Let’s look at two examples to explain this grammar. The first is from a student writing example using past continuous with an adverb that shows he didn’t control the situation with his friend and the second one is from an expert speaker using passives: For example, he was always playing soccer when I played baseball. PELIC Korean male level 4 grammar class. They were […]
(always | constantly) + past continuous Read More »
These are fixed expressions that are used to express a counterfactual or hypothetical situation in the past. They mean “if something had not happened, then something else would not have happened”. For example:
If it hadn’t been for your help, I would have failed the exam.
Had it not been for the storm, we would have arrived on time.
You can use different modals after these expressions, such as would, could, might. You can also invert the word order and omit “if”, as in the second example.
If it hadn’t been for / had it not been for + modal Read More »
How do you express regret?
If only + past perfect simple negative Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile ‘and yet’ or ‘yet’ is listed at C2 Point 24 in CONJUNCTIONS “CONCESSIVE to combine sentences, often unexpected” C1 Point 20 in CONJUNCTIONS coordinating CONCESSIVE ‘(and) yet’ to combine phrases and clauses to introduce a contrast, often unexpected. In the English Vocabulary Profile, ‘yet’ as a conjunction is listed as:
C2 CLAUSE: introduce conditions in formal contexts
‘If it were’ + to-infinitive
EGP
if it were to INFINITIVE Read More »
If you want to express something that happened immediately before something else with a very rare expression… Hardly had * _vvn * when 1 HARDLY HAD HE SPOKEN, WHEN 4 Even when searching with 4 spaces to the right on iWeb we get less than 10 strings:
Hardly had + inversion Read More »
For this C2 grammar, ‘major’ is an adjective meaning: important, serious, or significant. ‘Very’ is an adjective meaning: actual or precise, with emphasis on the exact quality of the following noun or an extreme point in time/space. Point 73 under the category of adjectives in C2 on the English Grammar Profile these two vocabulary items
‘major cities’, ‘very beginning’ (major | very + noun) Read More »
A defining relative clause (also known as a restrictive relative clause) provides essential information about the noun or noun phrase it modifies, the purpose of which is to define that noun or noun phrase. The clause cannot be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence. When ‘that’ is used as the object in a
THAT | WHO ( object pronouns ) Read More »
C1 | C2:
Had I known | Should you desire | Were I allowed + WOULD | COULD
Inversion in clauses with conditions and formality Read More »
One must wonder what the precise choice of collocating nouns is for this C2 point on the English Grammar Profile: 77 ADJECTIVES superlatives C2 USE: ‘the slightest’, ‘the faintest’ with a specific range of nouns to express the least amount possible, most frequently following a negative verb form The word “slightest” already means the least
the + slightest | faintest + noun Read More »
Let’s look at some examples of the indefinite pronoun ‘something’ + adjective phrase. This relates to “post positioned adjectives” ‘something’ is an indefinite pronoun. ‘special’ is an adjective. The adjective post-modifies the pronoun. The adjective makes the pronoun more specific. Well, how about something special for lunch tomorrow to cheer you up? I‘ll make something special for you. (Watch example sentences) The meaning of ‘something adjective‘
ANYTHING | SOMETHING + adjective Read More »
The future perfect continuous negative tense allows us to express the absence of an ongoing action leading up to a specific future point. It highlights the non-occurrence or lack of continuity of the action within the given timeframe.
future perfect continuous negative Read More »
By the time is a phrase that is used to connect two actions that happen at different times. It means not later than or when. You can use the present simple with by the time to refer to a future action that will happen before another future action. For example:
By the time we arrive, the movie will have started. (We will arrive in the future, but the movie will start before that.)
By the time you read this, I will be gone. (You will read this in the future, but I will leave before that.)
By the time + present (future meaning) Read More »
A range of adverbs with this future construction is examined.
“You’re going to absolutely love it” (‘going to’ ADVERB INFINITIVE) Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile, the pictured item “unless” has one level = B1. However, in the English Grammar Profile: 18 CONJUNCTIONS subordinating B2 wide range of simple subordinating conjunctions (‘once, whereas, unless, except (that) provided (that)’), to introduce a subordinate clause. Getting to work by car is comfortable, and faster unless you are caught
One of the most confusing parts of the English Grammar Profile is when explanations don’t match the examples given. This is a real problem when it is meant to be extremely specific and various very similar forms are rated at varying levels. In this example below, you can see that “of” is required for this
EGP differences between explanation and example Read More »
More areas between the EVP and EGP that don’t match. Phrasal Verbs…
Vocabulary and grammar that don’t have a clear level Read More »
