August 2020

topics and tags

This is a personal note for the direction in future. All the research posts should use the tagging taxonomy to choose a number of nouns that are best to use alongside the grammar. It is already clear, where possible I choose, for example, B1 vocabulary to go with B2 grammar for being able to understand

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a much better + NOUN

A search on iWeb corpus for a much better _nn offers these most frequent B1 nouns: approach, bet, chance, choice, design, experience, method, mood, option, performance, position, product, quality, result, sense, situation, solution, system, user, value 1 A MUCH BETTER JOB 4957 2 A MUCH BETTER CHANCE 4140   The Motley Fool Canada Fortunately,  those

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present continuous + adverbs of indefinite frequency

Let’s look at two expert examples of ‘BE + adverbs of indefinite frequency + VERBing‘: At the time of application for Russian citizenship, the spouses must be permanently residing in Russia  and must be married for three years.    Russia Beyond – 16 Feb 2021 There are a few ways to approach loved ones  who are persistently asking the same question.  elmcroft.com The first example above is a modal verb + BE + adverb + present participle and the second

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PRESENT SIMPLE with ADVERBS of FREQUENCY

Adverbs of indefinite frequency, such as ‘sometimes’, ‘occasionally’, ‘usually’, ‘normally’, ‘regularly’, and ‘often’, are commonly used with the present simple tense to indicate routine or repeated activities without specifying exact timing. These adverbs typically precede the main verb but follow the verb ‘to be’ and auxiliary verbs. They can also be positioned at the beginning or end of a sentence in some cases. The webpage provides examples of these usages in various contexts, including TED talks and student writings.

In contrast, definite adverbs of frequency, like ‘yearly’, ‘weekly’, ‘every hour’, and ‘every day’, provide exact frequencies and usually appear at the end of a sentence. The webpage also highlights the overlap and differences in the usage of these adverbs at different language proficiency levels (A1 and A2).

Furthermore, it presents common collocates for the adverb ‘usually’ and examples of sentences using ‘often’. The examples illustrate common behaviors or thought processes, suggesting that these adverbs are integral to expressing frequency in English.

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will be + VERBing (future continuous)

The future continuous tense, used in sentences like “Sarah will be joining us for dinner,” indicates a planned or confirmed action that will occur over a period in the future. It expresses certainty about the future and is often used when the action is expected to happen as a matter of course. While usually not used with stative verbs, exceptions exist, especially in informal contexts. For instance, “I guess I’ll be needing a receipt off you there, Red” is a polite, indirect request.

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AS YOU KNOW = discourse marker of shared knowledge

The phrase “as you know” is a discourse marker used to indicate shared knowledge between the speaker and the listener. It’s used to introduce information that the speaker assumes the listener is aware of, thereby establishing common ground. This phrase is listed at B1 in the English Vocabulary profile and A2 point 1 in the category of discourse markers in the English Grammar Profile. It’s often followed by statements that reflect shared knowledge or common understanding. For instance, “As you know, our company has been experiencing financial difficulties lately,” or “As you know, I am a big fan of classic literature.” The phrase implies that the information being mentioned is already known or has been previously discussed.

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if | when | while | so + SUBORDINATE CLAUSE

A subordinating conjunction connects a sentence’s main clause and a subordinate clause. The subordinate clause (also known as an adverb clause) provides additional information explaining the when, where, how, or why of the main clause. “If, when & while” are sometimes interchangeable. In the sentence “It’s hard to have a girlfriend when you don’t have a

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going | have | need | want + TO BE + past participle

Here’s an example of an infinitive passive structure. He said it was the summation of the parts working together in such a way that nothing needed to be added, taken away, or altered. listen The English Grammar Profile B1 point 4 in the category of passives is defined as: an infinitive after a limited number of forms including ‘going to’, ‘have to’, ‘need to’, ‘want to’. *Note that Pearson lists this as: GSE 59 B2

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