Swapping from dairy to plant-based milk, cheese and yoghurt ‘could lead to micronutrient...
Listen to Course
0:00
0:00
EN: The complex causative construction 'leave + object + adjective phrase' denotes causing someone or something to remain in a particular state or condition, often an undesirable one. 'Short of' functions here as a predicate adjective phrase meaning 'lacking' or 'deficient in'.
The unexpected cancellation of the flights left hundreds of passengers stranded at the airport.
EN: The absolute construction 'with + noun phrase + past participle / adjective' introduces accompanying circumstances or supplementary details, functioning adverbially to modify the main clause.
The company announced massive budget cuts, with newly hired employees most affected.
EN: Journalistic reporting inversion / end-weight structure: In news discourse, reported speech frequently places the reported clause first as the primary thematic focus, trailing with the reporting attribution clause ('researchers have warned') to emphasize the substantive finding over the attribution source.
Rising sea levels could threaten coastal cities sooner than expected, climate scientists have cautioned.
EN: In the UK and other Western nations, the surge in veganism and plant-based diets has created a public health dilemma: while environmentally beneficial, unfortified dairy alternatives can lead to micronutrient deficiencies—particularly iodine and vitamin B12—which traditional dairy milk provided naturally and abundantly.
EN: The conjunction 'unless' introduces a conditional subordinate clause meaning 'except if' or 'if... not'. It takes a present tense verb form (here in the passive voice 'are fortified') to refer to a general or future condition, while the main clause expresses a potential consequence using modal verbs like 'may'.
Unless policies are properly enforced, minor violations may lead to widespread non-compliance.
EN: The past participle phrase 'made from soya, almonds or oats' functions as a post-modifying reduced relative clause modifying the noun 'substitutes' (short for 'which/that are made from...'). 'Made from' is used when the original materials undergo a transformation to produce the final item.
Packaging made from recycled materials has a significantly lower carbon footprint.
EN: The adverb 'even' is placed before the noun phrase 'partial replacement' to emphasize an extreme or unexpected case, underscoring that not only full substitution, but even a slight or partial switch is sufficient to cause a drop in nutrient intake.
Even modest increases in daily physical activity can substantially reduce health risks.
EN: In the UK and EU, dairy alternatives are increasingly popular due to climate and ethical concerns. However, unlike cow's milk—which is naturally rich in iodine and calcium, partly due to feed supplements and disinfectants used in milking—plant milks are not universally required by law to be fortified. This creates an ongoing public health debate about whether consumers, especially young women, are aware that plant milks are not nutritionally equivalent unless actively fortified.
EN: Locative / Prepositional Phrase Inversion: The sentence opens with the prepositional complement 'Of greatest concern' acting as a fronted predicate, followed immediately by the linking verb 'is', and then the logical subject 'iodine'. This structure is used in formal writing to emphasize the degree of importance and create a smooth transition from previous context.
Of particular significance was the discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents.
EN: Appositive with a Contact Relative Clause: 'a trace element' stands in apposition to 'iodine', elaborating on its nature. It is immediately modified by a reduced relative clause (contact clause) omitting the relative pronoun: '[which/that] the thyroid relies on to produce hormones...'. Notice the preposition 'on' remains stranded at the clause boundary.
Iron is an essential mineral the body needs to transport oxygen.
EN: Present Participle as Post-Nominal Modifier: 'governing metabolism, growth and brain development' uses the active participle 'governing' (equivalent to 'which govern') to modify the preceding noun 'hormones', succinctly expressing their function.
The company introduced policies governing remote work and employee privacy.
EN: In Western public health, cow's milk has historically been one of the primary dietary vehicles for iodine, partly due to sanitizing agents used in milking machinery and fortified cattle feed. As consumers increasingly shift toward plant-based alternatives (oat, almond, soy milk) for ethical and environmental reasons, nutritionists frequently raise alarms because plant-based milks are not uniformly fortified with iodine, creating a latent micronutrient gap.
EN: A gerund phrase ('replacing a fifth to a third of dairy') functions syntactically as the subject of the main clause. Gerund phrases take singular agreement when used as subjects and allow complex noun phrases and modifiers to be packed efficiently into an action-oriented subject.
Consuming excessive amounts of processed sugar can lead to chronic inflammation.
EN: The modal auxiliary 'would' expresses hypothetical consequence or projection derived from predictive modeling or research data, rather than expressing past habitual action or conditional politeness.
