3 tips for sounding like a native speaker

Now that's checking out! 'Drugged-up' California cashiers appear to fall asleep at the register as they serve a customer

The cashiers remain motionless for the first 10 seconds of the video before being risen from their stupor 

One of the cashiers, wearing glasses, appears to have trouble scanning the items

The second cashier again drifts to a sleep-like state after bagging a soda bottle

The video was uploaded to YouTube and titled 'America's Opioid Epidemic' 

Every day, more than 90 Americans die after overdosing on opioids and it is the leading cause of accidental death in the US

DailyMail
 

La mejor Meditación Guiada

Inversion

Inversion happens when we reverse (invert) the normal word order of a structure.

When does inversion happen?
1. After negative adverbs: never, seldom, rarely, scarcely, hardly) in front position for emphasis, we invert the subject (s) and auxiliary (aux)/modal verb:

• Never have we witnessed such cruel behaviour by one child to another
• Seldom does one hear a politician say ‘sorry’
• Seldom have I seen such beautiful work.

2. Expressions beginning with not + a prepositional phrase or a clause in initial position:

• Not for a moment did I think I would be offered the job, so I was amazed when I got it.
• Not till I got home did I realise my wallet was missing.

3. Here and there: we can use a main verb without an auxiliary verb or modal verb:

• Here comes the bus!
• Here’s your coffee.
• I opened the door and there stood Michael, all covered in mud.

In the following expressions, the inversion comes in the second part of the sentence: Not until, Not since Only after, Only when, Only by

	Not until I saw John with my own eyes did I really believe he was safe.
	Not since Lucy left college had she had such a wonderful time.
	Only after I'd seen her flat did I understand why she wanted to live there.
	Only when we'd all arrived home did I feel calm.
	Only by working extremely hard could we afford to eat. 4. Inverted Conditional Forms  Were I you, I wouldn’t do it. (= If I were you, I wouldn’t do it.) Had I understood the problem, I wouldn’t have made those mistakes. (= If I had understood the problem, I wouldn’t have made those mistakes.)

English Subjunctive

We don’t use the subjunctive very much in contemporary English unless we wish to sound very formal. The base subjunctive is typically used in that clauses after two structures:

1. Certain verbs  demand, insist, recommend, suggest, advise, ask, command, demand, desire, insist, order, prefer, propose, recommend, request

• People demand that the troops be withdrawn.
• The boss insisted that Sam not be at the meeting.
• I suggest that he study.
• Jake recommended that Susan be hired immediately.

2. After some adjectives: advisable, best, crucial, desirable, essential, imperative, important, necessary, unthinkable, urgent, vital

• It is important that everyone register.
• Is it essential that we be there?

You should write the base of the verb after the that cluse, for example: be, have, do, go, sing, work. The base subjunctive does not use any other forms (goes, sings, works).

 "should" is sometimes  used more frequently in British English

Examples:

• The doctor recommended that she should see a specialist about the problem.
• Professor William suggested that Wilma should study harder for the final exam.
• It is essential (that) you should be given your medication

• Compare also the following:
• The doctor recommended (that) he should give up smoking. 
• The doctor recommended (that) he give up smoking. (More formal)
• The doctor recommended (that) he gives up smoking. (Less formal)

“Other” vs. “Another”

• Another + singular countable noun
• Other is used before plural or uncountable nouns.
• Other can accompanied by the article "the" in singular: example: the other car

Examples:

• I need another cup. (cup is singular so we use another)
• I need other cups. (cup is plural so we use other)
• I need others. (refers to other cups)
• The other people are waiting for the same thing.

More examples

I have two pencils. One is black, and the other is blue.
The other car cost much less.
I have two brothers. One of them lives in Canada. The other brother lives in Japan.”

• Let’s meet another day.”
• I’d like another piece of cake.
• “Other people have problems, too.” [people = plural noun]
• “This book has other information.” [information = uncountable noun]
• That piece of cake was tasty. I think I’ll have another. (another = one more piece of cake)

Others is a pronoun and is NOT followed by a noun.

• These shoes are too small. Do you have any other shoes?
• These shoes are too small. Do you have any others? (no noun after others)

Difference between 'such as' and 'like'

Such as is more than a thousand times commoner in academic writing than in speech, whereas like is straightforward and direct. Like implies comparison and such as implies inclusion. Consider these two examples:

Chuck enjoys desserts such as brownies, cheesecake, and macaroons
Chuck enjoys desserts like brownies, cheesecake, and macaroons

When you say “desserts like brownies,” you're implying that you don't enjoy brownies themselves, but instead enjoy a different dessert similar to brownies. It's a subtle difference, but one to be aware of.

We normally use a comma before such as when we present a list of examples. Where there is just one example, we don’t need a comma:
The shop specialises in tropical fruits, such as pineapples, mangoes and papayas. (… for example, pineapples, mangoes and papayas.)

Countries such as Sweden have a long record of welcoming refugees from all over the world.

She has worked in several countries where English is spoken as a first language, such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and so on. (or, less formal, … like Australia, New Zealand, Canada and so on.)