LitLingua · English
Grammar Reference Guide
Look up a form, understand its meaning, and return to your story. Turn on Grammar highlights in an English story and select a purple phrase to open a short explanation and a link to the relevant topic.
Section 01
Verb Tenses
Find the time first, then the viewpoint: simple states or events, continuous activity, perfect connection to an earlier time, or perfect continuous duration.
These are the 12 familiar ESL tense/aspect labels. English verbs inflect for present and past; the “future” labels here describe constructions with will. Present Simple, Past Simple and Future Simple are included for reference, but are not highlighted on their own in stories.
Present Simple
base verb; he/she/it + -s
Habits, general facts, and states. Also used for timetables.
She reads every evening.
Questions/negatives use do/does + base verb: Does she read? She does not read.
Further reading: British Council · Present forms ↗
Present Continuous
am/is/are + -ing
An activity happening now or around now; also a future arrangement.
She is reading while the bears walk.
State verbs usually take a simple form: I know, not I am knowing.
Further reading: British Council · Present forms ↗
Present Perfect
have/has + past participle
A past event connected to now, life experience, or a situation continuing until now.
Someone has eaten my porridge!
Use simple past with a finished time: She ate yesterday. For gives duration; since gives a starting point.
Further reading: British Council · Perfect aspect ↗
Present Perfect Continuous
have/has been + -ing
Focuses on the duration or activity leading up to now; it may still be happening or have just stopped.
Someone has been sitting in my chair!
Compare result: I have read three pages. Activity: I have been reading.
Further reading: British Council · Perfect aspect ↗
Past Simple
past form (-ed or irregular)
A completed event or state in the past; often the main events of a story.
She opened the door and went inside.
Use did + base verb in questions/negatives: Did she go? She did not go. Be uses was/were.
Further reading: British Council · Past forms ↗
Past Continuous
was/were + -ing
An activity in progress at a past moment, often the background to another event.
The porridge was cooling when she arrived.
The longer background activity can be interrupted by a simple-past event.
Further reading: British Council · Past forms ↗
Past Perfect
had + past participle
Looks back from a past moment to an earlier event or situation.
The bears returned. Goldilocks had eaten their breakfast.
Had a bowl is possession, not past perfect. You need a participle: had eaten.
Further reading: British Council · Perfect aspect ↗
Past Perfect Continuous
had been + -ing
An activity continuing up to a later past moment; stresses duration or a past cause.
She was tired because she had been running.
Compare earlier result: She had run five miles.
Further reading: British Council · Perfect aspect ↗
Future Simple
will + base verb
Predictions, promises, offers, or decisions made as you speak.
I will help you carry the bowls.
Will not = won’t. Going to often expresses a prior intention or a prediction based on visible evidence.
Further reading: British Council · Future forms ↗
Future Continuous
will be + -ing
An activity that will be in progress at a future moment.
At eight, the bears will be eating breakfast.
It can also present a future activity as expected or arranged.
Further reading: British Council · Future forms ↗
Future Perfect
will have + past participle
Looks back from a future point to something completed by then.
By noon, she will have finished the story.
By means no later than that point; until describes continuing up to it.
Further reading: British Council · Future forms ↗
Future Perfect Continuous
will have been + -ing
The duration of an activity up to a future point.
By noon, she will have been reading for two hours.
The activity may continue afterwards. Usually combines a future reference point with a duration.
Further reading: British Council · Future forms ↗
Section 02
Conditionals & Would
A conditional connects a situation with its result. Ask whether the writer sees the situation as general, possible, imagined, or already impossible to change.
Zero Conditional
if/when + present simple → present simple
A general result, rule, or repeated situation.
Both parts use the present simple because this describes what regularly happens, not one particular future event. When often replaces if when the result is treated as expected.
Read the relationship
If the door sticks, Papa Bear pushes it harder.
This is his usual response whenever the door sticks.
Further reading: British Council · Zero, first & second conditionals ↗
First Conditional
if + present simple → will + base verb
A possible future situation and its expected result.
The condition is a real possibility. Although the sentence refers to the future, the if-part usually uses a present form. Will belongs in the result, not both halves.
A possible future result
If she knocks, someone will open the door.
She may knock; opening the door is the expected result.
Other possible results
If you are hungry, you can eat. If it is hot, wait.
The result can give permission, advice or an instruction instead of a prediction.
Usually no will after if in this pattern. The result can also use a modal or an imperative.
