PRONOUNS

  • A pronoun acts as a noun or noun phrase.
  • A pronoun refers to someone or something in the discourse or mentioned elsewhere.

all in one | one by one

In this post, we look at adverbial phrases with the pronoun  ‘one‘.  In the English Vocabulary Profile: (all) in one = C2 combined into a single thing one by one= B2 separately, one after the other Frequency in iWeb corpus: one by one 135405 all in one 60329 For example: What if they asked,  you could use them as a living probiotic drink  and health monitor, all in one? TED …

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WHAT | WHATEVER noun clause

In the English Vocabulary Profile at B1, listed as pronouns: WHAT = THE THING = used to refer to something without naming it WHATEVER = anything or everything However, one of their examples is a cleft for focus: What I like most about her is her honesty.  is C1 when it is a noun CLAUSE subject. Similarly, we cover ‘whatever’ in more detail …

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subject + adverb + lexical verb + clause

Most reporting or mental processing constructions that introduce object clauses are listed at A2 or B1 in the English Grammar Profile.  We believe that if adverbs are also included, this probably shows B2 ability.  To check this, we look in the TLC speaking tests and find that the most common example only starts being used at …

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or other

The phrase “or other” is a type of ellipsis, which is a grammatical omission of words that are understood from the context. In this case, the omitted words are the specific details about something that are not important or have been forgotten. The phrase “or other” serves as a placeholder for those details, allowing the speaker or writer to communicate the general idea without having to be specific.

BE + of NOUN PHRASE

Why say “is of interest” instead of “is interesting“? ‘is of + noun‘ is more formal and in academic writing, we use the noun form of a word more often.  More importantly, ‘of+noun’ functions as a noun in this position.  Therefore, it can often collocate correctly with modifiers.  For example:  “greatest interest” is much more …

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ALL + clause (the only thing) ‘all I can say is…’

‘All’ with the meaning ‘the only thing’ is listed at B1 in the English Vocabulary Profile. For example: All I can say is I‘m sorry. listen   All it does is tire your mind and stops you thinking for yourself. listen   That‘s all I can suggest. Stranger Than Fiction An iWeb search for: All * _VM _VVI _VB 1 ALL I CAN SAY IS 19460 2 ALL WE CAN SAY IS 1135 3 ALL …

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assert

The verb ‘assert’ is C1 in the English Vocabulary Profile:  [T] FORMAL to say that something is certainly true ‘assert yourself’ is C2: to behave or speak in a strong, confident way For example: Bright Side Of The Sun The Suns began to assert themselves midway through the fourth.       or ‘assert your authority/control/independence, etc.’ is also C2: to do something …

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basic personal pronouns in English

This information explains what a pronoun is and how it can replace a noun or another pronoun. It also lists the personal pronouns in English and their meanings depending on who or what they refer to. It also uses meta-language to describe the grammatical features of each pronoun, such as person, number, gender, and case.

YOURS (object)

Here’s an example of the possessive pronoun ‘yours’ in object position. It’s just like yours. Listen to the pronunciation. A2 point 21 in the category of PRONOUNS: the possessive pronoun ‘yours’, with singular reference, in object positions, and complement positions after ‘be’ and after prepositions A search in iWeb corpus for: * * * yours .   …

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that (pronoun)

In the English Grammar Profile, there are two similar points at A2 in the category of PRONOUN/demonstratives: Point 20 is defined as: ‘that’ as a pronoun to refer back to something which has already been mentioned Point 28: ‘that’ as a pronoun with singular reference For example: No, it‘s nowhere near that. listen That‘s why I brought you here. An iWeb search for: …

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indefinite pronoun + ELSE

The adverb ‘else’ is only a postmodifier. It follows indefinite pronouns. In the English Grammar Profile, A2 point 14 in the category of PRONOUNS: indefinite pronouns with ‘else’ We did a search in iWeb corpus for: _PN1 else 1 SOMEONE ELSE 335976 I would like to choose my sister as a guardian because I can’t imagine someone else. PELIC student: French male level 3 reading …

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noun phrase (direct object)

Using noun phrases as objects of the clause helps provide more information about the action or state described by the verb in a sentence. It helps answer questions about the direct recipients of the verb’s action or the entities affected by it.

‘AS’ + pronoun + ‘USED’ + to-infinitive

In the English Grammar Profile, C2 point 236 in the category of MODALITY is defined: ‘as’ + pronoun + ‘used to’ to add background to a narrative, often to highlight something unusual *Note this is not the “as + adjective + as” structure. Student example in a speaking test: I don’t think that they pay enough attention towards the national customs as they used to do those days. …

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A LOT | MUCH (subject pronouns)

This passage discusses the use of “a lot” and “much” as subject pronouns in English. It provides examples of how these words are used in sentences, as well as the frequency with which they appear in the iWeb corpus. The passage also discusses the C1 and C2 levels of these words in the EGP and EVP.