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Language, when you need it

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Language, when you need it

Present Simple vs Present ContinuousTenses

Follow-up questions & short responsesQuestions

Linkers, softeners and extending answers (PEEL)Discourse

Question tags & short reactionsQuestions

Indirect and polite questions (if / whether)Questions

Present Perfect for life experienceTenses

Past Simple vs Past ContinuousTenses

Giving opinions with softenersFunctional language

Agreeing, partly agreeing and disagreeingFunctional language

Reason connectors: because / since / as / due toConnectors

Prepositions of work: as / in / for / atPrepositions

The passive — processes, results and unknown actorsVoice

should / ought to / had better — giving adviceModals

Five ways to make a suggestionFunctional language

Comparing and contrasting without stereotypingComparison

Inviting, accepting, refusing, reschedulingFunctional language

Informal and digital registerRegister

Present Perfect ContinuousTenses

Reported speech: reporting verbs and backshiftReported speech

used to / would / Past Simple for past habitsPast habits

will / be going to / Present Continuous for the futureFuture

Verb patterns for hopes and ambitionsVerb patterns

Second conditionalConditionals

Paraphrasing and hedgingStrategy language

Choosing the right structure under pressureReview

Discourse markers for structured opinionsDiscourse

Concessive structures and softened counter-argumentsDiscourse

Debate language: opening, countering, summarisingDiscourse

must / have to / should / need to — obligation and necessityModals

Careful generalisation: tend to, on the whole, broadly speakingHedging

Taking, holding and returning the floorInteraction

Diplomatic English: distancing, softeners, I-statementsRegister

Narrative structure and emphasis devicesDiscourse

Phrasal verbs: separable / inseparable, transitive / intransitiveVerb patterns

Fluency boosters: fillers, discourse markers, connectorsFluency

Relative clauses: defining and non-definingClauses

Verb patterns: -ing vs to + infinitiveVerb patterns

First conditional and future time clausesConditionals

Past Perfect for background in a storyTenses

Third conditional, should have and I wish I hadConditionals

Comparatives and superlatives with modifiersComparison

Quantifiers: much, many, a lot of, too much, enoughQuantifiers

Articles: a / an / the / zero articleArticles

Adjective order, plus -ed vs -ing adjectivesAdjectives

The passive for places and processes vs activePassive voice

Present Perfect vs Past SimpleTenses

too / enough / so / suchIntensifiers

Reported questions and requestsReported speech

I wish / if only for present regretsConditionals