives, infinitives with infinitives, etc.
Faulty: High school athletics teach us discipline, teamwork, and about sportsmanship (noun, noun, prepositional phrase).
- Correct:
High school athletics teach us discipline, teamwork, and sportsmanship (three abstract nouns).High school athletics teach us about discipline, teamwork, and sportsmanship (the three nouns are now objects of the preposition "about").
High school athletics teach us about discipline, about teamwork, and about sportsmanship (three prepositional phrases).
Faulty: Alfredo is undecided about a career. He is considering medicine, law, engineering, or being a politician. Medicine, law, and engineering denote broad fields of employment: "being a politician" is a verbal expression indicating a state of being.
- Correct:
Alfredo is considering medicine, law, engineering, and politics (four nouns [including the gerund], all general fields of work).Alfredo is considering being a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or politician (four nouns indicating job titles).
Faulty: The heavy metal bands of the '90s bear little resemblance to their hard rock predecessors in the late sixties and early seventies. All three decades could be abbreviated numbers ('90s, '60s, and '70s), but would be more appropriate in formal writing either as 1990s, 1960s, and 1970s, or nineties, sixties, and seventies.
Golden rule 9
Avoid successions of short, choppy sentences. Short, choppy sentences impede the smooth flow your writing should aim to present. Short sentences force your reader to go slowly, and when several occur together it can make your writing seem more "elementary" than it truly is. Used sparingly, short sentences can give powerful emphasis to important points, but avoid stringing several short sentences together when you do not consciously intend to add emphasis by "slowing down" the reader.
If you have a tendency to short and choppy sentences in your writing, try combining them into more complex sentences through subordination and coordination.
Choppy: It is Friday. The weather is gorgeous. I love it when Chip talks about grammar. I wish this class were over.
Smoother: Today is Friday and the weather is grand. Much as I love it when Chip talks about grammar, I must admit I wish this class were over.
Golden rule 10
Avoid excessively long, overly complex sentences. Overly long, complex sentences make it unnecessarily difficult for the reader to follow your train of thought.
Too complex: Because Bob refused to take a hint, even after Robby wrote "Bob, take a shower" on the office chalkboard, it was rough working with Bob since he never bathed, even on Saturdays, and sometimes, either in management meetings or during shift changes, or at other times when we would all have to be crowded together in the tiny office, the smell was so overpowering the rest of us almost gagged.
If you notice a tendency to rather long, complex sentences in your writing, try breaking them into smaller, more direct sentences. You should also question whether especially long sentences are needlessly wordy or include parenthetical information your reader doesn't truly need to understand your point.
Clearer: It was rough working with Bob because he never bathed. Sometimes the smell in the office was so overpowering we almost gagged. Even after Robby wrote "Bob, take a shower" on the office chalkboard, Bob refused to take a hint.
Complex sentences are sentences that have several parts, each with a verb, and these parts are joined by ‘joining words’ (连词). For example, here are two simple sentences: “I know a man. He has five children.” If you join these two sentences by using the relative pronoun (联系代名词) ‘who’, it now becomes a complex sentence: “I know a man who has five children.” (By the way, ‘who’ is not pronounced with extra word stress here. You only stress this word when it means ‘ 谁?’, which is not the case here.)
It is important to show the IELTS examiner that you can use a variety of words to join sentence parts in order to make longer, more complex sentences. IELTS examiners are looking at this and if you don’t show it well enough, you won’t get a 6 (or above) for grammar. This is a strict rule that the IELTS examiners must follow, even if other aspects of your grammar are very good.
Below are some suggestions about making complex sentences:
- Don’t unnecessarily repeat the same noun – use pronouns such as he, she it, we, they, the one, the ones and 联系代名词.
- IELTS students should show that they can use 联系代名词 – that, which, who, whom, where, when.
- IELTS students should show that they can use: if, although (= though), even though, as well (as), at the moment, even, while, whereas, either, neither (+ nor), unless, rather than, instead of, as soon as, when, once, after, while, meanwhile, besides, in spite of, despite, yet, still, provided (providing) that, except, in order to, in case, depending on, because, but, and, as, or, for example, for instance, like, such as, by …
After you read the meaning and see the example sentence in the dictionary, write about 5 similar examples yourself and then speak these sentences (after all, you are studying for the IELTS Speaking test, not just the IELTS Writing test).
