1.

Introduction
2. The zero conditional is a structure used for talking about general truths —
things which always happen under certain conditions. This page will explain
how the zero conditional is formed, and when to use it.
3.

4. 1. The structure of a zero conditional sentence

5. A zero conditional sentence consists of two clauses, an “if” clause and a main
clause (In most zero conditional sentences you can use when or if and the
meaning will stay the same.):

“if” clause main clause

If you heat water to 100

it boils.
degrees,

6. If the “if” clause comes first, a comma is usually used. If the “if” clause comes
second, there is no need for a comma:

main clause “if” clause

Water boils if you heat it to 100 degrees,

7. We use the same verb form in each part of a zero conditional: the simple
present tense:

“if” clause if + subject + simple present verb

main clause subject + simple present verb

8. 2. Using the zero conditional

9. The zero conditional is used to talk about things which are always true —
such as scientific facts and general truths:

Example Explanation

If you cross an international This always happens — every time you

Example Explanation

date line, the time changes. cross a date line.

This is basically always true — the

If it rains, the grass gets wet.
rain makes the grass wet.

Wood doesn't burn if there is This is a scientific fact — wood needs

no air. air in order to burn. No air = no fire.

10.When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with the
exercises.
11. Continue with the exercise

Zero Conditional Exercise

Make a zero conditional sentence using the words.

For example: "water / boil / heat / to 100 degrees" becomes "Water
boils if you heat it to 100 degrees."

Your score is: 0%.

Questions answered correctly first time: 0/5
You have completed the exercise.

Show one at a time

1. iron / rust / it / get / wet

Iron rusts if it gets wet.

2. my daughter / eat / too much chocolate / she /get / sick

If my daughter eats too much chocolate, she gets

sick.

3. if / no / rain / the grass / not / grow

If there is no rain, the grass doesn't grow.

4. you / not / eat / you / die

 If you don't eat, you die.

5. ice / float / you / drop / it / in water

Ice floats if you drop it in water.

Adverbs of Manner

Introduction

Adverbs describe the time when something happens, the place where something

happens or how something happens. They tell us more about verbs. We can ask
these questions:

Question Answer Type

When? yesterday, today, now, later... adverbs of time

here, there, everywhere, home,

Where? adverbs of place
away, ...

How? slowly, happily, well... adverbs of manner

Adverbs of Manner

Let's work on adverbs of manner!

Read this example:

Tom drove carefully along the narrow road.

How did Tom drive?  Carefully!

In what way did Tom drive? Carefully!

Compare:

Tom is a careful driver.         

Here, careful is an adjective and gives more information about what kind of driver

Tom is. Adjectives usually follow the verb “to be” and come before a noun.
How can we make adverbs?

Usually, we make adverbs by adding “ly” to the end of an adjective.

Examples:

nice   nicely
clear   clearly

Sometimes, we must change the “y” at the end of the adjective and add “ily” to make
the adverb.

Examples:

heavy   heavily
lazy   lazily

Be careful! Some adjectives end in “ly” and are NOT adverbs.

Examples:

She is a lovely woman.

They are very friendly, aren't they?

Now we know how to use adverbs of manner to describe more about the way we do
things. Let's look at three more examples. Can you find the adverbs?

My mother sings beautifully, but my father sings very badly.

When I was a child, I couldn't swim very quickly, but now I can!

They don't like the teacher because she speaks so loudly.

Be careful! There are some very common exceptions!!

“Good” is an adjective.

Your pronunciation is very good.

“Well” is an adverb.

You speak very well.

He can't play tennis well.

The words “fast,” “late,” and “hard” are adjectives and adverbs.

 Adjective Adverb

Mary was a fast runner in high Mary could run very fast.        (not

school. fastly)

The bus arrived late today.     (not

The bus was late.
lately*)

John works hard every day.    (not

John is a hard worker.
hardly**)

*Lately is an adverb, but it means “recently”.

I have been feeling tired lately.

**Hardly is an adverb, but it means “almost not at all.”

She hardly ate anything today.

Now, we need to know how to compare how things are done. You can follow the
same rules that we use with adjectives!

Example:

Ann speaks French fluently. Jack can't speak French fluently.

Ann speaks French more fluently than Jack, OR

Jack speaks French less fluently than Ann, OR
Jack doesn't speak French as fluently as Ann.

Ann speaks French the most fluently in the whole office.

This is the “superlative”. It compares three or more people/things.

Example:

Bob studies seriously.

Dan doesn't study seriously.

