So far, you have learned that…

Information taken from: Hogue, A. (2008). First steps in academic writing. Longman: N.Y.

!   An independent clause is a sentence by itself.

!   A dependent clause is not a sentence by itself.

!   A complex sentence is one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

!   The clauses can be in any order.

!   Put a comma after a dependent clause when it starts the sentence.

You already practiced writing complex sentences with time subordinators (after, as soon as, before, until, when, whenever, while):

!   I will do the practice after I finish this presentation.

!   As soon as I finish, I will review my notes.

!   Before I start the practice, I will check my notes.

!   I will see it until everything is clear

!   I ask my teacher when I don’t understand.

Reason subordinators tell why something happens. The ones that you will use in this module are: because and since.

  She didn’t go to the party because she was sick.

  She didn’t go to the party since she was sick.

  Because Julia is good at English, she wants to be an English teacher.

  Since Julia is good at English, she wants to be an English teacher.

Here is something that you need to know about because and since.

Because and since have the same meaning. You can use them with no difference in their use.

  I passed the exam because I studied.

  I passed the exam since I studied.

  Since I learned about punctuation, I write better sentences.

  Because I learned about punctuation, I write better sentences.

She is late because she missed the bus. She is late since she missed the bus.

Because she missed the bus, she is late. Since she missed the bus, she is late.

Condition subordinators express condition for something to happen.

In this module you will study: IF

  John is sad if he doesn’t talk to his girlfriend.

  If we work hard, we can pass the exams.

  I can explain the problem if you want.

Conditions with IF need a special combination of verb tenses.

In this module, we will only do exercises and write sentences with conditions in present.

If you understand the lesson, you can do the exercise.

If you are confused, you can watch the presentation again.