Except and unless

.The conjunction except does not mean the same as the conjunction unless
( They will not come unless you invite them. (NOT They will not come except
(.He dislikes the game except when he wins. (NOT He dislikes the game unless when he wins
Without and unless
.Without cannot be used as an equivalent to unless
(Unless you apologize, I will punish you. (NOT Without you apologize
Directly and as soon as
.Directly should not be used as a conjunction where as soon as would be better
As soon as the meeting began, some protesters started shouting slogans. (NOT Directly the
(meeting began
.According to Fowler, The conjunctional use of directly is quite defensible, but is chiefly colloquial
Scarcely
.Scarcely should be followed by when, and not by than
.Scarcely had he gone to bed, when somebody knocked at the door
.Scarcely had the meeting begun, when some protesters started shouting slogans
No sooner
No sooner is followed by than, and not by but. Note that sooner is a comparative form, and
.comparatives are always followed by than
.No sooner had he returned than he was off again
.No sooner had I spoken than he left
Correlative conjunctions
Correlative conjunctions such as eitheror, neithernor, bothand, and not onlybut also
should be followed by the same part of speech. That means the word or phrase following
neither/either should be of the same part of speech as the word following nor/or. Similarly the
.word following both should be of the same part of speech as the word following and
(He lost not only his money, but also his luggage. (noun noun
(Neither a borrower, nor a lender be. (noun noun
(She is both clever and beautiful. (adjective adjective
(Neither does he write nor does he come. (verb verb
.Neither is followed by nor, not by or
.Neither the minister nor his colleagues have offered any explanation
.Either is followed by or, not by nor
.Either Peter or John will be selected

Though
When two clauses are connected by though, there is no need to use a second conjunction but,
.yet or still
(.Though he is fat, he runs fast. (NOT Though he is fat, yet he runs fast
(.Though she is poor, she is happy. (NOT Though she is poor, still she is happy
Because
Because is a subordinating conjunction. It must not be separated from its main clause by a full
.stop
(.He did not come because he was ill. (NOT He did not come. Because he was ill

to - in order to - so as to (
** ) (
I always read to increase my knowledge

Call a taxi to take me to the airport

I shall go on working late today so as to be free tomorrow

I came here so as to speak to you

I have to take a taxi in order to get there in time

Stay in bed in order to get well again

: so that ( 2
She gives him more money so that he may complete his research

:

 can + + may > -------> so that --------- *

She opened a savings account in the bank so that she might renew her car

could + + might > ----------> so that -------- *
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(1 As soon as
**
.. 0
As soon as the plane takes off , we will have a meal
0
As soon as the plane has taken off , we will have a meal
0
** 0
As soon as I opened the door , I turned on the light
0
(2 After
**
0
After I finish the meeting , I'll go home
0
After I have finished the meeting , I'll go home
0

**
00 0
After I had dinner , I went to bed
0
After I had had dinner , I went to bed
0
**** after 0
After arriving , he telephoned me
0
(3 Before
**
0
Before I go to bed , I will have dinner
0
Before I have gone to bed , I will have dinner
0
** 00
0
Before I went to bed , I had dinner
0
Before I went to bed , I had had dinner
0
**** before 0
Before going to bed , I had had dinner
0

 -4 When
**
..
** .
.
When I've phoned Kate , we can have dinner

) (
When I phone Kate this evening , I'll invite her to the party

) .. (
**
When he reached Paris , he phoned me

** When

When he was eating , the door bell rang

** .
When I get up every morning , I wash my face

- 5 till - until
**

 .. .
I will wait here till the doctor arrives
.
I will wait here till the doctor has arrived
.
**
.
) ( > -----> till / until ----- ) (
He didn't overtake the car till he had looked in the mirror
.

- 6 .... ......
+ than + + had + no sooner + **
+ when + + had + hardly + **
+ when + + had + just + **
+ when + + had + already + **
+ when + + had + scarcely + **
He had no sooner arrived than it rained
.
He had hardly arrived when it rained
.
** No sooner Hardly ..
had .
+ than + + ** No sooner + had +
No sooner had he arrived than it rained

** Hardly + had + + + when +

Hardly had he arrived when it rained
no sooner .......than **

by - from - until
Prepositions and Conjunctions of Time - by / from / until
By
By shows a time limit for something to happen - an event must occur before a certain time is
reached. For example
You need to finish this report by Monday I'll be back by six o'clock Our business will be making a profit by next March There are three common phrases used with by
By the time
I want to be a successful businessman by the time I'm 30
By the time we arrive at the station, the train will be gone
By then
They have four months to prepare for the soccer game, so by then they should be a strong team
The deadline for giving your essay is next Monday at 4.00. If I don't receive your essay by then, it
won't be marked
By that time
We finished work at 9.00, but by that time it was too late to go out
I hope to go abroad next year, and by that time I'll have enough money
Until
Until means an action or situation continues up to a certain time. For example
We were working last night until 2.30 You can stay at home until you feel better -

?Can you wait until I'm ready Compare until and by

I'll work here until September." This means I keep working here to September, then I stop" I'll work here by September." This means that I'm not working here now, but sometime between" now and September I will start
Till
Till is another form of until, the meaning is generally the same although until is usually used at the
beginning of a sentence
From ... to/until
From ... to/until is used to mark the beginning and end of a period of time. For example
Western people often work from Monday to Friday, but Oriental people often work from Monday to Saturday
I'm staying in Saudi Arabia from the beginning of March until the end of August From ... to is slightly more informal than from ... until
When -4
**
..
. **
.
When I've phoned Kate , we can have dinner

( )
When I phone Kate this evening , I'll invite her to the party

( .. )
**
When he reached Paris , he phoned me

** When

When he was eating , the door bell rang

** .
When I get up every morning , I wash my face

- 5 till - until
**
.. .
I will wait here till the doctor arrives
.
I will wait here till the doctor has arrived
.
**
.
) ( > -----> till / until ----- ) (
He didn't overtake the car till he had looked in the mirror
.
- 6 .... ......
+ than + + had + no sooner + **
+ when + + had + hardly + **
+ when + + had + just + **

 + when + + had + already + **

+ when + + had + scarcely + **
He had no sooner arrived than it rained
.
He had hardly arrived when it rained
.
** No sooner Hardly ..
had .
+ than + + ** No sooner + had +
No sooner had he arrived than it rained
+ when + + ** Hardly + had +
Hardly had he arrived when it rained
** no sooner .......than
.