the

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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all | both | a few + PLURAL NOUN

A2, amount, DETERMINERS, NOUNS, numbers, plural, quantity, time

‘All’ and ‘both’ are predeterminers, meaning they come before other determiners.  For example: “All the things”, “both our children” In the English Grammar Profile, A2 point 22 in DETERMINERS is defined as: increasing range of quantifying determiners with plural nouns ‘all’, ‘both’, ‘a few’ In the English Vocabulary Profile: a few = A2 some, or

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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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NO ONE

numbers, PRONOUNS, reflexive, singular

A search in iWeb for the word “ONE” shows us 6 different tags. 1 ONE (MC1) 24583449 (number) 1  . ONE OF THE 217127 2  THIS IS ONE OF THE 109499 3  TO BE ONE OF THE 88041 4  IT IS ONE OF THE 66555 5  IT ‘S ONE OF THE 42852 It‘s one of the worst crimes of

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DOWN

ADVERBS, phrases, PREPOSITIONS

Down can be used in many ways! The most common is following a verb as an adverb or preposition particle. 1 DOWN (RP) 6295531 4 DOWN (II) 388611 5 DOWN (RP_NN1%) 74762 6 DOWN (NN1) 69979 7 DOWN (RL22) 67905 9 DOWN (RP_VV0%) 43485 10 DOWN (JJ) 39955

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MINUTE

ADJECTIVES, C2, NOUNS, phrases, time

See, this is really weird,  but I had this feeling the minute that the phone rang,  I said, Jackie, pick it up, you‘ve got a grandchild. listen Minute is usually a noun, but in the above usage ‘the minute + that CLAUSE‘ it means as soon as. Similary, in the next example, ‘any minute‘ means ‘very soon‘: Colin could you possibly find somewhere else to pray,  your brother and sister will be here any minute now. listen 1 MINUTE (NNT1) 645067 (A1 noun) = 60 seconds.

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NONE other than | nonetheless | NONE the wiser | NONE too pleased

ADVERBS, B2, NEGATIVE, phrases, PRONOUNS

In this post, we look at more complex phrases using the word NONE.  Here are the frequency and tagging results in iWeb for the word “NONE“: 1 NONE (PN) 929301 Although the English Vocabulary Profile lists ‘none’ at B1 as a pronoun, meaning ‘not any’, there is also B2 idiom: This is none of your business. listen

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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

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BY phrases

ADVERBS, phrases, PREPOSITIONS

The preposition “by” has several meanings in English, depending on the context. Here are some common ones:

It can mean “beside” or “next to” when used with a place, such as “by the window” or “by the sea”.
It can show the person or thing that does something, such as “written by Shakespeare” or “made by hand”.
It can show how or in what way something is done, such as “by car” or “by mistake”.
It can mean “not later than” when used with a time, such as “by tomorrow” or “by 5 pm”.

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TO

ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, infinitive, PREPOSITIONS

The word ‘to’ is most often before an infinitive or it is a simple preposition.  A search in iWeb corpus for frequency data related to part of speech: 1 TO (TO) 240771826 infinitive marker _TO * * * * 1 TO BE ONE OF THE 87871 Everyone, this is our dear friend, Brian Bloom  who also happens to be one of the most talented young writers. listen to this C1 example

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SAME (phrases)

ADJECTIVES, DETERMINERS, phrases, PRONOUNS

In this post, we are looking for advanced phrases with the word ‘same‘.  For example: It‘s the same old story. The rich get richer,  and the most vulnerable in our country suffer. listen 1 SAME (DA) 9442876 A search in iWeb corpus for: * * same_DA * * 1 AT THE SAME TIME, 242223 B1 phrase in the English Vocabulary Profile. At the same time, we are doing business with the very same government that is flooding our streets with cocaine. listen 2

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ALL | SOME | BOTH | HALF + OF + noun phrase

A2, DETERMINERS, NOUNS, phrases, PRONOUNS, quantity

Here’s an example of determiners premodifying nouns: I regret some of the things I said to you. A2 point 18 in the category of NOUNS/phrases is defined: form simple noun phrases by pre-modifying nouns with an increasing range of determiners. A2 point 17 in the category of PRONOUNS: limited range of pronouns (‘all’, ‘both’) with ‘of’ followed by an object pronoun, to

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FOR

CONJUNCTIONS, phrases, PREPOSITIONS

In this post, we investigate 11 ways ‘for’ is tagged by the claws 7 tag set.   1 FOR (IF) 140146366 A1 simple preposition 1 . FOR MORE INFORMATION 77314 For more information,  you‘ll have to speak with the doctor. Harry Brown 2 . FOR THOSE WHO 22531 3 THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL 19815 4 THE REASON FOR THIS IS

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