VERY + adjective
In the English Grammar Profile, A1 point 13 in the category of ADVERBS / phrases:
‘very’ to modify common gradable adjectives.
RG
really | so | quite + ADJECTIVE
In the English Grammar Profile, A2 point 32 in the category of ADJECTIVES/modifying:
adverbs of degree (‘really’, ‘so’, ‘quite’) with an increasing range of common gradable adjectives.
*what an increasing range is exactly is quite amiguous.
really | so | quite + ADJECTIVE Read More »
(not) too + ADJECTIVE | ADVERB + to INFINITIVE
B1: CLAUSES | comparatives
In the English Grammar Profile, point 68 is defined as: ‘TOO’ + adjective + ‘to’-infinitive.
(not) too + ADJECTIVE | ADVERB + to INFINITIVE Read More »
modifying COMPARISON
In the English Grammar Profile, C2 point 75 in ADJECTIVES is defined as: ‘as… as’ and ‘so… that’ in comparative structures. comparative clauses *The EGP doesn’t state that there must be a noun phrase in the middle, but we can guess from the examples. Using the POS from the EGP examples: so_RG strong_JJ a_AT1 shock_NN1
modifying COMPARISON Read More »
NEVER BEFORE + perfect inversion
‘never + inversion‘ is B2 with or without past perfect. The following examples use present perfect simple + inversion: Never before has man possessed so much power. listen Never before have so many people risen so far so fast, on so many different dimensions. listen Here’s an example with past perfect inversion without ‘before’: Never had I felt such an incomprehensible emptiness within myself. listen In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 68 in PAST is defined as: past perfect
NEVER BEFORE + perfect inversion Read More »
BELOW
A search in iWeb for how ‘below’ is tagged, reveals that the most common usage is: 1 BELOW (RL) 2387501 locative adverb = This is often C1 grammar related to locating elements in discourse. (in printed text) mentioned further down on the same page, or further on in the text. 1 (SEE BELOW). 24319 You will be an employee and receive full benefits (see
10 ways ‘FAR’ is used in English grammar.
Here are 10 ways ‘far’ is used ranked by order of frequency: 1. A2 general adverb *Numbers on the right are the frequency in iWeb corpus: (RR) 1578722 ‘far‘ means ‘at, to or from a great distance in space or time‘ For example: Is it far away? I don’t live far from here. Thailand is not far from Vietnam. 2. B1 phrase ‘so far‘ means ‘until now‘ So far
10 ways ‘FAR’ is used in English grammar. Read More »
RATHER
1 RATHER THAN (II21 II22) 956100 = most commonly found as a complex prepositional phrase. This grammar point is already covered here. 2 RATHER (RG) 529786 = ‘Rather’ as a degree adverb usually modifies an adjective. 1 BUT (CCB) RATHER (RG_RR@) A (AT1) 22044 2 A (AT1) RATHER (RG) LARGE (JJ) 7161 3 BUT (CCB) RATHER
AROUND
1 AROUND (II) 2642412 2 AROUND (RP) 2001519 1 BEEN (VBN) AROUND (RP) FOR (IF) 57254 2 WAY (NN1) AROUND (RP) . (.) 26838 3 TIME (NNT1) AROUND (RP) . (.) 23802 4 TIME (NNT1) AROUND (RP) , (,) 22216 5 PLAY (VVI) AROUND (RP) WITH (IW) 20354 6 PLAYING (VVG) AROUND (RP) WITH (IW)
SO MUCH | A LOT adverbial phrases in end position
The text discusses the use of “so much” and “a lot” as adverbs of degree in English grammar. These phrases modify verbs to indicate a high degree or intensity of an action. For example, in the sentence “You bother me a lot”, “a lot” intensifies the verb “bother”. Similarly, in “He loved it so much that he continued to show up every week”, “so much” intensifies “loved” and the phrase “so much that” establishes a cause-effect relationship between the high degree of love and the action of showing up every week.
SO MUCH | A LOT adverbial phrases in end position Read More »
lexical verb + degree adverb
Following a lexical verb with a degree adverb is possible but much rarer than following a lexical verb with a preposition and a little rarer than following a lexical verb with a general adverb. Here we have kept the results with _VV _RG 11 TAKES ABOUT 36989 All in all, the process takes about a month, give or take. listen 12 LOOKS VERY 34563
lexical verb + degree adverb Read More »
OVER
We use claws7 tagging software to analyze the part of speech of ‘over’. Claws7 is used in iWeb corpus so it is easy to also look for examples. I go_VV0 over_RP the_AT bridge_NN1 ._. (if lexical verb before then ‘over’ is a particle, regardless if followed by a noun or prepositional phrase) I go_VV0 over_RP
AS
conjunction as 1 ‘AS’ is mostly used as a subordinating conjunction. Therefore a clause will follow. (CSA) A search in iWeb for _CSA * * * * 1 AS YOU CAN SEE , 77008 2 AS ONE OF THE MOST 35020 3 AS IT TURNS OUT , 26141 4 AS YOU CAN SEE FROM 23386
What part of speech is the word ‘SO’?
Although ‘so’ is hard to put a part of speech to, it is usually a general or degree adverb, but it can often also be a conjunction. Here is a ranked list in order of most frequent first with highlighted examples: general adverb – “So much for studying grammar everyday.” (RR) suborinating conjunction –
What part of speech is the word ‘SO’? Read More »
ABOUT
In this post, we do a search in the iWeb corpus for how ‘about’ is tagged: 1 ABOUT (II) 22037137 simple preposition * * about_II * * 1 YOU THINK ABOUT IT, 14959 If you think about it, we‘re constantly coming out to people, so really you should be good at it. listen 2 DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. 10723 3 . ABOUT THE AUTHOR 9220 4 . ABOUT THE AUTHOR
THAT
1 THAT (CST) 68828662 3 THAT (DD1) 25191738 5 THAT (CS22) 3093377 6 THAT (RG) 524810 7 THAT (REX21) 308941
degree adverbs modifying adjectives ‘almost certain’
Modifying an adjective for hedging with a degree adverb involves using an adverb to soften or weaken the strength or certainty of an adjective. This technique is often used in communication to express caution, uncertainty, or to avoid making absolute statements. By adding a degree adverb, we can create a more nuanced or less definitive
degree adverbs modifying adjectives ‘almost certain’ Read More »
determiner + noun (range)
This A2 grammar point is quantities of PLURAL NOUNS. Its made up of an adverb + determiner + noun.
determiner + noun (range) Read More »