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.
C2 point 14 in the category of FOCUS is defined as: ‘How’, ‘Why’, or ‘Where’ cleft clauses as subject, for focus. *Note, HOW + CLAUSE is also C2 as an exclamation. A search on iWeb for: . How|Why|Where _P _V * 1 . WHERE I LIVE , 688 2 . WHY YOU ASK ? 544 […]
how | why | where + CLEFT CLAUSE Read More »
Fixed expressions are groups of words that are used together to convey a specific meaning.
“All of a sudden” and “out of nowhere” are fixed expressions that mean something happened very quickly and unexpectedly.
Sometimes, they are used together for added focus. For example:
But all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he just collapsed.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a huge storm hit the city.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere Read More »
C2 highlight something, often in a positive way with demonstrative DETERMINERS:
‘this’ + noun + ‘of’ + possessive pronoun
(English Grammar Profile)
this + NOUN PHRASE + of + POSSESSIVE PRONOUN Read More »
C2 point 69 in DETERMINERS/possessives is defined as: ‘s without a following noun when the noun has already been mentioned or is obvious in the context. A search in iWeb for: The examples in the EGP both contain a possessive adjective too, so we will use this here to help highlight out grammar. _AP _N
‘s (ELLIPTED NOUN) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, point 52 at B1 in ADJECTIVES/position is defined as: adjectives as object complement after ‘make’. *However, this clashes with B2: where ‘it’ introduces a reference. *Note, if you capitalise your search term such as MAKE on iWeb, it will give you all forms of the word. A search in iWeb
MAKE + object + adjective 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 »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 47 in Adjectives is defined as: ‘and’ to repeat a comparative adjective to indicate change over time, usually after ‘become’ or ‘get’ However, the English Vocabulary Profile lists ‘worse and worse‘ at B2 used to emphasize how unpleasant, difficult, severe, etc. something is becoming A search in iWeb corpus: _V
comparative AND comparative Read More »
Question tags are short phrases added at the end of a statement to transform it into a question or to seek confirmation or agreement from the listener. There are no prizes for telling us what the problems are, are there? TED The following example show that native speakers do not always use the correct form of ‘BE’: Yeah, there’s only two options here, isn’t there? TED There are only two options here, aren’t
come up with.
look out for.
watch out for.
PHRASAL PREPOSITIONAL VERBS (STRANDED PREPOSITION) Read More »
Point 30 in NOUNs is defined as: phrases with ‘a friend of’ or ‘friends of’ + possessive determiner + noun. A search in iWeb for: a friend of _APPGE _NN 1 A FRIEND OF HIS FATHER 99 Meriden Record-Journal New Southington chief got an early start in fire service Paul was introduced to the
friend of + POSSESSIVE DETERMINER + NOUN Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 43 in ADJECTIVES is defined as: ‘ENOUGH’ to modify an ADJECTIVE *if the enough is followed by TO-infinitive, this structure is B2. A search in iWeb for: _JJ enough 1 GOOD ENOUGH 166044 2 LUCKY ENOUGH 76058 3 LARGE ENOUGH 72118 4 BIG ENOUGH 68590 PELIC STUDENT: Turkish female level
ADJECTIVE + enough 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 »
In this post, we explore ‘even + comparative’ which is used to emphasize qualities. In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 40 in ADJECTIVES is defined as: ‘even’ to modify and intensify comparative adjectives used predicatively after a verb, usually ‘be’ and ‘get’. We did an iWeb search for even _JJ and highlighted the A2 comparative adjectives:
EVEN + comparative adjective Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 39 in ADJECTIVES/combining is defined as commas and ‘and’ to join more than two adjectives, after ‘be A search in iWeb corpus for: _VB _JJ , _JJ and 1 IS QUICK, EASY AND 675 Patch.com Local Announcement: Hire a Local Teen to Help in Your Yard … Getting work done on TaskTeens is quick, easy, and efficient.
BE + adjective, adjective and adjective Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 36 in the category of ADJECTIVES/modifying is defined as: adjective phrases ‘quite a’ + adjective For example: The game was quite a simple one. listen An iWeb search for: quite a|an _JJ _NN 1 QUITE A LONG TIME 7672 2 QUITE A LONG WAY 914 3 QUITE A LARGE NUMBER 603 4 QUITE A
quite a + ADJECTIVE Read More »
Regardless of what your government decides, the best way to prevent food waste is to eat what you buy! TED In this sentence, “the best way to prevent food waste” means the most effective or desirable method that can avoid throwing away food that could be eaten. This highlighted pattern can replace a defining relative clause that identifies the noun. For example: She is the best teacher to
the best + NOUN + to INFINITVE Read More »
Here is a nonliteral example of using an adjective before a noun that might be considered A2: It‘s been too long my old friend. listen Here are examples of academic collocation: It’s a pretty accurate description. (listen to this expert example) He can ask for additional information. (listen to this expert example) During my school years, I started reading to get some information because I was an active participant in almost all the literary competitions. TLC female India
adjective + noun (range) Read More »
C2 point 68 in DETERMINERS/demonstratives is defined as: ‘that’ and ‘those’ to convey emotional distance, often to express disapproval. The two examples in the EGP: that_DD1 sort_NN1 of_IO behaviour_NN1 those_DD2 so-called_JJ heroes_NN2 Emotional distance or disapproval is not possible to locate in corpora automatically. We can start by copying the language patterns above. But really,
that | those (emotional distance) Read More »
C2 point 67 in DETERMINERS/possessives is defined as: two possessive ‘s constructions in the same noun phrase. An iWeb search for: _N _GE _N _GE *we removed totally incorrectly tagged results. Many are set names. 1 STATE’S ATTORNEY’S 1686 4 LADY’S CHILDREN’S 424 (name of hospital) 6 CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL’S 266 7 CANADA’S WOMEN’S 257 The
2 possessive noun ‘s Read More »
From Google/Oxford, the suffix: s’ denotes possession in plural nouns and sometimes in singular nouns having a final s. For example: “the girls’ dormitories” Girls is plural. Usually, the possessive singular noun takes ‘s regardless if it ends in s or not. (Many English users get this wrong.) You are the boss‘s son. (A2 grammar) listen Boss is singular.
singular noun ending in S + possessive ‘ (-s’) Read More »
