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.
In the English Grammar Profile, there are essentially the same two points in the category of Modality at B2 for the same form. Point 144 is defined as: DEDUCTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS: perfect form of ‘must’ to make deductions about the past. and point 166: PAST AFFIRMATIVE must have’ + ‘-ed’. For example: He had come such a long way, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could […]
MUST HAVE + past participle Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 143 in MODALITY is defined as: ‘used to’ without a following verb where the previous main verb is understood. For example: They don’t make them like they used to. *In the EGP examples, the sense of this structure refers to things in the past that are no longer true. It can refer to repeated
used to (ellipsis) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 138 in the category of MODALITY is defined as: could as the past form of ‘can’ in reported speech For example: Victim support arrived at our door and told us that we could expect to write off the next five years to grief. TED The following clusters from iWeb were searched with varying the spaces between said|told * * * could 1 SAID HE COULD 13770 1 SAID
could (reported speech) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 137 in MODALITY is defined as: negative forms of ‘can’t’ and ‘cannot’ to guess, predict and deduce. This point is an extremely difficult point to locate because it heavily relies on usage. The use of ‘can’t’ is A1 by default, but not ‘cannot’ which has not been given
‘It cannot be true’ (modality) Read More »
In this post, we explore modality with two adjectives followed by infinitives. Here is an imperative example of telling someone with emphasis not to forget or fail to do something: Be sure to check the weather before you go to the airport. listen And here is an extremely advanced modification of an assertion, a bit like a negative superlative comparison: There’s nothing more certain to ruin a beautiful relationship than marriage.
BE + sure | certain + to INFINITIVE Read More »
Something that is not needed can be expressed with ‘need not’. For example: But while we are determined by history, it is my personal belief that we need not be trapped by history, and we need not be the victims of history. TED In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 126 in the category of MODALITY is: need NEGATIVE However, in the English Vocabulary Profile, this is listed at A2 with the following example: You needn’t bring any food. iWeb search for need
Point 145 in the category of MODALITY and ELLIPSIS is defined as: ‘ought to’ without a following verb where the previous main verb is understood. There is an important note in the comments section of the EGP: This is a very low-frequency form in both the learner and native speaker data. There’s only one example
ought to (ellipsis) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 124 in the category of modality is defined as using:
the fixed expression ‘I must say’ to give emphasis, usually about something positive.
“Will you please” is a polite phrase that asks someone to do something for you. It expresses your desire, choice, willingness or consent. It also implies that you expect the person to agree to your request. For example: Will you please pass me the salt? Will you please be quiet? Will you please come with
In the English Grammar Profile, using the word ‘dare’ is b2-c2 and rare. The other strange thing is that some of the most common Ngrams (words found together) are C2 and less common seem to be B2 according to Cambridge research. For that reason, the complexity checking ability around this vocabulary item should be taken
dare (not) infinitive Read More »
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
adjective + (that) clause Read More »
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
have got to | have to | don’t have to Read More »
The English Vocabulary Profile entry: be at/on the point of doing sth = B2 to be going to do something very soon The English Grammar Profile B2 Point 57 in the category of FUTURE in the past is defined as: ‘simple past form of ‘be’ + ‘on the point of’ + ‘-ing’ to talk about
on the point of VERBing Read More »
Future continuous describes ongoing actions that will happen in the future. The ‘yes/no’ question form follows this structure: Will + subject + be + verb-ing? Will we be seeing you again? listen A question word can be added: What will you be doing in Boston? listen Note that “will” indicates the future, the auxiliary verb “be,” and finally the main verb in its continuous form (verb-ing).
future continuous question Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile (EGP), there are three similar points in the category of Future expressions with ‘BE’ at B2 in the English Grammar Profile. 47 ‘be due to’ and, more formally, ‘be to’ talk about things that are scheduled or expected. 53 OBLIGATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS WITH ‘BE TO’ 56 present form of ‘be’
‘BE’ + to infinitive | ‘BE’ + due to infinitive Read More »
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
Present Continuous Read More »
Present continuous is best given a CEFR level by lexical VERBing in the English Vocabulary Profile. The English Grammar Profile has many levels that are mostly based on range. There is also a point at C1 for rhetorical questions with present continuous. B2 point 45 in the category of FUTURE with present continuous is defined
present continuous questions (range) Read More »
There are three B2 future perfect continuous points in the EGP that are all very rare. B2 Point 54 is defined as LOOKING BACK FROM A POINT IN THE FUTURE and to emphasise the duration of an activity or event. B2 Point 49 is AFFIRMATIVE with ‘will’. B2 Point 42 is NEGATIVE *Actually we have
will (not) have been verbING Read More »
Collins lists the ‘about to‘ structure under adjectives, pointing out that there is no future tense in English. There are many ways we refer to the future in English. The structure means ‘very soon‘. There are 3 almost identical B2 points in the category of FUTURE in the English Grammar Profile that could all be
BE + about + to-INFINITIVE Read More »
There are 5 formally related grammar points in the English Grammar Profile in the category of FUTURE/perfect simple with ‘will.’ Many of them overlap and at C1 they are very rare and hard to find in corpora. An example from the iWeb corpus of the future perfect form used for a polite assumption about the
will have + PAST PARTICIPLE (future perfect) Read More »
