Creating past event sequences with the past perfect
To give a little structure to the different examples of past tenses uses I’ve highlighted in some of my narrative articles, here’s a quick explanation of how the past perfect can be used to create past event sequences (adapted from The English Tenses Practical Grammar...
The Past Tenses in Narrative Use – Comparative Examples (1)
As the many uses of the different aspects of English can make choosing between the different tenses confusing, it may help to look at specific narrative texts or sections of English dialogue and analyse why the writer or speaker chooses different tenses. To help...
What are simple, compound and complex sentences?
Simple sentences are formed in English containing an independent clause that forms a grammatically complete action, event or idea. A simple sentence should have a complete noun and verb relationship with any necessary additional information. To make writing more...
How to write formal sentences using the passive voice
Formal, or polite, sentences often use the passive voice because it sounds more impersonal and neutral. Active sentences, on the other hand, can seem personal, or direct, which can sound too casual or too aggressive. Consider the following active sentences, and how...Writing email subject lines – exercise
This exercise will test your use of the tips offered in the previous lesson, Writing Informative Email Subject Lines. Below, I have given you 9 possible email summaries, explaining the contents of a complete email. These become increasingly complicated. For each email...Want to Master English?
ELB has produced a series of bestselling English guides, available from all major retailers, with over 45,000 copies sold worldwide. Click a cover to learn more!