Further reading: British Council · Zero, first & second conditionals ↗
Second Conditional
if + past simple → would + base verb
An imagined or unlikely present/future situation, not necessarily past time.
The past form creates distance from reality: it does not necessarily mean past time. The speaker imagines a present or future situation that is unreal, unlikely, or considered only as a possibility.
Imagine a different situation
If I had a smaller bowl, I would use it.
I do not have a smaller bowl now. I am imagining what I would do with one.
Were, could and might
If she were taller, she could reach the shelf.
Were is common for imaginary situations. Could expresses ability or possibility; might gives a less certain result.
Could/might can replace would. Were is common for imaginary situations: if I were you.
Further reading: British Council · Zero, first & second conditionals ↗
Third Conditional
if + past perfect → would have + past participle
An imagined different past and its imagined past result.
Both the condition and its result belong to an imagined alternative past. The writer looks back at something that did not happen and changes it in imagination.
An alternative past
If she had knocked, the bears would have heard her.
She did not knock. This sentence imagines a different result if she had.
Keep the two halves distinct
If she had waited, she might have met them.
Had waited is the condition; might have met is a possible past result. The result is less certain than would have met.
The condition did not happen. Could/might have can express alternative possible results.
Further reading: British Council · Third & mixed conditionals ↗
Mixed Conditional
if + past perfect → would + base verb (one common pattern)
Links different times, such as a past condition with a present result.
Mixed conditionals connect different times. Look for time clues such as yesterday, now or usually instead of assuming both halves refer to the same moment.
Past condition → present result
if + had + participle → would + base verb
If she had slept last night, she would feel better now.
She did not sleep last night; the imagined result concerns how she feels now.
Present characteristic → past result
if + past simple → would have + participle
If she were more patient, she would have waited yesterday.
Her general lack of patience is used to explain a past choice.
Another pattern links a present characteristic with a past result: If she were more careful, she would not have broken it.
Further reading: British Council · Third & mixed conditionals ↗
Would: Simple, Continuous & Perfect
would do / would be doing / would have done / would have been doing
Imagined actions, activities, past results, and past durations.
Would does not change for I, she or they. The words after it show whether the imagined action is viewed as a whole, in progress, earlier, or continuing over a period. The condition can be stated with if or understood from context.
Simple conditional
would + base verb
An imagined action, result or state, usually in the present or future.
If I had more time, I would read another chapter.
Reading another chapter is the imagined result of having more time.
Continuous conditional
would be + -ing
An imagined activity in progress at a particular time.
If she were at home now, she would be reading.
Imagine her at home at this moment, in the middle of reading.
Perfect conditional
would have + past participle
An imagined earlier action or completed result, often an alternative past.
If she had started earlier, she would have finished by noon.
She did not start early enough. Finishing by noon is the alternative result.
Perfect continuous conditional
would have been + -ing
The imagined duration of an activity up to a reference point.
If she had started at ten, she would have been reading for two hours by noon.
The focus is two hours of activity, not the number of pages completed.
Make negatives with would not (wouldn’t); make questions by moving would before the subject: Would she have finished? Would also expresses polite requests, past habits and future in the past, so an isolated would is not enough to identify a conditional.
Further reading: Cambridge · Would ↗ · British Council · Third & mixed conditionals ↗
Section 03
Modals, Voice & Past Viewpoint
These patterns show a speaker’s attitude, change the focus of a sentence, or describe a future seen from a past moment.
Modal Verbs
can/could/may/might/must/should + base verb
Ability, permission, possibility, obligation, deduction, or advice.
A modal is a helping verb that adds meaning to the main action. It tells you about ability, permission, necessity, advice or how certain the speaker is. The same modal can have different meanings in different contexts.
Use the base verb after a modal: she can go, not she can goes or she can to go. Negatives add not; questions move the modal before the subject: Could she stay? Have to has a similar meaning to must, but its grammar is different: Does she have to go?
| Meaning | Common forms | Example → interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Ability | can / could | She can climb. → She is able to do it. |
| Permission / requests | can / could / may | Could I come in? → A polite request for permission. |
| Possibility | may / might / could | The bears might return. → This is possible, not certain. |
| Obligation | must / have to | You must close the gate. → Closing it is necessary. |
| Advice | should / ought to | You should knock first. → This is the sensible thing to do. |
| Strong deduction | must / can’t | The bowl is empty. Someone must be hungry. → The speaker draws a conclusion. |
Not necessary is different from forbidden
You don’t have to enter. You mustn’t enter.
