In the English Grammar Profile, A2 point 15 in the category of VERBS is defined: ‘there is’ and ‘there are’ + ‘a lot of’ + plural noun iWeb doesn’t allow for longer than 5 token searches: _EX _VB a lot of 1 THERE ARE A LOT OF 145235 2 THERE IS A LOT OF 69785 […]
There is | are + a lot of + NOUN Read More »
Here are examples of exclamatory sentences starting with “What”. They express strong emotions or feelings.
“What” is a predeterminer that precedes the indefinite article “a”.
The phrases following “What a” are noun phrases, often modified by adjectives for emphasis (e.g., “great”, “wonderful”).
Many sentences are followed by adverbial phrases (e.g., “to save time”, “to be alive”) that provide more information about the noun.
These sentences are common in spoken English to convey strong feelings. They’re less common in formal written English but might appear in dialogue or informal writing.
In the English Grammar Profile, such usage of ‘What’ falls under A2 level for expressing strong opinions.
The most common collocates in corpora are words like “great”, “waste”, “idea”, etc., often followed by infinitive phrases or prepositional phrases acting as adverbs.
This structure allows for a wide range of expressions, from surprise (“What a surprise!”) to disappointment (“What a waste of money!”) to admiration (“What a great idea for a party!”). It’s a versatile and expressive part of English grammar.
What a + NOUN PHRASE Read More »
The English Grammar Profile (EGP) claims that there are over 1000 grammar points in its inventory. However, there are numerous points that are overlapping. This post shows 3 posts that overlap and clash at other levels. B1 point 34 in the category of NOUNS is defined as: uncountable nouns with an increasing range of determiners/quantity
quantity phrase + uncountable noun Read More »
B1: NOUN phrases with ‘such a’ + adjective + singular noun and ‘such’ + adjective + plural noun, to give emphasis.
English Grammar Profile.
SUCH (A) + adjective + noun phrase Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 40 in the category of PRONOUNS/substitution is defined as: determiners + premodifers + ‘ones’ EXPERT EXAMPLE: These are the more common ones around today. TED PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: (referring to outdoor activities) I think Bodrum has the best ones. Turkish, Male, Level 3, Writing Class. A search in iWeb for: _A _J ones 1 THE ONLY ONES 45418 A2 limiting
determiner + adjective + ONES Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 49 in the category of PRONOUNS/quantity is defined as: increasing range of pronouns (‘some’, ‘a few’, ‘any’, ‘each’) with ‘of’ followed by an object pronoun. An iWeb search for: some|any|each of _P 1 SOME OF THEM 180790 TLC SPEAKING TEST EXAMPLE: There are many types of chocolates in this world, but unfortunately, I‘m a fussy girl and I just like some of them. female, India,
some | any | each | a few + of + PRONOUN Read More »
‘BIT’ related to quantity is countable = a bit of … bits of … For example: By inserting those genes into yeast, we could produce little bits of that smell and be able to, maybe, smell a little bit of something that‘s lost forever. TED A2 in the English Vocabulary Profile: bit = a small amount or piece of something B1 in the Oxford Learner Dictionary: [countable] bit of something (especially British English) a small
a little | bits of | a bit of | a bit of a | a little bit of Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 39 in the category of DETERMINERS is defined as: wide range of quantifying determiners with plural nouns (‘several’, ‘millions of’, ‘a few of’). *Note that if ‘millions of’ is used as hyperbole, then it is a C1 point. TLC, Speaking test examples: There are very few sports cars in Sri Lanka. We don’t
several | a few of Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 Point 37 in the category of DETERMINERS is defined as: DETERMINER + ‘OF’ + DETERMINER – an increasing range of quantifying determiners (‘half of’, ‘enough of’, ‘none of”) *However, this partly clashes with the B2 Negation point for ‘none of’ Also, note that the ‘enough of’ structure might indicate a
HALF | ENOUGH + OF + determiner Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 22 in the category of QUESTIONS is defined as: alternative questions with two phrases combined with ‘or’. If we follow the patterns in the EGP examples and search in iWeb with them: or _I _A _NN ? 1 OR IN THE FUTURE? 152 EXAMPLE: Where can we see you perform next or in the future? missguided.co.uk
phrase + OR + phrase ? (alternative question) Read More »
Fixed expressions are groups of words that are used together to convey a specific meaning.
“All of a sudden” and “out of nowhere” are fixed expressions that mean something happened very quickly and unexpectedly.
Sometimes, they are used together for added focus. For example:
But all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he just collapsed.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a huge storm hit the city.
All of a sudden, out of nowhere Read More »
Point 50 at B1 in the English Grammar Profile in the category of ADJECTIVES is defined as: ‘A (LITTLE) BIT’ to modify comparative adjectives used predicatively after a verb, usually ‘be’ However, ‘a little bit’ is considered as B2 in the EVP. And this B1 point also clashes completely with the C1 grammar point explained
a (little) bit + COMPARATIVE Read More »
Point 30 in NOUNs is defined as: phrases with ‘a friend of’ or ‘friends of’ + possessive determiner + noun. A search in iWeb for: a friend of _APPGE _NN 1 A FRIEND OF HIS FATHER 99 Meriden Record-Journal New Southington chief got an early start in fire service Paul was introduced to the
friend of + POSSESSIVE DETERMINER + NOUN Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 36 in the category of ADJECTIVES/modifying is defined as: adjective phrases ‘quite a’ + adjective For example: The game was quite a simple one. listen An iWeb search for: quite a|an _JJ _NN 1 QUITE A LONG TIME 7672 2 QUITE A LONG WAY 914 3 QUITE A LARGE NUMBER 603 4 QUITE A
quite a + ADJECTIVE Read More »
In addition to all the grammar points from the EGP, this is the first post dedicated to A2 and above grammar in the EVP that is included in the coding of the complexity checker. We are only including those points which are not already covered. A2 A AN ACTION used before some action nouns when
In the English Grammar Profile, C2 point 75 in ADJECTIVES is defined as: ‘as… as’ and ‘so… that’ in comparative structures. comparative clauses *The EGP doesn’t state that there must be a noun phrase in the middle, but we can guess from the examples. Using the POS from the EGP examples: so_RG strong_JJ a_AT1 shock_NN1
modifying COMPARISON Read More »
There are 9 similar points across the English Grammar Profile in the category of VERBS covering phrasal verbs across the levels. And the differentiation between the levels becomes difficult to interpret since it is more about the vocabulary. For this reason, the English Vocabulary Profile is probably more beneficial even though the logic of what
B2: modify a following adjective with the meaning = to a small degree
a little + ADJECTIVE | ADVERB Read More »
In this post, we give a detailed explanation of the use of certain determiners in English grammar, specifically ‘some’, ‘any’, ‘no’, ‘more’, ‘a lot of’, and ‘lots of’. These determiners are often used with both plural and uncountable nouns to indicate quantity or amount. We also discuss the English Grammar Profile (EGP) and its classification of these determiners at different proficiency levels (A1, A2). We provide examples of usage and notes on the application of these.
some | any | no | more | a lot of | lots of + NOUN phrase Read More »
1 HALF The word ‘half’ is typically a before determiner or pre-determiner capable of pronominal function. (DB) 1183937 Here are 10 examples of the intensifier phrase ‘more than‘ premodifying the determiner ‘half’: 1 MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY 3921 It‘s been more than half a century. 2 MORE THAN HALF A MILLION 3884 3 MORE THAN HALF AN HOUR 1064
