Author name: English Grammar Pro

I am an English Grammar Pro.

socially + acceptable | constructed | desirable : behaviour 8691

ACL

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 »

accept | take | claim | assume + responsibility | blame

ACL

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 »

academic + year | achievement | performance | success | research 68730

ACL

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 »

abstract concepts

abstract, ACL, ADJECTIVES, attributive, B2, NOUNS

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

abstract concepts Read More »

achieve * goal | objective | outcome 7428

ACL

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 »

in academic circles 571

ACL

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 »

quantifying determiner + OF + possessive determiner + noun phrase

A2, ADJECTIVES, DETERMINERS, NOUNS, phrases, possessive, quantity

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 »

not + any | many | much + NOUN

A2, DETERMINERS, NEGATIVE, NOUNS, plural, quantity, uncountable

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 »

That’s + adjective !

A2, ADJECTIVES, demonstrative, PRONOUNS, response token

Point 38 in PRONOUNS/demonstratives is defined: RESPONSE TOKENS WITH ‘that’s’ + adjective to respond to something However, the EGP examples do not always contain an adjective: That’s great! That’s a pity! That’s a good idea! FOR EXAMPLE: Do you always go to the same place? Oh, that’s awesome! An iWeb search for: That _VBZ * ! 1 THAT ‘S IT ! 12397 2 THAT ‘S RIGHT !

That’s + adjective ! Read More »

present perfect simple (unfinished)

B1, indefinite, PAST, perfect, PRESENT, simple, time

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 20 in the category of PAST is defined: present perfect simple: UNFINISHED refer to a state or period of time which is unlimited or indefinite. PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: I have already gotten several wrong numbers this month. Japanese female level 4 grammar class   EXPERT EXAMPLES: It‘s been proven to me time and time again as people have walked up to me this week  simply because of what I‘m wearing, and we‘ve had great conversations.

present perfect simple (unfinished) Read More »

reporting verbs

A2, CLAUSES, direct, informal, mental, object, REPORTED SPEECH, VERBS

In the English Grammar Profile, A2 point 18 in the category of VERBS/patterns is defined as: reporting verbs, especially mental process verbs, with a clause as the direct object, without ‘that’, especially in informal contexts. For example: I hope you are doing well.   *notably, in the English Grammar Profile examples, all the verbs but ‘said’ are in the present

reporting verbs Read More »

maybe | perhaps

A2, ADVERBS, certainty, CLAUSES, MODALITY, position, possibility

“Maybe” and the more formal “perhaps” are both adverbs that convey modality related to uncertainty or possibility.  For example: So why did we keep trying when all the adults said it was impossible? Well, maybe it‘s because we‘re kids. We don’t know any better. TED In this context, “maybe” is used to suggest a possible explanation or reason for why the kids kept trying despite the adults saying it was impossible. The speaker is speculating that

maybe | perhaps Read More »

wouldn’t

A2, MODALITY, NEGATIVE, opinion, polite

The sentence “Well, I wouldn’t say that.” is a common English expression used to indicate disagreement or to express a different opinion. The word “wouldn’t” in this context is used as a negated modal verb to convey polite disagreement (there is a tinge of a sense of doubt or uncertainty) . It is often used

wouldn’t Read More »