Indice Technical definitions. Relative clauses. Use of articles The use of tenses. The passive voice.

Using adverb clauses with time expressions. Contrasting ideas. Comparisons. Contrasting ideas. Comparative adjectives. Contrasting ideas. The construction with Thethe Contrasting ideas. Both/ both of neither/ neither of either/ either of. Contrasting ideas. Linking words. Contrasting ideas. Other ways to express similarities and differences. Cause and effect. Expressing cause and result. Expressing consequence. Modal verbs. Conditional sentences.

1. Technical definitions. 1.1. Type 1: you express the class to which the term to be defined belongs and then you state the specific features and the main differences between the term and the other member of the class. A motor is a machine which transforms electrical power into mechanical energy. 1.2. Type 2: you can use such words as (can) be defined as, be called, be termed, be known as, be referred to as, be used to, have/display/exhibit the capacity to/the property of. A motor can be defined as a machine which transforms/to transform electrical power into mechanical energy. A motor is used to transform electrical power into mechanical energyA machine used to transform electrical power into mechanical energy is called/is known as a motor. 2. Relative clauses. When defining, we normally mention the class to which the item we are defining belongs and then we add characteristics which make that item different from the other members of the class. For this purpose we normally use a relative clause. 2.1. A restrictive relative clause defines or limits the preceding noun to one particular case by providing essential additional information about the noun. The experiment which was carried out at MIT was unsuccessful. Case Subject case Object case Possessive case Person (s) Who, that Who, that, whom, (--) whose Thing (s) Which, that Which, that, (--) Whose, of which

2.2. Non-restrictive relative clauses refer to nouns which have already been sufficiently qualified and merely supply additional information which is non-essential for understanding the meaning of the sentence. Non-restrictive relative clauses are separated from the main sentence by commas. The experiment, which was carried out at MIT, was unsuccessful. Case Subject case Object case Possessive case Person (s) Who Who(m) whose Thing (s) Which Which Whose, of which

In a non-restrictive relative clause, the relative pronoun cannot be omitted

2.3. Note: if the relative pronoun is governed by a preposition, in spoken English, it is more common to place the preposition at the end of the relative clause. The disk on which I stored my program has been misplaced. The disk which I stored my program on has been misplaced. The disk that I stored my program on has been misplaced. The disk I stored my program on has been misplaced.

2.4. Where, why and when. Where, referring to a place, why, referring to a reason, and when, referring to a time, can be used instead of a relative pronoun after a noun. Id like to know the reason why he decided not to come. February is the month when many of my colleagues take skiing holidays. She always had wanted to go to a place where she could speak her native tongue. He likes shopping between one and three, when most people are at home. 3. Use of articles 3.1. Indefinite articles (a, an). Uses: Plural nouns never take the indefinite article. Some nonplural nouns take indefinite articles some do not. Nouns that are countable in English take indefinite articles when they are singular. Nouns that are not countable in English do not take indefinite article. Some nouns used frequently in scientific writing can be countable or not countable, depending on how they are used. 3.2. Definite articles (the). Uses: To specify or refer to something that has already been mentioned. To refer to something that is unique. To refer to something specific. To express superlatives. With ordinal numbers (first, second, third, fourth, last, and the like). With a noun that is followed by an of phrase the theory of relativity 3.3. Note: the definite article is never used with names of people and is only used with the names of certain places. 4. The use of tenses. 4.1. Past Simple (I did) and the Present Perfect (I have done): The tense you choose depends on how you consider the event. Is it finished, or is there still a connection to the present? If you use the Past Simple (I did), you consider the event or events as finished and in the past. This tense is often used with a time reference: last year, last week, in 1991, this morning (if its now the afternoon) and so on. With the Present Perfect (I have done), there is a connection to the present. For example, I have lived here for five years (and I still live here).

