In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 26 in the category of PRESENT/simple is defined: a limited range of reporting verbs, including ‘say’, ‘show’ EXPERT EXAMPLE: This map shows the presence of agriculture on planet Earth. PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: Some people say that money is the root of all evil, but I disagree with it. Korean male, writing class. _P show|shows|say|says * * * We have removed lines that are not […]
say | show = reporting verbs Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile at B1, point 28 in the category of PRESENT/simple is defined: an increasing range of mental process verbs, including ‘remember’, ‘understand’, ‘believe’ A similar addition to this point is Pearson’s GSE 62 B2 speak about information acquired from others using ‘hear’ + ‘(that +)’ complement clause. I hear that John and Susie are getting married. I’ve heard that Martin ‘s lost his job.
I remember | believe | understand | hear (that) + CLAUSE Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, there are two B1 passive grammar points that overlap to some degree. point 7 in the category of PASSIVES is defined as: PRESENT CONTINUOUS, AFFIRMATIVE limited range of verbs point 9 in the category of PASSIVES is defined as: PRESENT CONTINUOUS, FUTURE REFERENCE There are no examples of this grammar
BE + being + PAST PARTICIPLE Read More »
The negative form of the present simple passive is formed: present form of BE + NOT + PAST PARTICIPLE am | is | are + n’t | not + past participle In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 10 in the category of PASSIVES is defined as: PRESENT SIMPLE, NEGATIVE + range of pronoun and noun
present simple passive negative form Read More »
Listed at A2, the “future” or “first” conditional in English is a grammatical structure used to discuss possible future events. This structure often expresses a cause and effect relationship, with the effect (main clause) being conditional on the cause (if-clause). The typical structure is: “If” + present simple tense, “will” + verb (base form). The page provides examples of this structure from various sources, including student writings, expert examples, and lines from 1934 movies. It also discusses how different English Grammar Profile points highlight this grammar point.
if CLAUSE + will CLAUSE (FUTURE CONDITIONAL) Read More »
“If + present simple + present simple in the main clause”: This structure is used to talk about things that are always true, such as scientific facts, or to give advice. For example, “If this happens, money only brings him loneliness, not happiness.” Here, the speaker is expressing a general truth or observation about the consequences of a certain situation.
“If + present simple + imperative in the main clause”: This structure is used to give advice or make suggestions. The “if” clause presents a condition, and the imperative in the main clause suggests what should be done if that condition is met. For example, “If you feel sick, see a doctor.” Here, the speaker is giving advice on what to do when feeling sick.
“If + present simple + can in the main clause”: This structure is used to talk about possible or likely situations in the future. The “if” clause sets up a condition, and “can” in the main clause expresses what will be possible if that condition is met. For example, “If we properly invest into data infrastructure and data preparation, all this can be avoided.” Here, the speaker is expressing that a certain undesirable outcome can be avoided if proper investments are made.
These structures are very common in English and are used in various contexts to express conditions and their potential outcomes.
IF + present simple Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 74 in the category of CLAUSES/conditional is defined as: PRESENT SIMPLE ‘IF’ CLAUSE + MODAL, FUTURE, POSSIBLE OUTCOME: introduce a possible future condition, with modal verbs in the main clause, to talk about a possible result. A search in TED corpus for expert examples: If you‘ve got a couple of final words you want to share, that would be great. listen So if you look that up, you can hear more of those tunes. listen PELIC
If + PRESENT SIMPLE + MODAL CLAUSE Read More »
Hedging is a technique used in English to express politeness and indirectness. It involves using certain words or phrases to soften the impact of what we’re saying or writing, making it less direct or categorical. The ‘if-’ clause (‘if you want’, ‘like’, ‘prefer’) is a common form of hedging used to soften the directness of
IF clause + imperative ( hedging ) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 79 in the category of CLAUSES is defined as: auxiliary verb ‘do’ in an affirmative declarative clause, for emphasis and affirmation. *Note that ‘did’ for emphasis is C1. A search in iWeb for: do _VVI 1 DO KNOW 89665 2 DO GET 69098 3 DO THINK 68682 I do think that it is important for people who are being
do + VERB (emphasis) Read More »
Here are two grammar points from the English Grammar Profile. A2 point 3 in the category of PASSIVES: present simple passive affirmative with a singular subject. B1 point 13 in the category of PASSIVES is defined as: PRESENT SIMPLE, AFFIRMATIVE with a range of pronoun and noun subjects. For example: The proposed mission is called the Uranus Orbiter and Probe and would shed some light on the mostly unexplored ice giant.
present simple passive affirmative (range) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 36 in the category of PRESENT/simple is NEGATIVE QUESTIONS to check opinions. A search in iWeb for do|does _XX _P * * 1 DO N’T YOU THINK? 5683 2 DOES N’T IT ? 2857 3 DO N’T YOU WANT TO 1768 4 DO N’T YOU THINK THAT 1536 5 DO
present simple negative question (opinion) Read More »
Point 35 in PRESENT continuous is defined as: question forms to ask rhetorical questions. For example, the first three questions asked the speaker does not expect an answer. So we said that we have seven million deaths caused by air pollution every year. Are we panicking? Are we keeping calm? Are we declaring a national
present continuous (rhetorical questions) Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile, ‘demonstrate‘ as a verb is listed at B2. It is defined there as: to show or prove that something exists or is true While ‘illustrate‘ is listed at C1 with the meaning: give information through diagrams, lists of numbers, The English Grammar Profile C1 Point 34 in the category of
demonstrate | illustrate (reporting verbs) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 84 in the category of PAST: present perfect simple with the full negative forms with a wide range of verbs, often in formal contexts. An iWeb search for: _N have|has not _VVN 1 POLICE HAVE NOT RELEASED 590 2 GOD HAS NOT GIVEN 328 3 CANCER HAS NOT SPREAD
present perfect simple negative (wide range of verbs) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, C2 point 66 in the category of FUTURE is defined as: INVERSION present simple with ‘only when’ (followed by ‘will’ and inverted subject) to refer to the future. A search on Google News: The Irish Times Miriam Lord: Séamus the Dog beats Mary Lou to the hard questions “And
Only when + PRESENT SIMPLE + will INVERTED SUBJECT Read More »
C1 English Grammar Profile point 62 in the category of FUTURE is defined as: present simple after speech act verbs expressing suggestions and obligation. For example: l cannot recommend that you go heliskiing. listen But remember where we left off because I insist you finish later. listen This is not easily located formally in corpora but we can start with a search in iWeb for the speech act verbs
suggest | recommend | insist + present simple Read More »
Point 12 in the category of REPORTED SPEECH for CITATION is defined as: PRESENT SIMPLE of the reporting verb to report information from a written source and a present tense verb in the reported clause. We can start our search with: _nn1 says|tells and then choose nouns related to citation: 1 REPORT SAYS 19880
reported speech (present simple) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 31 in the category of PRESENT is defined as: Present simple, STORIES AND COMMENTARIES, to summarise events or plot in a story or piece of history, often to give immediate dramatic interest. This usage is not really something that can be easily located in Corpora. However, both example
present simple to summarise (TAKES PLACE) Read More »
Point 29 in the category of PRESENT is defined as: present simple with a wide range of speech act verbs, including ‘(dis)agree’, ‘accept’, ‘advise.’ A search on iWeb corpus for agree|disagree|accept|advise * * * * *does not really locate speech act theory since there are other uses of these verbs. In particular the most common
present simple (speech act verbs) Read More »
The landscape can get muddy when it has been raining.
present perfect continuous Read More »
