Language, when you need it

Put a negative or restrictive adverbial first and swap subject and auxiliary: Never have I seen… / Not only does it…

Split one clause into two to spotlight the important part: 'It was the deadline that worried me.' / 'What surprised us was the cost.'

Move a non-subject element to the front of the clause for emphasis or smoother linking: 'Down the corridor walked the inspector.'

Perfect forms link two times: something before a reference point still matters at that point.

Modals grade certainty: must (near-certain), may/might/could (possible), can't (impossible) — plus the perfect form for the past.

Mix time frames across the two clauses, and drop 'if' by inverting: Had we known… / Were it not for…

Use passive reporting ('It is thought that…', 'X is believed to…') for distance, and have/get + object + pp for arranged actions.

Defining clauses identify (no commas); non-defining add extra information (commas); reduced clauses drop the relative pronoun and auxiliary.

Turn verbs and adjectives into nouns to compress information and raise formality: 'They decided quickly' → 'the speed of their decision'.

Avoid repetition with pronouns and 'this/such' (reference), 'one/do so' (substitution) and by leaving words out (ellipsis).

Signposts that tell the listener what's coming: adding, contrasting, conceding, exemplifying, concluding.

Shift the tense back one step and choose a reporting verb that carries the speaker's attitude: admitted, denied, urged, insisted.

Read the gap's grammar first — noun, verb, adjective or adverb — then build the form with the right prefix and suffix.

Contrast sets two things side by side (whereas, while); concession admits a point before overriding it (although, despite, even so).

will (decision/prediction), going to (intention/evidence), present continuous (arrangement), present simple (timetable), future perfect/continuous (viewpoint).

Compress a clause to a participle: 'Having reviewed the data, we revised the plan.' The subject of both halves must match.

After verbs and adjectives of demand or advice, use the bare infinitive or 'should': 'We insist that he be present.'

Verb + particle, sometimes separable (turn it down), sometimes not (look after him) — and usually with a formal one-word twin.

Some verbs change meaning with -ing vs to-infinitive: remember, forget, regret, try, stop, mean, go on.

Certain nouns, verbs and adjectives demand a fixed preposition (depend ON, an increase IN, capable OF) — and certain verbs demand certain nouns (do research, make a decision).

Two grammatical options can both be correct; register — formality, familiarity, purpose — decides which one belongs.

Part 4 recycles a fixed set of moves: active↔passive, verb↔noun, modal shift, conditional, comparative, phrasal↔formal, reported speech.

The mirror of hedging — adverbs, emphatic 'do' and marked structures that show you fully commit: undoubtedly, I'd strongly argue, it really does matter.

Past forms, negative questions, 'a bit/rather' and impersonal subjects make a criticism land gently: 'I was wondering whether…', 'That's not quite how I'd see it.'

Start each sentence with information the reader already has; end it with what's new. The new element becomes the next sentence's starting point.

Most lost accuracy marks come from five repeat offenders: articles, agreement, prepositions, tense sequence and word class.