It is very possible to have a noun after a past participle. 1 TAKEN (VVN) PLACE (NN1) 57019 2 TAKEN (VVN) CARE (NN1) 52472 3 TAKEN (VVN) ADVANTAGE (NN1) 15507 4 MADE (VVN) PUBLIC (NN1_JJ_RR@) 14502 5 ELECTED (VVN_JJ@) PRESIDENT (NN1) 10852 6 TAKEN (VVN) PART (NN1) 9235 7 BUILT (VVN) ENVIRONMENT (NN1) 7734 8 […]
past + singular noun Read More »
The word with an ‘-ed’ ending is usually a past particple. The adjective exceptions such as ‘interested’,’involved’,’used to’ are rarer. 1 IS BASED (VVN) ON 327426 The system is based on the rules of a building. The Matrix Reloaded 2 BE (VBI) USED (VVN) FOR (IF) 273383 3 ARE (VBR) INTERESTED (JJ) IN (II) 192417 4 BE (VBI) USED (VVN) IN (II)
BE + *ed + PREPOSITION Read More »
“Before” is a versatile word in English, functioning as a preposition, subordinating conjunction, and time adverb. As a preposition, it connects a noun or pronoun to another word, indicating something happens earlier than the time or event mentioned. As a subordinating conjunction, it connects two clauses, showing a relationship between them. As a time adverb, it modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb to indicate when something happens. Examples from various corpora illustrate these uses.
1 LEFT (VVN) 825113 2 LEFT (JJ) 812850 3 LEFT (VVD) 655523 11 LEFT (RL) 75837 15 LEFT (NN1) 38688
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 »
B2 PASSIVE PAST CONTINUOUS AFFIRMATIVE
English Grammar Profile
was | were + being + PAST PARTICIPLE Read More »
‘WH-‘ questions expect a reply that supplies information. The wh-word can be a pronoun: What made you think that? (listen to this question) adverb: Where did it go? (listen) or a determiner: Which part? (listen) A search for the most common questions in the iWeb corpus with: _ddq _v _p _v ? 1 WHAT DO YOU THINK? (‘what’
Here’s a past simple passive example: “The church was built in 1663.” is an example of A2 passive grammar. In the English Grammar Profile, point 1 in the category of PASSIVE is: past simple affirmative after a singular subject. A search for was _vvn on iWeb corpus: 1 WAS BORN 459313 2 WAS MADE 320241
was + past participle Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 163 MODALITY is defined as: ‘may’ in phrases such as ‘as you may know’, or ‘as you may have’ + ‘-ed’ to focus the reader on shared knowledge. This partly overlaps point 168 MODALITY and PAST AFFIRMATIVE of ‘may have’ + ‘-ed’ to talk about possibility in the
may have + PAST PARTICIPLE Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile (EGP), B2 point 160 in MODALITY is defined as: ‘would’ to talk about habitual actions and events in the past Looking in iWeb corpus manually for collocates of ‘every’ ‘time‘ with ‘would’ is 1 in 5 on the usage: … my mom also helped raise my nephews, who would stay with her every summer when school was out. Gone are the days where riders would get two bikes every year. The
would (habitual past) Read More »
These constructions allow for the formation of negative questions by adding the negative contractions (“don’t” or “doesn’t” for “do,” and “haven’t” or “hasn’t” for “have”) before the subject and the base form or past participle of the main verb. This structure is particularly useful for seeking confirmation or clarification when expressing negation.
Don’t you think ? | Haven’t you heard ? Read More »
B1 MODALITY imagined situations in the past
| PAST AFFIRMATIVE ‘would have’ + ‘-ed’
| PAST NEGATIVE ‘would not have’ + ‘-ed’ or ‘wouldn’t have’ + ‘-ed’
(English Grammar Profile)
would ( not ) have + PAST PARTICIPLE Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, there are essentially the same two points in the category of Modality at B2 for the same form. Point 144 is defined as: DEDUCTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS: perfect form of ‘must’ to make deductions about the past. and point 166: PAST AFFIRMATIVE must have’ + ‘-ed’. For example: He had come such a long way, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could
MUST HAVE + past participle Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 138 in the category of MODALITY is defined as: could as the past form of ‘can’ in reported speech For example: Victim support arrived at our door and told us that we could expect to write off the next five years to grief. TED The following clusters from iWeb were searched with varying the spaces between said|told * * * could 1 SAID HE COULD 13770 1 SAID
could (reported speech) Read More »
The structure ought to have + past participle is used to talk about things which were supposed to happen but did not, or to express regret or criticism. Here are some examples with the most common past participles: You ought to have known better than to trust him. He is a liar. She ought to have done her homework before
ought to have + PAST PARTICIPLE Read More »
The English Vocabulary Profile entry: be at/on the point of doing sth = B2 to be going to do something very soon The English Grammar Profile B2 Point 57 in the category of FUTURE in the past is defined as: ‘simple past form of ‘be’ + ‘on the point of’ + ‘-ing’ to talk about
on the point of VERBing Read More »
Collins lists the ‘about to‘ structure under adjectives, pointing out that there is no future tense in English. There are many ways we refer to the future in English. The structure means ‘very soon‘. There are 3 almost identical B2 points in the category of FUTURE in the English Grammar Profile that could all be
BE + about + to-INFINITIVE Read More »
An in-depth explanation of the grammar structure ‘after being pp’ and ‘after having pp’. ‘after’ is a preposition used before a complement ‘verb-ing’ clause. For example: “After being told these stories, I started thinking” and “I moved back to India after having spent six years in the US”. In the English Grammar Profile, this structure is defined as a non-finite subordinate clause with ‘after’ + ‘having/being’ + ‘-ed’ form, before a main clause, to refer to past time.
After + having | being + PAST PARTICIPLE Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 179 in MODALITY is defined as: ‘could have’ + ‘-ed’ form to express disapproval or criticism. True insights into usage are problematic, to say the least. Who knows what the person using language truly was intending to do with it? Disapproval or criticism vs speculation or regret is
COULD HAVE + past participle Read More »
Grammar examples from B1 to C2 of this structure.
used to (semi modal) Read More »
