NOT ONLY MUST people go to the event, but they must also be respectful there.
NEVER MUST they forget what the soldiers died for.
You must not ask about it when we are there. NOR MUST I be expected to explain it.
not only | never | nor + must + (inversion) Read More »
Here’s an example of the preposition ‘after’ complemented by a non-finite perfect form of the passive ‘having been p.p.’ Roughly a month and a half after having been laid, the surviving eggs hatch. Listen In the English Grammar Profile, there are two similar C2 points in the category of passives: Point 38: non-finite ‘-ing’ perfect forms of the passive as the complement of prepositions. Point
Having been + PAST PARTICIPLE Read More »
Here are some examples of past perfect continuous questions:
He just did something very unusual. WHAT HAD HE BEEN THINKING?
She was really sick in the taxi. HAD SHE BEEN DRINKING?
past perfect continuous questions Read More »
Adverb expressions such as ‘not only’, ‘not just’, and ‘not simply’ emphasize that something is true, but it is not the whole truth. These co-ordinate clauses. In the English Grammar Profile, C2 point 92 in the category of PAST is defined: present perfect continuous, invert the subject and affirmative auxiliary verb with ‘not only … but’
NOT ONLY + present perfect continuous (inversion) + BUT Read More »
C2 English Grammar Profile point 38 in the category of PRESENT/continuous is defined as: POLITENESS: with verbs that are not usually used in this form to make statements and requests sound less direct. EXAMPLES: I am asking us to use our power to choose. I am asking us to level up. TED We are asking businesses not to produce and consumers not to go out and consume. TED An iWeb search for I|We am|are asking|wanting *
I am asking | wanting (polite) Read More »
This passage discusses the use of “a lot” and “much” as subject pronouns in English. It provides examples of how these words are used in sentences, as well as the frequency with which they appear in the iWeb corpus. The passage also discusses the C1 and C2 levels of these words in the EGP and EVP.
A LOT | MUCH (subject pronouns) Read More »
Point 111 in PRONOUNS: the possessive pronoun ‘hers’ with singular reference, in subject position. Point 112 in PRONOUNS: the possessive pronoun ‘theirs’, with singular and plural reference, in subject position. *NOTE that there is no EGP point for hers as a subject with a plural reference. This probably means that plural reference would be C2.
HERS | THEIRS (subject) Read More »
Point 115 in PRONOUNS: ‘THAT … OF’ + possessive pronouns to express an attitude about someone or something, often in humorous or sarcastic contexts. *there are other very similar C2 points to this too. iWeb doesn’t allow more than 5 tokens in a search so a COCA search for: that _JJ _NN _IO _PPGE 1
THAT + adjective + noun + OF + possessive pronoun Read More »
Here are examples of speculating about the past using this form:
He COULDN’T HAVE SAID he loves you! I am still married to him!
It COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED.
couldn’t have + PAST PARTICIPLE Read More »
EXAMPLES: Social constructionists believe that things that are generally viewed as natural or normal in society, such as understandings of gender, race, class, and disability, are socially constructed, and consequently aren’t an accurate reflection of reality. thoughtco.com He says it’s a school’s responsibility to tackle bullying early so that bullies, the bystanders or even victims don’t think that it’s acceptable behaviour to carry through into adulthood. my.asiatatler.com Psychologists can provide insights about how to teach children to manage their behaviour in ways that are socially acceptable. edpsych.co.nz His goal is to make the company more environmentally friendly and socially responsible. dictionary.cambridge.org Therefore, we find that people tend to give socially desirable responses. TED ACL: acceptable behaviour socially acceptable|constructed|desirable|responsible EVP: acceptable B1 good enough C1 allowed or approved of: 2 examples of ‘socially acceptable’ iWeb: 1 SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE 8691 2
socially + acceptable | constructed | desirable : behaviour 8691 Read More »
