In the English Vocabulary Profile, wish to do sth = B2 FORMAL to want to do something A search in the NOW corpus for: WISH _TO _VVI 1 WISH TO PERSONALISE 74195 2 WISH TO REPORT 30007 3 WISH TO CHANGE 10511 4 WISH TO RECEIVE 10259 5 WISH TO SEE 8383 6 WISH TO […]
WISH + to-infinitive Read More »
A search in NOW corpus for: with _JJ _NN 1 WITH INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS 53037 2 WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT 45008 3 WITH OTHER COMMENTS 37269 4 WITH MENTAL HEALTH 28159 5 WITH TAILORED CONTENT 27842 6 WITH OTHER PEOPLE 26595 7 WITH PRIME MINISTER 22167 8 WITH SPECIAL NEEDS 20738 9 WITH OTHER COUNTRIES 19341 10
WITH + adjective + noun Read More »
A search in NOW corpus for: _I _AP _JJ _NN2 1 TO OUR DIGITAL EDITIONS 31898 2 ON YOUR MOBILE PHONES 31713 3 TO OUR FINANCIAL SERVICES 15863 4 OF THEIR RESPECTIVE AUTHORS 12218 5 BY THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS 10188 6 OF THEIR LOVED ONES 9585 7 OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS 7876 8 TO OUR
preposition + possessive adjective + adjective + plural noun Read More »
The following English Vocabulary Profile C1 entry: with a view to doing sth FORMAL = so that you can do something inspired this post as a grammar structure, regardless of the meaning, the complexity of two prepositional phrases with the second complemented with a gerund is clearly advanced grammar. A search in the NOW corpus
WITH + determiner + noun + to Verb-ing Read More »
Here are C2 phrases in the English Vocabulary Profile: A search in Now corpus: 1 WITHIN REACH 20327 = within somebody’s reach = possible for someone to achieve We are beginning to see that it is possible to unite beyond borders, that it is within our reach. TED 2 WITHIN REASON 3721 = acceptable and possible A search for collocates in COCA: 1 ANYTHING 23 There was nothing I wanted more and I was willing to do anything within reason to achieve that goal. Christian Science Monitor 2
within + limits | reach | reason Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile at B1: not believe/understand/hear/say, etc. a word = anything A search in iWeb corpus for: _XX _VV a word 1 N’T SAY A WORD 1726 Don’t say a word against my father. listen 2 NOT SAY A WORD 756 3 N’T UNDERSTAND A WORD 608 It was brilliant, even though I didn’t understand a word of it. listen 4 N’T BELIEVE A
At C2 in the English Vocabulary Profile: work out = to understand something or to find the answer to something by thinking about it A search in NOW corpus for which ‘question words’ follow phrasal verbs: work out _*Q 1 WORK OUT HOW 12286 Just give us five minutes, Mr Poirot, and I‘m sure we‘ll be able to work out how you did it. listen 2 WORK OUT WHAT: I
phrasal verb + clause ‘work out how you did it’ Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile at B2: work at sth = to try hard to achieve something A search in the NOW corpus for: WORK at _VVG 1 WORK AT GETTING 170 2 WORK AT MAKING 156 3 WORKS AT EXPERIENCING 126 4 WORKING AT GETTING 118 5 WORK AT KEEPING 94 6 WORK AT
WORK AT + Verb-ing Read More »
In this post, we give examples of 7 different ways the noun ‘world‘ is used in English. In the English Vocabulary Profile at A2: your world = your life and experiences A search in NOW corpus for: _APPGE world 1 OUR WORLD 67437 This may be literally our planet. 2 THEIR WORLD 33865 Note that ‘their’
In the English Vocabulary Profile at B2: to make matters worse = to make a situation more difficult, unpleasant, etc. If the most common example of to-infinitive + noun + comparative is listed at B2, then it would make sense that other less common should also be considered as B2. The closest form which is clearly
to-infinitive + noun phrase + comparative Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile, listed at B1 is: get worse = to become more ill, unpleasant, difficult, severe, etc. than before For example: But if this thing gets worse, we must close. listen There is no English Grammar Profile point that specifically focuses on GET + comparative A search in NOW corpus for: GET _JJR 1 GET WORSE 42282 2 GETTING
Here’s an example of a C2 phrase in the English Vocabulary Profile that means: worry that something very bad will happen or that something very bad has happened We fear the worst. TED A search for collocates of ‘fear the worst‘ in the NOW corpus: 1 COME 126 2 YET 114 3 BEGAN 59 4 EXPERTS 31 Experts initially feared the worst.
At C2 in the English Vocabulary Profile: If it is worth your while doing something, it is useful or enjoyable to do it. A search in the NOW corpus for: * * worth _AP while 1 MAKE IT WORTH YOUR WHILE 738 2 MAKE IT WORTH THEIR WHILE 413 Adam Smith was convinced that human beings were by their very natures lazy, and wouldn’t do anything unless you made it worth their while, and the way you made it worth
worth + POSSESSIVE + while Read More »
At C2 in the English Vocabulary Profile, ‘would sooner’ means ‘would prefer.’ For example: They would sooner sacrifice numbers to save the people. TED The most common collocate or grammar structure related here is comparative ‘than’. For example: I would sooner resign than be forced to get the vaccine. Chicago Tribune on MSN.com A search in the NOW corpus for which infinitives are found next to ‘would sooner’ would
would sooner + INFINITIVE Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile at B1, the adverb ‘nowhere‘ means ‘not anywhere’. At A2, ‘else’ means ‘in addition,’ ‘different’ or ‘other’. Together the words means ‘no other place‘ Collocates of ‘nowhere else‘ in the NOW corpus: 1 GO 5041 There was nowhere else to go after Australia. TED 2 THERE 3063 3 FOUND 1726 4 WORLD 1399 5 BECAUSE 1190
While working on another piece of grammar, I noticed a complex piece of grammar that is not listed in the English Grammar Profile. There are many grammar points that are listed that are about adverbs in the middle position, but none about two which should be listed at C2. A search in iWeb corpus for
verb + adverb + verb + adverb + verb Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile, Don’t get me wrong INFORMAL C2 used when you do not want someone to think that you do not like someone or something For example: Now, don’t get me wrong, I am incredibly grateful to be alive, and I am painfully aware that this struggle is a privilege that many don’t get to experience. fsc.org.au Collocates of ‘Don’t get me wrong‘ in the MOVIE corpus: 1 N’T 917 2 LOVE 72 Don’t get me wrong, I love it. listen
Don’t get me wrong Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile at C1: wrongly accused/convicted/imprisoned, etc. accused or punished unfairly or illegally For example: My father’s currently being wrongly incarcerated for 12 years. TED A search in NOW corpus for: wrongly _VVN Wrongly + 1 ACCUSED 3646 2 CONVICTED 2727 We‘re trying to help people who have been wrongly convicted. TED 3 IDENTIFIED 744 4 CLAIMED 679 5 ASSUMED 592 6 DECIDED 563 7 ATTRIBUTED 520
wrongly + past participle Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile at C1, YET from now and for a particular period of time in the future A search in the NOW corpus for: for a _JJ _NNT yet 1 FOR A LONG TIME YET 605 I‘m not gonna die for a long time yet. The Babadook 2 FOR A LITTLE WHILE YET 197 Dinner won’t be ready for a little while yet. Little Deaths 3
negative future + time period + YET Read More »
“yet” is an adverb that means “up to now” or “so far”. It is used to emphasize that something is the most extreme or the latest in a series of events or states. It usually comes at the end of the sentence after a superlative adjective like “best”, “biggest”, “largest”, or “worst”. For example, “This
