English Learning Contents

Never have I heard such a sound

Frankly, the Negative Adverbial “never” is not often used. 

Yet, when the Adverbial “never” is uttered, it causes the sentence to be dramatic. 

Here’s a short story with the Negative Adverbial “never.” 

It’s a quiet Sunday. Ann is drinking her morning tea and reading the paper. Typical headlines are printed in black ink across the page: Firefighters Save Cat from Tree and etc. Ann thinks to herself as she reads, there’s really nothing going on today.

But suddenly, there’s a loud crash! In shock, Ann looks up from her paper and says “Never have I heard such a sound!” Worried there was an earthquake, Ann investigates.

It was just chopsticks and a bowl falling from the dryer. 

He plays surf rock on his guitar

The words “his” and “hers” are the most used gender-specific Possessive Adjectives. They are the only ones.

These Adjectives show ownership, but unlike the word “my,” another Possessive Adjective, they also reveal the gender of the person spoken of. 

“his” = male

“her” = female

And so, 

“his guitar” belongs to a male. 

But, “her guitar” belongs to a female. 

For instance, you may hear a native English speaker using the Possessive Adjective “his” like so:

“He likes to play surf rock on his guitar.” 

By saying this, the speaker is telling the listener that a man likes to use his guitar to perform in the surf rock genre (style of music).

My English lessons are fun

The word “my” is a very common Possessive Adjective. And simply, the Adjective “my” is used to show ownership over objects and thoughts. 

For example, you may hear a native English speaker use the possessive adjective “my” in a sentence like this:

“My English lessons are fun.” 

By saying this, the speaker is telling the listener that they enjoy the class. They may even enjoy learning about Adjectives. 

Linking words adds meaning to sentences by combining thoughts. They can be used to express a number of ideas.  The concepts expressed by Linking Words include ordinal qualities such as “firstly,” contrast, and much more.

Yet, today’s lesson covers Linking Words and phrases that express exceptions. These words are “yet”, “although”, “despite” and “nevertheless.” 

For example:

“I don’t like broccoli, nevertheless, I eat it every day.” 

In the above example, “nevertheless” demonstrates the contrast between the speaker’s distaste for Broccoli and the fact that he eats it daily. 

A few full sentences that include linking words that express exception

How do I include linking words of exception in full sentences? It’s possible to express the earlier example’s sentiment with any of this lesson’s Linking Words. Let’s look at a chart.

Linking Words and phrases, also known as Cohesive Devices, are grammatical gems! They may be deployed for a variety of purposes. In fact, they sometimes express exceptions, bridge two clauses together, present contrast, demonstrate comparisons, and much more. 

Notably, the list of English Linking Words is expansive. There are dozens and dozens of them. This is due to their variety of uses. And perhaps, Grammarians, those who study Grammar, haven’t even compiled a full list of these little gems.

All of this aside, today’s lesson covers the phrase “for example.” “For example” introduces a chosen item as a case to prove a point.

You may encounter a native English speaker saying, “Foods eaten in the South West, Santa Fe for example, are inspired by both the native population and German settlers.” 

By saying this, the speaker is telling the listener that cuisine from Santa Fe is typical of South Western dishes and vice-versa. Furthermore, these foods are a blend of native and German recipes.