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lexical verb + article + adjective + noun + particle | preposition

We‘re keeping an open mind about the causes of the fire. listen A search in NOW corpus for: _VV _AT _JJ _NN _RP *note that particles and prepositions are sometimes incorrectly tagged. 1 TAKE THE EASY WAY OUT 761 (C1) You didn’t take the easy way out. listen 2 VISITED THE RIVAL NATION IN 734 3 TAKING THE EASY WAY OUT 465 4 KEEP […]

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BE + of NOUN PHRASE

Why say “is of interest” instead of “is interesting“? ‘is of + noun‘ is more formal and in academic writing, we use the noun form of a word more often.  More importantly, ‘of+noun’ functions as a noun in this position.  Therefore, it can often collocate correctly with modifiers.  For example:  “greatest interest” is much more

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lexical verb + IN + article + adjective + WAY (manner)

There are two points in the English Vocabulary Profile that relate to ‘way‘ in regards to manner: way MANNER C1[no plural] the manner in which someone behaves or thinks, or in which something happens For example: How do we measure changes in behavior in a meaningful way that‘s going to help us with prevention of disease,  early onset of disease, and tracking the progression of disease over a long period of time? TED in a big way INFORMAL C2 used to say that someone or something

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twee

‘Twee‘ is unlisted in the English Vocabulary Profile.  Google Oxford defines it as: BRITISH excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental. adverb: affectedly in a way that is artificial, pretentious, and designed to impress. adjective: quaint attractively unusual or old-fashioned. adjective sentimental of or prompted by feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia. — A search for collocates

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subjunctive THAT clauses

There is no mention of ‘subjunctive’ in the English Grammar Profile.  There are some points such as the second conditional though that indirectly cover it. For this reason, we suggest that sentences using other subjunctive forms that are not conditional or listed elsewhere, be considered as C2. Here are that clause examples from Wikipedia: It‘s crucial that he be here by noon.

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HAPPEN TO infinitive

In the English Vocabulary Profile at C1 ‘happen + to-infinitive‘ =  do something by chance A search in the NOW corpus for: HAPPEN to _VVI 1 HAPPEN TO KNOW 1453 2 HAPPEN TO LIVE 1430 3 HAPPENED TO SEE 1172 4 HAPPEN TO THINK 1147 5 HAPPENED TO COME 1132 6 HAPPEN TO GET 1104 7

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OXFORD + CEFR

Here at EnglishGrammar.Pro, we are always looking for new resources that position language features on the CEFR scale.  Note that, unlike Cambridge which uses what students can produce, Oxford uses the receptive knowledge of students to allocate the levels.  One great resource is their phrase list. The Oxford Phrase List is a list of 750

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wild

A search for nouns collocating with ‘wild‘ in the NOW corpus: 1 CARD 41920 This most common collocate is unlisted in the English Vocabulary Profile.  A google definition of ‘wild card‘: a playing card that can have any value, suit, colour, or other property in a game at the discretion of the player holding it.

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all the time

This content aims to elucidate the meaning of the phrase ‘All the Time’ as it falls within the A2 proficiency level of English Vocabulary. It delves into its definition, emphasizing its continuous usage. The content offers real-life examples to illustrate its application and explores its collocates to provide a comprehensive understanding of the phrase.

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otherwise

The adverb ‘otherwise‘ has 3 listings in the English Vocabulary Profile. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN B1 used after an order or suggestion to show what the result will be if you do not follow that order or suggestion A search in the NOW corpus for: , otherwise _P _V 1 , OTHERWISE IT WILL 1394 There

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verb + noun + TO THE + noun

A search in NOW corpus for: _VV _N to the _N 1 GAIN ACCESS TO THE SUBSCRIBER 3211 2 THROW CAUTION TO THE WIND 1721 A search for collocates: 1 DECIDED 95 I decided to throw caution to the wind and try it. foxnews.com 2 WILLING 21 He‘s been pretty extreme throughout his career and been willing to throw caution to the wind. ewrestlingnews.com 3 DECIDE 21 4 MEAN 19 5 DECIDES 15 6 THEREFORE 13

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verb + TO THE + noun

A search in the NOW corpus for: _V to the _N 1 GO TO THE HOME 158924 2 CONSENT TO THE COLLECTION 127114 3 WELCOME TO THE DISCUSSION 120567 4 CONSENT TO THE USE 115313 5 STICK TO THE TOPIC 90554 6 RELATING TO THE ACCESSIBILITY 54792 7 DIRECTED TO THE FCC 54790 8 DEDICATED

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conventional wisdom

In the English Vocabulary Profile: conventional wisdom = C1 what most people believe Collocates in NOW corpus: 1 SAYS 948 2 SUGGESTS 509 3 HOLDS 419 When it comes to moral and political disagreements,  conventional wisdom holds that people are more powerfully influenced by facts and statistics  as opposed to personal anecdotes and experiences. wbur.org 4 CONTRARY 402 5 CHALLENGE 352 6 HELD 257 7 SUGGEST 238 8 WRONG 207 9 GOES 201 10 CHALLENGING 177

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