In this post, we explore long complex noun phrases in the object position after the verb ‘have‘. Here is a search in the iWeb corpus for: _VH _A _JJ _NN of 1 HAS A LONG HISTORY OF 12459 C1+ Huff Hoyle has a long history of bad business practices. listen 2 HAVE A WIDE RANGE OF 9459 B1 You have a wide range […]
HAVE + article + adjective + noun + OF Read More »
Because there is no past perfect continuous passive in the English Grammar Profile, we can say it is C2. A search in NOW corpus shows that this grammar is extremely rare. 1 HAD BEEN BEING TREATED 10 The woman had left the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald, where she had been being treated. belfastlive.co.uk 2 HAD BEEN BEING ABUSED 7 3 ‘D BEEN BEING ABUSED 7 4 HAD
past perfect continuous passive Read More »
Had better is used to express a stronger warning or suggestion. It implies that there will be negative consequences if the advice is not followed. For example, you might say “You had better start studying now, or you’ll fail the test.”
HAD BETTER + bare infinitive Read More »
Here’s an example of past modality:
You HAD TO HAVE KNOWN about the problem before you started driving.
Before the car broke down on the highway, I am sure you noticed something was wrong with the car.
‘HAVE’ to have + PAST PARTICIPLE Read More »
Here are some examples of past perfect continuous questions:
He just did something very unusual. WHAT HAD HE BEEN THINKING?
She was really sick in the taxi. HAD SHE BEEN DRINKING?
past perfect continuous questions Read More »
Comparative clauses using ‘be’ + ‘like’ + a noun phrase are used to draw similarities between two things. The structure is typically: subject + be + like + noun/pronoun. For example, in the sentence “John is like a lion”, John is being compared to a lion, suggesting that he has similar qualities or characteristics. This structure can also be used with negation or adverbs followed by an infinitive clause, as in “It would be just like him to forget his keys at home”, indicating that forgetting his keys would be typical behavior for him. The phrase “I was like” is used colloquially to express a reaction or feeling. For instance, “When I saw the test results, I was like, ‘I can’t believe I aced it!’” expresses surprise and disbelief. This structure is common in English and can be found in various forms in different contexts.
BE + like + NOUN PHRASE Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 21 in the category of PAST is defined as: past simple with ‘wish (that)’ to express regret that things are not different. TLC STUDENT SPEAKING TEST EXAMPLE: I listen to music a lot and sometimes I wish that my life was a musical. male Spain C2 EXPERT EXAMPLES: I wish I never called. TED There were many moments growing up where I wished that I was white. TED *Note that past perfect is also possible with
WISH + past simple Read More »
Point 24 in the category of PAST perfect simple: negative forms. PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: At that time, I had not found my job and I had a lot of free time. Chinese male, level 3 writing class. A search on iWeb for: _VHD _XX _VVN 1 HAD N’T SEEN 10519 2 HAD NOT SEEN 8370 3 HAD N’T HEARD 6433 4 HAD N’T THOUGHT 5405 5
had not + PAST PARTICIPLE Read More »
Point 27 in the category of PAST is defined as: past perfect continuous: an action or event which began before a point in the past and was still continuing up to that point, often with ‘for’ or ‘since’, to give background information. Point 32 in the PAST is defined as: past perfect continuous: background action
had been + VERBing Read More »
Point 8 in REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: report statements using a reporting clause with ‘say’ or ‘tell’ + ‘that-‘clause, with a pronoun and tense shift where relevant *At A2 students can already use ‘said’ or ‘tell’ with a pronoun shift. Therefore, we might surmise that at B1 it must include a tense shift. There
said | told * that + CLAUSE (tense shift) Read More »
Here is another post of some overlapping and clashing grammar points from different categories in the English Grammar Profile. B1 point 72 clashes with the general definition at C1. B1 Point 42 in the category of CLAUSES is defined as: ‘IF’ + PAST SIMPLE + WOULD, FUTURE, (SECOND CONDITIONAL) imagined situation, often in the context
second & third conditonal Read More »
Here are examples of past perfect simple affirmative: Instead, the Ryans had decided to take a more old-fashioned route. context I must say I‘d hoped for better. listen In the English Grammar Profile, B1 points 34 in the category of PAST are defined as: past perfect simple: a time before another time in the past. and B1 point 38 in the category of PAST is defined as: past perfect
past perfect simple affirmative Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 85 in the category of PAST is defined as: invert the subject and affirmative auxiliary verb to talk about imagined situations in the past, often with regret, in formal contexts *although a following modal verb ‘could’ or ‘would’ is not mentioned in the description above, they do follow in the
past perfect simple (inversion) Read More »
C1 point 112 in CLAUSES/conditional is defined as: Conditional subordinate clauses with ‘if’ + the past perfect simple and modal verb + ‘have’ + ‘-ed’ in the main clause, to talk about imagined situations in the past, often with regret. *Note the same definition with ‘would‘ is listed at B1! Basically, this means that for
if + PAST PERFECT + MODAL VERBS Read More »
C2 FOCUS | FORMAL | happened immediately before something else
HARDLY HAD + inversion Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 50 in the category of VERBS is defined as: ‘there’ with other verbs with modal meaning + ‘be’ + complement. The EGP modality examples contain: ‘need, have, is going + to’ However, in the English Vocabulary Profile, ‘there needs to be’ is listed at C2 with the following example:
THERE + modality + TO BE Read More »
Point 79 in the category of PAST is defined as: past perfect simple, IMAGINED PAST, the affirmative form after ‘if only’, and the affirmative and negative forms after ‘wish’ to talk about regret. This is a rare match of grammar levels with Pearons’ GSE 62 B2: If only I’d worked harder. I wish we’d bought that house. if only * _vhd _vvn 1
IF ONLY | WISH + past perfect simple Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 78 in the category of PAST is defined as: past perfect continuous in relative clauses to give background information. For example: I was scrolling on social media, and I saw a friend who had been sharing positive news stories. TED A search in iWeb corpus for: who|that|which had been _vvg gives us the most common continuous verbs found in past perfect continuous relative
past perfect continuous in a relative clause Read More »
You can give background information in a past perfect simple relative clause. For example:
The people WHO ATTENDED the lecture knew about the test.
The teachers WHO HAD DEVELOPED the test explained what to study the night before.
past perfect simple in relative clauses Read More »
B2 English Grammar Profile point 76 in the category of PAST is: past perfect continuous WITH ADVERBS in the normal mid position For example: I had just been doing some reading. listen An iWeb search for: had _rr been _vvg 1 HAD ALREADY BEEN WORKING 359 2 HAD ALREADY BEEN USING 210 3 HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN USING 122 4 HAD ALSO
past perfect continuous + adverb ‘had already been doing’ Read More »
