1 OUT (RP) Out is most common as a particle: A search in Now corpus for: * * out_RP * * 1 CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT 100063 Gentlemen, we can find out more about a man by his dreams. listen 2 BY FILLING OUT THIS FORM 50797 3 TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT 32803 4 TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO 29116 5 TO GO […]
Words like ‘once’ and ‘twice’ can be predeterminers as multipliers. For example: “Once every two weeks” “Twice a day” A search in the iWeb corpus for: once _AT1 _NNT 1 ONCE A WEEK 75774 We are proposing to meet at least once a week and just to do as many collections as we can. listen 2 ONCE A MONTH 44242 3 ONCE A YEAR 43510 4 ONCE A DAY
1 ONLY (JJ) 15190271 2 ONLY (RR) 2915525 5 ONLY (CS) 5100 A search in iWeb corpus for: * only so many|much * 1 ‘S ONLY SO MUCH YOU 831 There’s only so much you can do with a BA in theater. Long Lost 2 IS ONLY SO MUCH YOU 712 3 ARE ONLY SO MANY HOURS 633 There are only so many hours in the day. Real Genius
On the right are the exceptions to the -LY equals an adverb rule. 1 ONLY (JJ) 15190237 2 REALLY (RR) 9725060 3 FAMILY (NN1) 5751119 4 ACTUALLY (RR) 4265923 5 PROBABLY (RR) 3391732 6 ESPECIALLY (RR) 3047727 7 USUALLY (RR) 2937777 8 ONLY (RR) 2915522 9 SIMPLY (RR) 2911174 10 CURRENTLY (RR) 2349421 11 EASILY
Here are over a dozen ways that the word ‘up’ is used in English. Firstly, ‘up’ is most commonly used as a part of phrasal verbs. 1 UP (RP) adverb particle: 1 SET UP 1105960 Well, I suppose I‘d set up a meeting with the State Committee for Scientific Research in Moscow. listen 2 IT UP 713509 1 PICK IT UP 40589 We just need him to pick it up, and then I can lift the print using this 3D laser scanner. listen
In this post, we look at more complex phrases using the word NONE. Here are the frequency and tagging results in iWeb for the word “NONE“: 1 NONE (PN) 929301 Although the English Vocabulary Profile lists ‘none’ at B1 as a pronoun, meaning ‘not any’, there is also B2 idiom: This is none of your business. listen
NONE other than | nonetheless | NONE the wiser | NONE too pleased Read More »
The preposition “by” has several meanings in English, depending on the context. Here are some common ones:
It can mean “beside” or “next to” when used with a place, such as “by the window” or “by the sea”.
It can show the person or thing that does something, such as “written by Shakespeare” or “made by hand”.
It can show how or in what way something is done, such as “by car” or “by mistake”.
It can mean “not later than” when used with a time, such as “by tomorrow” or “by 5 pm”.
The word ‘to’ is most often before an infinitive or it is a simple preposition. A search in iWeb corpus for frequency data related to part of speech: 1 TO (TO) 240771826 infinitive marker _TO * * * * 1 TO BE ONE OF THE 87871 Everyone, this is our dear friend, Brian Bloom who also happens to be one of the most talented young writers. listen to this C1 example
‘Most’ is used to mark the superlative degree a little more often that it’s a superlative after determiner. As a degree adverb ‘most’ usually modifies an adjective or an adverb. 1 MOST (RGT) 7895059 1 MOST (RGT) IMPORTANT (JJ) 619744 2 MOST (RGT) COMMON (JJ) 385906 3 MOST (RGT) POPULAR (JJ) 368581 4 MOST (RGT)
Is the word ‘MOST’ used more as an ADVERB or a DETERMINER? Read More »
The third most frequent word in the English language is used in a lot of different ways. ‘OF‘ is most often in a prepositional phrase, but it is also used in many other types of phrases. Below we list the ranked frequency found in the iWeb corpus. 1 OF (IO) 328813259 2 OF (II22) 11680309
OF (complex phrases) Read More »
The second most common word in English is ‘AND’ which is usually a conjunction. It’s also used in complex adverbial phrases: and so on (A2 in the English Vocabulary Profile EVP) I need you to help me with my bags and so on. listen Also, note that ‘and so forth‘ is not listed in the EVP, but is listed in OXFORD at B1: I‘ve had ample opportunity to observe Browning and adopt his physical presence, study his mannerisms, and so
adverbial phrases with ‘AND’ Read More »
You might know how ‘the’ is used as an article. But did you know all the different phrases it is found in?
