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: …
Here’s an example of hedging an assertion: I’m almost certain that it was him. Listen You seem pretty sure of yourself. Listen C1 point 210 in MODALITY on the English Grammar Profile is based on: MODIFYING an ADJECTIVE for HEDGING with a degree adverb. We are offered only two examples: ‘quite probable’ and ‘almost certain.’ Since this is in the category of …
degree adverbs modifying adjectives ‘almost certain’ Read More »
