A locative adverb is a type of adverb that refers to a location or to a combination of a location and a relation to that location. For example, here, there, inside, outside, etc. A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and another word in the sentence. For example, in, on, at, by, etc.
locative adverb + preposition Read More »
The phrase “return to normal” means to go back to the way things were before a change or disruption. It can be used in a variety of contexts, such as: After a natural disaster: “The city is slowly returning to normal after the hurricane.” After a pandemic: “We hope to return to normal soon after the pandemic
lexical verb + preposition + NORMAL Read More »
A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence. A preposition + noun combination is called a prepositional phrase, which can act as an adjective or an adverb.
preposition + noun Read More »
In this post, we look at adverbial phrases with the pronoun ‘one‘. In the English Vocabulary Profile: (all) in one = C2 combined into a single thing one by one= B2 separately, one after the other Frequency in iWeb corpus: one by one 135405 all in one 60329 For example: What if they asked, you could use them as a living probiotic drink and health monitor, all in one? TED
all in one | one by one Read More »
We are interested in finding the most common noun phrases after ‘open to‘ that complete more abstract ideas such as willingness to consider something or something is likely to happen. In the English Vocabulary Profile: open to discussion/suggestions, etc. = C1 willing to consider a discussion/suggestions, etc. open to abuse/criticism, etc. = C2 likely to
OPEN TO ( adjective + prepositional phrase ) Read More »
The CLAWS tagger does not always tag the difference between adjectives and past participles perfectly, so we do a search in the iWeb corpus with the query: _VB *ed to_II 1 IS COMMITTED TO 117911 C2 adjective It‘s true, I could use someone who is committed to putting an end to Mr. White. Live by Night 2 BE ADDED TO 115128
BE + *ed + to PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE Read More »
I have little to no interest in politics. (I have very little or no interest in politics.)
There is next to no evidence for his claim. (There is almost no evidence for his claim.)
She left but to no avail. (She left but it was useless.)
( LITTLE | NEXT | BUT ) TO NO + noun Read More »
At A2 level in the Oxford learner’s dictionary, ‘All’ as an adverb can mean ‘completely’.
Adverbs pre-modifying prepositions are found at A2, B1, and C1 levels in the English Grammar Profile.
The iWeb corpus was searched for ALL + prepositional phrases using the pattern _DB _II _A _NN. However, not every result represents ‘all’ as an adverb.
Some of the most common phrases include ‘All around the world’, ‘All across the country’, and ‘All along the way’, among others.
Each phrase is used in a unique context. For example, ‘All around the world’ is often used when referring to a global phenomenon or distribution, as in “Television rights have been sold all around the world”. Similarly, ‘All along the way’ can be used to indicate a consistent pattern or presence across a process or journey, as in “Black girls are overrepresented all along the way”.
ALL + preposition + noun phrase Read More »
C2 example: Our country owes its creation to a man they declared insane. listen C1 example: And he will do his damndest to put your mind at rest. listen An iWeb search for: _VV _APPGE _NN to_II 1 MAKE YOUR WAY TO 9604 B2 Please make your way to the nearest exits. listen 2 MAKE THEIR WAY TO 6953 3 MADE THEIR WAY TO 6103 4 CHANGED ITS NAME TO 5283 B2 possessive determiner
lexical verb + possessive determiner + noun + TO prepositional phrase Read More »
In this post, we are looking at more advanced uses of the ‘preposition + article + noun phrase‘ structure. For example: I just came on the spur of the moment. listen I was just in the mood for a little conversation. Even Money My life has been extraordinarily blessed with marriage and children and certainly interesting work to do, whether it be at the University of Sydney Law School, where I served a term as dean, or now as I sit on the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, in Geneva. TED Someone‘s in a mood. listen Your mother will be over the
preposition + article + noun Read More »
I don’t get time for a cup of coffee? Nobody’s Fool A search in iWeb corpus for: _VV _NN _II 1 TAKE PART IN 104907 What brought you to take part in this outrage? listen 2 PAY ATTENTION TO 93080 Don’t pay attention to him. Pay attention to me. listen 3 TAKE PLACE IN 63015 Our marriage will take place in the Poconos. listen 4 TOOK PLACE IN 55684 5 TAKES PLACE
lexical verb + noun + preposition Read More »
A phrase is a group of words that functions as a unit in a sentence. A phrase can have different types depending on the word that heads it. A phrase that includes the word order lexical verb + article + noun + preposition is called a verb phrase. A lexical verb is a verb that has meaning by itself, such as run, eat, or sleep. An article is a word that modifies a noun, such as the, a, or an. A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence, such as in, on, or to.
