what

HAVE NOT + noun phrase

English grammar tells us that: I haven’t got a clue. I don’t have a clue. are the correct ways to express negative possession.  However, there is the rarer, older British sounding: I haven’t a clue. Notice that a superlative phrase is common to give emphasis: I haven’t the slightest idea how he works. listen Here are the search results from […]

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WHAT | WHATEVER noun clause

In the English Vocabulary Profile at B1, listed as pronouns: WHAT = THE THING = used to refer to something without naming it WHATEVER = anything or everything However, one of their examples is a cleft for focus: What I like most about her is her honesty.  is C1 when it is a noun CLAUSE subject. Similarly, we cover ‘whatever’ in more detail

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phrasal verb + clause ‘work out how you did it’

At C2 in the English Vocabulary Profile: work out = to understand something or to find the answer to something by thinking about it A search in NOW corpus for which ‘question words’ follow phrasal verbs: work out _*Q 1 WORK OUT HOW 12286 Just give us five minutes, Mr Poirot, and I‘m sure we‘ll be able to work out how you did it. listen 2 WORK OUT WHAT: I

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WHAT IS IT YOU WANT? (relative clause question)

Let’s analyse questions that have relative clauses to give emphasis.  So usually, we would say something like: What do we want to ask?  What are we trying to find out here? You can see the normal auxiliary verbs ‘be’ and ‘do’ get removed and relative clauses are added in the EXPERT EXAMPLES: What is it that we want

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What a + NOUN PHRASE

Here are examples of exclamatory sentences starting with “What”. They express strong emotions or feelings.
“What” is a predeterminer that precedes the indefinite article “a”.
The phrases following “What a” are noun phrases, often modified by adjectives for emphasis (e.g., “great”, “wonderful”).
Many sentences are followed by adverbial phrases (e.g., “to save time”, “to be alive”) that provide more information about the noun.
These sentences are common in spoken English to convey strong feelings. They’re less common in formal written English but might appear in dialogue or informal writing.
In the English Grammar Profile, such usage of ‘What’ falls under A2 level for expressing strong opinions.
The most common collocates in corpora are words like “great”, “waste”, “idea”, etc., often followed by infinitive phrases or prepositional phrases acting as adverbs.
This structure allows for a wide range of expressions, from surprise (“What a surprise!”) to disappointment (“What a waste of money!”) to admiration (“What a great idea for a party!”). It’s a versatile and expressive part of English grammar.

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WH- (reported question)

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 10 in the category of REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: ‘wh-‘questions using a reporting verb + ‘wh-‘word + clause, with a change of pronoun and tense shift where relevant Expert examples: I once asked a really bright student what he hoped to learn from me. TED When asked what the biggest challenge was in making the film, William Joyce says, not giving up. listen PELIC student example: Every time, someone asked me what my major was, they always

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‘What you see is what you get.’ (CLEFT CLAUSE)

The English Grammar Profile C1 point 10 in the category of FOCUS is defined as: ‘What’ + noun or pronoun + verb phrase as subject + ‘be’, for focus. Note that Pearson lists this point: GSE 59 B2 clauses with ‘What …’ to emphasise the topic or main point. For example: What we need now is a good night’s sleep. What I said was that I don’t need your help.

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fronted preposition + relative pronoun

Wh-relatives can be preceded by a preposition unlike ‘that’ or ‘zero’ relatives.  For example: This is the thing which I am interested in.  (stranded preposition) This is the thing in which I am interested. (fronted preposition) This is the thing that I am interested in. (stranding) This is the thing I am interested in. (‘zero’ relative pronoun and stranding) In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 12 in the category of PREPOSITIONs is defined as: preposition + relative pronoun as complement, to

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can’t (questions)

Negative questions with the modal verb “can’t” are used to ask for permission or confirmation in a polite or surprised way. For example:

Can’t we go to the park today? (asking for permission)
Can’t you see I’m busy? (expressing surprise)
To form a negative question with “can’t”, we put “can’t” before the subject and the main verb after the subject. For example:

Can’t + you + see?
Can’t + we + go?

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MUST questions

Affirmative must questions are questions that use the modal verb must in the affirmative form. The modal verb must expresses obligation or necessity. In affirmative must questions, the subject of the verb must is inverted, meaning that the subject comes before the verb. For example:

Must I do my homework?
Must you go now?
Must we help them?
In these questions, the speaker is asking the listener if they are obliged or required to do something. The answer to these questions can be yes or no.

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Present Continuous

Here are some student writing examples of present continuous highlighted with details: I am typing English words right now. PELIC Chinese female level 2 writing class   However, we also can interpret from the graph that we aren’t preparing for it yet.  PELIC Korean female level 3 writing class   I am always falling over one of his toy cars or trucks. PELIC Arabic male level 3 writing class   There are at least 30 points to do with the present

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