4.2. Uses of the Present Perfect. States or activities that started in the past, which have continued up to now and will probably continue into the future. When the past affects the present. Experiences Ive been to New Zealand Recent past Have you finished yet? Ive already written the report 4.3. Using the Past Perfect. The Past Perfect is used to show you which of two events happened first her uncle had already died when I met her. 4.4. Present Continuous tense (I am doing) and Present Simple tense (I do). This means we often use the Present Simple to talk about general and scientific facts, our routines or habits, to give definitions and to describe things. The Present Continuous means the action is happing now (or around now), is unfinished, or temporary. We use it to talk about trends and changes, or about situations happening now that are different from normal. 5. The passive voice. The passive voice avoids mentioning who does the action when such information is not necessary. The passive is particularly useful (even recommended) in the following situations: When it is more important to draw our attention to the person or thing acted upon. When the actor in the situation is not important. The passive voice is especially helpful in scientific or technical writing or lab reports, where the actor is not really important but the process or principle being described is of ultimate importance. Instead of writing I poured 20 cc of acid into the beaker, we would write Twenty cc of acid is/was poured into the beaker. The passive voice is also useful when describing, say, a mechanical process in which the details of process are much more important than anyones taking responsibility for the action . We use the passive voice to good effect in a paragraph in which we wish to shift emphasis from what was the object in a first sentence to what becomes the subject on subsequent sentences. When an active sentence with an indirect object is recast in the passive, the indirect object can take on the role of subject in the passive sentence.

6. Using adverb clauses with time expressions. 6.1. Before (earlier than) 6.2. After (later than) 6.3. Until (up to the time) 6.4. As soon as (immediately after) 6.5. Since (from that time) 6.6. Whenever, everytime (each time something happens) 6.7. When (at the time) 6.8. When/as/while (during the time): When/while/as can be use to introduce a longer background situation When/while/as are used to talk about two long actions that happened at the same time When is used if one thing happens after another As is used to talk about two short actions or events that happened at the same time As can be used to talk about two developing or changing situation. 7. Contrasting ideas. Comparisons. 7.1. When two things that are in a certain respect the same are compared, the following types of expressions are used to make comparisions of an equal degree: As + adjective/adverb + as The same + noun + as To equal + noun Te be equal to + noun 7.2. To negate the idea of two things being the same, the following types of expressions can be used: Not so + adj/adv + as Not as + adj/adv + as 7.3. The following types of expressions are used to make comparisions of an unequal degree: Comparative of adj/adv + than Twice as + adj + as Number + times as + adj/adv + as Number + times + comparative of adj/adv + than The superlative 7.4. To make comparisons explicit, the following types of expressions are used: Compared to By comparison with In comparison with 8. Contrasting ideas. Comparative adjectives. 8.1. Adjective + -er: the adjectives which use the ending er in order to express different types of comparison include most one-syllable adjectives, and two-syllable adjectives ending in -y. in most cases, the ending er is simply added to the positive form of the adjective. However, when an adjective ends in a silent -e, the silent e is dropped before the ending er is added. When an adjective ends in y preceded by a consonant, the y es changed to i before the ending er is added. When an adjective ends in a single consonant following a single stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled before the ending er is added. It should be kept in mind

that when an adjective ends in a single consonant following two vowels, the final consonant is not doubled before de ending er is added. 8.2. Irregular adjectives: a few of the adjectives which are used with endings have irregular comparative forms. Bad worse Far farther or further Good better Little less Many more Much more 9. Contrasting ideas. The construction with Thethe Two clauses, each beginning with the, and each containing a comparative form of an adjective or adverb, can be used together in order to indicate a cause and effect relationship between two different things or events. 10. Contrasting ideas. Both/ both of neither/ neither of either/ either of. We use both/neither/either for two things. You can use these words with a noun. (either = one or other, it doesnt matter which one). You can say bothand; neithernor;eitheror Compare either/neither/both (two things) and any/none/all (more than two) 11. Contrasting ideas. Linking words. 11.1. Concession, restriction. Adverbs: However/Nevertheless/Yet Prepositions (+noun): Despite/In spite of Conjunctions: But Although/Even though/Though In theory, /In practice But is more informal than However. It is normally used at the beginning of a sentence. Despite an in despite of must be followed by a noun. If you want to follow them with a noun and a verb, you must use the fact that. Although introduces an idea of contrast. Nevertheless = however = yet 11.2. Opossition, difference. While, whereas (+clause) Unlike (+noun) Instead of (+noun) While, whereas and unlike are used to show how two things are different from each other. In theory, in practice show an unexpected result.