EXAMPLES: Children can learn about taking responsibility by watching their parents accept responsibility. PELIC STUDENT: Japanese female level 4 writing class. I was called in to assume the responsibility. TED It’s been so wonderful to look back and see all of my former colleagues who’ve gone on to get doctorates and assume leadership roles in other organizations. TED The first step in accepting blame is realizing that you have made a mistake and you deserve to be blamed. altruwisdom.com The English Grammar Profiler tool highlights the Academic Collocations List, allocating C2 value to most of them. However, for each phrase we use,
accept | take | claim | assume + responsibility | blame Read More »
STUDENT EXAMPLE: During my first and second academic years, I never went to the library. Chinese female level 5 writing class. iWeb ranking: 1 ACADEMIC YEAR 68730 2 ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 21832 3 ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE 16841 4 ACADEMIC SUCCESS 16798 5 ACADEMIC RESEARCH 11633 6 ACADEMIC WORK 7408 7 ACADEMIC CAREER 7300 8 ACADEMIC COMMUNITY 6014 9 ACADEMIC STUDY 5326 10 ACADEMIC WRITING 5230 11 ACADEMIC INSTITUTION
academic + year | achievement | performance | success | research 68730 Read More »
STUDENT EXAMPLE: The professor tries to explain the abstract concept of freedom. PELIC Arabic male level 5 writing class The plural form is more common in iWeb corpus: 1 ABSTRACT CONCEPTS 2856 2 ABSTRACT CONCEPT 1883 further collocates in iWeb: 1 CONCEPTS 2978 2 AN 1170 3 SUCH 302 4 UNDERSTAND 183 5 CONCRETE 149 6 RATHER 102 7 UNDERSTANDING 101 8 ABILITY 74
In the English Grammar Profile, A1 point 2 in the category of ADJECTIVES is defined:
COMBINING TWO ADJECTIVES: ‘and’ to join a limited range of common adjectives.
adjective AND adjective Read More »
EXPERT EXAMPLE: We achieved tremendous outcomes. TED STUDENT EXAMPLES: He had finally achieved his goal! EGP B2 We can achieve our objectives by using effective time management. PELIC Japanese female level 4 writing class. iWeb search: 1 ACHIEVE THIS GOAL 7428 2 ACHIEVE THAT GOAL 4188 3 ACHIEVE THE GOAL 3279 4 ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL 3276 5 ACHIEVING THIS GOAL 1989 6 ACHIEVE A GOAL 1844 7 ACHIEVE
achieve * goal | objective | outcome 7428 Read More »
FOR EXAMPLE: It was very popular in certain academic circles. context Collocates in iWeb of ‘in academic circles’ 1 KNOWN 28 2 ESPECIALLY 17 3 DEBATE 14 4 POPULAR 12 5 DEBATED 11 6 LEAST 11 7 WIDELY 10 8 DISCUSSED 9 9 REFERRED 9 academic B2 circles A2 known A1 especially A2 debate B2 popular A2 debated C2 least
in academic circles 571 Read More »
Here are some examples of how the present simple tense is used in planning a future event that is also on a regular schedule or timetable.
Tell me about our date.
Well, how about dinner and this movie that BEGINS at 7 pm.
Tonight? I thought it IS on Saturday.
present simple (future) Read More »
When a quantifying determiner and a possessive determiner are used together before a noun, they indicate the quantity of something that belongs to someone or something else. For instance, in the sentence “For most of my life, I was terrified of ghosts,” the phrase “most of my” signifies a large portion of the speaker’s life. Similarly, in “All of our fathers enter our doors feeling hopeless,” the phrase “all of our” refers to every father associated with a certain group. In “Many of his senior team thought he was crazy,” the phrase “many of his” denotes a large number of a specific group associated with a person.
quantifying determiner + OF + possessive determiner + noun phrase Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, A1 point 1 in the category of DETERMINERS/quantity is defined:
limited range of quantifying determiners with singular nouns (‘a’, ‘every’) determiners: articles
Here are two examples showing a limited range of determiners:
A man had A problem.
EVERY person wanted to play A game.
a | every + SINGULAR NOUN Read More »
In negative contexts, “much” and “many” denote a small amount or number of uncountable and countable nouns respectively. “Any” implies the absence of something, applicable to both countable and uncountable nouns. For instance, “Not many companies can build planes” implies a small number of such companies. “There’s not much difference between them” suggests a minimal difference. “I don’t have any apples” means zero apples are present.
not + any | many | much + NOUN Read More »
