we use the conditional that is formed with wish+past simple to
express a wish in an unreal situation.: I wish I were rich (though I
am not).
Wish + Past simple
I wish I were rich (but I am
not)
I wish I could fly.
I wish I spoke English more
fluently.
I wish I lived in a house near the beach.
WISH+ PAST PERFECT
The conditional that is formed with wish and past perfect
express wishes of the past: "I wish I had learned English when I
was younger".
Wish + Past Perfect
I wish I had learned English
when I was younger.
I wish I had stayed at the
party.
I wish I hadn't seen Mark and
Lucy together!
I wish I had listened to you.
WISH+
WOULD
We express anger or displeasure using the conditional that is
formed with wish followed by would : I wish you would stop making
that noise.
Wish + Would
I wish you would stop making
that noise.
I wish they would stop
fighting.
I wish you would just shut up!
I wish Tom wouldn't snore so much...
WORDS THAT CAN BE USED TO EXPRESS
CONDITIONS
Some words let us
to express conditions: unless, if, provided, providing that, in case:
You won't pass the exam unless you study harder.
Unless
Unless we book
now, we won't find a place to stay.
John's wife will leave him, unless
he pays more attention to her.
Provided/ing (that)
You can go to Spain, provided
that you get good grades at school.
Provided/ing he doesn't misbehave, Paul
won't be expelled from our school.
As long as
I'll help you with Biology, as
long as you help me with French.
Dan will come as long as he
finishes early at the office.
However/No matter how, Whoever, Whichever
Grandpa will never hear you,
however loud you talk.
No matter how
fast I run, I can never beat Jordan. .
The proper use of connectors is highly rated by examiners. But watch out, it can be a double-edged sword because if they are well placed and in harmony with the record of your text, they certainly improve the cohesion of your writing; however, they can affect the consistency erroneously if there is an overload of linkers.
Thus, remember that it's better a text with ideas that are meaningful and presented in a logical order that a text meaningless but full of linking words.
Now, let's take a look to the most common connectors that we can use in different contexts: 1. CONSTRUCTING THE WRITING
a) Introduction
b) First Paragraph
At first sight A primera vista
First of all Antes que nada
In the first place En primer lugar
To start with Para empezar
c) Second Paragraph
In the second place, En segundo lugar,
Second, Segundo,
Secondly, En segundo lugar,
Third, Tercero,
Thirdly, En tercer lugar,
d) Conclusion
Finally, Por último,
In conclusion, Para concluir,
Lastly, Por último,
2. TO ADD INFORMATION
and eventually, y finalmente,
apart from + noun aparte de + sustantivo
besides , además, "encima".
in addition to + noun además de + sustantivo
in addition, además,
moreover, además,
furthermore asimismo
also también
on top of that, además,
what's more, además; lo que es más,
another point is that habría que añadir que
3. TO EXPRESS SIMILARITY
Similarly, Igualmente, de forma similar,
Likewise, Asimismo, del mismo modo,
In the same way, Del mismo modo,
In the same manner, De la misma manera,
In a similar way, De forma similar,
4. TO MAKE A CONTRAST
however, sin embargo
instead of en vez de
neverthelesss, no obstante
on the contrary, por el contrario
whereas / while mientras
though / although aunque
On the one hand, On the other hand, Por una parte, Por otra parte,
Conversely A la inversa, por el contrario
5. TO EXPLAIN CAUSES
because of + noun A causa de + sustantivo
due to + noun Debido a + sustantivo
due to the fact that + sentence Debido a que + oración
for this/that reason Por esta/esa razón
on account of + noun A causa de + sustantivo
6. TO EXPLAIN RESULTS
as a result Como resultado, en consecuencia
consequently En consecuencia
therefore Por lo tanto
7. TO EXPRESS SOMETHING IN OTHER WORDS
in other words, en otras palabras,
in short, en pocas palabras,
that is (to say), es decir,
8. TO EXPRESS SOMETHING IN A DIFFERENT WAY
actually En realidad
as a matter of fact De hecho
in fact De hecho
really En realidad
9. TO EXPRESS A PERSONAL OPINION
as far as I’m concerned por lo que a mí respecta
from my point of view desde mi punto de vista
I agree / disagree estoy de acuerdo / no estoy de acuerdo
in my opinion en mi opinión
in my view en mi opinión
I think (that) Creo que
it is true that es verdad que
personally personalmente
