72 Adjectives and adverbs: comparative and superlative forms
73 Comparative phrases and clauses
74 Position of adverbs: end position
75 Position of adverbs: front and mid position
76 Adverbs of place, direction, indefinite frequency, and time
77 Degree adverbs and focus adverbs
78 Comment adverbs and viewpoint adverbs
Adverbial clauses and conjunctions
79 Adverbial clauses of time
80 Giving reasons: as, because, etc.; for and with
81 Purposes and results: in order to, so as to, etc.
82 Contrasts: although and though; even though / if; while, whilst and whereas
83 If: real and unreal conditionals
84 If: other conditional patterns with if
85 If I were you ...; imagine he were to win
86 If ... not and unless; if and whether; etc.
87 Connecting ideas in a sentence and between sentences
Prepositions
88 Prepositions of position and movement
89 Between and among
90 Prepositions of time
9 1 Talking about exceptions
92 Prepositions after verbs
93 Prepositions after nouns
94 Multi-word verbs: word order
Organising information
95 There is, there was, etc.
96 It as subject (introductory It)
97 It as object (referring forward): It is / was no versus There is / was no...
98 Focusing: it-clauses and what-clauses
99 Inversion 1
100 Inversion 2
Grammar in academic contexts
101 Complex noun phrases and complex prepositions
102 Expressing and reporting opinions: it-clauses
103 Linking ideas in academic writing and speech
104 Referring to other work and sections in academic writing and speaking
105 Academic discussion: lead-in phrases
If you are not sure which units you need to study, use the Study planner on page xii.
Glossary 212
Grammar reminder 217
Additional exercises 235
Key to Additional exercises 246
Key to Study planner 249
Key to Exercises 250
Index of grammatical items 277
Index of lexical items 283
Appendix 1 291 Appendix 2 293
Samplecontent
If you are not sure which units you need to study, use the Study planner on page xii.
Verb + two objects
Some verbs can be followed by two objects. Usually the first object (= the indirect object (IO)) is a person or group of people and the second object (= the direct object (DO)) is a thing: Can you bring me (= IO) some milk (= DO) from the shops? He made himself (= IO) a cup of coffee. (= DO).
Many verbs that can have two objects may also be used with a DO only (e.g. I read a story). With many verbs that can have two objects, it is possible to reverse the order of the objects if we put for or to before the IO (this is then called a prepositional object). Compare: I built my daughter a doll’s house. and I built a doll’s house for my daughter. Can you pass me that bandage? and Can you pass that bandage to me?
Other verbs with for + object: book, buy, catch, choose, cook, fetch, find, get, make, order, pour, save
Other verbs with to + object: award, give, hand, lend, offer, owe, show, teach, tell, throw
We often use this pattern if we want to focus particular attention on the object after for / to. We also use it if the IO is a lot longer than the DO: Jasmin taught music to a large number of children at the school. (not Jasmin taught a large number of children at the school music.)
If the DO is a pronoun, a pattern with DO + preposition + IO is usual. Patterns without a preposition are avoided because they are considered to be bad style: I gave them to Isa. (rather than I gave Isa them. / I gave them Isa.) We bought it for them. (rather than We bought them it. / We bought it them.)
Some verbs can be used with either for or to. Often there is a difference in meaning: to suggests that there is a transfer of something to someone, and for suggests that someone benefits from something. Compare:
I hadn’t got time to visit Mira, so I wrote a letter to her. and Mira had broken her wrist, so I wrote a letter for her.
Also: bring, leave, pay, play, post, read, sell, send, sing, take
Sometimes, however, the meaning is very similar: He played the piece to (or for) me.
Can you sing that song again to (or for) us?
Note that when object + object is used after these verbs it usually has a similar meaning to the verb with object + to + object. For example: I sold him the car. (means I sold the car to him, not I sold the car for him.)
Some verbs that are followed by two objects cannot have their objects reversed with for / to: We all envied him his lifestyle. (but not We all envied his lifestyle for / to him.)
Some verbs, such as describe and fix, can only have a second object if this is a prepositional object –with to (see also Unit 23A). Compare: She described the situation (to me). (but not She described me the situation.) and She told this joke (to me). or She told me this joke. with for Compare: He fixed the tap (for me). (but not He fixed me the tap.) and I booked a room (for her). or I booked her a room.
29.1 Complete each sentence with a suitable form of a verb from the box and insert to or for in an appropriate place. Write to / for if either can be used. A & B choose offer pass pay post read save sell take teach
1 Elias hasn’t got any money so I’ll have to pay the bill him.
2 Kaspar hates going shopping. I have to his clothes him.
3 You’re staying with Dimitra at the weekend, aren’t you? Can you this present her?
4 I can’t reach the salt. Could you it me, please?
5 When Mr Durand bought the house, we all the carpets him as well.
6 He’s got a very rewarding job. He sports disabled children.
7 I haven’t got my glasses. Can you these instructions me, please?
8 Jane the letter me on her way to work because I had flu and couldn’t go out.
9 I my old bike him, but he said he wanted something more modern.
10 I’ll be in late tonight. Can you some dinner me, please?
29.2 If necessary, correct these sentences. If the sentence is already correct, write ✓ C & D
1 He kindly collected me some library books.
2 He admitted his error for his colleagues.
3 I have to prepare a report for the meeting.
4 Can I ask a favour to you?
5 A special ticket allows entry for people to all the museums in the city.
6 I’d like to introduce you to my sister.
29.3 Complete these texts with objects chosen from the box. Give all possible word orders and add prepositions where necessary. A–D the problem / our teacher her photograph / me the glass / him another half an hour / us his sister / me three bedtime stories / him an email / him his broken car / him the money / me a drink / Ben a paper aeroplane / him the problem / him a fortune / you
1 A: Samuel phoned. He wants to come and stay with us at the beginning of September. B: But that’s when my parents will be with us. I’ll have to send him an email / an email to him to explain the problem to him.
