Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
1 Simple Sentences
2 Clauses and Phrases
3 Compound Sentences
4 Complex Sentences
5 Compound-Complex Sentences
6 Noun Clauses
7 Using "that" before a clause
8 Adjective Clauses
9 Adverb Clauses
10 The Sequence of Tenses
11 Reported Speech or Indirect Speech
12 The Future Conditional
13 The Present Conditional
14 The Past Conditional
15 Using "wish" - present and past
16 so / too
17 either / neither
18 still / anymore
19 Tag Questions
20 Embedded Questions
21 Question Words
22 Question Words + "have to"
Orange Level
Lesson One
Simple Sentences
A simple sentence has a subject and a verb and
completes a thought.
For example:
"Went to the store," is not good English. If you want your English
to improve, avoid making this kind of mistake. Always try to use a
subject and a verb when making a sentence. In this exercise you can
practice identifying subjects and verbs in sentences.
is working.
Some examples:
Independent Clauses
Dependent Clauses
----------------------------
in the morning
B: Playing guitar.
Compound Sentences
A compound sentence is made by joining two
independent clauses together with a conjunction.
Some examples:
Lydia liked her new house, but she didn't like the front yard.
Lydia liked her new house but not the front yard.
These are still good sentences, but by removing the subject from one part of
them, they are no longer compound sentences.
Complex Sentences
A complex sentence is made from an independent clause
and a dependent clause joined together.
Some examples:
Complex sentences are often formed by putting these words at the beginning
of the dependent clause: as, as if, before, after, because, though, though, even
though, while, when, whenever, if, during, as soon as, as long as, since, until,
unless, where, and wherever. These words are called subordinating
conjunctions.
Compound-Complex Sentences
A compound-complex sentence is made from two independent
clauses and one or more dependent clauses.
Some examples:
**********
2. We decided that the movie was too violent, but our children, who like to
watch scary movies, thought that we were wrong.
independent clause: "We decided that the movie was too violent"
independent clause: "(but) our children thought that we were
wrong"
dependent clause: who like to watch scary movies
Lesson Seven
Nouns Clauses
Noun clauses often use words such as when, what, why, who and
other question words, but the speaker may or may not be making a
question.
(It is a mystery)
Because noun clauses are often used with question words, many students make mistakes.
Lesson Seven
Note: "That" is not always necessary to use in the clause. All of the above
sentences do not require "that"; however, it's important for beginning and
intemediate learners of English to practice.
or
or
or
The teacher noticed that the little girl didn't have a coat.
or this pattern:
Mark was angry that his boss told him to work this weekend.
Lesson Eight
Adjective Clauses
An adjective clause is a clause that describes a word or a
group of words in another clause. Adjective clauses are
often part of a complex sentence.
Adjective clauses use that, who, whom, and which to begin the
clause:
or
To practice the creation of a sentence with an adjective clause, combine these pairs of
sentences:
The teacher who found gum under the desk was not happy.
Now you practice. I recommend that you write your answers on a piece of paper. Don't look
at the answers below until you have finished trying to put these together.
Answer: ________________________________________________________.
Answer: ________________________________________________________.
Answer: ________________________________________________________.
-----------------------------------------------------
Answers:
The students who go to this class are very helpful to each other.
In the next lesson, we'll learn about adverbial phrases and clauses.
Lesson Nine
Adverb Clauses
Adverb clauses provide information about other parts of
the sentence. They explain why, when, and under which
conditions something happens.
Adverb clauses form complex sentences, so you can also reverse the
order of the clause--just use a comma (,)
You change "need" to "needed" but the situation is still in the present. This is a strange
thing about English, but many Americans do this properly without thinking about it.
In this situation, "can" changes to "could." Why? Because "if" is present and the sentence
is conditional. We will practice conditional sentences in Lessons 11, 12, and 13.
This sentence indicates that something did not happen in the past, but it uses the past perfect
to express it. Confused? Take a look at the chart below and then go on to the next three
lessons.
Present Past
will would
can could
may might
The chart above is is also found in the yellow level, Lesson 16.
Lesson Twelve
Examples:
"I will bring my dog" is in the future tense and uses a modal verb, will. You
can use other modal verbs: can, might, should, must, etc.
Notice the use of a comma (,) at the end of the first clause. The use of "if"
creates a dependent clause. The order of the sentence may also be reversed:
Lesson Thirteen
Example:
"If I had a million dollars" is in the past tense, but it describe a possible
situation (or impossible) situation in the present.
"I would give it away to all my friends" tells the outcome of the condition. You
can use "would," "could," "might," or "should" in these kinds of sentences.
This next sentence uses the verb "be" in the present conditional.
Well, I'm not you, so this describes a situation that is not true. Notice that
"were" is used with "i." Isn't that strange? But it's correct.
Next: Lesson 14
Lesson Fourteen
Here's an example:
"If I had gone to that party" uses the past perfect in this part of the
sentence.
Sometimes you can do this without "if" and just use the past perfect:
or....
