A search in NOW corpus for: _VB _XX at _NN _TO 1 ARE NOT AT LIBERTY TO 260 2 ‘M NOT AT LIBERTY TO 220 Who‘s your client? I‘m not at liberty to say. listen 3 AM NOT AT LIBERTY TO 217 4 IS NOT AT LIBERTY TO 149 5 WAS NOT AT LIBERTY TO 118 6 ‘RE NOT […]
BE + at + NOUN + to INFINITIVE Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile, wish to do sth = B2 FORMAL to want to do something A search in the NOW corpus for: WISH _TO _VVI 1 WISH TO PERSONALISE 74195 2 WISH TO REPORT 30007 3 WISH TO CHANGE 10511 4 WISH TO RECEIVE 10259 5 WISH TO SEE 8383 6 WISH TO
WISH + to-infinitive Read More »
The following English Vocabulary Profile C1 entry: with a view to doing sth FORMAL = so that you can do something inspired this post as a grammar structure, regardless of the meaning, the complexity of two prepositional phrases with the second complemented with a gerund is clearly advanced grammar. A search in the NOW corpus
WITH + determiner + noun + to Verb-ing Read More »
All the English Vocabulary Profile, all the vocabulary is listed at B2 or lower. A search in COCA: 1 APPROPRIATE WAY 544 2 APPROPRIATE RESPONSE 541 I found the appropriate response to these situations a long time ago. listen 3 APPROPRIATE ACTION 450 4 APPROPRIATE LEVEL 345 5 APPROPRIATE TREATMENT 268 6 APPROPRIATE WAYS 175 7 APPROPRIATE RESPONSES 122 8 APPROPRIATE LEVELS 121 9 APPROPRIATE
APPROPRIATE + noun Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile, all the vocabulary in this set of collocations is at B1 except for ‘equally’ at B2. I apply this lesson equally well to my personal life. About 75 percent of people who applied to jobs using various methods in the past year said they never heard anything back from the employer. We have applied this theory to many systems.
APPLY + equally | method | theory Read More »
A search in iWeb for: annual conference|meeting|rate|report|review 1 ANNUAL REPORT 47760 Sustainability goals have been written into annual reports all over the world. 2 ANNUAL MEETING 45673 I hadn’t seen Melquiades for about 10 years and when we had our annual meetings in Lima, Peru a couple of years ago, the filmmakers found him. 3 ANNUAL CONFERENCE 24962 4 ANNUAL RATE 11484 5 ANNUAL REVIEW 6732
‘analytical’ is C1 in the English Vocabulary Profile. A COCA collocate search for: analytical approach|tool|approaches|tools 1 TOOLS 182 (B2) 2 APPROACH 96 (B2) 3 TOOL 67 (B2) 4 APPROACHES 52 5 DATA 17 Data and analytical tools are important. However, they aren’t enough on their own. context 6 USEFUL 15 This would not be a very useful analytical approach. context 7 USING 15 8 USED 15 9 POWERFUL 10 10 DEVELOPED 9 11
ANALYTICAL + approach | tools Read More »
There are over 10 entries in the ACL for the B2 (proof) or C2 (law) noun ‘evidence’. Here we look for those adjectives that only come before ‘evidence’ in the list. A search in COCA for the frequency of these collocations: 1 ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE 1110 (unlisted in the English Vocabulary Profile.) I wanted to put some science to this anecdotal evidence. 2
ample | anecdotal | convincing | documentary | supporting + EVIDENCE Read More »
If we check ‘text inspector’ without part of speech: when we check for nouns: A search in iWeb for: alternative approach|explanation|form|interpretation|means|method|model|solution|source|strategy|view|way 1 ALTERNATIVE WAY 6465 2 ALTERNATIVE METHOD 6153 I believe we might be at a point where we might want to try some alternative methods. listen 3 ALTERNATIVE APPROACH 4546 Isn’t there an alternative approach? listen 4 ALTERNATIVE MEANS 3901 5 ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION 3228 6 ALTERNATIVE SOURCE 1925
academic collocations of ‘alternative’ Read More »
‘almost identical‘ is an expert example of a C1 range of grammar and vocabulary which is also academic collocation. Indeed, as you know, the new will is almost identical to the old but for the disposition of a few items. This draft is almost identical to what was released. listen When we look for these words with more words between them it isn’t the same modification: You‘re almost definitely not going to find two identical snowflakes.