The first gives you a choice. The second tells you entry is forbidden.
Looking back with a modal
She must have left. She might have left. She should have left.
Must have left is a strong conclusion; might have left is a possibility; should have left says leaving was the right action, often with criticism or regret.
Modal + be + -ing can show an activity in progress: She might be sleeping. Modal + have been + -ing looks back at an ongoing activity: She must have been sleeping. Could have done can describe an unused opportunity or a possible past event; the context decides.
Further reading: British Council · Modal verbs ↗ · British Council · Permission & obligation ↗ · British Council · Deductions about the past ↗
Passive Voice
be (in the required tense) + past participle
Focuses on what receives the action; the agent may be omitted or introduced by by.
In an active sentence, the subject does the action: The bears made the porridge. In a passive sentence, the thing affected becomes the subject: The porridge was made by the bears. Use the passive when the action or its receiver matters more than the person doing it.
The form of be carries the tense; the main verb stays a past participle. By introduces the person or thing responsible when that information is needed.
| Time / pattern | Passive example |
|---|---|
| Present simple | The door is locked every night. |
| Past simple | The door was locked last night. |
| Present continuous | The door is being repaired. |
| Present perfect | The door has been repaired. |
| Past perfect | The door had been locked before she arrived. |
| Modal / future | The door must be locked. It will be repaired. |
Recognise the whole verb phrase
She had been sent home. She had been walking home.
Had been sent is passive: someone sent her. Had been walking is continuous: she was doing the walking.
Not every be + participle describes an action. In The door is closed, closed can describe its state. Use the surrounding story to decide whether the writer means a state or an action.
Further reading: British Council · Active & passive voice ↗
Future in the Past
would + base verb; was/were going to + base verb
Something expected or intended to happen later than a past reference point.
The story has a past reference point, and the action was still in the future from that viewpoint. Would often corresponds to will in the character’s original thoughts; was/were going to expresses a plan or expectation.
A past expectation
She thought, “They will return soon.” → She thought they would return soon.
Their return is later than the moment when she thought about it.
A plan that may change
She was going to leave, but she fell asleep.
Leaving was her plan; this sentence tells us it did not happen at that moment.
Would here does not automatically mean an imaginary if-condition. Compare She knew he would come (a past expectation) with If he were free, he would come (an imagined situation).
Further reading: Cambridge · Would ↗
Section 04
Verb Forms & Irregular Verbs
Use this section to identify the building blocks inside a longer verb phrase. An ending alone does not tell you the tense.
Verb Forms & Regular Endings
base / -s / -ing / past / past participle
Regular verbs use -ed for both the past simple and past participle, with spelling changes when needed.
Most main verbs have five useful forms. The base is the dictionary form. Regular verbs use the same -ed form for the past simple and past participle; an auxiliary tells you which job that form is doing.
| Form | Regular example | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Base | walk | I walk. I can walk. I want to walk. |
| Third-person present | walks | She walks. |
| -ing form | walking | She is walking. |
| Past simple | walked | She walked yesterday. |
| Past participle | walked | She has walked. The dog was walked. |
Regular spelling patterns
Usually add -s, -ing or -ed. After silent -e, add -d for the past and usually drop -e before -ing: live → lived, living. After consonant + y, use -ies/-ied: study → studies, studied; keep y in studying. Vowel + y keeps y: play → played.
watch → watches; stop → stopped, stopping; begin → beginning; lie → lying.
Double a final single consonant after a short vowel in a stressed final syllable, as in stop and begin; do not double w, x or y. Change final -ie to -y before -ing. Keep both e’s in seeing.
Be has special forms: am/is/are, was/were, being, been. Have → has and do → does are also irregular in the present. American spelling commonly uses traveled/traveling; British spelling commonly uses travelled/travelling.
Further reading: Cambridge · Basic verb forms ↗
Common Irregular Verbs
base → past simple → past participle
Many frequent verbs have past forms that must be learned individually.
take → took → taken: She took it. She has taken it.