- The following adverbs are also used to link ideas within a sentence: mainly, chiefly especially, particularly , predominantly, primarily, specially , especially, specifically, mostly. These adverbs can be found, HERE, in Table B3 but not all the words in Table B3 are classified as linking words.
- In English, the word ‘although’ is not followed by the word ‘but’. For example, don’t say, “Although he’s not very tall, but he’s a good basketball player.” The correct sentence is, “Although he’s not very tall, he’s a good basketball player.”
- When you want to say, ‘因为’ use ‘because’ not, ‘for’, or ‘as’. These two words sound too formal in everyday spoken English. For example, don’t say, “I’m sitting for the IELTS exam as I want to study in Britain.” It’s more natural to say, “I’m sitting for the IELTS exam because I want to study in Britain.”
Notice that, in Chinese you say “ 因为。。。所以” but in English, we don't say the 所以. For example: “Because I’m just a student, so I don’t have enough money to rent my own flat” is not correct English. The correct sentence is: “Because I’m just a student, I don’t have enough money to rent my own flat.” ( But that sentence is usually much better if it is written or spoken this way: “I don’t have enough money to rent my own flat because I’m just a student.”)
In addition to not saying “so”, there is another important point to remember about this type of sentence. Although it is possible in English to begin sentences with “because”, most English speakers don't do it very often, certainly not as often as Chinese people speaking English. Instead, most English speakers would re-phrase the sentence above to: “I don’t have enough money to rent my own flat because I'm just a student.” On the other hand, if you said, “Because I’m just a student, I don’t have enough money to rent my own flat” in Part 2 or in an extended answer in Part 3, it would not sound wrong. The problem arises when the examiner asks you a question such as, “Do you rent your own flat?” It would be unsuitable to answer by beginning with the “Because” phrase because that answer would not be a direct answer and English speakers do not speak that way. Instead, you should say: “No, I don't because I'm just a student so I don't have enough money to rent my own flat.”
Of course, English speakers do often begin sentences with “Because” in answer to a “Why....?” question and if you speak that way to begin an answer once or twice in the test it will help your speech sound natural. But I suggest you don't begin many answers to a “Why ....?” question that way because, by speaking that way, you might be losing the opportunity to impress the examiner with better English. The best example of this is the answer to the question, “Why did you choose to study that subject?” If you begin this way: “I chose that because ...” you will impress the examiner by using the past tense and secondly, you will impress the examiner with your knowledge of the word, “chose”, which is the irregular past form of “choose” and which is not well known or not often used by candidates below Band 6.
- Notes on the use of the relative pronouns ‘that’, ‘which’ and ‘who’
The group of words that follows the words, ‘that’, ‘which’ or ‘who’ is called a “relative clause”.
There are two types of relative clauses, Defining Relative Clauses and Non-Defining Relative Clauses.
7.1 Defining relative clauses explain which person or thing you are talking about. For example, if you say, “I spoke to the man” it might be unclear who you mean but if you say, “I spoke to the man who lives upstairs” then you have defined which man.
When defining a thing, we can use either ‘that’ or ‘which’. For example, “I’ve finished reading the book that you gave me” = “I’ve finished reading the book which you gave me”. (American English usually only uses ‘that’ in this situation but British English allows for either ‘that’ or ‘which’ to be used here.)
When writing defining relative clauses, the relative pronoun is never preceded by a comma.
Defining relative clauses can be further divided into two types:
Type 1
Relative pronouns representing the object (宾语) of their clause. For example, “I’ve finished reading the book that you gave me” (“that you gave me” means, “you gave it to me”).
The relative clause is, “you gave me”, the subject of the verb is “you” and the relative pronoun is “that”, representing the object, “it”.
When the relative pronoun represents an object, it can be omitted, especially in informal language such as everyday speech. For example, the sentence above can be spoken as, “I’ve finished reading the book you gave me”.
Type 2
Relative pronouns representing the subject (主语) of their clause. For example, “I spoke to the man who lives upstairs” (“who lives” means, “he lives”).
When the relative pronoun is the subject, it cannot be omitted.
If the sentence above was changed to this: “I spoke to the man who I helped last year” then is becomes a Type 1. You can see this because, “Who I helped” means, “I helped him” so “who” now is an object and the sentence could be spoken as, “I spoke to the man I helped last year.”