Bob studies more seriously than Dan, or...
Dan studies less seriously than Bob, or...
Dan doesn't study as seriously as Bob.
 Bob studies the most seriously of all the students in his class.

Do you remember those exceptions above? (fast/late/hard/well)

Let's see how to compare ideas with these!

Examples:

Margaret runs faster than me, but Bob runs the fastest on our team.

Joe arrives home later than his children. His wife arrives home the latest in the
family.

Sally works much harder than her sister in the family business, but her brother
works the hardest.

My mother sings better than my father. In fact, my mother sings the best in our

whole family!

When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with the
exercises.

Adverbs of Manner 1

Choose the best answer for each sentence.

Your score is 83%.

Questions answered correctly first time: 9/12
You have completed the exercise.

Show one at a time

1. Megan is a very ____________ athlete. She loves sports.

A.   ?    serious

B.   seriously

2. When they heard the bad news, they were very ____________.
A.   ?    sadder

B.   sad

C.   sadly

3. I want my children to behave ____________ to every person that they meet.

A.   ?    nicily
 B.   ?    nice

C.   nicely

4. The girls had to finish their work ____________ because the teacher told
them to stop.
A.   ?    quick

B.   quickly

5. Barbara swims ____________ than Anna because she has stronger arms.
A.   ?    fast

B.   faster

C.   ?    fastlier

6. Do you think you speak English ____________? Yes, of course!

A.   well

B.   ?    goodly

C.   ?    good

7. Angelina is a ____________ student. She is kind and pleasant.

A.   ?    love

B.   lovely

8. I wish that I could explain things ____________ my teacher. I always

understand what he says in class.
A.   ?    clearly

B.   as clearly as

C.   ?    clear

9. Do you think men drive ____________ women in your country?

A.   more dangerously than

B.   ?    dangerously

C.   ?    more dangerously

10.When he was a child, Tony spoke very ____________ and his friends couldn't
understand him.
 A.   quietly

B.   ?    quieter

C.   ?    quiet

11.My teacher said that Warren works ____________ in our class.

A.   the hardest

B.   hardly

C.   ?    harder than

12.The group found their hotel ____________ after they bought the map of the
city.
A.   ?    easy

B.   easily

C.   ?    easly

13.I think I am a good singer and I like to sing. When people say that I sing well,
it makes me happy.
2. We asked our teacher to speak more loudly because she always spoke
too quietly and we couldn't hear her at all.
3. It's very important to work hard when studying another language. Don't
give up!
4. The robber silently lifted the window so nobody could hear him as he
entered the house.
5. Sara successfully completed her Master's Degree in Business. Isn't that
great?
6. A: Did her airplane arrive late last night? B: Yes, it did. It arrived
much later than she expected.
7. It was raining so heavily this morning that we cancelled the picnic.
8. A: How do you think you did on the test today? B: Oh, terrible! I think I did
quite badly. I didn't study and I don't really understand the grammar.
9. Darren is a slow eater. He eats so slowly that he's always the last one at
the dinner table.
10. The dog was seriously injured in the accident, but it recovered and is
healthy now.

14. First Conditional

15. Introduction
 16.The first conditional (also called conditional type 1) is a structure used for
talking about possibilities in the present or in the future. This page will
explain how the first conditional is formed, and when to use it.
17.

18. 1. The structure of a first conditional sentence

19.A first conditional sentence consists of two clauses, an "if" clause and a main
clause:

if clause main clause

If you study
you will pass the test.
hard,

20.If the "if" clause comes first, a comma is usually used. If the "if" clause comes
second, there is no need for a comma:

main clause if clause

You will pass the

if you study hard.
test

21.We use different verb forms in each part of a first conditional:

if clause if + subject + simple present verb

main clause subject + will + verb

22. 2. Using the first conditional

23.The first conditional is used to talk about things which are possible in the
present or the future — things which may happen:

Example Explanation

If it's sunny, we'll go to the Maybe it will be sunny — that's

park. possible.

Paula will be sad if Juan leaves. Maybe Juan will leave — that's
Example Explanation

possible.

If you cook the supper, I'll wash Maybe you will cook the supper —
the dishes. that's possible.

24.When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with the
exercises.

25.If I ________ some eggs, how many ________?

A.   will cook / do you eat

B.   ?    cook / will you eat

26.You ________ better if you turn on the lamp.

A.   are able to see

B.   ?    will be able to see

27.If a deer ________ into your garden, it ________ all your plants.
A.   gets / will eat

B.   ?    will get / eats

28.You'll pay higher insurance if you ________ a sports car.

