Words like ‘once’ and ‘twice’ can be predeterminers as multipliers. For example: “Once every two weeks” “Twice a day” A search in the iWeb corpus for: once _AT1 _NNT 1 ONCE A WEEK 75774 We are proposing to meet at least once a week and just to do as many collections as we can. listen 2 ONCE A MONTH 44242 3 ONCE A YEAR 43510 4 ONCE A DAY […]
In this post, we are looking for advanced phrases with the word ‘same‘. For example: It‘s the same old story. The rich get richer, and the most vulnerable in our country suffer. listen 1 SAME (DA) 9442876 A search in iWeb corpus for: * * same_DA * * 1 AT THE SAME TIME, 242223 B1 phrase in the English Vocabulary Profile. At the same time, we are doing business with the very same government that is flooding our streets with cocaine. listen 2
Here’s an example of determiners premodifying nouns: I regret some of the things I said to you. A2 point 18 in the category of NOUNS/phrases is defined: form simple noun phrases by pre-modifying nouns with an increasing range of determiners. A2 point 17 in the category of PRONOUNS: limited range of pronouns (‘all’, ‘both’) with ‘of’ followed by an object pronoun, to
ALL | SOME | BOTH | HALF + OF + noun phrase Read More »
‘Most’ is used to mark the superlative degree a little more often that it’s a superlative after determiner. As a degree adverb ‘most’ usually modifies an adjective or an adverb. 1 MOST (RGT) 7895059 1 MOST (RGT) IMPORTANT (JJ) 619744 2 MOST (RGT) COMMON (JJ) 385906 3 MOST (RGT) POPULAR (JJ) 368581 4 MOST (RGT)
Is the word ‘MOST’ used more as an ADVERB or a DETERMINER? Read More »
You might know how ‘the’ is used as an article. But did you know all the different phrases it is found in?
advanced phrases with ‘THE’ Read More »
This is another post about two overlapping English Grammar Profile points at the same proficiency level that could be merged into one. Point 11 in the category of FOCUS is defined as: ‘Not a’ + noun with a passive verb or inverted auxiliary and subject for focus. Point 29 in the category of NEGATION: ‘not
The idiomatic phrase ‘many a’ or many an’ + a singular noun is a rare formal and literary structure meaning ‘a large number of’. C2 point 65 in the category of DETERMINERS and quantity is defined as: ‘many a’ or ‘many an’ + singular noun for emphasis and focus. *We noticed that this phrase often
At B1 in the English Vocabulary Profile, ‘either’ is listed as: PRONOUN; DETERMINER: One of two people or things when it is not important which At B2 ‘neither’ is listed as: PRONOUN; DETERMINER not either of two people or things C1 English Grammar Profile point 60 in the category of DETERMINERS & quantity is defined
‘either’ | ‘neither’ + singular noun Read More »
When a noun is generic or nonspecific countable and plural OR uncountable, we do not use an article. There are many points that relate to ‘NO ARTICLE’ in the English Grammar Profile. Although there are overlapping examples across some of the levels, the main difference in regard to marking complexity relies on the level of
B2 English Grammar point 59 in the category of DETERMINERS and quantity is defined as: modifier + ‘little’ + uncountable nouns and modifier + ‘few’ + countable nouns, to indicate a lack of something or not as much as expected of something. We also have an earlier post for ‘very few + noun.’ _RG\w* (little|few)
little | few + NOUN Read More »
iWeb search for B1 1 THEIR LIVES 325158 2 THEIR WAY 262764 3 THEIR CHILDREN 216153 4 THEIR WORK 213183 5 THEIR FAMILIES 209014 6 THEIR HOME 163269 7 THEIR TIME 157752 8 THEIR BUSINESS 143531 9 THEIR PARENTS 129414 10 THEIR WEBSITE 119786 11 THEIR HANDS 116015 12 THEIR PRODUCTS 110206 13 THEIR CUSTOMERS
Here’s an expert example of using ‘their’ with a general reference: Tech Guide It‘s based on the idea that people learn best when they are actively involved in their education. The use of ‘their’ is confusing to give level to, because there is differing information between the English Vocabulary and Grammar Profiles, and secondly the uses are hard to locate in corpora automatically. At B2,
Here are some examples of plural possessives with an apostrophe s’:
Children’s books: These books belong to the children.
Women’s rights: These rights belong to women.
Men’s clothing: This clothing belongs to men.
Teachers’ pets: These pets belong to the teachers.
Students’ essays: These essays belong to the students.
When a plural noun ends in s, we make the possessive form by adding an apostrophe only. For example:
The cats’ toys: These toys belong to the cats.
The dogs’ beds: These beds belong to the dogs.
The horses’ saddles: These saddles belong to the horses.
PLURAL NOUN possessive Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 56 in the category of DETERMINERS and articles is defined as “the” in comparative phrases ‘more’, ‘less’, ‘worse’, ‘better’ * the more’, ‘less’, ‘worse’ * to talk about one thing that is affected by another. comparative clauses For example: The broader the sentiment across business, the more influence and power there is to make change. timesnewsgroup.com.au The more guns there are here, the more likely there is to
THE + comparative phrases ‘The more you have, the better it is.’ Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 55 in the category of DETERMINERS & possessives is defined as ‘s after a noun phrase with ‘of’ to indicate possession. There is no mention that there must be no following noun after ‘s However, there is a C2 point that covers an ellipted following noun. For example:
The possessive determiner “its” is used to indicate possession or ownership by a singular inanimate subject or object. It is the third-person singular neuter form of the possessive pronoun “it.” Typically, possessive determiners are used before nouns to show that the noun belongs to someone or something. For example: “The dog wagged its tail.” –
Superlatives and infinitives for upper-intermediate students.
superlative adjective + noun + to infinitive Read More »
B2 premodifer ‘by far’ to make a superlative adjective stronger
Point 62 in the category of adjectives in the English Grammar Profile.
BY FAR + superlative adjective Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 61 in the category of ADJECTIVES is defined as: adjective phrases with ‘rather a’ + adjective, often in formal contexts A search in iWeb for rather a _JJ 1 RATHER A LONG 392 Further collocates 4 to the left and right: 1 TIME (NNT1 ) 187 2 WAY
rather a + adjective Read More »
Which superlative adjective should we learn at higher levels?
superlative adjective without a following noun Read More »
