comes

particularizers

ADVERBS, B2, degree, FOCUS, modify

Particularizers are a category of adverbs that focus attention on what follows them, without excluding other possibilities. They are used to modify verbs and adjectives and can be found at different levels of English Vocabulary Profile such as A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2.
The TED corpus has some examples of particularizers used in natural chunks. For example, “especially when it comes” is a 4-gram chunk that is at least C1 level. “Largely due to” is another 3-gram chunk that is at least C1 level. “Mainly because” is a 2-gram chunk that is at least B2 level.

particularizers Read More »

COME IN + adjective

ADJECTIVES, C2

In the English Vocabulary Profile, come in useful|handy are C2. A search in iWeb corpus for: COME IN _JJ . 1 COME IN HANDY. 9001 2 COMES IN HANDY. 4142 Huh, comes in handy on the cash register. listen   3 CAME IN HANDY. 660 4 COME IN USEFUL. 257 All these moves will come in useful in real life when she grows up. listen 5 COMES IN BLACK. 116 This structure

COME IN + adjective Read More »

subject + verb

A1, active, affirmative, CLAUSES, declarative, NEGATIVE, simple

The usage of simple affirmative and negative declarative clauses in English, particularly focusing on the verb ‘be’.
Simple affirmative declarative clauses are basic statements in English. Examples include “We’re different” and “People see us as being different anyway”.
Negative statements of the main verb ‘be’, with contracted and uncontracted forms, are also at the A1 level. Examples include “I’m not a doctor” and “It’s not bad for a couple of lawyers”.
The text also provides a list of common phrases found in the iWeb corpus where a noun is followed by a verb, such as “People are” and “Problem is”.
A search in the NOW corpus for pronoun + lexical verb shows that the present tense is about as common as the past tense, with examples like “He said” (past tense) and “I think” (present tense).

subject + verb Read More »

THE ONE(S) THAT + clause (focus)

C2, CLAUSES, FOCUS, PRONOUNS, subject, substitution

Here are two examples of ‘focus’ in English grammar, using ‘the one that + clause’ in the subject position: The one that comes in the box,  his colleague told him,  was notorious for making users’ faces itchy and red.   The Wall Street Journal The ones that make you look older,  or even the ones where you turn into a hot dog  are still really engaging.    Mobile Marketing Magazine In the English Grammar Profile, C2 point 114 in the category of PRONOUNS/substitution is defined

THE ONE(S) THAT + clause (focus) Read More »

BEING

be, NOUNS, VERBS

The word ‘being‘ is most often used as a verb, but also a noun (human being, comes into being) and in a time adverbial phrase (for the time being). Here are the search results in NOW corpus for: * * _VBG * * ADDRESS BEFORE BEING ALLOWED TO At least, you didn’t require readers to log in with an email address before being allowed to read it! brownsnation.com The rest of

BEING Read More »

By the time + present (future meaning)

C1, FUTURE, simple, VERBS

By the time is a phrase that is used to connect two actions that happen at different times. It means not later than or when. You can use the present simple with by the time to refer to a future action that will happen before another future action. For example:
By the time we arrive, the movie will have started. (We will arrive in the future, but the movie will start before that.)
By the time you read this, I will be gone. (You will read this in the future, but I will leave before that.)

By the time + present (future meaning) Read More »