lexical verb + article + noun (+ prepositon) Read More »
A search in the iWeb corpus for: at _APPGE _NN 1 AT HIS HOME 25665 *Although this is basic grammar, it often reports the locations of crimes such as murder. For example: A man has been shot dead at his home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs last night. listen 2 AT YOUR FINGERTIPS 24481 C2 What’s it like to have such power at your fingertips? listen 3 AT YOUR DISPOSAL 17599
preposition + possessive determiner + noun Read More »
The following grammar pattern does not have an entry in the English Profile. It relates to questions with stranded prepositions which are generally pegged at B2. It also relates to either A1 possession or ownership = have got or A2 modality = have got to do something. The overall complexity of this pattern is at least
What + HAVE + PRONOUN + got to be Read More »
One could argue that being able to front the following ‘indefinite’ time phrases shows evidence of a higher CEFR level. A search in iWeb corpus for: . _II _NNT2 , 1 . AT TIMES, 11672 C1 → C2 She still misses him at times, but we all do. listen Kit accused me of only being along for the ride while at times I wished he‘d fall in the river and drown, so I could watch. At times, I actually like it. listen 2 . WITHIN
prepositon + plural time Read More »
A search in the NOW corpus for: at_II _AT1 _NN 1 AT A TIME 475982 2 AT A PRESS 98426 3 AT A COST 80801 4 AT A MEETING 65340 5 AT A NEWS 61714 6 AT A PRICE 54148 7 AT AN EVENT 49461 8 AT A CAGR 44712 9 AT A RATE 41236
AT + indefinite article + noun Read More »
A search in NOW corpus for: _VB _XX at _NN _TO 1 ARE NOT AT LIBERTY TO 260 2 ‘M NOT AT LIBERTY TO 220 Who‘s your client? I‘m not at liberty to say. listen 3 AM NOT AT LIBERTY TO 217 4 IS NOT AT LIBERTY TO 149 5 WAS NOT AT LIBERTY TO 118 6 ‘RE NOT
BE + at + NOUN + to INFINITIVE Read More »
A search in iWeb corpus for: at the _NN of 1 AT THE END OF 947125 2 AT THE UNIVERSITY OF 332126 3 AT THE TIME OF 315200 4 AT THE TOP OF 304001 5 AT THE BOTTOM OF 207682 6 AT THE BEGINNING OF 193966 7 AT THE AGE OF 140280 8 AT THE
at the + NOUN + of Read More »
“ALL ABOUT” is used to describe the purpose or an aspect of something. (OXFORD B1)
For example ‘Some days, we forgot all about getting to Italy.’ ‘It’s all about the money.’
2 ALL ABOUT MAKING 4081
3 ALL ABOUT WINNING 1859
4 ALL ABOUT GIVING 1851
5 ALL ABOUT CREATING 1801
6 ALL ABOUT FINDING 1480
7 ALL ABOUT TAKING 1397
8 ALL ABOUT TRYING 1340
9 ALL ABOUT PUTTING 1279
10 ALL ABOUT KEEPING 1279
ALL ABOUT + noun phrase Read More »
frightened = feeling fear or worry. To find the frequency of prepositions that come after the adjective frightened, we can search in iWeb corpus for: frightened _I We have added example sentences containing frightened preposition: 1 FRIGHTENED OF 4688 What have you got to be frightened of? listen 2 FRIGHTENED BY 4585 People are frightened by the way that I look, especially children. listen 3 FRIGHTENED AT 703
frightened + PREPOSITION Read More »
