THE OTHER + noun
B1 ‘THE OTHER’ with a singular noun to refer to the second or the opposite of two things, and with a plural noun to refer to one of a set of things.
The English Grammar Profile, B1 point 47 in the category of DETERMINERS/articles.
PELIC
(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.
most | enough | plenty of + NOUN
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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MY | YOUR + superlative + noun
The formation of noun phrases using ‘my’ or ‘your’ + superlative adjective + noun in English grammar.
A noun phrase acts as a noun and describes a noun, while a superlative adjective compares a noun to the rest of a group and indicates the highest degree of a quality.
For instance, in the sentence “That’s your biggest mistake,” ‘your biggest mistake’ is a noun phrase where ‘biggest’ is the superlative adjective and ‘mistake’ is the noun.
The text also provides examples of such phrases commonly used in English, such as “your best bet,” “my best friend,” “your best friend,” and so on. It mentions that using A2 vocabulary or higher in this structure will probably be considered B1 context.
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THE MOST | LEAST + superlative adjective phrase
A2 superlative adjective phrases using ‘the most’, with longer adjectives of two or more syllables.
(ENGLISH GRAMMAR PRO – ADJECTIVES)
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himself | herself | myself | yourself
Myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves are called reflexive pronouns. They are used when the subject and the object of a sentence are the same. For example:
I cut myself when I was making dinner.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
They enjoyed themselves at the party.
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or not?
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 23 in the category of QUESTIONS is defined as: alternative questions using ‘or not’ to substitute for a clause, sometimes to express annoyance or impatience An iWeb search for: * * or not ? 1 THIS EARNING OR NOT? 287 2 GOOD IDEA OR NOT? 122 Is drinking fruit juices a good idea or not? cityspidey.com 3
QUESTION TAGS (range)
There are a number of similar points for questionS in the EGP. Some are clearly different, while others get harder to differentiate. 18 QUESTIONS tags B1 increasing range of affirmative ‘be’, ‘do’ and ‘have’ tags with negative main clauses. 19 QUESTIONS yes/no B1 use main verb ‘be’ + ‘n’t’ to form negative ‘yes/no’ questions. 20
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plus
The use of the conjunction ‘plus’ is covered by two different B1 grammar points in the English Grammar Profile. Point 14 in CONJUNCTIONS/coordinating is defined as: ‘PLUS’ WITH NOUNS often in relation to numbers. The home offers four bedrooms plus a study which could be a potential fifth bedroom. bendigoadvertiser.com.au Point 12 is: ‘plus’ to connect clauses and sentences, often to point out a positive addition or
get + PAST PARTICIPLE
Passive ‘GET‘ + past participles is a way of using ‘get’ instead of ‘be’ in the passive voice in informal spoken English. It often refers to accidental or unexpected actions that we don’t want. For example: If we don’t get caught, it‘s not gonna matter who it was we stole from, and we‘re not going to get caught. listen She got hit by a car. listen Oh, that‘s so nobody accidentally gets thrown out. Accepted In the
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TEMPORAL SHIFTS – FUTURE
There are two similar and slightly overlapping grammar points dealing with the future in the past. B1 Point 3 in the category of report speech is defined as: about events in the future with and without backshifts for words relating to time. B1 point 39 in the category of FUTURE is defined as: ‘WOULD’ future
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WH- (reported question)
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 10 in the category of REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: ‘wh-‘questions using a reporting verb + ‘wh-‘word + clause, with a change of pronoun and tense shift where relevant Expert examples: I once asked a really bright student what he hoped to learn from me. TED When asked what the biggest challenge was in making the film, William Joyce says, not giving up. listen PELIC student example: Every time, someone asked me what my major was, they always
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HELP + object + infinitive
The verb help can be followed by an object and an infinitive with or without to.
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There BE n’t + NOUN PHRASE
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 41 in the category of VERBS is defined as: NEGATIVE: ‘There’ + ‘be’ + ‘n’t’ with countable and uncountable nouns. A search in iWeb for: there_E _VB _XX * * 1 THERE’S NOT A LOT 6543 2 THERE IS NOT A LOT 4009 3 THERE IS NOT A
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understand | realise + that CLAUSE
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 Point 42 in the category of VERBS/patterns is defined as: an increasing range of verbs, typically reporting or mental process verbs, with a ‘that’-clause as the direct object PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: I started to understand that there are many types of movies, and I started to distinguish between them. Arabic, Male, Level 4, Writing Class. *Note that this partly overlaps ’28
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while if | although | though
In the English Grammar Profile, point 76 in the category of CLAUSES/subordinated, at B1 is defined as: a finite subordinate clause with conjunctions (‘even though, (al)though, while if’) to introduce contrast, before or after a main clause. *Note, only ‘while if‘ is not overlapping other B1 grammar points or clashing at other levels out of
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if CLAUSE + will CLAUSE (FUTURE CONDITIONAL)
Listed at A2, the “future” or “first” conditional in English is a grammatical structure used to discuss possible future events. This structure often expresses a cause and effect relationship, with the effect (main clause) being conditional on the cause (if-clause). The typical structure is: “If” + present simple tense, “will” + verb (base form). The page provides examples of this structure from various sources, including student writings, expert examples, and lines from 1934 movies. It also discusses how different English Grammar Profile points highlight this grammar point.
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IF + present simple
“If + present simple + present simple in the main clause”: This structure is used to talk about things that are always true, such as scientific facts, or to give advice. For example, “If this happens, money only brings him loneliness, not happiness.” Here, the speaker is expressing a general truth or observation about the consequences of a certain situation.
“If + present simple + imperative in the main clause”: This structure is used to give advice or make suggestions. The “if” clause presents a condition, and the imperative in the main clause suggests what should be done if that condition is met. For example, “If you feel sick, see a doctor.” Here, the speaker is giving advice on what to do when feeling sick.
“If + present simple + can in the main clause”: This structure is used to talk about possible or likely situations in the future. The “if” clause sets up a condition, and “can” in the main clause expresses what will be possible if that condition is met. For example, “If we properly invest into data infrastructure and data preparation, all this can be avoided.” Here, the speaker is expressing that a certain undesirable outcome can be avoided if proper investments are made.
These structures are very common in English and are used in various contexts to express conditions and their potential outcomes.
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If + PRESENT SIMPLE + MODAL CLAUSE
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 74 in the category of CLAUSES/conditional is defined as: PRESENT SIMPLE ‘IF’ CLAUSE + MODAL, FUTURE, POSSIBLE OUTCOME: introduce a possible future condition, with modal verbs in the main clause, to talk about a possible result. A search in TED corpus for expert examples: If you‘ve got a couple of final words you want to share, that would be great. listen So if you look that up, you can hear more of those tunes. listen PELIC
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ask + if | whether + CLAUSE
B1 English Grammar Profile point 5 in REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: ‘YES-NO’ QUESTIONS using ‘ask’ + ‘if’ or ‘whether’ + clause, with a pronoun and tense shift where relevant. A search in iWeb for: ask* * if|whether _P _V 1 ASKED ME IF I WANTED 2391 2 ASKED ME IF I WAS 2083 3
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