SO + adjective + THAT clause
B1 CLAUSES | comparatives |
‘so’ + adjective + ‘that’ clause.
English Grammar Profile
SO + adjective + THAT clause Read More »
B1
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.
get + PAST PARTICIPLE
Passive ‘GET‘ + past participles is a way of using ‘get’ instead of ‘be’ in the passive voice in informal spoken English. It often refers to accidental or unexpected actions that we don’t want. For example: If we don’t get caught, it‘s not gonna matter who it was we stole from, and we‘re not going to get caught. listen She got hit by a car. listen Oh, that‘s so nobody accidentally gets thrown out. Accepted In the
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TEMPORAL SHIFTS – FUTURE
There are two similar and slightly overlapping grammar points dealing with the future in the past. B1 Point 3 in the category of report speech is defined as: about events in the future with and without backshifts for words relating to time. B1 point 39 in the category of FUTURE is defined as: ‘WOULD’ future
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wondered wh* + CLAUSE
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 7 in REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: REPORTED THOUGHT using ‘wonder’ + ‘wh-‘word + clause, with a tense shift where relevant. A search in iWeb for: wondered _*Q _P _VV 1 WONDERED WHAT IT TAKES 172 2 WONDERED WHAT IT MEANT 95 Tillamook Headlight Herald Wellness: What is insulin
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said | told * that + CLAUSE (tense shift)
Point 8 in REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: report statements using a reporting clause with ‘say’ or ‘tell’ + ‘that-‘clause, with a pronoun and tense shift where relevant *At A2 students can already use ‘said’ or ‘tell’ with a pronoun shift. Therefore, we might surmise that at B1 it must include a tense shift. There
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DIRECT SPEECH (initial or end position)
The following two B1 points are only different in the order. Point 4 in REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: DIRECT SPEECH, REPORTING CLAUSE, INITIAL POSITION: report speech and thought directly, using the reporting verb before the reporting clause Point 9 is END POSITION: report speech and thought directly using the reporting verb after the reporting
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WH- (reported question)
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 10 in the category of REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: ‘wh-‘questions using a reporting verb + ‘wh-‘word + clause, with a change of pronoun and tense shift where relevant Expert examples: I once asked a really bright student what he hoped to learn from me. TED When asked what the biggest challenge was in making the film, William Joyce says, not giving up. listen PELIC student example: Every time, someone asked me what my major was, they always
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there + MODAL VERB + BE
Existential “there + BE” is a grammatical construction that asserts the existence or non-existence of something. It is usually followed by a noun phrase that is the real subject of the sentence. For example:
There is a book on the table.
There are many stars in the sky.
Modal verbs are verbs that express possibility, necessity, obligation, permission, etc. They can be used with existential “there + BE” to hedge claims or express hypothetical situations. For example:
There may be no simple solution to this problem.
There should be some food in the fridge.
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VERB + DIRECT OBJECT + to INFINITIVE
This post contains an example of overlapping B1 grammar points located inside two different categories in the English Grammar Profile (EGP). EGP B1 point 6 in the category of REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: REPORTED REQUESTS AND COMMANDS with ‘ask’ or ‘tell’ + direct object and ‘to-‘infinitive EGP B1 point 38 in the category of
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HELP + object + infinitive
The verb help can be followed by an object and an infinitive with or without to.
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There BE n’t + NOUN PHRASE
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 41 in the category of VERBS is defined as: NEGATIVE: ‘There’ + ‘be’ + ‘n’t’ with countable and uncountable nouns. A search in iWeb for: there_E _VB _XX * * 1 THERE’S NOT A LOT 6543 2 THERE IS NOT A LOT 4009 3 THERE IS NOT A
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understand | realise + that CLAUSE
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 Point 42 in the category of VERBS/patterns is defined as: an increasing range of verbs, typically reporting or mental process verbs, with a ‘that’-clause as the direct object PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: I started to understand that there are many types of movies, and I started to distinguish between them. Arabic, Male, Level 4, Writing Class. *Note that this partly overlaps ’28
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while if | although | though
In the English Grammar Profile, point 76 in the category of CLAUSES/subordinated, at B1 is defined as: a finite subordinate clause with conjunctions (‘even though, (al)though, while if’) to introduce contrast, before or after a main clause. *Note, only ‘while if‘ is not overlapping other B1 grammar points or clashing at other levels out of
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non-defining WHO (object)
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 75 in CLAUSES is defined as: a non-defining relative clause with ‘who’ as the object. A search in iWeb for: , who _P _VV 1 , WHO HE SAID 968 2 , WHO I THINK 946 3 , WHO I BELIEVE 495 This is a design by Philippe Starck, who I believe is in the audience at this very moment.
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If + PRESENT SIMPLE + MODAL CLAUSE
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 74 in the category of CLAUSES/conditional is defined as: PRESENT SIMPLE ‘IF’ CLAUSE + MODAL, FUTURE, POSSIBLE OUTCOME: introduce a possible future condition, with modal verbs in the main clause, to talk about a possible result. A search in TED corpus for expert examples: If you‘ve got a couple of final words you want to share, that would be great. listen So if you look that up, you can hear more of those tunes. listen PELIC
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ask + if | whether + CLAUSE
B1 English Grammar Profile point 5 in REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: ‘YES-NO’ QUESTIONS using ‘ask’ + ‘if’ or ‘whether’ + clause, with a pronoun and tense shift where relevant. A search in iWeb for: ask* * if|whether _P _V 1 ASKED ME IF I WANTED 2391 2 ASKED ME IF I WAS 2083 3
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THE + noun + WHO|THAT + clause (focus)
Here’s an example of using a defining relative clause for focus: The person who sent me was you. Listen to the pronunciation. B1 Point 73 in the category of CLAUSES is defined as: defining relative clauses: ‘the person who/that, the thing that, the (only) one who/that’ as a focusing device. *Some people looking for information about a relative pronoun
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as + ADJECTIVE | ADVERB + as + CLAUSE
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 69 in the category of CLAUSES/comparatives is defined as: ‘(not) as’ + adjective/adverb + ‘as’ to introduce a clause (often with a substitute auxiliary verb) to talk about two things being equal or unequal in some way. *note that the EGP examples also include ‘as much as’ where
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(not) too + ADJECTIVE | ADVERB + to INFINITIVE
B1: CLAUSES | comparatives
In the English Grammar Profile, point 68 is defined as: ‘TOO’ + adjective + ‘to’-infinitive.
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