At C2 in the English Vocabulary Profile: If it is worth your while doing something, it is useful or enjoyable to do it. A search in the NOW corpus for: * * worth _AP while 1 MAKE IT WORTH YOUR WHILE 738 2 MAKE IT WORTH THEIR WHILE 413 Adam Smith was convinced that human beings were by their very natures lazy, and wouldn’t do anything unless you made it worth their while, and the way you made it worth […]
worth + POSSESSIVE + while Read More »
C2: adverbs expressing certainty as short responses – MODALITY
EGP
ADVERBS as RESPONSE TOKENS Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 34 in the category of FUTURE: ‘be going to’ with a limited range of adverbs, after the auxiliary be form, in the normal mid position. The EGP examples of adverbs include ‘never’ and ‘really’. An iWeb search for: _VB _RR _VVGK *we removed the past forms of BE 1 ‘M
In the English Grammar Profile, there are two almost identical B1 grammar points for ‘those’ in the category of PRONOUNS/demonstratives Point 46 is defined as: ‘those’ as a pronoun with plural reference. Point 62: ‘those’ as a pronoun to refer to things which have already been mentioned. An iWeb search for: * * * those
Hedging is used to express uncertainty or doubt. For example, the sentence “I might possibly go to the party” uses the modal verb “might” and the modal adverb “possibly” to hedge the speaker’s commitment to going to the party. The speaker is not sure if they will go to the party, but they are open to
modal verb + modal adverb Read More »
Adverbs can modify assertions by hedging or emphasizing when placed in mid-position or after the main verb ‘be’. For example, “probably” in “you’re probably busy” hedges the assertion, making it less absolute. Conversely, “definitely” in “it is definitely the right thing to do” emphasizes the assertion, reinforcing its certainty. This usage of adverbs is categorized as A2 in the English Grammar Profile, with higher levels for certain constructions.
ADVERBS (hedging | emphasis) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 85 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: (SUBJECT) ELLIPSIS: leave out the subject pronoun with a limited range of verbs, in informal contexts. *this will clash with imperatives and iWeb searches time out too much, so here we search for modals, past participles and 3rd person verbs.
subject pronoun (ellipsis) Read More »
This is another grammar point where the English Vocabulary Profile is probably better at profiling the language than the English Grammar Profile. There are a handful of adverbs that already make the task across levels quite difficult to follow. We then should consider the hundred other adverbs that appear in this ‘mid position’. A2 point
past continuous + adverb (range) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 180 in the category of MODALITY is defined as: ‘ought to’ with ‘really’ to add emphasis. A search on iWeb for clusters with lexical verbs: 1 REALLY OUGHT TO KNOW 254 2 REALLY OUGHT TO GET 136 3 REALLY OUGHT TO GO 76 4 REALLY OUGHT TO CONSIDER
These are the 12 adverbs I would teach with “must” to advanced students: correctly, either, generally, somehow, therefore, constantly, currently, necessarily, simply, successfully, surely, satisfactorily, ultimately.
MUST + modal adverb Read More »
