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 Vocabulary Profile, ‘demonstrate‘ as a verb is listed at B2. It is defined there as: to show or prove that something exists or is true While ‘illustrate‘ is listed at C1 with the meaning: give information through diagrams, lists of numbers, The English Grammar Profile C1 Point 34 in the category of […]
demonstrate | illustrate (reporting verbs) Read More »
C1 The present simple with ‘by the time’ to refer to the future.
English Grammar Profile
by the time + CLAUSE Read More »
Point 50 at B1 in the English Grammar Profile in the category of ADJECTIVES is defined as: ‘A (LITTLE) BIT’ to modify comparative adjectives used predicatively after a verb, usually ‘be’ However, ‘a little bit’ is considered as B2 in the EVP. And this B1 point also clashes completely with the C1 grammar point explained
a (little) bit + COMPARATIVE Read More »
The grammar “one | some + of the + SUPERLATIVE + PLURAL NOUN” is used to describe something that is among the best or most extreme of its kind. The word “one” or “some” can be used to indicate that the thing being described is only one of a few, while the word “of” indicates that the thing is part of a larger group. The superlative adjective is used to compare the thing being described to all other things of its kind, and the plural noun indicates that the thing is more than one.
(one of | some of | among ) the + SUPERLATIVE + PLURAL NOUN Read More »
Here are two points in the English Grammar Profile in the category of Verb patterns that depend on vocabulary range: Point 29 is B1 and defined as: a limited range of verbs followed by an ‘-ing’ form. Point 56 is B2 and is defined as: an increasing range of verbs followed by an ‘-ing’ form.
Here are examples of reported speech with relative clauses ending with stranded prepositions: He told me the company he works for. She requested that I give him all the information he asks for. He exclaimed that this is the best festival he has been to. This type of construction is considered informal and is often discouraged in formal writing. However, it is commonly used in spoken English and in informal writing. Profiling Research This post is about two points in the English Grammar
STRANDED PREPOSITION Read More »
B2 point 54 in VERBS/patterns is defined as: some verbs connected with the senses + direct object + an ‘-ing’ form, to give emphasis to an ongoing activity. *I don’t believe B2 complexity should hinge on ‘activity’. It should also include a state. For example: I don’t see myself being with anyone else but you, Sarah. listen An iWeb search for: sense verbs
sense verb + OBJECT + VERB-ing Read More »
At B2 in the English Grammar Profile, point 52 in the category of VERBS/patterns is defined as: introducing a new subject before the ‘-ing’ form (using noun or object pronoun) For example: This session is designed to stop you wasting time and procrastinating when you need to be getting an earlier night. context * The example above can also be structured: “stop you FROM wasting time” _VV _P _V*G *Notice that the ‘get/keep
verb + new subject + verbING Read More »
B2 English Grammar Profile point 51 in the category of VERBS/prepositional is defined as: adverb between the verb and the preposition For example: George says the piston’s going to go right through the block any minute now. listen Alex, maybe if everything goes well with the paintings, Victor and I will tour and we could visit you in New York. listen An iWeb search for _VV *ly_R _II 1 GO DIRECTLY TO 17903 We‘re gonna go directly to the airport and get a plane. listen 2 BASED SOLELY ON 13229 We can’t work based solely on rumour, can we?
VERB + ADVERB + PREPOSITION ‘go directly to’ Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 50 in the category of VERBS is defined as: ‘there’ with other verbs with modal meaning + ‘be’ + complement. The EGP modality examples contain: ‘need, have, is going + to’ However, in the English Vocabulary Profile, ‘there needs to be’ is listed at C2 with the following example:
THERE + modality + TO BE Read More »
B2 increasing range of verb + particle + preposition + noun or pronoun.
English Grammar Profile point 49 in VERBS/phrasal-prepositional.
VERB + PARTICLE + PREPOSITION + OBJECT Read More »
This is another overlapping B2 grammar point found in a few different places in the English Grammar Profile. Point 47 in VERBS is defined as semi-modal auxiliary verbs, ‘dare’ and ‘need’. The two examples are both in the negative. And the comments in the EGP are very interesting for this point: LOW FREQUENCY ITEM. There
There are 9 similar points across the English Grammar Profile in the category of VERBS covering phrasal verbs across the levels. And the differentiation between the levels becomes difficult to interpret since it is more about the vocabulary. For this reason, the English Vocabulary Profile is probably more beneficial even though the logic of what
B2 Verb patterns with a change of meaning when followed by Verb-ing or to-Verb
remember | stop + to-INFINITVE | VERBing Read More »
B2: modify a following adjective with the meaning = to a small degree
a little + ADJECTIVE | ADVERB Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 16 in the category of REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: events in the past with backshifts for tenses and words relating to time Automatic searches for this are impossible but we can look in corpora for combinations of told * previous|following * _nnt since these all exist in the
temporal shift & time words Read More »
Point 15 in the category of REPORTED SPEECH / DIRECT SPEECH is defined as: the reporting verb in the mid position of the reported clause. Here’s a list of the 10 most common B2 reporting verbs found in the mid position: claimed, commented, muttered, observed, recalled, remarked, responded, sighed, stated, whispered This is a very
reporting clause (mid position) Read More »
The English Grammar Profile B2 point 14 in REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: ‘ask’ or ‘tell’ + direct object + ‘not’ + ‘to-‘infinitive. This point can be extended with Pearson’s GSE 60 B2 report orders, requests and advice with infinitive clauses. She told me not to do it. He warned us not to be late. *Pearson also includes an affirmative example: ‘She encouraged him to
He told me not to do it (negative request) Read More »
Point 13 in REPORTED SPEECH (DIRECT SPEECH) is defined as: Report speech directly inverting the subject and verb in the reporting clause where the subject is a proper noun or noun phrase. A search in iWeb for: ” thought|said|asked * * 1 ” SAID HE , 4159 2 ” SAID HEAD COACH 3022 3 ”
direct speech (inverted) Read More »
Point 12 in the category of REPORTED SPEECH for CITATION is defined as: PRESENT SIMPLE of the reporting verb to report information from a written source and a present tense verb in the reported clause. We can start our search with: _nn1 says|tells and then choose nouns related to citation: 1 REPORT SAYS 19880
reported speech (present simple) Read More »
