Skill 6 : Adverb Clasue Connectors

Sentence with adverb clause have two basic patterns  in English. Study the clause connectors in the following sentences :
He is tired because he has been working so hard.
Because he has been working so hard , he is tired.

In each of these example, there are two clauses : He is tired and he has been working so hard. The clause he has been working so hard  is an adverb clause that is introduced with the connector because. In first example, the connector because comes in the middle of the sentence.

The following example shows how this sentence patterns could be tested in the Structure section of the TOEFL test.
example :
....arrived at the library, he started to work immediately.

1. the student 
2. when
3. he
4. after the student

In this example, you should recognized easily that the verb arrived needs a subject. There is also another clause, he started to work immediately. If you choose answer (1) or answer (3) you will have a subject for the verb arrived, but you will not have a connector to join the two clauses. Because you need a connector to join two clauses, answer (1) and (3) are incorrect. Answer (2) is incorrect because there is no subject for the verb arrived. Answer (4) is the best answer because there is a subject  student , for the verb, arrived, and there is a connector, after, to join the two clauses.

The following chart list commons adverb connectors and the sentence patterns used with them.

ADVERB OF CLAUSE CONNECTORS
Time	Cause	Condition	Contrast
After      Until As          When Before    While since	Because since	If whether	Although Even though Though While
S          V	Adverb Connector	S             V
Matt     felt   good	because	He        passed
Adverb Connector	S                     V	S            V
because	He        passed	Matt     felt   good