Unit 21

DESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR

EXPRESSING REASON, PURPOSE AND CONTRAST

Reason

  1. We can begin a clause to give reason with these words:
    1. As it was getting late, I decided I should go home.

    2. We must be near the beach, because I can hear the waves.
      You can begin a sentence with because: Because everything looked different, I had no idea where to go.

      So is also commonly used to express the same meaning: My mother's arrived, so I won't be anle to meet you on Thursday after all.

    3. Since he was going to be living in Sweden for some time, he thought he should read something about the country. (Rather formal)

    4. We could go and visit Sue, seeing that we have to drive past her house anyway.
      Seeing that is used in informal English. Some people also use seeing as in informal speech.

  2. For, in that, inasmuch as (formal)
  3. Because of, due to, owing to
  4. For and with


Purpose

  1. So (that)
  2. Infinitive of purpose
  3. In order to, so as to
  4. For


Result

  1. So/such + adjective + that
  2. So much/many/few/little + noun +that
  3. Too + adjective + to
  4. Not + adjective + enough


Contrast

  1. Although, though, even though, while, whereas
  2. However
  3. Nevertheless
  4. Despite and in spite of

 

STUDY GUIDE

Reference: EG: 112-117; PEG: 328-330, 332-339, PEGE:99-100.

  1. Choose the correct words in the following text.

    (NOT SO) MERRY-GO-ROUND!

    The customers at the funfair were leaving (and/but) the lights were going out. The last two people on dodgem cars paid (and/so) left. The big wheel stopped (for/and) the merry-go-round stopped (as well/not only). The stalls closed down (so/and) the stall-owners went home. At 2 a.m. four nightwatchmen walked round the funfair, (but/so) there was no one to be seen. "I'm fed up walking round," one of them said, ("yet/what) what can we do?" "We can (or/either) play cards (either/or) sit and talk." They were bored, (so/for) there was nothing to do on this quiet warm night. "We can have a ride on the merry-go-round!" one of them cried. "That'll be fun!" Three of them jumped on merry-go-round horses (yet/and) the fourth started the motor. Then he jumped on too (and/but) round they went. They were having the time of their lives, (but/so) suddenly realized there was no one to stop the machine. They weren't rescued till morning (and/but) by then they felt very sick indeed!

  2. Match the sentences in A) and B) and write a single sentence with them using the words given in brackets.

      1. I took my raincoat and umbrella ...
      2. I still won't be able to get to a meeting at 8.30 ...
      3. The team is likely to do well this season ...
      4. The building work is still on schedule ...
      5. We've decided not to go on holiday this year ...
      6. The council have planted trees at the side of the road ...
      7. The parcel had been delayed ...
      8. We've put a table and chair in the spare bedroom ...
      9. She didn't have to be at work until 10.00 that morning ...
      10. We had to queue for two hours ...

      1. ... because we want to save money for a new car.
      2. ... and so she called in on her sister.
      3. ... as the weather forecast was so bad.
      4. ... despite a problem in digging the foundations.
      5. ... but we really enjoyed visiting the Alhambra when we were in Spain.
      6. ... because Davies is its captain.
      7. ... because they had recently been a strike by postal workers.
      8. ... in an attempt to reduce traffic noise.
      9. ... whether or not I catch an earlier train.
      10. ... to give Dave somewhere private to study before his exams.

      1. (seeing that) (1. c) Seeing that the weather forecast was so bad, I took my raincoat and an umbrella.
      2. (even if)
      3. (with)
      4. (even though)
      5. (in order to)
      6. (so as to)
      7. (due to)
      8. (in order that)
      9. (since)
      10. (in spite of)

  3. Complete the sentences using due to or owing to.
    1. Her death was ... natural causes.
    2. The crash was most likely ... a mechanical failure.
    3. We din't receive your letter ... the postal strike.
    4. The high price of vegetables is ... the dry weather.
    5. He was unable to compete in the match ... an ankle injury.

  4. Rewrite the sentences using the words given so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence.
    1. Sue went shopping so she could buy herself a new television.
      Sue a new television. (to)
    2. You use this to open wine bottles.
      This wine botles. (for)
    3. I put the food in the fridge because I wanted it to get cold.
      I put the food in the fridge cold. (would)
    4. Harry left early because he didn't want to miss the bus.
      Harry to miss the bus. (as)
    5. I saved up some money to buy a motorbike.
      I saved up some money a motorbike. (could)
    6. Jane gave up smoking because she wanted to save money.
      Jane gave up smoking money. (order)
    7. I came here so that I could see you.
      I you. (to)
    8. Use this money to buy the tickets.
      This tickets. (buying)
    9. I picked up the vase carefully, so as not to break it.
      I picked up the vase carefully break. (that)
    10. We put up a fence to prevent the rabbit escaping.
      We put up a fence escape. (couldn't)

 

EXPRESSIONS

Expressions with keep

  1. Shut the door and keep the dogs ___ of the house.
    1. away
    2. off
    3. out

  2. Try to keep the children ___ from the fire. They may get burn.
    1. away
    2. out
    3. off

  3. She always reads the paper and watches TV to keep ___ with the latest news.
    1. up
    2. in
    3. at

  4. If he doesn't keep ___ the expenses, he'll go bankrupt.
    1. off
    2. in
    3. down

  5. You will succeed if you keep ___ doing it well.
    1. in
    2. with
    3. on

  6. He never let us down, for he always kept ___ his promises.
    1. at
    2. to
    3. back

  7. Bob is trying hard to keep ___ with the rest of his class.
    1. up
    2. on
    3. in

  8. We should advise children to keep ___ drugs.
    1. out
    2. off
    3. away

  9. She couldn't keep the secret ___ from her parents.
    1. out
    2. away
    3. back

  10. Look! The sign says: "Keep ___ the grass".
    1. out
    2. off
    3. away

  11. If you keep ___ your work, you'll like it.
    1. in
    2. with
    3. at

- key to Unit 21 -

 

Literature

Golding, Sir William (Gerald)

Golding, Sir William (Gerald) (1911-1993), British novelist, who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1983. He was born at Saint Columb Minor in Cornwall and educated at Brasenose College at the University of Oxford, where he studied English literature. Golding spent a short time working in the theater as a writer and actor. He then trained to be a teacher, a profession he left during World War II (1939-1945), when he served in the Royal Navy.

After the war Golding returned to writing. His first novel, The Lord of the Flies (1954; motion picture by English director Peter Brook, 1963), was extremely successful and is considered one of the great works of 20th-century literature. Based on Golding's own wartime experiences, it is the story of a group of schoolboys marooned on a desert island after a plane crash. An allegory of the intrinsic corruption of human nature, it chronicles the boys' descent from a state of relative innocence to one of revengeful barbarism. After Lord of the Flies he wrote several novels with similar themes of good and evil in human nature, including The Inheritors (1955) and Pincher Martin (1956). Much of Golding's writing explores moral dilemmas and human reactions in extreme situations. His trilogy-consisting of Rites of Passage (1980), winner of the Booker Prize, an annual award for outstanding literary achievement in the Commonwealth of Nations; Close Quarters (1987); and Fire Down Below (1989)-reflects Golding's interest in the sea and sailing. His other works include two collections of essays, The Hot Gates (1965) and A Moving Target (1982); and one play, The Brass Butterfly (1958). Golding was knighted in 1988. His last novel, The Double Tongue, was published posthumously in 1995.

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