Rules, traps, and every correction that keeps recurring.
| Type | Form | Use |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | present simple → present simple | always true |
| 1 | present simple → will + inf | real, might happen |
| 2 | past simple → would + inf | unreal now/future |
| 3 | past perfect → would have + pp | unreal past |
| Mixed 1 | if + past perfect → would + inf | past cause, present result |
| Mixed 2 | if + past simple → would have + pp | present cause, past result |
Alternatives to if: Should you want it badly enough… · Were I to study journalism, I'd enjoy it. · Had I arrived earlier, I'd have seen her. · But for her intervention, he'd never have risked it. · If it hadn't been for his love of the game… · Unless = if not · provided that / as long as = on condition that.
Standing assignment: use conditionals in free speech. Cheapest way in — replace any "maybe" with "If I were to…" or "Should we…".
Pattern: adverbial + auxiliary + subject + verb.
Heard in normal speech: "Under no circumstances would I ask you to skip dinner again." The pattern is alive — steal it.
A noun and pronoun fused into one word — a concision device.
like compares two nouns; modify with a bit, a little, rather, a lot, nothing: Waiting for an interview is a bit like going to the dentist.
as goes with an adjective or adverb: not as old as he'd claimed · nowhere near as expensive as · nothing like as difficult as · twice as adventurous as
| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Would you mind to share it? | Would you mind sharing it? | mind + gerund |
| avoid to spend time | avoid spending time | avoid + gerund |
| I suppose to help | I'm supposed to help | the be isn't optional |
| It's essential that you have to watch | It's essential that you watch | bare form after essential/vital/crucial that |
| I consider myself as a good fit | I consider myself a good fit | consider + object + complement, no as |
| I'd be real assets | I'd be a real asset | singular countable takes the article |
Intensity doesn't stack. "super vital" ✗ → absolutely vital, or just vital.
Zero article with abstract nouns: the main currency of his films is time, not "is the time".
Three things move a sentence down the ladder:
I've been particularly impressed by… (formal) → I was really impressed by… (neutral) → I've been hyped by… (informal)
| Informal | Cover-email version |
|---|---|
| I was impressed by your campaign | I was particularly impressed by your campaign last year. |
| here's what's relevant about me | Aspects of my background which I consider relevant include the following: |
| I've got lots of experience | I have extensive experience in… |
| I love what I do | I'm passionate about my career. |
| your company could really use me | I feel I would be a real asset to your company. |
| I'd like to come for the interview | I would be grateful for the opportunity to discuss my application with you. |
| CV | Cover letter / email | |
|---|---|---|
| Content | professional | personal |
| Register | factual | semi-formal, warmer |
| Length | up to 2 pages | 1 page |
| Personal introduction | no | always |
| Why you're applying / why you fit | no | yes, here |
Order inside it: introduction (who you are, why you're writing, that you know the company) → background (the "aspects of my background" bullets) → your own opinion of your fit → polite close. Facts before opinion.
Both students' mistakes, kept anonymous here on purpose — for personal patterns and recommendations, see Feedback.
| ✗ | ✓ |
|---|---|
| Would you mind to share it? | Would you mind sharing it? |
| avoid to spend time | avoid spending time · spare them from spending |
| I suppose to help someone | I'm supposed to help someone |
| I consider myself as a good fit | I consider myself a good fit |
| I'd be real assets | I'd be a real asset |
| I'm kind of detective | I'm kind of a detective |
| super vital | absolutely vital · vital |
| big / large / huge experience | extensive · broad · great experience |
| not for a lightheaded | not for the faint-hearted |
| It's undoubtedly that you have to present | You will undoubtedly want to present |
| the main currency of his films is the time | …is time |
| the epidemic start in my 11th grade | the pandemic started |
| a person who are finding your thing | someone who finds things you've left behind |
| I saw a few interviews | I watched a few interviews |
| employee ↔ employer | driver, builder, teacher, employer — -er is the one doing it |
| listen it | listen to it |
| inferior than | inferior to |
| rebel against to sth | rebel against sth |
| at easiness | at ease |
| frowned down | frowned upon |
| Waterloo University | the University of Waterloo |
| an illusion to sth | an allusion to sth |
| linguistical contractions | linguistic · just contractions |
| I have an aptitude for patience | aptitude is for a skill, not a virtue |
| tired knees / knee fatigue | my knees are sore · knee pain · muscle soreness |
| Can we listen it | listen to it |
| I haven't injured again | I haven't injured it again |
| sorted "being able to" as necessity | it's ability — a capacity, not a duty |
| an illusion (while meaning allusion) | an allusion to sth |
| sub boards | SUP boards / paddleboards |