Read the three columns as different tools: past simple for a past event, past participle after have in a perfect form or after be in a passive. Learn the pattern with an example rather than adding -ed to every verb.
| Base | Past simple | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| be | was / were | been |
| become | became | become |
| begin | began | begun |
| break | broke | broken |
| bring | brought | brought |
| buy | bought | bought |
| come | came | come |
| do | did | done |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| feel | felt | felt |
| find | found | found |
| get | got | got / gotten |
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| keep | kept | kept |
| know | knew | known |
| leave | left | left |
| lie (recline) | lay | lain |
| make | made | made |
| put | put | put |
| read | read | read |
| run | ran | run |
| say | said | said |
| see | saw | seen |
| sit | sat | sat |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| stand | stood | stood |
| take | took | taken |
| tell | told | told |
| think | thought | thought |
| write | wrote | written |
Read is pronounced /riːd/ in the base form and /red/ in both past forms. Gotten is common in American English for getting or becoming; have got is also used for possession. Do not confuse lie–lay–lain (recline), lay–laid–laid (put something down), and lie–lied–lied (say something untrue).
Further reading: British Council · Irregular verbs ↗ · Cambridge · Basic verb forms ↗
Section 05
Participles & Infinitives
Stories often compress information into a few words. These forms help you expand it into a complete idea.
Participles & Participle Clauses
-ing / past participle / having + past participle
Participles help form verb phrases, describe nouns, and shorten clauses in written stories.
A participle is a verb form, not a tense by itself. The -ing form is called the present participle; the other main type is the past participle, such as broken, eaten or walked. The names do not mean that the first always refers to the present or the second always refers to the past.
| Job | Example | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Continuous verb phrase | She was opening the door. | An activity in progress in the past. |
| Perfect verb phrase | She had opened the door. | An action earlier than another past point. |
| Passive verb phrase | The door was opened. | The door receives the action. |
| Describing a noun | a sleeping child; a broken chair | The forms describe the child and the chair. |
A shorter active clause
Hearing a noise, she woke up.
She heard a noise and woke up. Hearing and woke have the same understood subject: she.
A shorter passive clause
Frightened by the noise, she ran outside.
The noise frightened her; she ran outside.
An earlier action
having + past participle
Having finished breakfast, the bears went out.
The bears finished breakfast before they went out.
Check who does the action. Opening the door, the room looked empty incorrectly suggests the room opened the door. Write Opening the door, she saw an empty room. In a story, expand a participle phrase into a full clause if its meaning is hard to follow.
Further reading: British Council · Participle clauses ↗
-ing Forms & Infinitives
enjoy/avoid + -ing; want/decide + to + base verb
The first verb or a preposition determines the next form.
A gerund is an -ing form used in a noun-like position: Reading helps her relax. An infinitive usually uses to + the base form: She wants to read. Different verbs require different following patterns, so learn the combination rather than translating word by word.
| Pattern | Common triggers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| verb + -ing | enjoy, avoid, finish, suggest | She avoided waking the bears. |
| verb + to + base | want, decide, hope, promise | She decided to leave. |
| preposition + -ing | after, before, without, interested in | She left without waiting. |
| verb + person + to + base | tell, ask, want, allow | They asked her to wait. |
| let / make + person + base | let, make | They let her stay. |
A different form can change the meaning
She stopped reading. She stopped to read.
The first ends the reading. The second pauses another activity in order to read.
Remembering an action
She remembered locking the door. She remembered to lock the door.
The first recalls a past action. The second says she did not forget the task.
An infinitive can also give a purpose: She went upstairs to rest means in order to rest. The to in look forward to is a preposition: I look forward to reading it.
Further reading: British Council · -ing or infinitive ↗
Section 06
Contractions
Dialogue often joins short words together. Expand the contraction to understand the grammar behind it.
Contractions
I’m = I am; she’s = she is / she has; I’d = I had / I would
An apostrophe can mark missing letters in a shortened form, especially in dialogue.
Contractions are shortened combinations, common in speech and story dialogue. An apostrophe usually marks omitted letters. Read the next word as well: the same short form can expand in different ways.
| Short form | Full form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I’m / you’re / they’re | I am / you are / they are | They’re waiting. |
| he’s / she’s / it’s | he/she/it is OR has | She’s asleep. She’s eaten. |
| I’ve / we’ve / they’ve | I/we/they have | We’ve finished. |
| I’ll / she’ll / they’ll | I/she/they will | She’ll return. |
| I’d / she’d / they’d | I/she/they had OR would | She’d eaten. She’d eat. |
| isn’t / haven’t / didn’t | is not / have not / did not | He didn’t knock. |
| can’t / won’t / wouldn’t | cannot / will not / would not | They won’t wait. |
| let’s | let us | Let’s go home. |
Use the following form as a clue
I’d seen it. I’d see it. I’d have seen it.