7.2 Non-Defining relative clauses give extra information which is not necessary to say in order to define who or what you are talking about. For example, “I saw Mr. Wang, who looked a little tired.”
In non-defining clauses, just as in defining clauses, the relative pronoun can be either a subject or an object. In both cases, you cannot omit the relative pronoun.
Since the relative pronoun is never omitted in a non-defining clause, it is not necessary to analyse examples of the relative pronoun to see if it represents the object or the subject of the relative clause. Nevertheless, some examples are shown below.
Examples of Relative Pronoun as Subject of the Clause:
“I saw Mr. Wang, who looked a little tired.” Here, “who looked a little tired” means, “he looked a little tired.”
“She bought a new car, which was quite expensive.” Here, “which was quite expensive” means, “it was quite expensive”.
Examples of Relative Pronoun as Object of the Clause
“I gave my old computer to my neighbour, who I have known all my life.” Here, “who I have known all my life” means, “I have known him all my life.”
“He's very proud of his doctorate (= PhD), which he put on his office wall, for everyone to see.” Here, “which he put on his office wall” means, “he put it on his office wall”.
When giving extra information about a thing, i.e., in a non-defining clause, you can only use the word, ‘which’. For example, “I read your essay, which was very interesting.” You cannot replace ‘which’ in that sentence with the word, ‘that’.
When writing non-defining relative clauses, the relative pronoun must have a comma before it.
- Try to use, ‘which’ quite a lot in the Speaking test (and the Writing test). This word is one of the most common of the linking words and by using it often, you will be adding lots of extra information, which is an important part of good communication. Remember, the Speaking test is a test of communication. If the examiner never (or rarely) hears you use that word, he or she will have a strong impression that you are not a 6 (or above) for grammar and probably not a 6 or above for Speaking, overall. But if you do use it a lot, the impression that the examiner gets is that you are at least a 6, although just using that word a lot is no guarantee that you will get a 6 or more!
We do not say, “This is my electronic dictionary, which I find it very useful.” The word ‘which’ already represents ‘my electronic dictionary’ so we don't need to use a second pronoun.
- The word, ‘and’ is, of course, very often used but it is rather simple and you won't really score many points by simply using this word a lot. However, some candidates do use it a lot, instead of just saying many short, simple sentences and they do this because they have not practiced a larger range of linking words. Doing this is certainly better than habitually making many short sentences and it does give an impression that you are making complex sentences. Not only that, it does help you to speak more fluently. But to really impress the examiner, you need to show a range of linking words and use them frequently.
- Examiners sometimes ask you to name some different types of something, such as the different types of films that people watch. A similar question is to ask you to name some examples of something, such as, “Can you think of any examples of leisure activities that people do in a place that has a lot of water?” These questions are basically testing your vocabulary but especially if the question is in Part 3, you should also consider these questions to be ‘invitations to speak rather broadly’, not just a request for a list of words. But many candidates just speak a list of words or names of different types of something, without adding any extra comments. That kind of answer, although satisfying the vocabulary requirements of the question, does not score very highly in the grammar or coherence requirements – basically, that kind of answer is a Band 5.0 or 5.5 level of English. You should try to add comments, i.e., extra information, not just speak a list of words.
“Well, I studied Maths, which was my favourite subject because I always got a high score for in my maths exams, Physics, Chemistry, History, which I found a little boring because I don't enjoy just memorizing a lot of dates, English and, of course, Chinese, which is a compulsory subject for all students in China.”
A candidate who knows how to show the intonation used when speaking a list would score the highest for this answer. As you can see, you should use ‘which’ a few times in such an answer but to use ‘which’ after saying every item in the list is a little unnatural and repetitious. It's unnatural because the examiner asked, "What subjects did you study in school?", not, "Tell me about the subjects you studied in school". The question, "What subjects did you study in school?" is asking you to list the subjects, not give extra information about them. But when giving such a list in a conversational situation, it is natural to add a little information about one or two of the examples in the list.
*********************************************************************************
Some Exercises on Complex Sentences
- Read the simple sentences.
- Then read the complex sentence(s) and try to guess what words go in the blank spaces.
- Click on "Show / Hide text" below "Check the answer: " to see if you are correct.