Implementing this carbon tax would reduce national emissions by 15 percent over five years.
EN: The correlative prepositional structure 'from X to Y' is paired with the transitive verb 'raise' (raise [object] from X to Y) to indicate a quantitative shift along a scale, clearly delineating the baseline and projected outcome.
The central bank decided to raise interest rates from 3.5 to 4.0 percent.
EN: In the UK and Europe, cows' milk is historically one of the primary dietary sources of iodine due to iodized cattle feed and sanitizing agents used in milking machinery. Unlike table salt in the US and many Asian countries, UK table salt is rarely iodized by default. Consequently, a shift toward non-fortified plant-based milks poses a unique public health risk in Western European countries.
EN: The modal auxiliary verb 'would' is used here to express hypothetical or projected outcomes derived from mathematical or scientific modelling, rather than an absolute factual statement.
Under the proposed tax reforms, average household savings would increase by 5 percent.
EN: The participle phrase 'aged 19 to 49' serves as a reduced relative clause (short for 'who are aged 19 to 49') post-modifying the noun 'women'.
The survey focused on young professionals aged 25 to 35 residing in metropolitan areas.
EN: The prepositional participle phrase 'based on...' functions as an adverbial modifier indicating the evidence, premise, or assumption underpinning the main clause.
The economic forecast was revised downward, based on weaker consumer spending in the final quarter.
EN: In public health contexts, 'women aged 19 to 49' typically denotes women of childbearing (reproductive) age. Iodine intake is especially scrutinized in this demographic because maternal deficiency can lead to severe neurodevelopmental deficits in offspring. In Western countries (such as the UK), cow's milk has historically been the primary incidental source of dietary iodine; the rapid market shift toward unfortified plant-based milks has thus sparked significant nutritional debate.
EN: The sentence embeds an appositive prepositional phrase ('at a life stage when iodine matters most') directly between the subject ('women of childbearing age') and the predicate ('had the lowest intakes') within a nominal 'that'-clause. The embedded relative clause introduced by 'when' restricts and modifies 'a life stage'. Notice also the tense shift: 'matters most' uses the simple present to express a general biological truth, while the surrounding narrative adheres to the past tense ('stressed', 'had').
The pediatrician pointed out that toddlers, at a crucial age when brain development accelerates, need sufficient fatty acids.
EN: The descriptive phrase 'of childbearing age' functions as a postpositive adjectival modifier of the noun 'women'. The preposition 'of' is frequently used in formal or academic English to denote possession of a specific quality, category, or characteristic (e.g., 'of prime importance', 'of great value', 'of reproductive age').
Individuals of driving age must undergo regular vision testing in this jurisdiction.
EN: In the UK and several other European nations, unlike in the US where table salt is commonly iodized, cow's milk and dairy products represent the primary dietary source of iodine. Consequently, public health experts closely monitor the dietary habits of 'women of childbearing age', as maternal iodine deficiency during pregnancy and early lactation can cause irreversible cognitive and neurological deficits in the developing fetus.
EN: The verb 'urge' expresses recommendation or demand, which triggers the mandative subjunctive in a 'that'-clause. In formal English, this means the verb in the dependent clause remains in its base form (bare infinitive 'be fortified'), regardless of the subject's number or tense.
Health authorities recommend that public water supplies be treated with fluoride.
EN: The conjunction 'even as' is used to emphasize that two contrasting or simultaneous events occur at the exact same moment. It often carries a nuance similar to 'at the very same time that' or 'while simultaneously', highlighting an irony or counter-trend.
The company continues to invest heavily in renewable energy, even as fossil fuel prices temporarily decline.
EN: In the UK and Europe, dairy milk has historically been an unintentional but primary dietary source of iodine, largely due to iodophor disinfectants used on cow udders and iodine-supplemented cattle feed. As plant-based alternatives surged in popularity, public health nutritionists discovered that many commercial plant milks were not fortified with iodine, leading to unexpected public health vulnerabilities, especially for women of childbearing age.
Key vocabulary words with IPA pronunciation, definitions, example sentences, and interactive quizzes.
Phrases with type tags, bilingual definitions, usage notes, and example sentences.
Not having enough of something; lacking.
A chemical element present only in minute amounts in a particular sample or environment, especially one essential to plant or animal nutrition.
Referring to women who are physiologically capable of becoming pregnant and giving birth (typically aged 15-49).
To gradually or passively return to a previous state, habit, or preference.