The first means I had seen it. The other two use would: I would see it; I would have seen it.
It’s means it is or it has; its shows possession: The bear opened its eyes. An apostrophe + s after a noun can also show possession: the bear’s bowl. Older dialogue may use ’tis (it is) or ’twas (it was).
Further reading: Cambridge · Contractions ↗
Section 07
Articles, Nouns & Quantity
Small words such as a, the, few and little tell you which thing is meant and how much there is.
Articles & Countability
a/an + singular countable noun; the + identifiable noun
A/an introduces one non-specific item; the identifies which item. General plural/uncountable nouns often take no article.
A countable noun can be one item or several: a bowl, two bowls. An uncountable noun is treated as a mass or idea in that meaning: porridge, water, advice. This affects articles, plurals and quantity words.
| Choice | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a / an | One singular countable item, not yet identified | A girl entered a house. |
| the | The reader/listener can identify which one | The girl opened the door. |
| no article | A general plural or uncountable idea | Bears need food. Porridge fills you up. |
First mention and shared knowledge
She found a bowl. The bowl was empty.
A introduces it; the points back to the same bowl. The sun also uses the because the intended sun is shared knowledge.
The meaning can change countability
There was chicken in the soup. A chicken crossed the yard.
The first means meat, treated as uncountable. The second means one animal.
Choose a/an by sound: an old house, an hour, a university. A singular countable noun normally needs a determiner such as a, the, my or this. Say a piece of advice, not an advice.
Further reading: British Council · Articles ↗
Quantity: Much, Many, Few & Little
many/few + plural countable; much/little + uncountable
A few/a little means some; few/little stresses not enough.
Quantity words tell you how many items or how much of a substance there is. Choose them according to whether the noun is countable or uncountable in its current meaning.
| Countable plural | Uncountable | Meaning / example |
|---|---|---|
| many bowls | much porridge | A large quantity; especially common in questions and negatives. |
| a few bowls | a little porridge | Some: enough to be worth mentioning. |
| few bowls | little porridge | A small quantity, often disappointingly small. |
| fewer bowls | less porridge | A smaller quantity than before or than something else. |
| a lot of bowls | a lot of porridge | A large quantity; works with either type. |
The article changes the message
There is a little food left. There is little food left.
The first emphasizes that some remains. The second emphasizes that there is hardly any.
Some is common in positive statements and offers: Would you like some porridge? Any is common in questions and negatives: Is there any left? There isn’t any. Any can also mean it does not matter which: Choose any bowl.
Further reading: British Council · Quantifiers ↗
Section 08
Comparatives & Superlatives
Compare one thing with another, identify an extreme within a group, and understand degree.
Comparisons & Degree
-er/more…than; the -est/most; as…as
Compares people or things. Too marks excess; enough marks sufficiency.
A comparative places one thing above or below another on a scale. A superlative places it at an extreme within a group. Use than to introduce the comparison and usually the before a superlative.
| Pattern | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| Short adjective | small → smaller | the smallest |
| Final -e | large → larger | the largest |
| Short vowel + consonant | big → bigger | the biggest |
| Consonant + -y | happy → happier | the happiest |
| Longer adjective | comfortable → more comfortable | the most comfortable |
| Irregular | good → better; bad → worse | the best; the worst |
Comparing and identifying an extreme
This chair is smaller than that one. It is the smallest chair in the house.
The first compares chairs. The second identifies the minimum size in the stated group.
Equality, excess and sufficiency
It is as warm as mine. It is too hot to eat. It is cool enough to eat.
As…as marks equality. Too means more than is suitable. Enough means sufficient for the purpose.
Use adjective + enough (soft enough) but enough + noun (enough room). Intensify a comparative with much or a little: much softer, a little warmer. Do not combine more with -er: softer, not more softer.
Further reading: British Council · Comparatives & superlatives ↗
Section 09
Questions, Reported Speech & Clauses
A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb. These patterns connect ideas or put one idea inside another.
Questions & Negatives
auxiliary + subject + verb; subject + auxiliary + not
Move be, have (perfect), or a modal before the subject. Otherwise use do/does/did.