These are both good sentences, but the second one is used more often.
Click on the video below:
(She wasn't careful, and this is the result. You can't change the
past, but you can talk about it.)
(But, in fact, she climbed the tree, fell down and broke her
arm)
In the next lesson, you will learn to use "wish" for present and past situations
Next: Lesson 15
Lesson Fifteen
Using "Wish"
Similar to conditional sentences are those that use "wish" to express
something isn't true now, or it wasn't true in the past. To make
sentences with "wish" properly, a knowledge of the Sequence of Tenses
is important.
(This also describe a present situation. Notice that the modal verb "would" is used here.
"Would" and "could" are frequently used in these kinds of sentences.)
(This describes a past situation that can't be changed. They regret their decision, but you can't
change the past. Notice the use of the past perfect after "wish.")
Here are some more examples:
So and Too
"So" and "too" are useful words that can make your sentences shorter
but stronger. The examples here show them used with conjunctions,
but there are many applications for these words.
Examples:
or
Pay attention to word order. "Too" goes at the end of the sentence, and
"so" goes after the conjunction, then the helping verb, and then the
subject.
When two situations are the same, you could write a sentence like this:
or
or
or
or
Notice that the helping verb is used in the second part of the sentence.
Now it's time for you to practice. Be sure to pay attention to the verb tenses that are used.
They have to match in both sentences. After you do this exercise, you should understand.
Use the subject and the connecting word in parenthesis. Write this out by hand.
Answers:
Lesson Seventeen
Examples:
or
Pay attention to word order. "Either" goes at the end of the sentence
after the negative helping verb, and "neither" goes after the
conjunction, then the helping verb, and then the subject.
When two situations are the same, you could write a sentence like this:
or
or
or
or
Now it's time for you to practice. It might be helpful to do the exercise in Lesson
16 if you haven't done so already. As in that exercise, use the subject and the
connecting word in parenthesis. Write this out by hand.
3. The students didn't have any books, and __________. ( the teacher / either)
In the next lesson, you will learn how to use "still" and "anymore.
Next: Lesson 18
Lesson Eighteen
Examples:
or
or
or
Tag Questions
A tag question starts out as a statement and then becomes a question at
the end. There are different reasons for using tag questions, but usually
it's because you have an idea of what the answer might be.
Examples:
Notice the subject is repeated at the end of the question, and the helping verb (auxiliary verb) is
used to reinforce the tense of the verb.
The first question is in the present tense; therefore, use "do" as the helping verb. In this
question, I know you want to learn English:
The second question is in the present perfect; therefore, use "have" as the helping verb.
Remember that your choice of helping verb sometimes depends on the subject. In this question,
we both know that the weather has been great:
How about a question in which "he" is the subject and there's a contraction:
The third question uses a modal verb, "can," so you simply make it negative before the subject.
In this question, I think the person can help you, but I might not be sure:
Tag questions can start out in the negative and then end in the
affirmative:
Lesson Twenty
Embedded Questions
An embedded question is contained within a statement or a question.
The important thing here is word order:
compare to:
The first two examples show an embedded question. The word order is
subject and then verb.
The third example is just a regular question in which the word order is
verb and then subject. In this lesson, we will learn about how to make
questions and statements that have questions within them. This lesson
is similar to Lesson Six in the Orange Level.
Question Words
This page lists all the question words that you need to know when
asking a question for information.
Nella
Q: How did you figure out that
problem?
John: Okay.
Ying
or Sandra
Sandra: Why didn't you
call me?
Javier: I was busy.
Javier
A: Norbert didn't show up
at the party.
B: How come?
A: He had tickets to a
basketball game.
Norbert
film reel
Caner
A: How tall is that
building?
Q: What's that?
A: It's a marshmallow.
Daughter: Okay.
A: It's an accordion.
Where: location
Daniya
Q: Who is she?
Natalia
A: It belongs to Luiz.
Why: reason
Past Tense
Question: Answer:
Future Tense
Question: Answer:
How long will I have to take You'll have to take it until the
this medication? pain goes away.
Notice that you can also use the present tense when asking about the future.
How long do I have to take this You have to take it until the
medication? pain goes away.
While "have to" is typically used for the present, past, and the future, it is
ocassionally used with the present perfect tense; however, sometimes it's
difficult to apply "have to" when making a question in this tense.
Present Perfect Tense
Question: Answer:
or...
How long has he used a cane to get
He's had to use a
around? (It's not necessary in some
cane for the last
cases to use the present perfect with
couple of years.
"have to" when making a question.)
You can also make questions with modal verbs and "have to," but aside from
"will," the modal verb most commonly used is "should."
Present Perfect Tense
Question: Answer:
2. Why ___________________________________________________?
3. Where _________________________________________________?
Answer: You have to sign your name on the bottom of the page.
6. Who ___________________________________________________?
7. Whom _________________________________________________?
Answer: You have to eat your vegetables because we want you to be healthy.