(PELIC) refers to The University of Pittsburgh English Language Institute Corpus.
If a post refers to any language from this corpus, we tag it PELIC.
A2 point 26 in the category of NOUNS is defined: QUANTITY EXPRESSIONS: refer to an individual example or quantity of an uncountable noun using words for containers and countable items. a search in iWeb for: a_AT _NN1 of _NN1 *we have removed examples that don’t match the grammar. 5 A PIECE OF PAPER 27250 Student […]
A noun OF noun (quantity expression) ‘a piece of paper’ Read More »
Here’s an example of the plural only noun ‘pants’ agreeing with the determiner ‘these’ and the verb ‘are’ These pants are lycra. Listen to this sentence. Here’s a student example: His jeans were too tight. PELIC Korean female level 5 listening class. A2 point 16 in the category of NOUNS is defined: NOUNS ONLY USED IN THE PLURAL with plural
nouns only in the plural (agreement) Read More »
Here’s a student example of a determiner + uncountable noun: My teacher told me “enjoy the music and you will dance naturally.” PELIC Taiwanese female level 3 writing class A2 point 18 in the category of NOUNS is defined: form simple noun phrases by pre-modifying nouns with an increasing range of determiners. A2 point 24 in the category of NOUNS: form
determiner + noun phrase (increasing range) Read More »
The following rare student writing example shows how ‘used not to‘ expresses modality: Also when I was younger, I used not to be allowed to drink coffee. PELIC Korean female level 3 grammar class. It sounds more natural to say: “I didn’t use to be allowed to drink coffee.” *In other words, she did not have permission to drink coffee. Although now she is an adult and can. In the
Here’s a student example of verb phrase ellipsis: You need to study hard to pass the test unless you don’t want to. PELIC Arabic female level 4 grammar class Although there are a number of grammar points in the English Grammar Profile to do with Ellipsis, there are none that cover the ellipsis of phrases before or after the ‘TO’ infinitive. Therefore, we turn to Pearson’s GSE
The phrase “in order not to” is used to express the purpose or intention of avoiding something. It is followed by an infinitive verb. For example:
I left early in order not to miss the train.
She studied hard in order not to fail the exam.
In order not to INFINITIVE Read More »
Here’s a STUDENT EXAMPLE: Therefore, people should educate themselves on their human rights and the basic human rights that other nations have in order to avoid being deceived. PELIC Arabic female level 4 writing class. GSE 64 B2 NP + VP +VP gerund (passive) An iWeb search for: * _VV being _VVN * 1 TO AVOID BEING HIT BY 313 2 TO AVOID BEING HIT . 185 3 N’T LIKE BEING TOLD WHAT 182
gerund (passive complement) Read More »
Point 73 GSE B2+ is defined: express impersonal belief and opinion using ‘thought/considered/believed/etc.’ +’ to’ + VP infSTUDENT STUDENT EXAMPLES: Moreover, English is considered to be an international language. PELIC Thai male level 5 writing class. In addition, he is believed to be the first teacher, because the first education system in ancient China was established by Confucius. PELIC Chinese male level 5 grammar class. EXPERT EXAMPLE: After all, the first intentional human burial is thought to have occurred around 100,000 years ago.
passive + TO infinitve (belief or opinion) Read More »
C1: formal past conditionals | noun phrase, ‘would have’ clause
BUT FOR (third conditional) Read More »
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.
A LOT | MUCH (subject pronouns) Read More »
EXAMPLES: Children can learn about taking responsibility by watching their parents accept responsibility. PELIC STUDENT: Japanese female level 4 writing class. I was called in to assume the responsibility. TED It’s been so wonderful to look back and see all of my former colleagues who’ve gone on to get doctorates and assume leadership roles in other organizations. TED The first step in accepting blame is realizing that you have made a mistake and you deserve to be blamed. altruwisdom.com The English Grammar Profiler tool highlights the Academic Collocations List, allocating C2 value to most of them. However, for each phrase we use,
accept | take | claim | assume + responsibility | blame Read More »
STUDENT EXAMPLE: The professor tries to explain the abstract concept of freedom. PELIC Arabic male level 5 writing class The plural form is more common in iWeb corpus: 1 ABSTRACT CONCEPTS 2856 2 ABSTRACT CONCEPT 1883 further collocates in iWeb: 1 CONCEPTS 2978 2 AN 1170 3 SUCH 302 4 UNDERSTAND 183 5 CONCRETE 149 6 RATHER 102 7 UNDERSTANDING 101 8 ABILITY 74
EXPERT EXAMPLE: We achieved tremendous outcomes. TED STUDENT EXAMPLES: He had finally achieved his goal! EGP B2 We can achieve our objectives by using effective time management. PELIC Japanese female level 4 writing class. iWeb search: 1 ACHIEVE THIS GOAL 7428 2 ACHIEVE THAT GOAL 4188 3 ACHIEVE THE GOAL 3279 4 ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL 3276 5 ACHIEVING THIS GOAL 1989 6 ACHIEVE A GOAL 1844 7 ACHIEVE
achieve * goal | objective | outcome 7428 Read More »
Here are some examples of how the present simple tense is used in planning a future event that is also on a regular schedule or timetable.
Tell me about our date.
Well, how about dinner and this movie that BEGINS at 7 pm.
Tonight? I thought it IS on Saturday.
present simple (future) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, A1 point 1 in the category of DETERMINERS/quantity is defined:
limited range of quantifying determiners with singular nouns (‘a’, ‘every’) determiners: articles
Here are two examples showing a limited range of determiners:
A man had A problem.
EVERY person wanted to play A game.
a | every + SINGULAR NOUN Read More »
In negative contexts, “much” and “many” denote a small amount or number of uncountable and countable nouns respectively. “Any” implies the absence of something, applicable to both countable and uncountable nouns. For instance, “Not many companies can build planes” implies a small number of such companies. “There’s not much difference between them” suggests a minimal difference. “I don’t have any apples” means zero apples are present.
not + any | many | much + NOUN Read More »
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 »
As mentioned in my Cambridge Learner Corpus research elsewhere, the main noticeable difference between CEFR levels is the length of sentences: shorter at A1 and longer at C2. In this post, I wanted to do a quick search (20 sentences) on the word length (the letters in a word) using PELI corpus examples. Surprisingly, the
Is the length of a word a poor way to predict English proficiency? Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 20 in the category of PAST is defined: present perfect simple: UNFINISHED refer to a state or period of time which is unlimited or indefinite. PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: I have already gotten several wrong numbers this month. Japanese female level 4 grammar class EXPERT EXAMPLES: It‘s been proven to me time and time again as people have walked up to me this week simply because of what I‘m wearing, and we‘ve had great conversations.
present perfect simple (unfinished) Read More »
Point 12 in the category of VERBS/patterns is defined: verbs, typically reporting verbs, followed by a noun or pronoun as the indirect object and a clause with or without ‘that’, as the direct object. *Note some of our search results are not indirect objects. However, the A2 complexity is still there with relative clauses. _VV
verb + object + clause Read More »