advanced phrases with ‘THE’ Read More »
Let’s look at two expert examples of ‘BE + adverbs of indefinite frequency + VERBing‘: At the time of application for Russian citizenship, the spouses must be permanently residing in Russia and must be married for three years. Russia Beyond – 16 Feb 2021 There are a few ways to approach loved ones who are persistently asking the same question. elmcroft.com The first example above is a modal verb + BE + adverb + present participle and the second
present continuous + adverbs of indefinite frequency Read More »
Adverbs of indefinite frequency, such as ‘sometimes’, ‘occasionally’, ‘usually’, ‘normally’, ‘regularly’, and ‘often’, are commonly used with the present simple tense to indicate routine or repeated activities without specifying exact timing. These adverbs typically precede the main verb but follow the verb ‘to be’ and auxiliary verbs. They can also be positioned at the beginning or end of a sentence in some cases. The webpage provides examples of these usages in various contexts, including TED talks and student writings.
In contrast, definite adverbs of frequency, like ‘yearly’, ‘weekly’, ‘every hour’, and ‘every day’, provide exact frequencies and usually appear at the end of a sentence. The webpage also highlights the overlap and differences in the usage of these adverbs at different language proficiency levels (A1 and A2).
Furthermore, it presents common collocates for the adverb ‘usually’ and examples of sentences using ‘often’. The examples illustrate common behaviors or thought processes, suggesting that these adverbs are integral to expressing frequency in English.
PRESENT SIMPLE with ADVERBS of FREQUENCY Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 173 in the category of MODALITY is defined as: ‘can’ with an increasing range of adverbs (including ‘easily’, ‘hardly’, ‘now’, ‘probably‘, ‘sometimes’, ‘still’) in the normal mid position after the modal verb or after the subject in questions. *Note ‘still’ is listed at B1. C1 Point 196 in MODALITY
CAN + increasing range of adverbs Read More »
At A2 in the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary: a bit [singular] (used as an adverb) (especially British English) = rather; to some extent Here are comparative examples: You might need a bit more than that. Is that everything? I mean, it seemed like he said quite a bit more than that. Listen Now, let’s explain an expert example of the C1 grammar structure: ‘a bit’ + comparative adjective phrase. Remember that
(slightly | a bit | much) + COMPARATIVE Read More »
B2 point 150 in the category of MODALITY is defined as: ‘may’ with an increasing range of adverbs (most commonly ‘even’, ‘only’, ‘already’, ‘never’, ‘just’, ‘sometimes’) in the normal mid-position after the modal verb. B1 point 70: ‘may’ with a limited range of adverbs (most commonly ‘also’) in the normal mid-position after the modal verb
In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 180 in the category of MODALITY is defined as: ‘ought to’ with ‘really’ to add emphasis. A search on iWeb for clusters with lexical verbs: 1 REALLY OUGHT TO KNOW 254 2 REALLY OUGHT TO GET 136 3 REALLY OUGHT TO GO 76 4 REALLY OUGHT TO CONSIDER
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 10 in DISCOURSE MARKERS in writing is defined as: a range of phrases as discourse markers to introduce a comparison. There are three examples of these in the English Grammar Profile. 1. Similarly For Hitler to fail at Stalingrad would be an enormous blow to the Nazi myth. It would be an enormous blow to the war itself. Similarly, Josef Stalin was unrelenting. He would not tolerate defeat. WWII from Space Collocates of ‘Similarly‘ (word ranking: 2809)
introduce a comparison Read More »