An auxiliary is a helping verb such as be, have or do. In most direct questions, place the first auxiliary or modal before the subject. If an ordinary present/past simple verb has no auxiliary, add do, does or did and use the base form.
| Statement | Question | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| She is sleeping. | Is she sleeping? | She is not sleeping. |
| She has eaten. | Has she eaten? | She has not eaten. |
| She can stay. | Can she stay? | She cannot stay. |
| She knows. | Does she know? | She does not know. |
| She went out. | Where did she go? | She did not go out. |
Subject questions
Who opened the door? Who did she see?
In the first, who is the person doing the action, so no do is added. In the second, she is the subject and who is the object.
A question inside another sentence
Do you know where she went?
Where she went uses statement order inside the larger question; do not write where did she go here.
Subject questions do not need do: Who ate it? Indirect: Do you know where she went? (not where did she go).
Further reading: British Council · Questions & negatives ↗
Reported Speech
said (that)…; asked if/whether…
Reports someone’s words. Tense often shifts back after a past reporting verb.
Direct speech gives the speaker’s actual words, often in quotation marks. Reported speech tells us what was said without quoting it exactly. We may change pronouns, verb forms and time/place words to fit the narrator’s viewpoint.
After a past reporting verb, the tense often moves one step back. This is called backshift. It locates the message from a past viewpoint; it does not necessarily mean the original situation has ended.
| Direct speech | Reported later | Change |
|---|---|---|
| “I am hungry.” | She said she was hungry. | am → was; I → she |
| “I have eaten.” | She said she had eaten. | have eaten → had eaten |
| “I will leave tomorrow.” | She said she would leave the next day. | will → would; tomorrow → the next day |
| “I can wait.” | She said she could wait. | can → could |
Reported questions
“Are you tired?” → He asked whether she was tired. “Where do you live?” → He asked where she lived.
Use if/whether for a yes/no question. Keep the question word for a wh-question, but use statement word order.
Requests, instructions and reporting verbs
“Wait here.” → He told her to wait there. “Don’t enter.” → He warned her not to enter.
Tell/ask + person + to-infinitive reports many instructions or requests. Use not to for a negative instruction.
Backshift is not always needed when a fact is still true or relevant: She said she lives nearby. Said can introduce a clause without a person; told normally names the listener: She told me that… . Change here/now/today only when the new viewpoint requires it.
Further reading: British Council · Reported speech ↗
Relative Clauses
who (people), which (things), that (either)
Identifies a noun or adds information about it.
A relative clause describes a noun. It may identify exactly which person or thing is meant, or simply add extra information. The commas show the difference.
| Word | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| who / that | People | The girl who entered was tired. |
| which / that | Things | The chair that broke was small. |
| whose | Possession | The bear whose bowl was empty complained. |
| where | Places | The house where they lived was quiet. |
Identifying information: no commas
The chair that was broken belonged to Baby Bear.
The clause identifies which chair. That can be used here.
Extra information: commas
Baby Bear’s chair, which was broken, stood by the table.
The chair is already identified. The clause adds information; do not use that in this comma pattern.
You can often omit an object relative pronoun: the bowl (that) she used. Do not omit a subject pronoun: the girl who entered. Formal writing sometimes uses whom for an object person: the woman whom they met.
Further reading: British Council · Defining relative clauses ↗
Time Clauses & Linking Words
when/after/before/until + clause; because (reason); although (contrast)
Shows how ideas relate. In future time clauses, present forms usually replace will.
Linking words show time, cause or contrast. A clause has its own subject and verb: while she slept. A preposition can introduce a noun phrase instead: during the night.
| Relationship | Useful words | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Time / sequence | when, while, before, after | She listened while the bears spoke. |
| An endpoint | until | They waited until she woke up. |
| A deadline | by / by the time | She had left by the time they returned. |
| Reason | because | She ran because she was frightened. |
| Contrast | although / even though / but | Although she was tired, she kept walking. |
| Unexpected contrast + noun | despite / in spite of | Despite her fear, she opened the door. |
Future time after when, before or until
We will leave when she arrives.
Both actions are future, but the time clause normally uses present arrives, not will arrive.
Match the words that follow
During the night, she slept. While the bears were away, she slept.
During takes a noun phrase; while introduces a clause. Similarly, because takes a clause and because of takes a noun phrase.
Do not double the connector for the same relationship: Although she was tired, she continued; or She was tired, but she continued. Until describes continuation up to a point; by means no later than a deadline.
Further reading: British Council · Future forms ↗ · British Council · Linking contrasting ideas ↗