A.   buy

B.   ?    will buy
29.If you don't put so much sugar in your coffee, you ________ so much

weight!
A.   ?    won't put on

B.   don't put on

30.She ________ completely different if she cuts her hair.

A.   will look

B.   ?    looks

31.You ________ heart disease if you eat too much meat.

A.   will get

B.   ?    get

32.If we don't protect the elephant, it ________ extinct.

A.   will become

B.   ?    becomes

33.You won't pass the course if you ________.

A.   won't study

B.   ?    don't study
 34.If you ________ an apple every day, you'll be very healthy.
A.   ?    will eat

B.   eat

35.!

37.

Basic Coordinating Conjunctions

Introduction

A coordinating conjunction is a word which joins together two clauses which are
both equally important. This page will explain the most common coordinating
conjunctions and how to use them.

1. What is a clause?
A clause is a unit which contains a subject and a verb. For example, “It was raining”
is a clause; the subject is “it”, and the verb is “was raining”. Every sentence MUST
contain at least one clause, but it may contain more than one. For example:

It was raining, so I took my umbrella.

This sentence contains two clauses, “It was raining” and “I took my umbrella”. They
are independent clauses because each one would be a good sentence on its own —
each one is a “complete thought”.

2. Joining clauses together with coordinating conjunctions

Examine the example sentence one more time:

It was raining, so I took my umbrella.

The two clauses in the sentence are joined together with the word “so”. This is
a coordinating conjunction. It is used to join two independent clauses which are
equally important. A coordinating conjunction usually comes in the middle of a
sentence, and it usually follows a comma (unless both clauses are very short). These
are the most important coordinating conjunctions:

Conjunction Function Example

joins two similar ideas He lives in Victoria, and he

and
together studies at UVic.

John is Canadian, but Sally

but joins two contrasting ideas
is English.

I could cook some supper,

or joins two alternative ideas
or we could order a pizza.

shows that the second idea She was sick, so she went
so
is the result of the first to the doctor.

These conjunctions are also used:

nor (joining two negative alternatives)

for (meaning “because”)
yet (meaning “but”)
 

3. Using coordinating conjunctions

There are three things to remember when using coordinating conjunctions:

1. Coordinating conjunctions join independent clauses. Each clause must be a

“complete thought” which could be a sentence on its own.
2. With coordinating conjunctions, put the conjunction in the middle. You may
see some sentences starting with “but” or “and”, but this is usually wrong, so
it's best to avoid it.
3. With coordinating conjunctions, use a comma unless both clauses are very
short.

When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with the
exercises.

Basic Coordinating Conjunctions Exercise

Complete the sentences by choosing the best coordinating conjunction

for each space.

Correct! Well done.

Your score is: 80%.
   and      but      or      so   
1. Jaewon was cold, so he put on a coat.

2. Maria tried to read a novel in French, but it was too difficult.

3. To get from Vancouver to Victoria, you can fly, or you can ride the ferry.

4. I bought a bottle of wine, and we drank it together.

5. The waiter was not very nice, but the food was delicious.

6. I went to buy a Rolling Stones CD, but the shop didn't have it.

7. Anna needed some money, so she took a part-time job.

8. There's so much rain lately! Maybe it's because of El Nino, or maybe it's just
coincidence.

9. Julie has a guitar, and she plays it really well.

10. The concert was cancelled, so we went to a nightclub instead.

Imperatives

Introduction

Imperative sentences are used for many reasons:

Reason Example

 to give advice or Exercise four times a week.

suggestions Don’t eat too much chocolate.

 to give directions Turn right at the bank and walk three
blocks.

 to give instructions Cut the onions into small pieces and fry in
oil.
Save your document and put it in a new
folder.

 to give orders or commands (Please) be quiet!

Do your homework.

 to give warnings Watch out!

Don’t drive after drinking.

 to make a polite request Please turn off the light, Mary.
Close the window please, Janice.

 to offer an informal Bring a friend to the party if you like.

invitation Join us for dessert, Cathy!

Notice that the subject of these sentences (you) is not written or spoken. It is the
same for singular and plural subjects.

(You) turn left at the corner and drive two kilometers.

Sally and Mark, stand up please.

In order to make the negative form, simply say:

“Do not + simple verb...” or “Don’t + simple verb...”

Do not run across the road, children.

Don’t smoke in the airport please.

Be careful! Do not use the imperative in formal situations with an employer or a

teacher. The imperative is too direct.

Come to lunch Mrs. Rivers.     Wrong!

Would you like to join us at lunch, Mrs. Rivers?     Good!

When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with the
exercises.