Words like ‘once’ and ‘twice’ can be predeterminers as multipliers. For example: “Once every two weeks” “Twice a day” A search in the iWeb corpus for: once _AT1 _NNT 1 ONCE A WEEK 75774 We are proposing to meet at least once a week and just to do as many collections as we can. listen 2 ONCE A MONTH 44242 3 ONCE A YEAR 43510 4 ONCE A DAY […]
See, this is really weird, but I had this feeling the minute that the phone rang, I said, Jackie, pick it up, you‘ve got a grandchild. listen Minute is usually a noun, but in the above usage ‘the minute + that CLAUSE‘ it means as soon as. Similary, in the next example, ‘any minute‘ means ‘very soon‘: Colin could you possibly find somewhere else to pray, your brother and sister will be here any minute now. listen 1 MINUTE (NNT1) 645067 (A1 noun) = 60 seconds.
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 preposition “by” has several meanings in English, depending on the context. Here are some common ones:
It can mean “beside” or “next to” when used with a place, such as “by the window” or “by the sea”.
It can show the person or thing that does something, such as “written by Shakespeare” or “made by hand”.
It can show how or in what way something is done, such as “by car” or “by mistake”.
It can mean “not later than” when used with a time, such as “by tomorrow” or “by 5 pm”.
In this post, we are looking for advanced phrases with the word ‘same‘. For example: It‘s the same old story. The rich get richer, and the most vulnerable in our country suffer. listen 1 SAME (DA) 9442876 A search in iWeb corpus for: * * same_DA * * 1 AT THE SAME TIME, 242223 B1 phrase in the English Vocabulary Profile. At the same time, we are doing business with the very same government that is flooding our streets with cocaine. listen 2
Here’s an example of determiners premodifying nouns: I regret some of the things I said to you. A2 point 18 in the category of NOUNS/phrases is defined: form simple noun phrases by pre-modifying nouns with an increasing range of determiners. A2 point 17 in the category of PRONOUNS: limited range of pronouns (‘all’, ‘both’) with ‘of’ followed by an object pronoun, to
ALL | SOME | BOTH | HALF + OF + noun phrase Read More »
In this post, we investigate 11 ways ‘for’ is tagged by the claws 7 tag set. 1 FOR (IF) 140146366 A1 simple preposition 1 . FOR MORE INFORMATION 77314 For more information, you‘ll have to speak with the doctor. Harry Brown 2 . FOR THOSE WHO 22531 3 THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL 19815 4 THE REASON FOR THIS IS
The third most frequent word in the English language is used in a lot of different ways. ‘OF‘ is most often in a prepositional phrase, but it is also used in many other types of phrases. Below we list the ranked frequency found in the iWeb corpus. 1 OF (IO) 328813259 2 OF (II22) 11680309
OF (complex phrases) Read More »
The second most common word in English is ‘AND’ which is usually a conjunction. It’s also used in complex adverbial phrases: and so on (A2 in the English Vocabulary Profile EVP) I need you to help me with my bags and so on. listen Also, note that ‘and so forth‘ is not listed in the EVP, but is listed in OXFORD at B1: I‘ve had ample opportunity to observe Browning and adopt his physical presence, study his mannerisms, and so
adverbial phrases with ‘AND’ Read More »
You might know how ‘the’ is used as an article. But did you know all the different phrases it is found in?
advanced phrases with ‘THE’ Read More »
The text discusses the complexities of English grammar, focusing on the category of passives and verbs that require two objects. It explains how these grammatical elements can indicate different CEFR levels and the importance of understanding direct and indirect objects. The text provides examples of these concepts, highlighting how the direct object is usually not a person, while the indirect object is a person and typically comes first in a sentence. The text also discusses different points at B2, A2, and B1 levels, and how they are defined in relation to these grammatical structures. Finally, it presents corpus research results from iWeb to illustrate these concepts in practice.
passive with two objects Read More »
A2 point 1 and the only point in the category of FOCUS / FRONTING is defined as: ‘a prepositional phrases in the front position for focus.’
“At the time, I had a girlfriend, so I didn’t talk to her.” This is an example of putting a prepositional phrase at the start of a sentence which is what pre-intermediate students can do.
fronted prepositional phrase Read More »
The phrases “on the one hand” and “on the other hand” are used to introduce two contrasting points of view or arguments. They are often used in formal writing and in spoken English. On the one hand is used to introduce the first point of view or argument. On the other hand is used to introduce the
organising contrast Read More »
Here’s a student example of using a verb-ing form as a noun subject: Studying for an exam won’t be hard for you if you follow these steps. PELIC: Chinese male level 3 writing class. Here’s an example in educational materials of the news: Closing the gas pipeline is one action Western nations have taken against Russia. BreakingNewsEnglish Here’s an example of verb-ing after ‘to’: The find goes a long way to solving the mystery of why the Stonehenge bluestones were brought from so far away when all other stone circles were erected within a short distance of their quarries. thebritishacademy.ac.uk In the English Grammar Profile, point 22 in NOUNS
Here are some examples of this form:
Being nice to someone is a SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE WAY of making friends.
Some herbs like MOIST BUT WELL-DRAINED SOIL.
I am making SLOW BUT STEADY PROGRESS with my language learning.
Although she is usually easy to get along with, she does have a RARE BUT SERIOUS SIDE to her personality too.
A SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT NUMBER of students didn’t pass the test.
adjective + BUT + adjective + noun (complex noun phrase) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 19 in the category of NEGATION is defined as: ‘NEITHER OF’, ‘NONE OF’ + PRONOUN or noun phrase with the affirmative form of the verb. Expert examples: None of us thought it could happen in America or anyplace else. listen You can not bring up a conversation topic if neither of you is interested. listen STUDENT EXAMPLE: The funny part is when the investigation was done it was realised that none of the family members had actually seen the movie. TLC, Speaking Test, Female,
None of | Neither of 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 »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 10 in DISCOURSE MARKERS in writing is defined as: a range of phrases as discourse markers to introduce a comparison. There are three examples of these in the English Grammar Profile. 1. Similarly For Hitler to fail at Stalingrad would be an enormous blow to the Nazi myth. It would be an enormous blow to the war itself. Similarly, Josef Stalin was unrelenting. He would not tolerate defeat. WWII from Space Collocates of ‘Similarly‘ (word ranking: 2809)
introduce a comparison Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile, at C1, the adverb ‘hence’ means: for this reason We’ve been involved for quite a while. Hence, the shared suite. listen At B2, the adverb ‘thus’ is used after saying a fact to introduce what then happened as a result. For example, If myth is seen as the product of a past era, it is difficult to determine at what actual moment that era ended. Thus, it is virtually impossible to state precisely when a certain mythical theme becomes a mere literary theme or to determine in general when myths are no longer being created. context At B2, the adverb ‘consequently’ means: as
CONSEQUENTLY | HENCE | THUS | THEREFORE (summarising) Read More »
A discourse marker is a word or phrase that is used to connect sentences and paragraphs, and to signal the relationship between ideas. They are often used in formal contexts, such as academic writing or business reports. Some common discourse markers that are used to open and close texts include: To open a text: In
organising opening closing phrases Read More »
