English Grammar Level 4 - Traditional Grammar Spine
An advanced English grammar course that continues the Traditional Grammar Spine from Level 3. Lessons, explanations, examples, vocabulary, guided practice, independent activities, assessments, and homework build toward confident, accurate C1-level grammar and natural, sophisticated expression.
📚 Course Curriculum
Welcome to Level 4. In this lesson, you will meet the Third Conditional, the structure we use to imagine a different past and its imagined …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will meet Mixed Conditionals, which combine a past condition with a present result, or a present condition with a …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will use wish and if only to talk about regrets, unreal present situations, and complaints about other people's behavior. …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will learn conditional alternatives to if: unless, provided that / providing that, as long as, and in case. These …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will use modal verbs to speculate about the past: must have, can't have / couldn't have, might have / …
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Welcome to your Cycle 1 Review. This lesson consolidates everything from Lessons 1 through 5: the Third Conditional, Mixed Conditionals, wish/if only, alternatives to if, …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will extend the passive voice into the perfect tenses: the Present Perfect Passive and the Past Perfect Passive. These …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will combine modal verbs with the passive voice, both for present/future obligation and possibility, and for speculation about the …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will learn the causative: have/get + object + past participle. This structure describes arranging for someone else to do …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will use a wider range of reporting verbs beyond "say" and "tell," including verbs followed by that-clauses, verbs followed …
Open trial session →Welcome back. In this lesson, you will focus on modal verbs in reported speech, especially the ones that do not change when we move from …
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Welcome to your Cycle 2 Review. This lesson consolidates Lessons 7 through 11: the Present Perfect and Past Perfect Passive, passive with modals, the causative, …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will learn non-defining relative clauses, which add extra information about a noun without changing its core identity. This contrasts …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will learn reduced relative clauses, also called participle clauses. These let you shorten relative clauses to make your writing …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will learn inversion, a structure used mainly in formal and literary English to add emphasis by reversing the normal …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will learn cleft sentences, a structure that divides one idea into two clauses to emphasize a specific piece of …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will learn emphatic structures: using do/does/did for emphasis, and so...that and such...that to emphasize degree and result. These structures …
Open trial session →Welcome to your Cycle 3 Review. This lesson consolidates Lessons 13 through 17: non-defining relative clauses, reduced relative clauses, inversion, cleft sentences, and emphatic structures. …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will learn the subjunctive mood, a special verb form used mainly in formal English after certain verbs and expressions …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will study advanced gerund and infinitive patterns, including verbs that change meaning depending on which form follows them, and …
Open trial session →Welcome back. In this lesson, you will study advanced phrasal verbs, including three-word (multi-word) phrasal verbs, and think about how phrasal verbs compare to more …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will use discourse markers to express concession, contrast, and cause-effect relationships clearly and precisely, which is essential for cohesive …
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Welcome back. In this lesson, you will learn ellipsis and substitution, two techniques advanced speakers and writers use to avoid repeating words unnecessarily, making English …
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Welcome to your final lesson of Level 4 and your Cycle 4 Review. This lesson consolidates Lessons 19 through 23 (the subjunctive, advanced gerunds and …
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Course Syllabus
Course Structure
English Grammar Level 4 continues the Traditional Grammar Spine into advanced territory, building on the Present Perfect, passive voice, relative clauses, and first and second conditional mastery achieved in Level 3, and moving through the third and mixed conditionals, advanced passive and causative structures, sophisticated reported speech, non-defining and reduced relative clauses, inversion and cleft sentences for emphasis, the subjunctive mood, and advanced phrasal verbs and discourse markers for cohesive, formal English.
Each lesson is organized into:
- Grammar focus
- Technical learning outcome
- Vocabulary
- Guided speaking and listening
- Controlled practice
- Independent practice
- Assessment check
- Homework
A separate cumulative final exam is added after the full Level 4 lesson sequence is complete.
Course Outcomes
By the end of Level 4, learners will be able to:
- Use third conditional and mixed conditional structures accurately to talk about unreal past situations and their present consequences.
- Form and use advanced passive structures, including passive with modals, perfect passives, and the causative (have/get something done).
- Report speech accurately using a wide range of reporting verbs and recognize when modal verbs do not shift in reported speech.
- Use non-defining relative clauses and reduced (participle) relative clauses to write more sophisticated, concise sentences.
- Apply inversion, cleft sentences, and emphatic structures for stylistic emphasis in speech and writing.
- Recognize and use the subjunctive mood in formal contexts and use advanced phrasal verbs and discourse markers to connect ideas with precision.
- Demonstrate cumulative mastery in a separate final course exam.
📝 Practice Questions
408 interactive questions with instant feedback and explanations.
Enroll for free to unlock the full practice bank after the trial sessions.