CONJUNCTIONS IN ENGLISH

CONNECTING PHRASES
A conjunction is a type of word used to link words, phrases or clauses. They are of vital
importance since they help us give greater fluidity to our ideas, whether written or oral, as
well as in the elaboration of more complex sentences.
We know, perhaps conjunctions are not such a fun topic when learning English, however, it
is very important to learn them because they are a vital tool to improve our communication
skills.
Types of conjunctions in English
There are three types of conjunctions in English: coordinating conjunctions, correlative
conjunctions and subordinate conjunctions.
Coordinating conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions in English link two or more sentences, main clauses, words or
parts of speech with the same grammatical importance.
CONJUNCTION MEANING-TO EXAMPLE
SPANISH
For porque/ desde She has to find a new job for she’s unemployed.
And y Next weekend we will go to the park and to the mall.
But Pero There are some availabilities for the English course
online, but I prefer English classes.
Subordinating conjunctions (conjunciones subordinadas)
As its name suggests, these types of conjunctions are used to join two sentences. The
relationship or subordination between these two sentences can be due to: cause and effect;
time; place, condition, contrast.
TYPE OF EXAMPLE/MEANING EXAMPLE IN SENTENCE
SUBORDINATING
CLAUSE
CAUSE-EFFECT Because: porque I didn’t pass the exam because I didn’t study.
No aprobé el examen porque no estudié.
TIME After: Después After hours of waiting on the phone I could finally
Before: Antes speak to the manager.
When: cuando Después de horas de espera por teléfono finalmente
While: mientras pude hablar con la gerente.
PLACE Where: dónde Let’s go to the store where we saw the toy my son
Wherever: donde sea wanted for Christmas
CONDITION If: si In case you haven’t noticed it, I got my nails done.
In case: en caso En caso que no lo hayas notado, me hice las uñas.
Unless: a menos que
CONTRAST Although: a pesar de Though it wasn’t raining anymore we enjoyed
Though: aunque playing in the puddles.
while: mientras que Aunque ya no llovía disfrutamos jugando en los
charcos.
Correlative conjunctions (conjunciones correlativas)
Correlative conjunctions are always used in pairs and join ideas, sentences or clauses with
the same grammatical value.
CORRELATIVE CONJUNTIONS
COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Nouns can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be counted, an apple, two
apples, three apples, etc. Uncountable nouns cannot be counted, air, rice, water, etc. When
you learn a new noun, you should check if it is countable or uncountable and note how it is
used in a sentence.
Countable nouns
1. For positive sentences we can use a/an for singular nouns or some for plurals.
There's a man at the door. Hay un hombre en la puerta.
I have some friends in New York. Tengo algunos amigos en Nueva York.

2. For negatives we can use a/an for singular nouns or any for plurals.
I don't have a dog. No tengo un perro.
There aren't any seats. No hay asientos.
Uncountable nouns

Here are some examples of uncountable nouns:

Bread, rice, coffee, information Money, advice, luggage, furniture
Pan, arroz, café, información, consejos de dinero, equipaje, muebles.
We use some with uncountable nouns in positive sentences and any with negatives.
There's some milk in the fridge. Hay un poco de leche en el frigorífico.
There isn't any coffee. No hay café.
Questions
In questions we use a/an, any or how many with countable nouns.
1. Is there an email address to write to? ¿Hay alguna dirección de correo electrónico para
escribir?
2. Are there any chairs? ¿Hay sillas?
3. How many chairs are there?3 ¿Cuántas sillas hay?
And we use any or how much with uncountable nouns.
Is there any sugar? ¿Hay algo de azúcar?
How much orange juice is there? ¿Cuánto jugo de naranja hay?
But when we are offering something or asking for something, we normally use some.
Do you want some chocolate? ¿Quieres algo de chocolate?
Can we have some more chairs, please? ¿Podemos tener más sillas, por favor?
We also use some in a question, when we think the answer will be 'yes'.
Have you got some new glasses? ¿Tienes unas gafas nuevas?
Other expressions of quantity
A lot of (or lots of) can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
There are lots of apples on the trees.
There is a lot of snow on the road.
Notice that we don't usually use many or much in positive sentences. We use a lot of
instead.
They have a lot of money.
However, in negative sentences we use not many with countable nouns and not
much with uncountable nouns.
There are a lot of carrots but there aren't many potatoes.
There's lots of juice but there isn't much water.
INSTRUCTIONS: Beside each noun, write a “C” if it´s a countable noun or “U”
if it´s an uncountable noun.
INSTRUCTIONS: look at the pictures of the ingredients. List the uncountable
and countable nouns.

