CEFR

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages is one standard for describing English language ability. It is divided from A1 for beginners to C2 for mastery. English Grammar Pro uses this for all of its grammar posts.

adverb + adjective (emphasis)

ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, C1, emphasis, MODALITY, modify, phrases

An adjective phrase can consist of an adverb + adjective.  In the following examples: ‘obvious‘ and ‘unlikely‘ are the head of the adjective phrases. Needless to say, Ares’ negotiating position was hugely strengthened when it became painfully obvious to everyone  that the giant US asset manager was the only bidder that had bothered to turn up at the auction. traveller.com.au   Therefore, all 42 Sinn Fein candidates would likely have to be elected to the 160-seat chamber  to give it a shot at emerging as the largest party, an outcome which remains highly unlikely. express.co.uk   The adverbs ‘painfully’ and ‘highly’ are used here to emphasize. C1 […]

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BE + not + ADJECTIVE + that + CLAUSE

ADJECTIVES, be, C1, CLAUSES, hedge, hedging, MODALITY

In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 197 in MODALITY/expressions with ‘be’ is defined as: HEDGING ‘be’ + ‘not’ + adjective + ‘that-‘ clause to make an assertion less direct The EGP adjectives include: ‘certain’, ‘likely’ and ‘sure’ which are all related to hedging and modality such as certainty and probability. A search in iWeb for:

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Dare (question)

C1, MODALITY, QUESTIONS

In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 198 in MODALITY is defined as: ‘dare’ question form A search in iWeb for: Dare _P _VVI 1 DARE I SAY 8113 2 DARE WE SAY 1864 3 DARE YOU SAY 226 4 DARE I ASK 195 5 DARE I SUGGEST 157 6 DARE I MENTION 118 7

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will + usually | normally | often

ADVERBS, C1, habitual, MODALITY, typical

Here’s an example of using ‘will’ to talk about habits and characteristic (typical) behaviour: The suspect will often leave something behind. listen C1 point 189 in MODALITY is defined as: ‘will’ to talk about something HABITUAL AND TYPICAL The English Grammar Profile examples contain: will result normally will usually contain will often knock won’t usually be able to *We can’t

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How dare you!

C1, disapproval, MODALITY, offence

In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 187 in MODALITY is defined as:  ‘how dare’ to express disapproval or offence about something. For example: “What? How dare you!” the queen huffs. A search in iWeb: 1 HOW DARE YOU ! ” 94 2 HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT 89 3 HOW DARE YOU TRY TO 64 4

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would + easily | strongly | especially | actually | absolutely | gladly

ADVERBS, C1, MODALITY, range

C1 point 178 in MODALITY is defined as: an increasing range of adverbs with ‘would’, including ‘strongly’, ‘easily’, ‘especially’, ‘actually’, ‘absolutely’, ‘gladly’ A search in iWeb for: would easily|strongly|especially|actually|absolutely|gladly _VVI 1 WOULD STRONGLY RECOMMEND 4687 2 WOULD STRONGLY SUGGEST 2216 3 WOULD ABSOLUTELY LOVE 1889 4 WOULD ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND 1773 5 WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE 1435

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will + ADVERB + have + PAST PARTICIPLE

ADVERBS, C1, FUTURE, position

C1 English Grammar Profile point 61 in FUTURE is defined as: future perfect simple with adverbs in the normal mid-position For example: Something somewhere will always have changed.   An iWeb search for: will _R have _VVN 1 WILL PROBABLY HAVE NOTICED 102 Forbes How To Make This E-Commerce Holiday Season Your Best Yet Anyone shopping in-store will probably have noticed the first few holiday decorations being put up. 2 WILL

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shall not

C1, FUTURE, NEGATIVE, simple

C1 English Grammar point 60 in the category of FUTURE/simple is defined as: negative form ‘shall not’ On the uselessness of climbing Mt. Everest: We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver, and not a gem, nor any coal or iron. We shall not find a single foot of earth that can be planted with crops to raise food. A search in iWeb for shall not _VVI 1 SHALL NOT APPLY 9981 2 SHALL NOT EXCEED 7825 3 SHALL

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‘What you see is what you get.’ (CLEFT CLAUSE)

C1, CLAUSES, cleft, emphasis, FOCUS, fronting, GSE, relative

The English Grammar Profile C1 point 10 in the category of FOCUS is defined as: ‘What’ + noun or pronoun + verb phrase as subject + ‘be’, for focus. Note that Pearson lists this point: GSE 59 B2 clauses with ‘What …’ to emphasise the topic or main point. For example: What we need now is a good night’s sleep. What I said was that I don’t need your help.

