of

most | enough | plenty of + NOUN

B1, DETERMINERS, NOUNS, quantity, range

B1 Point 43 in the category of DETERMINERS is defined as: increasing range of quantifying determiners with both plural nouns and uncountable nouns (‘most’, ‘enough’, ‘plenty of’, ‘loads of’). *This overlaps another B1 point. PELIC WRITING CLASS EXAMPLES: Most students eat lunch and dinner in a cafeteria. Korean, Female, Level 3   In addition, the people who lived in Korea 100 years ago didn’t have enough transportation. Korean, Male, Level 3   *Note that […]

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several | a few of

B1, DETERMINERS, NOUNS, plural, quantity

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

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neither | either + of + PLURAL NOUN PHRASE

C1, DETERMINERS, phrases, plural, PRONOUNS, quantity

‘Either’ can mean “the one or the other.” ‘Neither’ can mean “not the one and not the other” or “not either.” C1 English Grammar Profile point 63 in DETERMINERS/quantity is defined as: ‘either’ and ‘neither’ + ‘of’ with plural noun phrases or pronouns. For example: Neither of these men is Chaney. (note the subject-verb agreement!) listen I don’t think

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All of a sudden, out of nowhere

C2, fixed expressions, FOCUS, position

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.

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(one of | some of | among ) the + SUPERLATIVE + PLURAL NOUN

ADJECTIVES, B1, B2, degree, GSE, indefinite, NOUNS, phrases, plural, PREPOSITIONS, PRONOUNS, quantity, superlative

The grammar “one | some + of the + SUPERLATIVE + PLURAL NOUN” is used to describe something that is among the best or most extreme of its kind. The word “one” or “some” can be used to indicate that the thing being described is only one of a few, while the word “of” indicates that the thing is part of a larger group. The superlative adjective is used to compare the thing being described to all other things of its kind, and the plural noun indicates that the thing is more than one.

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that | those (emotional distance)

B1, C2, demonstrative, DETERMINERS, disapproval, distancing

C2 point 68 in DETERMINERS/demonstratives is defined as: ‘that’ and ‘those’ to convey emotional distance, often to express disapproval. The two examples in the EGP: that_DD1 sort_NN1 of_IO behaviour_NN1 those_DD2 so-called_JJ heroes_NN2 Emotional distance or disapproval is not possible to locate in corpora automatically.  We can start by copying the language patterns above. But really,

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all | one | some + OF + these | those | this | that

B1, demonstrative, DETERMINERS, modify, PRONOUNS, quantity

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 52 in the category of PRONOUNS / demonstratives is defined as: quantifying determiners + ‘of’ with demonstrative pronouns An iWeb search for: _DD of _DD 1 SOME OF THESE 258542  STUDENT example: The hospitality in Saudi Arabia is very different between provinces.  Some of these have traditional hospitality, but others have modern hospitality. PELIC Arabic male level 3

all | one | some + OF + these | those | this | that Read More »

ADVERBS (hedging | emphasis)

A2, ADVERBS, emphasis, hedging, MODALITY, position

Adverbs can modify assertions by hedging or emphasizing when placed in mid-position or after the main verb ‘be’. For example, “probably” in “you’re probably busy” hedges the assertion, making it less absolute. Conversely, “definitely” in “it is definitely the right thing to do” emphasizes the assertion, reinforcing its certainty. This usage of adverbs is categorized as A2 in the English Grammar Profile, with higher levels for certain constructions.

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some | any | no | more | a lot of | lots of + NOUN phrase

A1, A2, DETERMINERS, NOUNS, plural, quantity, uncountable

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.

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noun phrase + prepositional phrase

B1, NOUNS, phrases, PREPOSITIONS

Here are student examples of using noun phrases + prepositional phrases: On the whole, I believe that it is a good choice for the development of our children. PELIC Arabic Male level 4 writing class I can take a picture at the top of the mountain but also draw a picture at the same place. PELIC Korean female level 4 writing class. *note, ‘at the top of the‘ is the third most frequent 5-word Ngram in English. iWeb 178,011 Here’s an expert example of a prepositional phrase

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