B1 is an intermediate level of English. It is where most ESL students tend to be and also where most errors are made as they are learning new grammar and vocabulary. To see our full list of B1 grammar points with examples click here.
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 42 in the category of DETERMINERS/demonstratives is defined as: ‘this’ with time and date words to refer to the past. Speaking test example: When did you go to London? I went this year. TLC, Male, Italy, B1 A search in iWeb for: _VVD this_D _NNT1 1 SAID THIS WEEK 5943 2 ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK 3344 […]
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 40 in the category of DETERMINERS/quantity is defined as: ‘much’ with uncountable nouns in interrogative contexts. A search in iWeb corpus for: much _NN1 ? 1 MUCH MONEY ? 942 2 MUCH FUN ? 462 3 MUCH WATER ? 400 4 MUCH DIFFERENCE ? 352 5 MUCH POWER ? 289
MUCH + uncountable noun (question) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 39 in the category of DETERMINERS is defined as: wide range of quantifying determiners with plural nouns (‘several’, ‘millions of’, ‘a few of’). *Note that if ‘millions of’ is used as hyperbole, then it is a C1 point. TLC, Speaking test examples: There are very few sports cars in Sri Lanka. We don’t
several | a few of Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 Point 37 in the category of DETERMINERS is defined as: DETERMINER + ‘OF’ + DETERMINER – an increasing range of quantifying determiners (‘half of’, ‘enough of’, ‘none of”) *However, this partly clashes with the B2 Negation point for ‘none of’ Also, note that the ‘enough of’ structure might indicate a
HALF | ENOUGH + OF + determiner Read More »
A2 superlative adjective phrases using ‘the most’, with longer adjectives of two or more syllables.
(ENGLISH GRAMMAR PRO – ADJECTIVES)
THE MOST | LEAST + superlative adjective phrase Read More »
Point 61 in the category of PRONOUNS/quantity is defined as: ‘BOTH’, ‘A FEW’, ‘ANOTHER’ as subject and object pronouns. *We have covered the use of ‘another’ here. A search in iWeb corpus for: . both _V 1 . BOTH ARE 48684 2 . BOTH HAVE 15241 3 . BOTH WERE 15188 4 . BOTH WILL
In the English Grammar Profile, there are two almost identical B1 grammar points for ‘those’ in the category of PRONOUNS/demonstratives Point 46 is defined as: ‘those’ as a pronoun with plural reference. Point 62: ‘those’ as a pronoun to refer to things which have already been mentioned. An iWeb search for: * * * those
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 63 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: possessive pronouns ‘mine’ and ‘yours’, with singular reference, in comparative clauses after ‘(not) as … as’. *The following example does not have a singular reference, and the use of ‘yours’ is A2 in the English Vocabulary Profile. They‘re not as complicated as
as * as + mine | yours Read More »
In English grammar, “this” and “that” are demonstrative pronouns used to refer to specific things or people. “This” refers to something close to the speaker, while “that” refers to something farther away. Both can also refer to situations or experiences.
The pronoun ‘one’ can substitute for a singular noun, helping avoid repetition. For example, “I prefer the red apple, not the green one”.
When combined with “this” or “that”, as in ‘this one’ or ‘that one’, they refer to a specific, previously mentioned singular countable noun. ‘This one’ refers to something closer in distance or time, while ‘that one’ refers to something further in distance or time.
For instance, in the sentence “Get a new photo. You look like a ghost in this one,” “this one” refers to the current photo of the person being spoken to. Similarly, in the sentence “I learned the answer to that one the hard way,” “that one” refers to a particular issue or challenge that the speaker encountered and learned from through a difficult experience.
this one | that one Read More »
Myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves are called reflexive pronouns. They are used when the subject and the object of a sentence are the same. For example:
I cut myself when I was making dinner.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
They enjoyed themselves at the party.
himself | herself | myself | yourself Read More »
Point 15 in the category of QUESTIONs is defined as: VAGUE alternative question with ‘or something else’ as the second alternative to a noun phrase, to refer to something non-specific. FOR EXAMPLE: Ultimately, does longer life as we know it come down to diet, exercise, medicine, or something else? A search in iWeb for: _N or something else ? 1 ISSUE OR SOMETHING ELSE ?
or something else? Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 21 in the category of QUESTIONS is defined as: negative ‘yes/no’ questions to involve the listener or reader by seeking agreement. B1 point 4 in the category of PRESENT/simple is defined as: NEGATIVE TAG QUESTIONS ‘don’t you think’ or ‘don’t you agree’ to look for agreement or an
negative question (seeking agreement) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 22 in the category of QUESTIONS is defined as: alternative questions with two phrases combined with ‘or’. If we follow the patterns in the EGP examples and search in iWeb with them: or _I _A _NN ? 1 OR IN THE FUTURE? 152 EXAMPLE: Where can we see you perform next or in the future? missguided.co.uk
phrase + OR + phrase ? (alternative question) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 23 in the category of QUESTIONS is defined as: alternative questions using ‘or not’ to substitute for a clause, sometimes to express annoyance or impatience An iWeb search for: * * or not ? 1 THIS EARNING OR NOT? 287 2 GOOD IDEA OR NOT? 122 Is drinking fruit juices a good idea or not? cityspidey.com 3
There are a number of similar points for questionS in the EGP. Some are clearly different, while others get harder to differentiate. 18 QUESTIONS tags B1 increasing range of affirmative ‘be’, ‘do’ and ‘have’ tags with negative main clauses. 19 QUESTIONS yes/no B1 use main verb ‘be’ + ‘n’t’ to form negative ‘yes/no’ questions. 20
QUESTION TAGS (range) Read More »
Here’s a very advanced hypothetical conditional example of using a negative modal verb phrase in a question: If worms were evading the vibrations, wouldn’t they burrow deeper instead? listen Here are simpler examples of negative modal questions: Now who wouldn’t want that? listen Won’t you join me? listen Shouldn’t we save everything we can on the lifeboats? listen Question tags are also B1: Your life would be pretty different, wouldn’t it? listen Here are B2 examples: Wouldn’t that be cool? listen Why, if we knew this was going to happen every year, why couldn’t we just do something to make sure that we were safer?
NEGATIVE QUESTIONS with MODAL VERBS Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 27 in the category of QUESTIONS is defined as: alternative questions with two clauses combined with ‘or’. A search in iWeb for or _V _P * ? 1 OR AM I WRONG? 621 2 OR DOES IT MATTER? 287 Villanovan Do you view all these changes in entertainment as good or bad, or does it matter at all? *Note
clause OR clause ? (question) Read More »
The use of the conjunction ‘plus’ is covered by two different B1 grammar points in the English Grammar Profile. Point 14 in CONJUNCTIONS/coordinating is defined as: ‘PLUS’ WITH NOUNS often in relation to numbers. The home offers four bedrooms plus a study which could be a potential fifth bedroom. bendigoadvertiser.com.au Point 12 is: ‘plus’ to connect clauses and sentences, often to point out a positive addition or
Might is a modal verb that can express possibility, permission, suggestion or condition. In phrases like “as you might know”, “as you might expect”, “as you might imagine”, etc., it is used to focus the reader on shared knowledge or common sense, and to show respect or politeness by not assuming what the reader knows or thinks.
as you might (SHARED KNOWLEDGE) Read More »
CHEAPER THAN BUYING | BETTER THAN GETTING | EASIER THAN TRYING
comparative adjective + THAN + verb-ING Read More »