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neither | either + of + PLURAL NOUN PHRASE

C1, DETERMINERS, phrases, plural, PRONOUNS, quantity

‘Either’ can mean “the one or the other.” ‘Neither’ can mean “not the one and not the other” or “not either.” C1 English Grammar Profile point 63 in DETERMINERS/quantity is defined as: ‘either’ and ‘neither’ + ‘of’ with plural noun phrases or pronouns. For example: Neither of these men is Chaney. (note the subject-verb agreement!) listen I don’t think

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one’s + NOUN

C1, DETERMINERS, general, possessive

The English Grammar Profile C1 Point 62 in DETERMINERS/possessives is defined as: ONE’S to indicate possession, referring to people in general. This corresponds to the GSE 71 B2+ one’s as an impersonal possessive adjective. An iWeb search: one _GE _N 1 ONE ‘S LIFE 8388 It’s hard to imagine the rest of one’s life alone. listen 2 ONE ‘S SELF 5224 3 ONE

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either * or

alternative, B1, C1, CLAUSES, combining, CONJUNCTIONS, sentence

As a conjunction, ‘either’ is used before the first of two or more alternatives, and then the other alternative is introduced by ‘or’. Here’s an example of using the ‘either or’ structure. And so, to be anti-racist, again, is to recognize that there are only two causes of racial inequity:  either there’s something wrong with people, or there’s something wrong with power and policy. listen There are two almost identical points in the English Grammar Profile for the following grammar. C1

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whatever | wherever | whenever | however

C1, C2, CONJUNCTIONS, DETERMINERS, FOCUS, PRONOUNS, subordinate

In the English Vocabulary Profile, ‘Whatever’ is listed as a pronoun at B1 meaning ‘anything’ or ‘everything’, one example they give is: Whatever I say I always seem to get it wrong. This EVP example could be rewritten as: I always seem to get whatever I say wrong.   As a pronoun or a determiner at B2 meaning ‘no difference’: Whatever you decide, I hope you enjoy a wonderful summer. It could be rewritten as I hope you enjoy a wonderful summer

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not only do * but also

C1, CONJUNCTIONS, coordinating, FOCUS, inversion

In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 19 in CONJUNCTIONS/coordinating is defined as: inverted auxiliary ‘do’ + the subject after ‘not only’, to give focus. For example: It‘s kind of like the dirty, little secret of poverty, which is that, not only do poor people take in very little income, but also, the income that they take in, they don’t spend it very wisely, and unfortunately, most of that spending is done by men. *This is an overlapping point at multiple levels.

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the best + PRONOUN + can | could

ADVERBS, C1, CLAUSES, ellipsis, PRONOUNS, superlative

Here are 2 examples of post-modifying a superlative adverb phrase with a clause containing an ellipted modal verb: I do the best I can with what I have. I go about my business, make money, help society the best I can and try to promote free trade in this world. listen   You know, I did the best I could with what I had. listen C1 English Grammar Profile point 118 in the category of CLAUSES is defined as: ‘the best’ as a superlative adverb + pronoun + ellipted ‘can’ or ‘could’.

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DON’T LET + pronoun (permission/order)

C1, CLAUSES, NEGATIVE, order, permission, PRONOUNS

Here are two examples of ordering someone not to allow something: Don’t let him get away. listen Don’t let them go. listen C1 point 117 in CLAUSES/imperatives is defined as: an imperative clause with ‘let’ + ‘him/her/them’ + base form of a main verb, to disallow something or instruct someone to disallow something *I disagree that ‘him|her|them’ should

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not + verbING (subordinate clause)

C1, CLAUSES, information, introduce, NEGATIVE, non-finite, subordinate

Here are examples of negative non-finite clauses giving more information: I remember thinking very highly of Private Bell not wanting to see his record tarnished by a formal charge. listen   Look into my eyes so you know what it‘s like to live a life not knowing what a normal life‘s like. listen C1 English Grammar Profile point 116 CLAUSES/subordinated is defined as: non-finite clause, introduced by ‘not’ + ‘-ing’, to give more information *This is hard to find any examples of online because there are many informally ellipted

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