English has no single “future tense.” Instead we choose between several forms — will, be going to, the present continuous, and even the present simple — and the one we pick signals how we see the event: a snap decision, a firm plan, a prediction, or a fixed timetable.
Continue reading Structure: ‘Future forms’
Some verbs are always followed by to + the base form of another verb. We call this the verb + infinitive pattern. It appears constantly in aviation news when reporters describe plans, decisions, and goals.
The most common verbs in this pattern are: want, plan, decide, need, hope, expect, agree, and choose.
Continue reading Structure: ‘Verb + infinitive’A cleft sentence takes a single idea and splits it into two clauses so that one element is thrown into sharp focus. (Cleft simply means “divided.”) Compare the flat statement The redesigned fuel system makes the route possible with the version a journalist might actually write: It is the redesigned fuel system that makes the route possible. The facts are identical; the second sentence just decides what you notice first.
Continue reading Structure: ‘Cleft sentences’Every decision an airline makes has a goal behind it. When we want to explain the reason an action is meant to achieve — not what happened, but what it was for — we use a purpose clause. News reports are full of them: a carrier moves into a busy hub to attract business travellers, or trims its network so that it can keep costs down.
Continue reading Structure: ‘Purpose clauses’When Air India announced that it would cancel 22% of its domestic flights for June and July, the coverage was full of reasons — soaring jet-fuel prices, a conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and costs the carriers simply could not absorb. In English, the words you choose to introduce a reason depend on what comes next.
Because introduces a full clause (a subject and a verb). Because of and due to introduce a noun phrase, which has no verb of its own. The meaning is the same; the grammar is not.
Continue reading Structure: ‘Due to vs because’When Hermeus flew its Quarterhorse Mk 2.1 past the sound barrier, every report wanted to know one thing: was it faster than anything a private company had flown before? To answer questions like that in English, we reach for comparatives and superlatives.
A comparative compares two things (the Mk 2.2 will be faster than the Mk 2.1). A superlative picks out one from a whole group (hypersonic flight is the company’s most ambitious goal).
Continue reading Structure: ‘Comparatives and superlatives’