Important events in my life

When we talk, our ideas form complex sentences that require connexions among them. Listen to the following examples. Which ones sound more natural?

1A | I went on vacation. I didn't like it.
1B | I went on vacation, but I didn't like it.
2A | I got sick. I didn't wear a jacket.
2B | I got sick because I didn't wear a jacket.
3A | I broke my leg. I had a bruise.
3B | I broke my leg and also I had a bruise.
4A | I didn't copy in the exam. I didn't cheat in the exam.
4B | I didn't copy or cheat in the exam.
5A | I had a hamburger for breakfast. I had plain water for breakfast.
5B | I had a hamburger and plain water for breakfast.

For each idea, the second sentences sound better because those ideas have more cohesion. That is one reason we need connectors, they connect 2 different simple sentences and make a more complex and complete idea.

Select exercise

Claudia is a CCH student who needs to prepare a presentation about the most important events in her life. She is unsure how she needs to link her ideas, so your task is to choose the correct connector.

Now, listen to each idea and repeat. Remember this is a speaking exercise, so it is important that you orally practice with all the sentences. Try to pronounce each sentence just the way they do it in the audios.

● When I was in elementary school I fell down I broke my leg.

● I won a soccer competition I played the piano in a massive concert.

● I won a scholarship to study music in England I didn't go because of the Covid-19.

● I started learning piano my mother took me to a classical music concert and I loved it.

● I didn't like parties going out with friends.

Writing Exercise

Read and complete the following ideas with a suitable complement according to each connector. Then, compare your answers with the example answers.

Now, practice orally with the previous sentences. Listen to each of them and repeat. Also practice with the sentences you wrote.

I ran out of money and I lost my job.
Yesterday I overslept because I didn't sleep well last night.
Last night I didn't have dinner or drink anything.
Last year I didn't celebrate my birthday but my friends called me to sing “happy birthday”.
Yesterday morning I had breakfast and brushed my teeth.