The IA-CEPA is predicted to stabilise diplomatic relations between the two countries.
If you want to say something will change, without mentioning the thing that will be affected by the change (the object of the change), then the writer of our opening example is using the right structure: Continue reading
It has been argued that expenditure needed for applying a circular economy tends to be high (Kirchher et al., 2017). However, their claim is easy to counter given the many economic benefits offered by a circular economy.
This writer has used their as a substitute for a source – Kircher et al. However, since the source is in brackets and has not yet appeared in the body of the text, we have to assume that the reader has not yet seen it! Only use a pronoun as a substitute if the noun you are substituting has already been mentioned in the body of the text: Continue reading
As Ballard (2017) states that nicotine is more dangerous than alcohol.
OK so there is a group of reporting verbs that may be followed by that (+ independent clause), while there are others that don’t work with that:
This third category simply does not exist! As does not belong with that, so in our opening example we need either:
OR..
But NEVER:
Why do we work? Do we work for money, for success, to define ourselves in the world, or for some other reason?
First of all discuss the following statements with a friend and see if you agree.
Now read what the philospophers have to say and tell us in the comments which one(s) you agree (or disagree) with! Continue reading
In the world of banking it is possible to invest money in a so-called hedge fund. This kind of investment allows you to invest your money without being 100% certain about making a profit, even though you are quietly confident that you will.
In the world of language we can do something similar. We can use hedging devices in writing to show that we are ‘confidently uncertain’ about our claims.
Let’s take a bold claim and look at how we might use hedging devices to ‘soften’ it to show that we are uncertain but confident. Compare the following texts. Continue reading
Examiner: How often do you go to the cinema?
Candidate: Er.. Sometimes.
Examiner: Yes, but how often?
Although it is grammatically correct to respond to the question ‘How often?’ with ‘sometimes’, you still haven’t answered the question. Always try to give more information no matter how infrequently you do something. Continue reading
Tissue demands for housing and offices are increasing.
OK so there are two kinds of demand – specific and general. Continue reading
Since there are many starving people in the world, it is better not to throw food.
The featured image for this post shows a man retrieving a pizza from a roof. This is how it got there:
Obviously the man doesn’t want to eat the pizza. However, most people in that situation would either give it someone else or throw it away:
So that’s two different ways to get rid of a pizza in English, each using a slightly different verb:
lempar). buang). As with many phrasal verbs, the preposition can move, and so I can throw away food, or I can throw food awayIf you’re talking about people starving in the world, it’s more normal to use the second of these meanings!
The arts perhaps bring balance and harmony which the arts are not just what you see but what you make others see.
This is potentially sophisticated. You need:
OK, so what’s happening here? Well we have..
| independent clause | in which | independent clause |
| The arts perhaps bring balance and harmony | in which | the arts are not just what you see but what you make others see. |
But notice that the second independent clause describes the thing mentioned in the rheme of the first independent clause (balance and harmony).
Actually you can also use according to which:
Hmm OK so let me see if I can create my own example following the same 3 elements. (Just let me roll up my sleeves. Ahem.) OK here goes..
OK. Now your turn! Comments below this post, please!
First of all decide how you would like to create your gaps!
You can either set gaps automatically by selecting the distance between each gap, or set gaps manually by clicking on items.
