allow

lexical verb + THE USE OF

ability, C2, permission, VERBS

Here are examples of verbs that suggest ability (or lack of) + the noun phrase ‘the use of’: So how have we enabled the use of goats as a reliable form of currency? TED In that service, he actually lost the use of his legs, he‘s paralyzed and he uses marijuana for pain management. TED In the English Vocabulary Profile: the use of sth = C2 permission to use something, or the ability to use something We are interested in finding which verbs might suggest […]

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allow access

ACL, B1, NOUNS, VERBS

Looking for academic collocation in TED corpus for: allow* * access* Together, psychedelics and music may be able to open our minds to change and direct that change,  reconnect us with our most authentic selves and allow us access to the things that really allow us to make meaning in this world,  and reconnect with our most authentic selves. listen ‘allow’ and ‘access’ are B1 in the English Vocabulary Profile.

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declarative COULD ( past ability | suggestion | possibility ) with a range of verbs

A2, ability, affirmative, B1, conditional, MODALITY, PAST, possibility, range, suggestion, uncertain, VERBS

A2 point 52 in MODALITY:

‘could’ with a limited range of verbs to make suggestions.

A2 point 27 in MODALITY:

negative form

B1 point 78 in MODALITY:

affirmative form of ‘could’ to talk about ability.

B1 point 79 in MODALITY:

‘could’ with an increasing range of verbs to make suggestions.

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BE + not going to INFINITIVE

B1, FUTURE, intention, NEGATIVE, plan

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 26 in the category of FUTURE is defined: the negative form of ‘be going to’ to talk about plans and intentions EXPERT EXAMPLES: The words mean the same thing, so we‘re not going to waste any more time differentiating between them. the18.com *This is hard to find automatically because this structure is difficult to differentiate from predictions with present

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WOULDN’T (past willingness)

B1, MODALITY, NEGATIVE, PAST, willingness

‘Willingness‘ = being prepared to do something (readiness). In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 105 in the category of MODALITY is defined: negative forms of ‘would’ to talk about willingness in the past. For example: Dad wanted him buried in the family plot in St Louis, but Pete wouldn’t allow it. Philomena Helen, come on! She wouldn’t wait for you. Edward Scissorhands The EGP examples include the bare infinitives ‘wait’ and ‘allow’.  This is incredibly

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VERB + myself | yourself | himself | itself | herself

A2, B1, PRONOUNS, range, reflexive, singular, VERBS

And it‘s not because you‘re not smart enough,  it‘s simply that you don’t apply yourself. Another Woman The reflexive pronoun “yourself” is used as the direct object of the verb “apply.” The verb “apply” means “to use or put something to a particular purpose.” In the sentence, the speaker is telling the listener to use their own efforts or abilities to achieve a goal.

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nothing | anyone | everywhere

B1, complements, indefinite, object, PRONOUNS, range

in the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 58 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: wide range of indefinite pronouns as objects or complements. For example: You don’t have to show anyone any of these steps. TED There are also English Vocabulary Profile phrases at various levels.  For example: Come on, Scarlett! When you want something,  you stop at nothing to get it.

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BOTH | A FEW

B1, object, PRONOUNS, subject

Point 61 in the category of PRONOUNS/quantity is defined as: ‘BOTH’, ‘A FEW’, ‘ANOTHER’ as subject and object pronouns. *We have covered the use of ‘another’ here. A search in iWeb corpus for: . both _V 1 . BOTH ARE 48684 2 . BOTH HAVE 15241 3 . BOTH WERE 15188 4 . BOTH WILL

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would (habitual past)

A2, B2, habitual, imagine, MODALITY, PAST, wish, would

In the English Grammar Profile (EGP), B2 point 160 in MODALITY is defined as: ‘would’ to talk about habitual actions and events in the past Looking in iWeb corpus manually for collocates of ‘every’ ‘time‘ with ‘would’ is 1 in 5 on the usage: … my mom also helped raise my nephews, who would stay with her every summer when school was out. Gone are the days where riders would get two bikes every year. The

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WOULD + love | prefer (politeness)

A2, B1, informal, likelihood, MODALITY, polite, possibility, preferences, range, wish, would

This blog post teaches how to express wishes and preferences using verbs like ‘like’ and ‘prefer’. It explains the difference between ‘I’d prefer’ and ‘I prefer’ and how to use ‘would’ to sound more polite and less confrontational. The post also explores examples of ‘would’ with verbs like ‘love’ and ‘hate’.

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must not | mustn’t

A2, B2, MODALITY, NEGATIVE, permission

“Mustn’t” is a contraction of “must not”, used to indicate prohibition or to suggest that something is a bad or unacceptable idea. It’s frequently used in phrases like “We mustn’t” (99 instances), “I mustn’t” (66 instances), “You mustn’t be” (37 instances), and so on.

In the sentence “Strict instructions from Edward, we mustn’t be late for his parade”, it emphasizes the importance of not being late for Edward’s parade. Other examples include “I mustn’t let my fears stop me from pursuing my dreams” and “You mustn’t be too hard on yourself, everyone makes mistakes”.

In English grammar, the negative form of ‘must’ appears at two levels. At A2 level, it’s used with basic subjects and verbs, while at B2 level, it’s used to talk about what is not permitted with a range of subjects or verbs. For instance, “Mr. Iannazzo placed an order at the Robeks and stressed to the staff that the product must not contain peanuts.”

The most common lexical verbs used with “must not” in the iWeb corpus include “exceed”, “use”, “forget”, and “contain”. For example, “France must not drop guard against COVID-19, minister says – The Jakarta Post” and “Safety experts warn that US trade deal must not include dangerous American cars. Trade Secretary urged to exclude US cars. Jon Stone Policy …”.

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not only but also

B2, C1, CLAUSES, CONJUNCTIONS, coordinating, FOCUS, inversion, NEGATIVE, position

B2 example: Our volunteers know that the families who benefit from his generosity  not only appreciate his action but take extra pleasure in knowing that it comes with the compliments of Mrs Brown, an iconic and internationally famous Dublin mother. C1 example: Not only did this virus continue in the places where they’d already become infected, but then it started to escalate and we saw the case numbers that you see here, something we’d never seen before on such a scale, an exponential increase of Ebola

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