I am reading higher than normal alcohol levels in your bloodstream, sir. listen to the pronunciation “higher than normal” refers to the alcohol levels in the bloodstream being above the standard or average range. This could be due to recent consumption of alcohol. The exact range for “normal” can vary, but typically, a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% is considered legally impaired in […]
comparative + THAN + adjective Read More »
A locative adverb is a type of adverb that refers to a location or to a combination of a location and a relation to that location. For example, here, there, inside, outside, etc. A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and another word in the sentence. For example, in, on, at, by, etc.
locative adverb + preposition Read More »
“SOME TIME NOW” indicates that a significant amount of time has passed or is expected to pass. It suggests that a considerable duration has elapsed, but it doesn’t specify an exact or precise timeframe. The phrase implies that a significant period has gone by, often used to emphasize the duration of a wait, a process,
determiner + time noun + time adverb Read More »
Particularizers are a category of adverbs that focus attention on what follows them, without excluding other possibilities. They are used to modify verbs and adjectives and can be found at different levels of English Vocabulary Profile such as A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2.
The TED corpus has some examples of particularizers used in natural chunks. For example, “especially when it comes” is a 4-gram chunk that is at least C1 level. “Largely due to” is another 3-gram chunk that is at least C1 level. “Mainly because” is a 2-gram chunk that is at least B2 level.
Most reporting or mental processing constructions that introduce object clauses are listed at A2 or B1 in the English Grammar Profile. We believe that if adverbs are also included, this probably shows B2 ability. To check this, we look in the TLC speaking tests and find that the most common example only starts being used at
subject + adverb + lexical verb + clause Read More »
At A2 level in the Oxford learner’s dictionary, ‘All’ as an adverb can mean ‘completely’.
Adverbs pre-modifying prepositions are found at A2, B1, and C1 levels in the English Grammar Profile.
The iWeb corpus was searched for ALL + prepositional phrases using the pattern _DB _II _A _NN. However, not every result represents ‘all’ as an adverb.
Some of the most common phrases include ‘All around the world’, ‘All across the country’, and ‘All along the way’, among others.
Each phrase is used in a unique context. For example, ‘All around the world’ is often used when referring to a global phenomenon or distribution, as in “Television rights have been sold all around the world”. Similarly, ‘All along the way’ can be used to indicate a consistent pattern or presence across a process or journey, as in “Black girls are overrepresented all along the way”.
ALL + preposition + noun phrase Read More »
The text discusses the use of interjections in language, which are words that express sudden feelings and emotions such as pleasure, anger, disappointment, shock, surprise, and excitement. These words often come with punctuation marks and are usually inserted between sentences.
The text also presents a search result from the NOW corpus for the frequency of interjections. The most frequent interjections are ‘YES’ and ‘NO’, which are sometimes classified as interjections but do not always express emotion or act as calls for attention. They are sometimes classified as a part of speech in their own right: sentence words or word sentences.
The text provides examples of how ‘YES’, ‘NO’, and other interjections like ‘OH’, ‘YEAH’, ‘HEY’, etc., are used to express various emotions. It also notes that there is no entry in the English Profile or Collins dictionary for ‘yes’ used to express emotion, suggesting this is not an A1 cando. However, ‘Yeah’ is listed at A2 as an exclamation, and ‘No’ as an exclamation is listed in the Collins dictionary at A2.
The text concludes with a list of the top 100 most common interjections according to the NOW corpus, with ‘YES’, ‘NO’, and ‘OH’ being the top three.
interjections & other sentence words Read More »
At A2 level in the English Vocabulary Profile, the adjective ‘own’ is used with a possessive to emphasize ownership or belonging. This usage is common in advanced phrases, sometimes in C1 adverbial phrases describing the manner in which something is done. ‘Own’ can also function as a pronoun, referring back to a noun phrase. Additionally, ‘own’ can mean ‘alone’ at B1 level.
Examples of usage include sentences like “The least you could do is allow me to live here in my own way,” emphasizing personal ownership, and “Feel free to use our pool, but use it at your own risk,” indicating individual responsibility. Moreover, phrases like “on their own” and “of their own” are frequently used to express independence and ownership.
Furthermore, ‘own’ can be part of idiomatic expressions such as “mind your own business,” which means to tell someone in a rude way not to inquire about something private.
possessive determiner + OWN Read More »
‘a bit‘ can modify verb phrases with the meaning ‘by a small degree or amount‘ Here’s a search in NOW corpus to find words before this time/distance etc. adverbial phrase: * in|for a bit . 1 THAT IN A BIT. 572 We‘re going to come to that in a bit. TED 2 OUT FOR A BIT. 191 I‘m going
A search in the NOW corpus for: . _RR21 _RR22 , 1 . IN ADDITION, 302494 2 . OF COURSE, 168082 3 . IN PARTICULAR, 59379 4 . IN SHORT, 33034 5 . AT PRESENT, 25916 6 . IN GENERAL, 25021 7 . EVEN SO, 23640 8 . ONCE AGAIN, 19163 9 . AT FIRST,
2 part complex adverbial phrases at the front of a sentence Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile: take = GO WITH SOMEONE A1 to go somewhere with someone, often paying for them or being responsible for them walk sb home/to sth B1 to walk with someone in order to guide them or keep them safe However, we would argue that the complexity differences are not that clear or
lexical verb + object + location (walk somebody home) Read More »
At 55 B1+ on the GSE, in the vocabulary section, YET = used to emphasize that something could still happen in the future, or that there is still enough time to do something For example: There’s plenty of time yet to enter the competition. *The second sense is not listed in the EGP or EVP. It
TIME YET TO infinitive Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile (EVP), ‘Still‘ is listed at B1 with the meaning ‘despite that‘, where ‘that’ refers back to the previous thing talked about. This is slightly different to: ‘despite‘ as a preposition, which is also listed at B1 with the meaning: without taking any notice of or being influenced by; not prevented
still (despite that) Read More »
Much to my surprise, and Much to the surprise of someone, are ‘comment adverbial phrases’. This structure is not listed in the English Vocabulary or Grammar Profile, so we turn to the Longman dictionary: FORMAL used to say that someone feels very surprised, embarrassed etc when something happens A search in NOW corpus for: .
MUCH TO + possessive noun phrase Read More »
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
lexical verb + IN + article + adjective + WAY (manner) Read More »
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
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 »
