Touchstone 2nd Edition Language summary Level 2

Unit 9 Lesson D: Happy endings

Vocabulary
drop (something) (v)

Writing
Linking ideas with when and while
You can use when or while to link a longer "background" event and another action:

I was walking to work. It started to rain.

I was walking to work when it started to rain.

or
When I was walking to work, it started to rain.

Remember, you can use the past continuous to set the background and the simple past for a
completed action.

While emphasizes the length of time an action or event takes. Use while before long actions
and events:

While I was waiting, a young man came up to me and offered to share his umbrella.

A young man offered to share his umbrella while I was waiting.

When also shows events and actions that happen one after another:

When I got to the corner, the light changed.

The light changed when I got to the corner.

(= First I got to the corner. Then the light changed.)

Cambridge University Press 2014 Unit 9, Lesson D, Page 1