English Language Blog

Conditional sentences (sentences containing “if”) usually have two parts. One part is the result and the other part is the condition that the result depends on. To figure out which part of the sentence is which you just need to locate the word “if.” The condition of the sentence usually comes right after the word if. The result of this condition usually follows a comma (,) which is used to separate the condition from the result.

There are two common types of conditional sentences in English, either real conditionals or unreal conditionals. The difference between these two is simple, real conditionals refer to things that are true/fact or possible, whereas unreal conditionals refer to things that are unreal, hypothetical or not possible.

Here are some true conditionals:

If you study hard, you will get an A.

If I have extra money, I will buy a soda.

If John grows up to be rich, he will buy his parents a mansion.

In all these examples you can exchange the words ‘might’ and ‘may’ with the word will if the conditional result is less likely to happen.

Here are some unreal conditionals:

If I were rich, I would buy you a new car.

If children ruled the world, there would be ice cream for every meal.

If my sister were here, she would know what to do.

You will notice in these examples that the past tense is used when talking about the present or future. This may seem strange at firsts, but when you see an “if” sentence like this it should help you remember this is an unreal conditional.

People spend a lot of time talking on the phone. Phone calls will be different depending on the situation. For example, a group of friends will use different language on the phone than business associates. Watch two phone conversations to learn how to use both formal and informal English on the phone.

Here are the scripts with some explanations:

Informal Call:

A: Hello.

B: Hey is Sasha there?

A: Uh, yeah. Who’s this?

B: It’s Pip.

A: Hang on just a second (wait a minute), Pip… Sasha, phone’s for you.

C: Who is it?

A: It’s Pip.

C: Hey, what’s up (slang way to say “What are you doing?”)

B: Nothing. Just chillin‘ (relaxing) at home. How bout you?

C:  Just hanging out.

B: You wanna grab a bite (go out for food)?

C: Sure, what were you thinking?

B: Let’s just go out and find something. I’m down for whatever (I’ll eat anything).

C: Sounds good… I’m starving (really hungry).

B: Meet ya down there in ten (minutes)?

C: Cool see ya then .

B: Later.

Formal Call:

A: Good afternoon, this is Rachel. How may I help you?

B: Hello. Is Mr. Savinov available?

A: May I ask who’s calling?

B: My name is Mr. Wilson. I’m calling in regards to our meeting this week.

A: Would you mind holding for a minute, Mr. Wilson?

B: Not at all.

A: Thanks so much.

C: Hello.

A: Mr. Savinov, you have a phone call from a Mr. Wilson about a meeting this week.

C: Great. Put him through (transfer the call to me). Hello, Mr. Wilson. What can I do for you?

B: Hi, Mr. Savinov. I was just calling to confirm the details of our meeting. What’s a good time for you?

A: Well I’m pretty swamped (very busy) tomorrow. How about 10 o’clock on Friday?

B: I may not be able to make it at ten. Would 10:30 be OK?

A: Sure that works for me. I’ll pencil you in (put you on my schedule) for 10:30 on Friday.

B: Great. I’m looking forward to it. See you soon.

A: Sure… thanks for calling. Take care (have a nice day).

An empathic expression is one that is said with emphasis and stress to indicate importance.  This type of expression is used to show you have strong feelings about what you are saying.  Often emphatic expressions that are written have an exclamation point (!) at the end of the sentence. While spoken emphatic phrases have stress on the word that is used to emphasize or intensify your feelings.

Creating an emphatic expression involves adding an adverb intensifier to your existing sentence or expression to make your feelings even stronger.  In an emphatic phrase the adverb intensifier is always added before the verb.  The most common emphatic intensifiers in English (in my opinion) are “really” and “very much.”  I am sure you have heard people use these words frequently, in fact I used one in the title of this post.

There are a number of useful emphatic intensifiers that would be good for you to know.  I have listed some of the most common of these below.  Following this list are a group of sentences with blanks where you can practice filling in different emphatic emphasizers to make your own emphatic phrases.  Any of the words from the list can be put into any of the blanks in the sentences below.  It is personal choice which emphasizers you use, which is why it might be fun to try out using these different intensifiers in the different sentences below and see which ones you like best.  Also, listen for how others, particularly native English speakers, use these words to help emphasize their point.  This may help you decide which intensifying adverbs you like the best.

List:

deeply – strongly, with much feeling

fully – completely, without any doubt

positively – without any doubt

really – strongly

sincerely – with my best wishes in mind

strongly – with conviction

totally – without any doubt

utterly – without any doubt

very much* – strongly

*Directly emphasizing a verb with the adverb ‘very’ requires also using the word ‘much’ not just the word ‘very’ by itself. The word ‘very’ by itself is used to emphasize other adverbs or adjectives. For example: I very much doubt he ate the pizza. vs. He ate a very big pizza.

Practice sentences:

We _______ deny any wrongdoing.

I _______ regret my decision now.

We _______ appreciate all of your help.

He ________believes he is right regardless of what evidence we provide him with to the contrary.

We’d like to _______ encourage you to apply for the job.

My company _______ supports working from home.

They _______ reject any compromise in the negotiations.