This is another post about clashing CEFR levels between the English Grammar Profile and English Vocabulary Profile.
EGP C1 Point 61 in the category of DETERMINERS/quantity is defined as:
determiners in hyperbole, often in informal contexts (‘millions of’, ‘loads of‘, ‘tons of’)
However:
- ‘ton’ or ‘tons’ literal meaning and informal hyperbole with ‘tons of’ are listed at B2 in the English Vocabulary Profile.
- ‘a load of/loads of’ as informal hyperbole is listed at B1 and the literal meaning is at B2 in the EVP.
- ‘millions of’ as informal hyperbole is listed at B2 and its literal ‘millions’ is at A2.
TLC STUDENT SPEAKING TEST EXAMPLE:
The filmmakers just want to find an excuse to show us tons and tons of blood on the screen.
male Mexico B1
*hyperbole cannot be automatically found with form alone.
A search in iWeb corpus for:
millions|tons|loads of * * *
- 51 TONS OF THINGS TO DO 290 (same as the EVP B2 example)
- 69 LOADS OF FUN. 227
- 92 TONS OF FUN. 175
- 95 TONS OF FUN 169
- 98 TONS OF MONEY. 166
The following are probably not hyperbole. ‘Millions’ is by far the most common, so these could be considered mostly A2:
1 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE 3691
2 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS . 2368
3 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF 1665
4 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE . 1389
5 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN THE 1344
6 MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO . 1288
7 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR 1105
8 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE 1098
9 MILLIONS OF YEARS . 936
10 MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO , 931
11 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS EACH YEAR 861
12 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ALL OVER 659
13 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE 596
14 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE 594
15 MILLIONS OF YEARS OF EVOLUTION 586
16 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE . 546
17 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO THE 545
18 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS , AND 543
19 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN THE 521
20 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS EVERY YEAR 492
21 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN REVENUE 485
22 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ‘ WORTH 460
23 MILLIONS OF GALLONS OF WATER 455
24 MILLIONS OF AMERICANS . 445
25 MILLIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN 444
26 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PER YEAR 439
27 MILLIONS OF VISITORS EACH YEAR 420
28 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FROM THE 411
29 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE BEEN 411
30 MILLIONS OF FANS AROUND THE 406
31 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE , AND 406
32 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS . ” 378
33 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS . THE 366
34 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR THE 366
35 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO THE 363
36 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE EVERY DAY 355
37 MILLIONS OF POUNDS WORTH OF 329
38 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE EACH YEAR 327
39 MILLIONS OF YEARS , AND 317
40 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS , ” 316
41 MILLIONS OF YEARS , THE 309
42 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGE 304
43 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE BEEN 302
44 MILLIONS OF VISITORS EVERY YEAR 302
45 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE . THE 301
46 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE EVERY YEAR 301
47 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON THE 296
48 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS OVER THE 290
49 MILLIONS OF LINES OF CODE 290
50 MILLIONS OF POUNDS . 290
52 MILLIONS OF YEARS . THE 289
53 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THE 277
54 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE . ” 275
55 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS , BUT 273
56 MILLIONS OF USERS . 273
57 MILLIONS OF YEARS OLD . 270
58 MILLIONS OF LIVES . 260
59 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN SALES 256
60 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN LOST 252
61 MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WHO ARE 251
62 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGES 251
63 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE OUT OF 251
64 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE SUFFER FROM 251
65 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE LIVING IN 235
66 TONS OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS 234
67 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE SPENT 233
68 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FEDERAL 233
70 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FUNDING 221
71 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN THIS 219
72 MILLIONS OF USERS AROUND THE 218
73 MILLIONS OF YEARS IN THE 212
74 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE OUT THERE 209
75 TONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS 206
76 MILLIONS OF ACRES OF LAND 204
77 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WILL BE 204
78 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE FROM ALL 195
79 MILLIONS OF BARRELS OF OIL 189
80 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON A 188
81 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE . IT 188
82 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE , ” 186
83 MILLIONS OF SQUARE FEET OF 186
84 MILLIONS OF YEARS OLD , 186
85 MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WHO HAVE 185
86 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN NEW 185
87 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO BUILD 184
88 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TAX 183
89 MILLIONS OF MEN , WOMEN 177
90 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN A 176
91 MILLIONS OF WOMEN AROUND THE 175
93 MILLIONS OF CHILDREN AROUND THE 174
94 MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE , 173
96 MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO AND 168
97 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ANNUALLY . 166
99 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN ANNUAL 165
100 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR A 164