verb + noun + ON YOU
PUT PRESSURE
HAVE MERCY
PLAYING TRICKS
B2
B2 or upper-intermediate students are around an IELTS 6. The language that they can produce nears the border of being able to start a university course in English. Click here to see a full list of all our B2 grammar topics.
particularizers
Particularizers are a category of adverbs that focus attention on what follows them, without excluding other possibilities. We are interested in finding more advanced chunks that they are found with. Firstly, we look at the levels given by the English Vocabulary Profile: especially = A2 very much or particularly largely = B2 almost completely mainly …
all in one | one by one
In this post, we look at adverbial phrases with the pronoun ‘one‘. In the English Vocabulary Profile: (all) in one = C2 combined into a single thing one by one= B2 separately, one after the other Frequency in iWeb corpus: one by one 135405 all in one 60329 For example: What if they asked, you could use them as a living probiotic drink and health monitor, all in one? TED …
subject + adverb + lexical verb + clause
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 …
TAKE * noun TO infinitive
A search in the NOW corpus for TAKE * _NN1 _TO _VVI 1 TOOK TO TWITTER TO SHARE 5632 UNLISTED And fans were angry and they took to Twitter with the hashtag #WeWantLeia. TED 2 TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO THANK 5134 B2 We want to take this opportunity to thank you for coming and taking the time to pay your respects. listen 3 TOOK TO TWITTER TO EXPRESS 3331 4 TAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ENSURE 2530 5 TAKES A VILLAGE TO …
What + HAVE + PRONOUN + got to be
The following grammar pattern does not have an entry in the English Profile. It relates to questions with stranded prepositions which are generally pegged at B2. It also relates to either A1 possession or ownership = have got or A2 modality = have got to do something. The overall complexity of this pattern is at least …
CAUSE + noun phrase + TO infinitive
B2 To cause something means to make it happen. This is often a bad thing/negative. Here are some advanced causative examples : I think the jury is entitled to know what powerful force has caused him to change his mind. listen This tidal wave of high-energy particles excites atmospheric atoms such as oxygen and nitrogen, causing them to rapidly shed photons at various energy levels. TED A search in the NOW corpus for: CAUSE _P _TO _VVI 1 CAUSED HIM TO MISS 2458 2 CAUSING HIM TO FALL 1518 3 …
lexical verb + reflexive pronoun + verbING
FOUND MYSELF THINKING | FIND THEMSELVES FACING | SEE HIMSELF PLAYING | KEEP ITSELF WAITING | DEFENDED HIMSELF SAYING
IN | FOR + A BIT
‘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 …
MAKE + noun phrase + OF
This structure is generally B2 grammar because it often comes with a wide range of general reference nouns without a determiner. However, more detail can be found in the English Vocabulary Profile regarding meaning and level: make fun of sb/sth = B2 to make a joke about someone or something in an unkind way make …
adjective + VALUES
In the English Vocabulary Profile: values = B2 the beliefs people have about what is right and wrong and what is most important in life, which control their behaviour A search in NOW corpus for: _JJ values_N 1 DEMOCRATIC VALUES 11972 Give a full and detailed account of who supports you, where your arms and supplies come from and that your aim is the overthrow of established democratic values. listen 2 SHARED VALUES 10229 3 MORAL VALUES 8609 4 CULTURAL VALUES …
adjective + TO infinitive + THAT clause
B2: SAFE TO SAY THAT | IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT
WISH + to-infinitive
In the English Vocabulary Profile, wish to do sth = B2 FORMAL to want to do something A search in the NOW corpus for: WISH _TO _VVI 1 WISH TO PERSONALISE 74195 2 WISH TO REPORT 30007 3 WISH TO CHANGE 10511 4 WISH TO RECEIVE 10259 5 WISH TO SEE 8383 6 WISH TO …
WORK AT + Verb-ing
In the English Vocabulary Profile at B2: work at sth = to try hard to achieve something A search in the NOW corpus for: WORK at _VVG 1 WORK AT GETTING 170 2 WORK AT MAKING 156 3 WORKS AT EXPERIENCING 126 4 WORKING AT GETTING 118 5 WORK AT KEEPING 94 6 WORK AT …
to-infinitive + noun phrase + comparative
In the English Vocabulary Profile at B2: to make matters worse = to make a situation more difficult, unpleasant, etc. If the most common example of to-infinitive + noun + comparative is listed at B2, then it would make sense that other less common should also be considered as B2. The closest form which is clearly …
yet + another | again | more
Listed in the English Vocabulary Profile at C2: yet another/more, etc. used to show that you are surprised or annoyed that something is being repeated or increased At B2, Yet again again after something has happened or been done many times before However, this structure is also listed at B2 in the Cambridge dictionary: used …
writing feedback 2 from Bhutan
The following piece of writing was given to me to give feedback and I used the complexity checker to help me decide this is B2 at least. Emily‘s Letter 12/12/2020 Hey Paul, The view from here looks great; I can see all the roads that we‘ve walked around, the park where we first shared our first kiss and that pink cafe where you proposed [to] me for marriage. Thinking of our happy moments makes me want to change my decision of falling from this skyscraper. The day I told you I was pregnant made us both proud parents and Jules became the love of our lives. I thought everything was going to be perfect, but life is not a happy picnic. Flash forward into our lives and you have changed, you ignored Jules who was sixteen. When you came home, you and I would fight about everything. I still have a scar on my right cheek when you pushed me to the closet after we fought about how you forgot our anniversary. That scar still hurts me and makes me question if I wasn’t good enough for you. On 16 May 2019, we received a call from Jules’ teacher who told us that Jules overdosed on drugs. We both failed as parents and you blamed Jules’ death on me. We played the ugly blame game and you just left with your things. You never showed up and when you sent in those divorce papers, I had to painfully sign it. A year passed by and I would wake up to face the living nightmares. …
to a large extent
In the English Vocabulary Profile, at B2, or at B2+ in the GSE, ‘extent’ is listed in phrases with ‘to’. It refers to: the size or importance of something | how big, important, or serious something is mainly in some ways A search in NOW corpus for: to_II * * extent 1 TO A LARGE EXTENT …
IMAGINE + gerund
This post relates to B2 range of gerunds. A search in iWeb for imagin* _VVG 1 IMAGINE GOING 3285 2 IMAGINE TRYING 3183 3 IMAGINE LIVING 2565 4 IMAGINE GETTING 2190 5 IMAGINE USING 1728 6 IMAGINE TAKING 1476 7 IMAGINE WALKING 1368 8 IMAGINE WORKING 1117 9 IMAGINE SEEING 1033 10 IMAGINE SITTING 1026 …
APPROPRIATE + noun
All the English Vocabulary Profile, all the vocabulary is listed at B2 or lower. A search in COCA: 1 APPROPRIATE WAY 544 2 APPROPRIATE RESPONSE 541 I found the appropriate response to these situations a long time ago. listen 3 APPROPRIATE ACTION 450 4 APPROPRIATE LEVEL 345 5 APPROPRIATE TREATMENT 268 6 APPROPRIATE WAYS 175 7 APPROPRIATE RESPONSES 122 8 APPROPRIATE LEVELS 121 9 APPROPRIATE …