A2 English Grammar Profile point 10 in the category of NEGATION is defined as: negative statements of main verbs in the past simple with ‘didn’t’ + main verb A search in iWeb for: did n’t _VVI 1 DID N’T KNOW 189531 2 DID N’T WANT 163517 3 DID N’T GET 103113 4 DID N’T THINK […]
past simple negative Read More »
Yardbarker The Bears’ quarterback has been better of late, but not that much better. *’of late‘ means recently. Point 78 in ADJECTIVES/comparatives is defined as: ‘not that much’ to modify comparative adjectives to a small degree in iWeb: 1 NOT THAT MUCH BETTER 280 2 NOT THAT MUCH BIGGER 109 It’s just not that much bigger. gundogsupply.com (listen to a similar sentence) 3 NOT
‘He’s not that much better’ (not that much + COMPARATIVE) Read More »
Point in 77 ADJECTIVES/superlatives is defined as: ‘the slightest’, ‘the faintest’ with a specific range of nouns to express the least amount possible, most frequently following a negative verb form. Who knows what EGP think ‘a specific range of nouns’ is since a search on the site shows no other results, so here we look
slightest | faintest + NOUN Read More »
Let’s look at an expert example of limiting comparison: Now, these people are no more special than any of us. (listen to this sentence) ‘no more‘ = not more In Collins dictionary as an ADVERB at B1+ use no to make the negative form of a comparative. In the English Grammar Profile, C2 point 74 in the category of ADJECTIVES is
NO | NOT ANY + comparative Read More »
The text discusses the use of the modal verb “should” in English, focusing on its usage at different levels of language proficiency (A2 and B1) and in various contexts. It explains that “should” is used to give advice, make suggestions, and talk about ideal situations. The text also provides examples of common phrases using “should”, such as “maybe you should try” and “I think you should leave.”
SHOULD ( advice | suggestions | ideal or desired situations | likelihood ) Read More »
It’s not hard to see why.
BE + not + ADJECTIVE + to-INFINTIVE Read More »
This post is another one where the English Grammar Profile has clashing proficiency levels associated with a point and in the examples. Here we are looking at the category of QUESTIONS. It is understandable that usage is what is different, but the examples could be better selected: B2 Point 29: ‘wh-‘words + the negative form
WH – negative 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 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 »
Point 52 at B2 in the category of PAST simple QUESTIONS is defined as: yes/no’, ‘wh-‘, tag and negative question forms with an increasing range of verbs. There is great confusion trying to differentiate this across levels from other points on the EGP. *Point 63 Past simple negative wide range of verbs and point 29
past simple questions – range Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 28 in the category of PASSIVES is past simple negative. In iWeb corpus we find the following: WERE NOT ALLOWED JAMnews Georgian opposition party hosted a rally for football fans who were not allowed to enter the stadium. *This example may be B1 based on ‘allowed
past simple negative passive Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 20 in the category of PASSIVES is defined as: PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE, NEGATIVE often in the context of reporting reported speech A search on iWeb for _vh _xx been _vvn: 1 HAS NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED 3143 2 HAS NOT BEEN SEEN 3058 3 HAS NOT BEEN RELEASED
present perfect simple negative passive Read More »
1 NOT (XX) PART (NN1) 50878 2 N’T (XX) PART (NN1) 7448 3 NOT (XX) ROCKET (NN1) 5916 4 NOT (XX) IMPACT (NN1_VV0%) 5263 5 NOT (XX) PRACTICE (NN1) 4547 6 NOT (XX) WORK (NN1_VV0) 3883 7 NOT (XX) IMPACT (NN1) 3447 8 NOT (XX) POST (NN1_II@) 3340 9 NOT (XX) LIFE (NN1) 3107 10
‘not’ + SINGULAR NOUN Read More »
A search in playphrase.me for “so much as” reveals the following 3 most common collocations/multi-word units containing negative meaning or being surrounded with negation: You let your wife throw you out of your own house without so much as a whimper. listen to the example The phrase “without so much as a” means “not even the slightest amount of“. In the example above, it emphasizes that the
so much as | in as much as Read More »
Here is the ranked frequency of contracted ‘NOT’ in iWeb corpus: _V n’t 1 DON’T 8794067 2 CAN’T 2949838 3 DOESN’T 2921306 4 DIDN’T 2857442 5 ISN’T 1917031 6 WON’T 1605476 7 WASN’T 1225689 8 WOULDN’T 963740 9 AREN’T 912023 10 COULDN’T 867686 11 HAVEN’T 835010 12 SHOULDN’T 385701 13 HASN’T 367136 14 WEREN’T 315174
In this post, we look at more complex phrases using the word NONE. Here are the frequency and tagging results in iWeb for the word “NONE“: 1 NONE (PN) 929301 Although the English Vocabulary Profile lists ‘none’ at B1 as a pronoun, meaning ‘not any’, there is also B2 idiom: This is none of your business. listen
NONE other than | nonetheless | NONE the wiser | NONE too pleased Read More »
The past perfect passive simple negative is a verb form that expresses an action that had not been done to someone or something in the past. For example:
The cake had not been baked when the guests arrived.
He had not been told the truth by his parents.
To form this verb tense, you need to use had not (or hadn’t) + been + the past participle of the main verb.
had not been + PAST PARTICIPLE Read More »
This is another post about two overlapping English Grammar Profile points at the same proficiency level that could be merged into one. Point 11 in the category of FOCUS is defined as: ‘Not a’ + noun with a passive verb or inverted auxiliary and subject for focus. Point 29 in the category of NEGATION: ‘not
In the English Grammar Profile, point 15 in the category of PASSIVES at B2 is PRESENT CONTINUOUS, NEGATIVE. This clashes for usage with point 34 at C1: present continuous passive negative form to refer to ongoing situations in the present. _vb _xx being _vvn 1 IS NOT BEING USED 3339 2 ARE NOT BEING USED
present continuous passive negative Read More »