2 When he described I didn’t think I knew her, but when he showed I realised that I had seen her at work.
3 The clock on the wall was wrong. When we pointed out , she allowed to finish the exam.
4 My three-year-old nephew, Luis, always keeps me busy when I babysit. Last night I first had to make , then I had to mend and after that he insisted that I read .
5 A: Your new motorbike must have cost B: Well, actually, my parents lent
6 I poured and gave
Referring
to other work and sections in academic writing and speaking
Referring to other work: as + passive/ past participle
In academic writing and speaking we can make references to other people’s work using a clause with as+passive (see also Units 22-25):
The first approach should be discarded as it makes wrong predictions about word order, as is argued in Frascarelli and Hinter (2007).
Past usage experience had a major impact on consumer decision behaviour, as has been shown in a number of recent studies.
Note that we don’t use it in this type of clause. (not … as it is argued by … or as it has been shown…)
More commonly we use a reduced passive form - as + past participle:
As noted by Kerr (2004) these figures were a significant underestimate.
Both temperature and moisture were important in explaining the abundance of fungi, as demonstrated in previous studies (e.g. Lam, 2002; Rich et al., 2014).
As + past participle is also used to refer to other sections of a text with adverbs such as above: As discussed above, exploration of the Moon will provide insights into the formation of the Solar System.
Also: earlier, previously; below, later, next; elsewhere (= in another part of the text)
C
Referring to other parts of a spoken presentation
When we refer to other parts of a presentation we are giving, we tend to use time adverbs, not location adverbs:
As I said before, …. (not As I said above….)
…as I’ll come back to later on. (not …as I’ll come back to below.)
Also: already, earlier, previously; next
Other grammatical structures commonly used in referring backwards and forwards in spoken presentations include what-clauses (see also Unit 98) and -ing-clauses (see also Unit 58).Examples are highlighted in these extracts from a presentation: Coming back to the earliest development of language, it’s been estimated that it originated around 40,000 years ago… What I want to go on to next is the development of written language… Language gave people the ability to think and plan, as I pointed out previously Returning to my point about the development of written language… What we’ll do next week is begin to look at non-verbal communication…
Exercises
104.1 Match a sentence from (i) with a sentence from (ii) and combine them into one sentence beginning As + past participle or As + passive form. A (i) (ii)
1 The use of neonicotinoid insecticides has led to a decline in bee populations.
2 Globalisation is associated with more efficient food production.
3 The Moon may be a source of materials for use on Earth.
4 Small group learning can reduce motivation.
5 The number of people adopting a vegan diet has increased rapidly since 2015.
Reflection:
a This opportunity has been suggested by writers such as Eli (2015) and Koors (2017).
b This disadvantage was shown in research by Connors (2019).
c This problem was first identified by Cortez in 1998.
d This tendency has been noted in many recent studies, including Hale (2020) and Kim (2021).
e This improvement has been reported in a number of studies (e.g. Manuel, 2015; Reith, 2018).
1 (+ c) As first identified by Cortez (1998), the use of neonicotinoid insecticides has led to a decline in bee populations.
Look at an example of your own academic writing. Where you have referred to other work or other parts of your text, have you used an as + past participle or as + passive form? If not, can you express yourself better by using one?
104.2 If necessary, suggest corrections or improvements to these extracts from academic writing and spoken presentations. B & C
1 Radioactive decay can be plotted in a linear form, as outlined in Figure 3.
2 Many friendships were formed between students on the same course, as you can see in the following table.
3 As was noted above, the majority of graduates do not go on to work in the area in which they were trained.
4 “It’s essential nuclear power is expanded, and I’ll be explaining why that is below.”
5 As I have already explained, institutions like the World Bank are crucial in global governance.
6 “As I’ve indicated elsewhere, most of the teachers involved in online education responded.”
7 Public health education may be organised at local, community or national level, as it was outlined previously.
8 “As I pointed out above, without a brand name a company can’t distinguish its products.”
104.3 Reword the bracketed parts of this presentation, including an as-, -ing- or what-clause in each answer. C
[1 I said earlier that] there are many factors affecting the health of a community, including physical, social and cultural factors. [2 In this talk I plan to] consider physical and social factors, and then in the next one look at cultural factors.
[3 I have already pointed out that] a community’s health is directly influenced by its climate…
[4 I will now turn to social factors. These arise] from the interaction between individuals and groups in the community. To illustrate, [5 I am going to] show you a short video…
[6 I will now come back to other social factors. It is clear that] the economy is an important influence on the provision of health care and social services….
1 As I said earlier, 2 What 3 As 4 Turning 5 What 6 Coming