- It is possible to simply use the word, 'and' in many of the blank spaces but you should try to use better words than that, although using 'and' is better than nothing.
“I need to learn English. English is very important. English will help me get a good job. I want to work in international trade. I'm studying international trade right now.”
“I need to learn English _________ is very important __________ it’ll help me get a good job in international trade________ I'm studying right now.”
Check the answer:
“I need to learn English, which is very important because it’ll help me get a good job in international trade, which I'm studying right now.”
“I work in a software company. I’m a computer programmer. My work is quite challenging. Our clients usually want us to write programs in a short period of time.”
“I work in a software company ______ a computer programmer ______ is quite a challenging job ______________ our clients usually want us to write programs in a short period of time.”
Check the answer:
“I work in a software company as a computer programmer, which is quite a challenging job because our clients usually want us to write programs in a short period of time.”
“I like watching films. Watching films is my favourite pastime. I like comedy films. I don’t like violent films. I don’t like horror films.”
“Watching films, ___________ comedy, is my favourite pastime __________ I don’t like films with a lot of violence ____ horror films.”
Check the answer:
“Watching films, especially comedy, is my favourite pastime although (or, but) I don’t like films with a lot of violence or horror films.”
“I don’t ride my bicycle very often. I take the bus to university. It’s faster. I do use my bicycle on the weekends. At that time I have no classes.”
“I don’t ride my bicycle very often ____________ it’s faster to take the bus to university _____ I do use it on the weekends ________ I have no classes.”
Check the answer: “I don’t ride my bicycle very often because (or, since) it’s faster to take the bus to university although (or, but) I do use it on the weekends when I have no classes.”
“Yes, Chinese people do like growing flowers. Many people live in apartments in cities. It’s not easy to grow flowers in an apartment. Some people have a balcony. People sometimes grow flowers on their balcony. Retired people sometimes grow flowers on their balcony.”
“Yes, Chinese people do like growing flowers ________ _________ many people live in apartments in cities, it’s not easy to grow flowers, ____________ people ________ have a balcony, ____________ retired people, sometimes grow flowers on their balcony.”
Check the answer:
“Yes, Chinese people do like growing flowers but since (or, but because) many people live in apartments in cities it’s not easy to grow flowers, although people who have a balcony, especially retired people, sometimes grow flowers on their balcony.”
Question: “Would you say the place where you live is good for families with children?”
Answer: “Well, not really, no, because _______________ the apartments are all modern and clean, there are very few places for children to play outside.”
Check the answer:
“Well, not really, no, because although (or, even though or, despite the fact that) the apartments are all modern and clean, there are very few places for children to play outside.”
“I’m interested in sport. There are many other things that I’m interested in. I’m interested in computers and music.”
“I’m interested in sport _________, ______________, there are many other things that I’m interested in, __________ computers and music.”
Check the answer:
“I’m interested in sport but, besides that (or, as well as that), there are many other things that I’m interested in, such as (or, like or for example or for instance) computers and music.”
“Three years ago, my father gave me some good advice. This advice was very useful. It saved me from making a very unsuitable career choice.”
“Three years ago, my father gave me some good advice __________ was very useful _____________ it saved me from making a very unsuitable career choice.”
Check the answer:
“Three years ago, my father gave me some good advice, which was very useful because it saved me from making a very unsuitable career choice.”
“When I was in Second Year of high school, I had a maths teacher. His name was Mr. Wang. He really changed my life. He inspired me to love mathematics.”
“When I was in Second Year of high school, I had a maths teacher named Mr. Wang ______ really changed my life ______ inspiring me to love mathematics.”
Check the answer:
“When I was in Second Year of high school, I had a maths teacher named Mr. Wang who really changed my life by inspiring me to love mathematics.”
“To tell you the truth, I don't play much sport. I don't walk much. I drive my car everywhere. I drive my car to my office. My office is near my home. I sometimes play table tennis. I'm quite good at table tennis. I know more exercise would give me more energy. I just don't seem to find the time for exercise. I'm too busy with my work.”
“To tell you the truth, I don't play much sport _____ do I walk much _________ I drive my car everywhere, ______ to my office, ________ is near my home __________ I sometimes play table tennis, _________ I'm quite good at. I know I'd have more energy _____ I did more exercise ______ I just don't seem to find the time for exercise__________ I'm too busy with my work.”
Check the answer: