Language toolkit

Compact patterns for clearer sentences, faster phrase retrieval, and intelligible speech.

PRINT REFERENCE · USE DURING REVIEW, NOT FIRST DRAFTS

Sentence jobs

State

The main issue is delivery time.

Explain cause

Delivery slowed because the supplier changed its process.

Contrast

Although demand rose, total revenue fell.

Qualify

This approach is usually faster, provided that the data is complete.

Support a claim

This matters because late delivery increases cancellation risk.

Phrase frames

Clarify: “Do you mean …?” · “Could you walk me through …?”
Repair: “Let me put that another way.” · “The word escapes me, but it means …”
Disagree: “I see the benefit. My concern is …” · “That works if …; otherwise …”
Signpost: “The key point is …” · “There are two reasons.” · “To sum up …”
Close: “So the decision is …” · “The next step is … by …”

Collocation card

meaning: reduce a bad effect
phrase: mitigate risk
frame: We can mitigate the risk by …
contrast: eliminate risk (stronger, often unrealistic)
personal example: We can mitigate the release risk by …

Store the whole frame, not only mitigate. Retrieve it aloud after one day, one week, and one month.

Speech map

Stress content words. Nouns, main verbs, adjectives, and adverbs usually carry the message. Grammar words often weaken. Mark a sentence before speaking:

We NEED the FINAL numbers by THURSday.
we /niːd/ thə /ˈfaɪnəl/ numbers by /ˈθɜːrzdeɪ/

Group thought units with a slash: Given the delay / we need another option.
Link a final consonant into the next vowel: turn_it_on.
Reduce unstressed words; do not pronounce every word with equal force.
Record, compare, repeat once. Chase clarity, not accent imitation.

Sources: British Council on connected speech and sentence stress; Cambridge English learner activities.