INSTRUCTIONS: finish each sentence with an uncountable noun.

INSTRUCTIONS: circle the correct form of the uncountable nouns.

Grammar Countable and uncountable

INSTRUCTIONS: Complete the sentences with one word.

1. We didn't have ___________________________ problems.

2. Do you want ______________________________ chocolate?
3. How ____________________________people have sent you __________email?
4. I need _____________________________ information about train times.
5. We've got a __________________________________________ of luggage.
6. There isn't __________________________ space in the car.
7. I've bought _________________new shoes but I didn't get ______________shirt.
8. There's never __________________ petrol after Sam uses the car!

INSTRUCTIONS: Decide whose These Nouns Are Countable (C) Or Uncountable

(U)
1. The children are playing in the garden. ___
2. I don't like milk. ___
3. I prefer tea. ___
4. Scientists say that the environment is threatened by pollution. ___
5. My mother uses butter to prepare cakes. ___
6. There are a lot of windows in our classroom. ___
7. We need some glue to fix this vase. ___
8. The waiters in this restaurant are very professional. ___
9. My father drinks two big glasses of water every morning. ___
10. The bread my mother prepares is delicious. ___
11. Drivers must be careful; the road is slippery. ___
12. Some policemen are organizing road traffic to avoid any accidents. __
13. I bought three bottles of mineral water for our picnic. ___
14. I'd like some juice please! ___
15. Successful candidates will join the camp later this year. ___
16. A rise in oil prices is inevitable since there is more and more world
demand for energy. ___
17. The exercises on this website are interesting. ___
18. Dehydrated babies must drink a lot of water. ___
19. Adult illiterates learn through a special government program. ___
20. I met some nice people when I was walking along the beach. ___
 DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES
The descriptive adjectives are that describes or qualifies the noun or pronoun.
Where do you include a descriptive adjective in a sentence?
Descriptive adjectives can be used before nouns or pronouns they modify or can be used as
the subject complement of a sentence after a linking verb. You will notice that all of these
adjectives tell you something about the qualities or characteristics of a noun or pronoun.
Example #1
I don't like cold weather. (The adjective cold modifies the noun climate. Cold is a
descriptive adjective that qualifies the climate by saying that it has a low temperature.)
Example #2
Their clothes are really expensive. (The adjective expensive modifies the noun clothing.
Expensive is a descriptive adjective that tells us that clothes cost a lot of money.)

HOMEWORK #5
INSTRUCTIONS: Write the adjectives in the correct category box below.
INSTRUCTIONS: Write the adjective which best describes the picture on the lines below.
 PAST SIMPLE – VERB 'TO BE'
We can use the past simple of the verb to be to talk about situations and states in the past.
• I was at my gran's house yesterday. Estuve en casa de mi abuela ayer.
• She was with her friends last Saturday. Ella estuvo con sus amigos el sábado pasado.
• We were happy yesterday. Fuimos felices ayer.
How to use it
1. affirmative form we use was for I, he, she and it. Use were for you, we and they.
Examples:
I was hungry this morning.
You were in the garden yesterday.
It was sunny yesterday.
They were at the beach last weekend.
2. For negative form, we use the particle not. We can contract not and the verb, especially
when we're speaking.
Examples:
I was not late for school this morning. = I wasn't late for school this morning.
He was not at home last Saturday. = He wasn't at home last Saturday.
We were not cold yesterday. = We weren't cold yesterday.
3. For questions, change the order of was or were and the person.
Examples:
Were you tired this morning? Yes, I was.
Was she at the park last Sunday? No, she wasn't.
Where was he yesterday?
HOMEWORK # 6
INSTRUCTIONS: Complete the sentences with WAS or WERE.

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose WASN´T or WEREN´T.

INSTRUCTIONS: Write questions and choose short answers.