look

lexical verb + article + noun (+ prepositon)

A phrase is a group of words that functions as a unit in a sentence. A phrase can have different types depending on the word that heads it. A phrase that includes the word order lexical verb + article + noun + preposition is called a verb phrase. A lexical verb is a verb that has meaning by itself, such as run, eat, or sleep. An article is a word that modifies a noun, such as the, a, or an. A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence, such as in, on, or to.

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look forward to

In the English Grammar Profile, A2 point 13 in the category of VERBS/phrasal-prepositional is defined as: ‘look forward to’ as a fixed expression followed by an ‘-ing’ form or noun phrase, usually at the end of correspondence. However, the English Vocabulary Profile lists this at: B1 to feel happy and excited about something that is

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LINKING VERB + like | similar to + NOUN PHRASE

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 55 in the category of CLAUSES/comparatives is defined as: linking verbs + ‘like’ or ‘similar to’. EXPERT EXAMPLE: They taste similar to regular bulb onions, but they‘re milder. tastingtable.com PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE He looks like a cute turtle. Korean, Male, Level 2 A search in iWeb for: look* like * * * 1 LOOKS LIKE THIS: 14720 2 LOOK LIKE

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STRANDED PREPOSITION

Here are examples of reported speech with relative clauses ending with stranded prepositions: He told me the company he works for.  She requested that I give him all the information he asks for.  He exclaimed that this is the best festival he has been to. This type of construction is considered informal and is often discouraged in formal writing. However, it is commonly used in spoken English and in informal writing. Profiling Research This post is about two points in the English Grammar

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suggest | recommend | insist + present simple

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

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so much as | in as much as

A search in playphrase.me for “so much as” reveals the following 3 most common collocations/multi-word units containing negative meaning or being surrounded with negation:  You let your wife throw you out of your own house  without so much as a whimper. listen to the example The phrase “without so much as a” means “not even the slightest amount of“. In the example above, it emphasizes that the

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would (habitual past)

In the English Grammar Profile (EGP), B2 point 160 in MODALITY is defined as: ‘would’ to talk about habitual actions and events in the past Looking in iWeb corpus manually for collocates of ‘every’ ‘time‘ with ‘would’ is 1 in 5 on the usage: … my mom also helped raise my nephews, who would stay with her every summer when school was out. Gone are the days where riders would get two bikes every year. The

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really ought to

In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 180 in the category of MODALITY is defined as: ‘ought to’ with ‘really’ to add emphasis. A search on iWeb for clusters with lexical verbs: 1 REALLY OUGHT TO KNOW 254 2 REALLY OUGHT TO GET 136 3 REALLY OUGHT TO GO 76 4 REALLY OUGHT TO CONSIDER

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a wide range of linking verbs used in other complex ways

To get started, let’s look at some spoken student examples that show a wide range of linking verbs with very literal meanings: It‘s like a fairy tale  because it doesn’t seem real. TLC female Mexico B1   To remain healthy, we have to exercise. TLC female India B1 The verbs ‘remain’ and ‘seem’ link the adjective complements: ‘real’ and ‘healthy’ in a more detailed way than

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