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’s a student example of ‘present perfect simple negative‘: Today I can play very well with someone, even when I haven’t played for a long time. PELIC Portuguese female level 3 writing. A2 point 5 in the category of NEGATION/AUXILIARY VERBS is defined: negative statements of main verbs in the present continuous and present perfect with ‘be’ and ‘have’ + ‘not/n’t’. A2 point 13 in the category of PAST is
present perfect simple negative (YET) Read More »
Point 33 in the category of PAST is defined as: present perfect simple + ‘since’ to talk about duration. PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: I have read a lot of books about cooking since then. Chinese male, level 3 writing class. We have been friends since we were high-school students. Korean female, level 3 writing class. An iWeb search for: _VH _VVN since *we removed ‘had’ 1 HAS CHANGED SINCE 11097
present perfect simple + SINCE Read More »
Point 35 in the category of PAST is defined: past simple to order sequences of events in the past, in the context of narratives. PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: I looked at the sheet and thought about it and then I continued following my sheet. When I noticed that I should have arrived, I called my brother and he told me that I had the wrong directions. Arabic male, level 5 grammar class. Two of the EGP examples use ‘and then’ while one only uses ‘and’ to connect past
ordering past events Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 22 in the category of PAST is defined as: present perfect simple with ‘already’ to emphasise that something is done, often before the expected time. FOR EXAMPLE: He is the most joyful person that I have ever met, and in just over a year, he has already made the world a better place. A search in iWeb for: _VHZ already _VVN 1 HAS ALREADY BEGUN 7505 2
present perfect simple + ALREADY 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 »
C1 MODALITY
‘might or may + not have’ + ‘-ed’ to talk about possibility with a past reference
English Grammar Profile
might | may + not have + PAST PARTICIPLE (past possibility) 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 »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 163 MODALITY is defined as: ‘may’ in phrases such as ‘as you may know’, or ‘as you may have’ + ‘-ed’ to focus the reader on shared knowledge. This partly overlaps point 168 MODALITY and PAST AFFIRMATIVE of ‘may have’ + ‘-ed’ to talk about possibility in the
may have + PAST PARTICIPLE Read More »
There are 5 formally related grammar points in the English Grammar Profile in the category of FUTURE/perfect simple with ‘will.’ Many of them overlap and at C1 they are very rare and hard to find in corpora. An example from the iWeb corpus of the future perfect form used for a polite assumption about the
will have + PAST PARTICIPLE (future perfect) Read More »