to be honest, para ser honesto
to tell the truth, a decir verdad
10. TO MODIFY WHAT IT IS BEING SAID
above all sobre todo
at least al menos
basically básicamente, fundamentalmente
especially especialmente
essentially esencialmente, básicamente
in general en general
By and large, Por lo general,
Generally speaking, En general,
in particular en particular
more or less más o menos
on the whole en general
to a certain extent hasta cierto punto
11. TO SHOW SOME EXAMPLES
,and so on. etcétera
and so on and so forth etcétera, y así sucesivamente
for example, por ejemplo,
for instance, por ejemplo,
such as tal(es) como
12. TO SUMMARIZE
All in all, En conjunto, resumiendo
In brief, En resumen
In conclusion, Para concluir
In short, En resumen
On the whole, En general
To sum up, Para resumir
13. TO MAKE SEQUENCIES DURING THE WRITING
after that después de eso
all of a sudden de repente,
finally finalmente
first of all en primer lugar
in the end al final
in the meantime, mientras tanto
meanwhile mientras tanto
next luego
suddenly de repente,
then entonces, después
while mientras
"They
are using it like a drug so they're bored, they pick up the phone. They're
tired, they pick up the phone. They're lazy, they pick up their phone. They're
angry, they pick up the phone. They're lonely, they pick up the phone.” said
Greenfield, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Connecticut School
of Medicine.
So how else
can you tell if you might be addicted to your smartphone or if you fall in the
larger category of your smartphone use getting out of hand? Here you have ten signs you may have a problem:
1. When you
check your phone to see the current temperature instead of opening a window,
and/or when you check your phone to see the current time instead of looking at
the watch that's right on your wrist.
2. When you
have to consciously say to your spouse "Let's put our phones away"
while watching TV because it's more common that they're out than away.
3. If you
are answering emails in a dimly lit reception area while waiting for your
massage therapist to distress you, you may have a problem.
4. When
your kids have to text you their carry-out orders because you've lost the
ability to retain information that is not received on your phone.
5. When you
hope you hit a bunch of red lights on the way home so you can comment on a
Facebook post.
6. When one
of your daughter's first drawings of you has a BlackBerry in your hand.
7. When you
wake up, you grab your phone and check it before you get up to pee.
8. When you
drop a phone on your face because you're dozing off.
9. When you
choose your clothing based on the best pockets to hold your phone.
10. When
you are staring at photos you took on your phone while the actual moment is
taking place right in front of you.
To fall
into the addicted camp, Greenfield also says your smartphone use has to have
"some deleterious impact on a major life sphere, whether it's an impact on
your work, your academic performance, your home life, primary relationship,
parenting, legal status."
"Let's
say you get pulled over and get a ticket for texting and driving. There has to
be some negative impact generally for us to say you have a problem,"
Greenfield said.
And while
the majority of Americans wouldn't be classified as addicted, and are more
likely overusing their devices, there is a fair amount of denial at work, he
said.
Greenfield's
research found that while 98% of respondents said that texting while driving is
dangerous, nearly 75% admit having done it.
"Just
like drinking and driving, people have a very poor perception of impact, so, in
other words, people will be doing their normal thing," he said.
"They'll be driving and balancing their cell phone and drinking their
coffee, and they'll say to you, and they'll mean it, that they are not impacted
... but actually we know from a lot of data and research that that is
absolutely not true."
COMPREHENSION TASK.
COMPREHENSION TASK.
Quiz
What title do you think could be appropiate for this article?
Smartphones: 10 signs you're hooked
A study of Greenfield; "Let's put our phones away!"
Mobile phones, your best friends.
What is the meaning of "hooked" in the text?
hanger
addicted
attraction
Which of these statements is true?
The majority of Americans would be classified as addicted.
98% of respondents said that texting while driving is not dangerous
75% of respondents have admitted that they have been texting while driving.
