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.
Point 75 in the category of PAST is defined as: Past perfect simple to report statements, where the main verb in the reporting clause is in the past simple. *This point overlaps B1. So we might surmise that ‘said’ and ‘told’ are B1 and other reporting verbs might be B2 within this structure. A search […]
past perfect simple (report of statements) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 74 in the category of PAST is defined as: leave out the subject before the past perfect simple where it is understood from the previous clause. _c _had _vvn *However the common that clauses do not really locate ellipsis. 1 THAT HAD COME 3547 2 THAT HAD HAPPENED
past perfect simple (ellipsis) Read More »
The words “if” and “whether” are both used to introduce indirect questions or to express doubt or uncertainty. However, there are some differences in their usage: Conditional vs. Choice: “If” is primarily used to introduce conditional clauses or to express a condition that must be met for something else to happen. It implies a cause-and-effect
IF meaning WHETHER Read More »
Point 73 in the category of PAST is defined as: Past simple: ‘I wondered’ and ‘I wanted’ as politeness structures, when making polite requests and thanking. I wondered if * could * 1 I WONDERED IF IT COULD BE 52 2 I WONDERED IF I COULD DO 46 3 I WONDERED IF I COULD MAKE
past simple (politeness) Read More »
The landscape can get muddy when it has been raining.
present perfect continuous Read More »
This is another grammar point where the English Vocabulary Profile is probably better at profiling the language than the English Grammar Profile. There are a handful of adverbs that already make the task across levels quite difficult to follow. We then should consider the hundred other adverbs that appear in this ‘mid position’. A2 point
past continuous + adverb (range) Read More »
“I had been working on that project for months, so I was very disappointed when it was cancelled.” “She had been crying for hours, so her eyes were red and swollen.” “We had been waiting for the bus for so long that we were starting to get cold.” At B2, in the English Grammar Profile,
past perfect continuous + RESULT Read More »
‘never + inversion‘ is B2 with or without past perfect. The following examples use present perfect simple + inversion: Never before has man possessed so much power. listen Never before have so many people risen so far so fast, on so many different dimensions. listen Here’s an example with past perfect inversion without ‘before’: Never had I felt such an incomprehensible emptiness within myself. listen In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 68 in PAST is defined as: past perfect
NEVER BEFORE + perfect inversion Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 67 in the category of PAST is defined as: past perfect continuous after a time conjunction to give background information. For example: This was just a few months after Ebola had been terrifying the world. listen 1 AFTER IT HAD BEEN SITTING 46 WOAI She and her stepfather restored the bike themselves after it had
(time conjunction) + past perfect continuous Read More »
Point 66 in the category of PAST is past perfect simple used for a CHANGE OF SITUATION. The EGP uses HAD + ‘planned’ and ‘wanted’ + ‘but’ in their examples. Since this is a difficult structure to find in corpora due to the length of sentences, we have looked directly in Google news for examples:
past perfect simple (change of situation) Read More »
Here is an example of a past perfect simple question: What had I done to deserve it? TED Past perfect simple questions are formed by putting had before the subject and the past participle of the verb. They are used to ask about an action or event that happened before another past action or event, or before a specific time in the
past perfect simple question Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 64 in the category of PAST is: present perfect continuous NEGATIVE It basically means that something did not happen between an unspecified time before now and now and that has a result in the present. This situation might still continue now. We look for examples with a search
present perfect continuous negative Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 63 in the category of PAST is defined as: past simple NEGATIVE wide range of regular and irregular verbs. This point is very much about vocabulary and so probably doubles up on using the English vocabulary profile. How do we divide the range up better than looking for
past simple negative (range) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 62 in category of PAST is defined as: a range of time adjuncts with the past simple. This is quite ambiguous as to what constitutes this in the EGP exactly. The examples all include a past simple verb and a time word but often with lots of words
Past simple + time adjuncts Read More »
B2 English Grammar Profile point 61 in the category of PAST is defined as: negative form of the present perfect simple with ‘still’ to emphasise that something that was expected to happen continues not to happen. An iWeb search for: still have|has _xx _vvn 1 STILL HAVE N’T FOUND 1847 2 STILL HAVE N’T GOTTEN
STILL + present perfect simple negative ‘still haven’t found’ Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 60 in the category of PAST is defined as: past continuous to make a request or suggestions more polite or less direct. I was *ing if|that * * * 1 I WAS WONDERING IF THERE IS A 875 2 I WAS WONDERING IF THERE WAS A 848 3 I WAS
past continuous (politeness) I was wondering if… Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 59 in the category of PAST is defined: past perfect simple AFTER ‘BECAUSE’ giving explanatory information. Here are examples of past perfect simple used to give explanations. Someone even wiped away tears because she had done it, she had connected them to information differently, she helped them see something they couldn’t unsee. TED Vicky called because her husband had suddenly collapsed in the hallway of their home. TED A search in iWeb for because _P had _VVN 1 BECAUSE I HAD HEARD
BECAUSE + past perfect simple Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 58 in the category of PAST is past perfect continuous negative. 1 HAD NOT BEEN DRINKING 180 Kankakee Daily Journal Canfield said he had not been drinking. Canfield called 911 a third time to report the neighbor was back home. 2 HAD NOT BEEN WORKING 144 3
past perfect continuous negative Read More »
B2 Point 57 in the category of past and perfect simple is defined as: REPORTS OF QUESTIONS where the main verb in the reporting clause is in the past simple. *However, only by investigating the rest of the EGP do we discover that there is an B1 point that clashes here for yes-no questions in
past perfect simple (report of question) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 56 in PAST perfect simple is defined as: invert the subject and auxiliary verb with ‘no sooner … than’ to talk about something that happened immediately before something else, often in formal contexts This is quite a rare structure. 1 NO SOONER HAD HE SAID 30 2 NO
NO SOONER + past perfect – than Read More »
