A2

At A2, English learners can understand short, simple texts on familiar matters of a concrete type which consist of high frequency, everyday or job-related language. Students can understand short, simple texts containing the highest frequency vocabulary, including a proportion of shared international vocabulary items.

This page includes posts related to A2 grammar in chronological order. To see a full list of all A2 grammar in categories, click here.

AS YOU KNOW = discourse marker of shared knowledge

A2, B1, DISCOURSE MARKERS, organising, shared knowledge, writing

The phrase “as you know” is a discourse marker used to indicate shared knowledge between the speaker and the listener. It’s used to introduce information that the speaker assumes the listener is aware of, thereby establishing common ground. This phrase is listed at B1 in the English Vocabulary profile and A2 point 1 in the category of discourse markers in the English Grammar Profile. It’s often followed by statements that reflect shared knowledge or common understanding. For instance, “As you know, our company has been experiencing financial difficulties lately,” or “As you know, I am a big fan of classic literature.” The phrase implies that the information being mentioned is already known or has been previously discussed.

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if | when | while | so + SUBORDINATE CLAUSE

A2, B1, CLAUSES, conditional, CONJUNCTIONS, subordinate

A subordinating conjunction connects a sentence’s main clause and a subordinate clause. The subordinate clause (also known as an adverb clause) provides additional information explaining the when, where, how, or why of the main clause. “If, when & while” are sometimes interchangeable. In the sentence “It’s hard to have a girlfriend when you don’t have a

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Gerunds (verbING)

A2, abstract, B2, C1, gerund, NOUNS, object, phrases, PREPOSITIONS, subject

Here’s a student example of using a verb-ing form as a noun subject: Studying for an exam won’t be hard for you if you follow these steps. PELIC: Chinese male level 3 writing class. Here’s an example in educational materials of the news: Closing the gas pipeline is one action Western nations have taken against Russia. BreakingNewsEnglish Here’s an example of verb-ing after ‘to’: The find goes a long way to solving the mystery of why the Stonehenge bluestones were brought from so far away  when all other stone circles were erected within a short distance of their quarries. thebritishacademy.ac.uk In the English Grammar Profile, point 22 in NOUNS

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can’t | cannot

A1, A2, appeal, B2, deductions, guess, MODALITY, NEGATIVE, prediction, reproach

Modality is the grammatical expression of the speaker’s attitude or opinion about the possibility, necessity, or certainty of an action or state. Can’t is a modal verb that shows the negation of the verb can. It means that the subject is unable to do something, such as perform an action or demonstrate an ability. It can also be used to express deduction, which is a logical inference based on evidence or reasoning. For example:

She can’t swim. (ability)
He can’t be at home. It’s too early. (deduction)

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would (habitual past)

A2, B2, habitual, imagine, MODALITY, PAST, wish, would

In the English Grammar Profile (EGP), B2 point 160 in MODALITY is defined as: ‘would’ to talk about habitual actions and events in the past Looking in iWeb corpus manually for collocates of ‘every’ ‘time‘ with ‘would’ is 1 in 5 on the usage: … my mom also helped raise my nephews, who would stay with her every summer when school was out. Gone are the days where riders would get two bikes every year. The

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would like

A1, A2, desire, invitation, MODALITY, offer, polite, preferences, request, VERBS, wish, would

“Would like” is a polite expression used to indicate a desire or wish, often in making requests, invitations, or offers. The structure typically follows “subject + would like + (noun phrase OR infinitive verb)”. For instance, “I’d like to see you again” or “Would you like a drink?”. The negative form, “wouldn’t like”, can imply a hypothetical situation, such as “If I told you, you wouldn’t like it.” This phrase is commonly used in various contexts, including wanting to see, know, thank, be, have, say, use, get, add, share, make, take, ask, try, hear, think, point out, give, start and go among others.

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WOULD + love | prefer (politeness)

A2, B1, informal, likelihood, MODALITY, polite, possibility, preferences, range, wish, would

This blog post teaches how to express wishes and preferences using verbs like ‘like’ and ‘prefer’. It explains the difference between ‘I’d prefer’ and ‘I prefer’ and how to use ‘would’ to sound more polite and less confrontational. The post also explores examples of ‘would’ with verbs like ‘love’ and ‘hate’.

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will be able to

A2, ability, FUTURE, MODALITY, possibility

“Will be able to” is a phrase that expresses future ability or possibility. It means that someone or something has the power, skill, or opportunity to do something later. ‘you will be able to‘ is the 6th most frequent 5-word Ngram in English. iWeb 135,128 Here are some Expert examples: Well, I highly doubt that you will be able to get a job good enough to do that. listen

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must not | mustn’t

A2, B2, MODALITY, NEGATIVE, permission

“Mustn’t” is a contraction of “must not”, used to indicate prohibition or to suggest that something is a bad or unacceptable idea. It’s frequently used in phrases like “We mustn’t” (99 instances), “I mustn’t” (66 instances), “You mustn’t be” (37 instances), and so on.

In the sentence “Strict instructions from Edward, we mustn’t be late for his parade”, it emphasizes the importance of not being late for Edward’s parade. Other examples include “I mustn’t let my fears stop me from pursuing my dreams” and “You mustn’t be too hard on yourself, everyone makes mistakes”.

In English grammar, the negative form of ‘must’ appears at two levels. At A2 level, it’s used with basic subjects and verbs, while at B2 level, it’s used to talk about what is not permitted with a range of subjects or verbs. For instance, “Mr. Iannazzo placed an order at the Robeks and stressed to the staff that the product must not contain peanuts.”

The most common lexical verbs used with “must not” in the iWeb corpus include “exceed”, “use”, “forget”, and “contain”. For example, “France must not drop guard against COVID-19, minister says – The Jakarta Post” and “Safety experts warn that US trade deal must not include dangerous American cars. Trade Secretary urged to exclude US cars. Jon Stone Policy …”.

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adjective + (that) clause

A2, ADJECTIVES, assertion, B1, B2, CLAUSES, FOCUS, GSE, hedging, likelihood, MODALITY, possibility

Here’s a student example of an adjective followed by a ‘that’ clause. However, I am sure that  the most useful English for you is American English. PELIC Korean male level 4 writing In the sentence above, the phrase “I am sure that” is an example of epistemic modality. Epistemic modality is a type of linguistic modality that deals with a

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have got to | have to | don’t have to

A2, auxiliary, B2, MODALITY, obligation, suggestion, VERBS

Here are two student examples of using semi-modal ‘have to’ to express either a strong suggestion or that something isn’t required or necessary. Another thing is  you have to make sure that you have included signal words  to help the reader. PELIC Arabic female level 3 writing class.   I mean  if someone wears something,  you don’t have to wear that  because she or he wears it. TLC male Spain B1 speaking test. Listen to

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Present Continuous

A1, A2, arrangements, auxiliary, B1, B2, continuous, FUTURE, NEGATIVE, PRESENT, range, temporary

Here are some student writing examples of present continuous highlighted with details: I am typing English words right now. PELIC Chinese female level 2 writing class   However, we also can interpret from the graph that we aren’t preparing for it yet.  PELIC Korean female level 3 writing class   I am always falling over one of his toy cars or trucks. PELIC Arabic male level 3 writing class   There are at least 30 points to do with the present

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actually

A2, ADVERBS, B1, emphasis, range, stance, surprise, true

Why do I believe that the English Grammar Profile and Vocabulary profile should be merged? Well, they both have tons of fantastic information but it would be better if they worked together. If we use the grammar profile for single token grammar points such as “actually” notice the lack of information in the EGP: Point

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