Primary English | Connectives Lesson Prep Guide (for tutors) | Five Connectives, Two Exclusion Rules, 28 Items

2026-11-08

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Primary English

Students write “Because it rained, so we stayed home.” Chinese allows both halves; English allows only one.

Objectives — Students can: (1) state the job of each of the five connectives with a sentence each; (2) apply both exclusion rules and correct the wrong sentences; (3) read the 28-item spread as proportions and merge six sentence pairs into four correct sentences.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Simple sentences	A subject and a verb	It rained.
Full stops and commas	Punctuation between clauses	A comma then a space
Past simple	Talking about yesterday	we stayed home

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-6 min	Diagnostic	Five sentences, two with a doubled connective	Circle the extra
6-16 min	Five jobs	and adds, but turns, so gives a result, because gives a reason, although concedes	One sentence each
16-26 min	Two exclusions	because never with so; although never with but	Fix four sentences
26-34 min	Comma placement	A front clause takes a comma	Punctuate three
34-43 min	28-item spread	and 8, but 6, so 5, because 5, although 4	Self-mark
43-45 min	Exit check	Three items collected and marked	Work alone

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Five connectives, five relations

And adds (8 items), but turns (6), so states a result (5), because states a reason (5) and although concedes (4), 28 items in all.
Teach the relation first and the word second: two parallel facts take and, two opposing facts take but, a consequence takes so. If the relation can be named, the word is not a guess.

Ask students: write one sentence with each connective and label the relation beside it.

Scene 2: Two exclusion rules

Chinese allows the pair “because … so”. English does not: Because it rained, so we stayed home is wrong, and one half must go.
The same applies to although and but: Although he was tired, but he finished is wrong. These two rules account for most lost marks at P6.

Ask students: rewrite each wrong sentence two ways, once with because or although and once with so or but.

Scene 3: Commas and the merge drill

A front clause takes a comma: Because it rained, we stayed home. A connective in the middle usually takes none: We stayed home because it rained.
The merge drill has 6 pairs and the standard is 4 correct, that is 66 per cent. The misses are almost always a doubled connective or a missing comma.

Ask students: merge the six pairs, one connective per sentence.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Multiple choice	Choose among five	Name the relation first	Write the relation
Error correction	because with so, although with but	Delete one half	State the rule
Sentence merge	Two sentences into one	Fix the relation before the word	One connective only
Punctuation	Add the comma	A front clause takes one	Comma then a space

Sanity check (teach this): Sanity checks: because and so never share a sentence; although and but never share a sentence; a front clause takes a comma; of 28 items and is the most frequent at 8 and although the least at 4; 4 of 6 is 66 per cent.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Five jobs	One sentence each with the relation	Do relation and word match
Four corrections	Delete one connective each	Do both versions read well
Six merges	One connective per sentence	Is a second connective present
Three commas	Punctuate three sentences	Is the comma placed right

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
because with so	Because it rained, so we stayed home.	Keep one half: Because it rained, we stayed home, or It rained, so we stayed home.
although with but	Although he was tired, but he finished.	Although already carries the turn: Although he was tired, he finished.
Missing comma	Because it rained we stayed home.	A front clause takes a comma: Because it rained, we stayed home.
Wrong relation	He was tired, so he went to bed early, meaning the reason.	A reason takes because; so introduces the result, not the cause.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Primary English chapter index — Every chapter in the subject
All prep guides — Parallel chapters
Redo this chapter — Redo merge pairs 1 to 6 and label each relation

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
Can because take so	No, choose one	Saying yes means redo act three
Can although take but	No	Saying yes means redo act three
Punctuation after a front clause	A comma	Missing the comma means redo act four

09 Tutor FAQ

How do so and therefore differ?

They are close, but primary writing needs so only; therefore is more formal and not required.

How do although and though differ?

Same meaning, although being more formal; neither takes but.

Can one sentence hold two connectives?

In a list, yes, but because, so, although and but must not double the same relation.

Find a tutor — free Tutor Registration →

A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.