There is often confusion over the two words ‘accept’ and ‘except’. Although they sound similar the meanings are very different.
Accept is a verb that has quite a few meanings:
To believe something is true.
I accept your point and I have to agree with you there.
I accept that you may have been tired but it’s no excuse to fall asleep in front of our clients.
To receive something
I accept your invitation.
They do not accept dogs in that restaurant.
Linking words in English are words that are used to combine or link sentences, two statements presenting contrast, comparison, condition, supposition, purpose, etc. Here are some examples of some linking words.
You can take my car as long as/provided (that)/providing
you don't damage it.
(I will lend you my car on condition that you don't damage it.)
Here is an overview of the use of the quantifiers a lot of, much and many.
A lot of’ can be used in all sentences; affirmative, negative and interrogative.
We made a lot of mistakes during our first test.
I don't have a lot of friends who live next to me.
Did you do a lot of shopping in London?
A preposition is a word that connects one thing with another and shows how they are related. It is usually followed by a noun or a pronoun.
Prepositions can tell us about place or position:
The book fell off the table.
My shoes are under the bed.
I jumped into the pool.
I keep my keys in my handbag.
Sarah is at school.
They can also tell us about time:
Collocations are groups of two or more words that generally go together.
In English, we say:
I'm going to make a cup of tea.
He's doing nothing at the moment.
I’m having a good day!
Make tea, do nothing and have a good day are examples of collocations.
There is often confusion over the words ‘passed’ and ‘past’.
The word 'passed' is the past simple of the verb pass or the past participle of the verb:
She passed the exam with distinction. Pass = to be successful in a test
The secretary passed the message to me. Pass = hand over (give)
We'd passed the shop 5 times before we saw it. Pass = to move past
Here is a brief explanation of how 'whatever', 'whenever', 'wherever', 'whichever' and 'whoever' are used:
Whatever = anything or everything; regardless of what, (many things can happen but):
Whatever you do, don’t forget to buy the drinks for dinner tonight.
Ignore David, whatever he says. He's just a joker.
Whenever = every time; at any time; when is not important:
Whenever I plan a barbeque it rains.
Peter interrupts me whenever I speak.
The structures be used to and get used to are used to talk about being accustomed to something or getting accustomed to something. Get used to talks about the process. Be used to talks about the result.
When Giovanni moved to London from Italy it took him long to get used to the cold. For Ivan, who moved from Moscow to London, the cold was not a problem because he was used to it.
Many learners of English find it difficult to know when to use 'of' and when to use 'from' in English. This is probably because in their languages the same preposition is used for both.
'of' for possession
We use 's for living things, groups and institutions. For inanimate objects we use 'of'
's – Tom's cat.
Of – The title of the film – the name of the game.
So and neither are used to show agreement or disagreement with a statement made by another person or concerning another person.
So is used to agree with a statement which is affirmative.
John: 'I like pizza.'
Peter: 'So do I.'
Here are some examples. Notice that if an auxiliary verb is used in the statement it matches in the agreeing reply.
