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.
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 79 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: indefinite pronouns with a relative clause to form complex noun phrases, to give focus *Note that there does not seem to be any other grammar point in the EGP or EVP that relates to indefinite pronoun + relative pronoun which […]
indefinite pronoun + relative clause (focus) Read More »
Point 78 in the category of PRONOUNS / generic use is defined as: GENDER NEUTRAL: ‘they/them’ to refer back to indefinite pronouns when we do not know the number or gender. This is quite a hard pattern to match because the pronouns might not be used to refer back. A search for someone|anyone * *
indefinite pronoun + THEY | THEM Read More »
Point 77 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: the reflexive pronoun ‘itself’ with ‘by’ to mean alone or without any help. collocates 4 spaces either side of ‘by itself’ in iWeb include: 1 ENOUGH 1922 2 CLASS 1155 3 SUFFICIENT 780 4 STAND 558 1416 5 MULTIPLIED 455 6 STANDS 366 7 MULTIPLY
Point 76 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: Possessive pronouns ‘hers’ and ‘ours’ in comparative clauses. An iWeb search for _jj as|than hers|ours: 1 DIFFERENT THAN OURS 491 EXPERT EXAMPLE: His approach was totally different than ours. *’ from ours’ is traditionally correct, but this is the highest frequency example! 2 IMPORTANT AS OURS 470 3 GOOD AS
comparative + hers | ours Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 75 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: the plural reflexive pronoun ‘yourselves’ for politeness. The three examples in the EGP include a preposition before ‘yourselves’. And reflexive pronouns after a preposition are generally B2 already under other criteria. A search in NOW corpus for: * *
The fixed expression “in itself” is used as an intensifier to emphasize the inherent qualities or significance of the subject matter.
Point 73 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: ‘these ones’, ‘those ones’ as a substitute for plural countable nouns which have already been mentioned or are obvious from the context. A look for * * these|those ones * * in the iWeb corpus: 1 ONE OF THOSE ONES WHERE YOU 29 The
THESE | THOSE ONES Read More »
In the EGP, there are several points in the category of PRONOUNS with the possessive pronoun ‘ours’: C1 Point 101: … in subject position B2 Point 72: … with singular and plural reference, in subject position. B2 Point 86 is the same except: … in object positions, and complement positions after ‘be’ and after prepositions.
B2 PRONOUN
(SUBJECT) EMPTY ‘IT’ dummy ‘it’ with ‘appears’, ‘feels’, ‘looks’ and ‘seems’.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR PROFILE
It + appears | feels | looks | seems + CLAUSE Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 70 in the category of PRONOUNS & demonstratives is defined as: ‘those’ as a substitute, followed by a relative clause or ‘-ed’ or ‘-ing’. The examples in the EGP contain: those who|which|that on iWeb these are broken down as: 1 THOSE WHO 1715629 2 THOSE THAT 337742 3
THOSE + relative clause Read More »
A2 point 34 in the category of PRONOUNS: ‘something’ in vague expressions, to refer to things in a non-specific way. B2 point 69 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: indefinite pronouns in vague expressions to refer to things in a non-specific way. *The B2 examples given in the EGP are: or_CC anything_PN1 or_CC
OR + indefinite pronouns (vague expressions) Read More »
Point 68 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: ‘he/she’, ‘he’ or ‘she’ or ‘they’ to refer back to gender neutral singular nouns or indefinite pronouns when we are not sure of the gender. Unfortunately these are incredibly hard to locate in corpora due to the punctuation or many other combinations within the clusters.
pronouns (gender neutral) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 31 in the category of PRESENT is defined as: Present simple, STORIES AND COMMENTARIES, to summarise events or plot in a story or piece of history, often to give immediate dramatic interest. This usage is not really something that can be easily located in Corpora. However, both example
present simple to summarise (TAKES PLACE) Read More »
Point 29 in the category of PRESENT is defined as: present simple with a wide range of speech act verbs, including ‘(dis)agree’, ‘accept’, ‘advise.’ A search on iWeb corpus for agree|disagree|accept|advise * * * * *does not really locate speech act theory since there are other uses of these verbs. In particular the most common
present simple (speech act verbs) Read More »
When it comes to single word grammar points such as single-word prepositions, the English Vocabulary Profile is much better at explaining range than the English Grammar Profile. For that reason, this post will only cover the prepositions appearing in the EGP examples. A1 is defined: prepositional phrases with a preposition and a noun phrase. limited
simple prepositions (range) Read More »
Wh-relatives can be preceded by a preposition unlike ‘that’ or ‘zero’ relatives. For example: This is the thing which I am interested in. (stranded preposition) This is the thing in which I am interested. (fronted preposition) This is the thing that I am interested in. (stranding) This is the thing I am interested in. (‘zero’ relative pronoun and stranding) In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 12 in the category of PREPOSITIONs is defined as: preposition + relative pronoun as complement, to
fronted preposition + relative pronoun Read More »
Point 79 in the category of PAST is defined as: past perfect simple, IMAGINED PAST, the affirmative form after ‘if only’, and the affirmative and negative forms after ‘wish’ to talk about regret. This is a rare match of grammar levels with Pearons’ GSE 62 B2: If only I’d worked harder. I wish we’d bought that house. if only * _vhd _vvn 1
IF ONLY | WISH + past perfect simple Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 78 in the category of PAST is defined as: past perfect continuous in relative clauses to give background information. For example: I was scrolling on social media, and I saw a friend who had been sharing positive news stories. TED A search in iWeb corpus for: who|that|which had been _vvg gives us the most common continuous verbs found in past perfect continuous relative
past perfect continuous in a relative clause Read More »
You can give background information in a past perfect simple relative clause. For example:
The people WHO ATTENDED the lecture knew about the test.
The teachers WHO HAD DEVELOPED the test explained what to study the night before.
past perfect simple in relative clauses Read More »
B2 English Grammar Profile point 76 in the category of PAST is: past perfect continuous WITH ADVERBS in the normal mid position For example: I had just been doing some reading. listen An iWeb search for: had _rr been _vvg 1 HAD ALREADY BEEN WORKING 359 2 HAD ALREADY BEEN USING 210 3 HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN USING 122 4 HAD ALSO
past perfect continuous + adverb ‘had already been doing’ Read More »