12. Contrasting ideas. Other ways to express similarities and differences. 12.1. Expressing similarities. X and Y [have/display] [the same/similar/comparable] features, elements, etc. In many ways X and Y are [the same/similar/parallel/comparable] X *resembles/parallels+ Y in terms of In many ways X is [the same as/similar to/comparable to/like] Y 12.2. Expressing differences. X *differs from/is different from/is in contrast with+ Y in terms of X and Y [are dissimilar/ are different/differ] Unlike/in contrast with/in comparison with/compared to+ X, Y is expensive/heavy 13. Cause and effect. 13.1. Causative verbs followed by a noun or noun phrase: CAUSE causes results in gives rise to brings about leads to is caused by results from is the result of is the effect of is brought about by is due to EFFECT

EFFECT

CAUSE

13.2. Causative verbs followed by direct object and infinitve (with or without to): CAUSE (causes/enables/permits/allows) OBJECT to INFINITIVE CAUSE (lets/makes) OBJECT INFINITIVE CAUSE (prevent) OBJECT from GERUND 13.3. Nominal expressions followed by a sentence: The cause of The consequence of The effect of 13.4. Adverbs, propositions and conjunctions linking the cause to effect: To introduce a cause: due to/owing to/because of + noun or phrase Because/since as + clause To introduce an effect: Therefore/so/consequently/as a result + clause 14. Expressing cause and result. Due to + noun or phrase Owing to + noun or phrase Because of + noun or phrase Because + clause Since + clause

As + clause Due to, owing to must be followed by a noun. If you want to followe these words with a clause (a subject, verb and object), you must follow the words with the fact that. Because of is followed by a noun. 15. Expressing consequence. Therefore So Consequently As a result Therefore, so, consequently and as a result are all used in a similar way. So sounds more informal so that (+clause). 16. Modal verbs. 16.1. Probability Modal verbs of probability are used to express an opinion of the speaker based on information that the speaker has. Must it is used to express deduction, when you are almost 100% sure that something is the case. Will is used to express prediction. May is used to express an opinion that you think has a good possibility of being true. Might or could are used to express a possibility which is one of many. Cant is used to express an opinion that you are 100% sure is NOT true. 16.2. Ability Can/could/be able to 16.3. Obligation and necessity Must/have to mustnt/not have to The negative form of have to expresses the idea that something is not required. It is however, possible if so desired. The past form of have to and must is had to. Must does not exist in the past. Should is used with the meaning ought to. Ought is said to be a defective verb, since it has no infinitive, or present, or past participle. It does not modify, but as the same form, regardless of the subject. Unlike the modal auxiliaries, which are followed by the bare infinitive, ought is followed by the infinitive of whatever verb it accompanies.

17. $Conditional sentences. There are three main types of conditional sentences: TYPE I Present + present (general/permanent truth) Present + future (likely possibility) Present + modal (may, can, should, etc) Simple past (-ed) + conditional (would, could, might + infinitive) (fulfillment of condition) Past perfect (had + pp) + perfect conditional (would have + pp) (fulfillment of the condition impossible) Unless + present = If + verb in the negative Provided (that) = If and only if In case (that) = In the event (that) As long as = On the condition (that) When can also have a conditional meaning (used in first conditional)

TYPE II

TYPE III

OTHER CONDITIONAL EXPRESSIONS