Looking for academic collocation in TED corpus for: allow* * access* Together, psychedelics and music may be able to open our minds to change and direct that change, reconnect us with our most authentic selves and allow us access to the things that really allow us to make meaning in this world, and reconnect with our most authentic selves. listen ‘allow’ and ‘access’ are B1 in the English Vocabulary Profile.
Here’s an example of this academic collocation: And this data is key because it really helps cities understand where people are using, how to allocate resources and the effectiveness of programming over time. A search in iWeb for allocat* resourc* 1 ALLOCATE RESOURCES 3008 2 ALLOCATING RESOURCES 1467 3 ALLOCATED RESOURCES 470 4 ALLOCATES RESOURCES 340 5 ALLOCATED RESOURCE 44 A collocate search in COCA for allocate resources: 1 HOW 19 2 EFFICIENTLY 9
ALLOCATE RESOURCES 3008 Read More »
I put this advanced student sample answer to the IELTS writing task 2 through our English Grammar Profiler looking for stand out features. Here are the highest grammar constructions, that we have listed as C1: It is argued that volunteering should be made a part of the school curriculum. (This is the topic sentence) What you have done outside the classroom is often
Academic IELTS grammar for writing task 2 Read More »
I’m often asked by my students just before they take an IELTS test for some quick tips on what to study before a particular task. Therefore, in this post, I will summarise the salient grammar and vocabulary features I found in very good introductions and overviews in the Academic IELTS Task 1 tests using our
Academic IELTS grammar for task 1 Read More »
C1: formal past conditionals | noun phrase, ‘would have’ clause
BUT FOR (third conditional) Read More »
This is an example of modality in a question:
NEED I GO ON?
It could be asked with the meaning: I don’t need to keep talking about this.
NEED I SAY MORE? (modality question) Read More »
EXAMPLES: Social constructionists believe that things that are generally viewed as natural or normal in society, such as understandings of gender, race, class, and disability, are socially constructed, and consequently aren’t an accurate reflection of reality. thoughtco.com He says it’s a school’s responsibility to tackle bullying early so that bullies, the bystanders or even victims don’t think that it’s acceptable behaviour to carry through into adulthood. my.asiatatler.com Psychologists can provide insights about how to teach children to manage their behaviour in ways that are socially acceptable. edpsych.co.nz His goal is to make the company more environmentally friendly and socially responsible. dictionary.cambridge.org Therefore, we find that people tend to give socially desirable responses. TED ACL: acceptable behaviour socially acceptable|constructed|desirable|responsible EVP: acceptable B1 good enough C1 allowed or approved of: 2 examples of ‘socially acceptable’ iWeb: 1 SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE 8691 2
socially + acceptable | constructed | desirable : behaviour 8691 Read More »
EXAMPLES: Children can learn about taking responsibility by watching their parents accept responsibility. PELIC STUDENT: Japanese female level 4 writing class. I was called in to assume the responsibility. TED It’s been so wonderful to look back and see all of my former colleagues who’ve gone on to get doctorates and assume leadership roles in other organizations. TED The first step in accepting blame is realizing that you have made a mistake and you deserve to be blamed. altruwisdom.com The English Grammar Profiler tool highlights the Academic Collocations List, allocating C2 value to most of them. However, for each phrase we use,
accept | take | claim | assume + responsibility | blame Read More »
STUDENT EXAMPLE: During my first and second academic years, I never went to the library. Chinese female level 5 writing class. iWeb ranking: 1 ACADEMIC YEAR 68730 2 ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 21832 3 ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE 16841 4 ACADEMIC SUCCESS 16798 5 ACADEMIC RESEARCH 11633 6 ACADEMIC WORK 7408 7 ACADEMIC CAREER 7300 8 ACADEMIC COMMUNITY 6014 9 ACADEMIC STUDY 5326 10 ACADEMIC WRITING 5230 11 ACADEMIC INSTITUTION
academic + year | achievement | performance | success | research 68730 Read More »
STUDENT EXAMPLE: The professor tries to explain the abstract concept of freedom. PELIC Arabic male level 5 writing class The plural form is more common in iWeb corpus: 1 ABSTRACT CONCEPTS 2856 2 ABSTRACT CONCEPT 1883 further collocates in iWeb: 1 CONCEPTS 2978 2 AN 1170 3 SUCH 302 4 UNDERSTAND 183 5 CONCRETE 149 6 RATHER 102 7 UNDERSTANDING 101 8 ABILITY 74
