TLC – Page 3 – English Grammar Profiler

adjective + noun (range)

ACL, ADJECTIVES, attributive, B1, NOUNS, phrases, position, range / abdominal, absorption, accurate, active, additional, description, hard, information, JJ, muscles, NN, participant, PELIC, TLC, total, valuable, wide, work

Here are real examples of using an adjective before a noun and academic collocation: It’s a pretty accurate description. (listen to this expert example) He can ask for additional information. (listen to this expert example) During my school years, I started reading to get some information because I was an active participant in almost all the literary competitions. TLC female India B2 Opening fire will not retrieve them, and an armed conflict is precisely what the Captain wished to avoid. listen A search in the English Grammar Profile for ‘range …

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(too) adjective + prepositional phrase

A2, ADJECTIVES, modify, phrases, PREPOSITIONS, range / accident, around, available, blood, call, corner, dead, download, fact, fit, free, front, full, further, heavy, high, idea, II, JJ, largest, low, luck, market, middle, N, open, pleased, public, rich, sale, size, strong, the, TLC, to, too, true, variety, way, web, yourself

There is overlap between these two A2 English Grammar Profile points: Point 6 in the category of ADJECTIVES/modifying is defined: ‘too’ + adjective + prepositional phrase Point 28 in the category of ADJECTIVES/modifying is defined as: adjective phrases with a very limited range of adjectives + a prepositional phrase. The EGP examples for range are: …

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past perfect continuous (relative clause)

B2, CLAUSES, continuous, PAST, perfect / attending, been, fighting, had, hanging, hiding, leading, living, operating, that, TLC, VVG, which, who

In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 78 in the category of PAST is defined as: past perfect continuous in relative clauses to give background information. A search in iWeb corpus for: who|that|which had been _vvg gives us the most common continuous verbs found in past perfect continuous relative clauses: 1 WHO HAD BEEN WORKING …

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past continuous + adverb (range)

A2, ADVERBS, B1, B2, C2, continuous, PAST / actively, anxiously, apparently, basically, constantly, currently, definitely, deliberately, desperately, eagerly, either, eventually, fully, initially, likely, merely, obviously, originally, particularly, patiently, previously, rapidly, recently, RR, secretly, seriously, severely, simply, thoroughly, TLC, truly, VBD, VVG, was, were

This is another grammar point where the English Vocabulary Profile is probably better at profiling the language than the English Grammar Profile. There are a handful of adverbs that already make the task across levels quite difficult to follow. We then should consider the hundred other adverbs that appear in this ‘mid position’. A2 point …

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past perfect simple + adverb

ADVERBS, B1, B2, PAST, perfect, position, range, simple / already, always, completely, considered, ever, experienced, finally, finished, heard, intended, just, never, PELIC, planned, previously, reached, recently, RR, seen, simply, TLC, VVN, wanted

B2 point 54 in the category of PAST is defined as: past perfect simple with a wide range of adverbs (including ‘finally’, ‘recently’, ‘simply’) in the normal mid-position. B1 point 46 in the category of PAST is defined as: past perfect simple with a limited range of adverbs (including ‘never’, ‘ever’, ‘just’, ‘always’, ‘already’) in …

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None of | Neither of

B2, NEGATIVE, NOUNS, phrases, PRONOUNS / neither, none, of, TLC

In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 19 in the category of NEGATION is defined as: ‘NEITHER OF’, ‘NONE OF’ + PRONOUN or noun phrase with the affirmative form of the verb. Expert examples: None of us thought it could happen in America or anyplace else. listen You can not bring up a conversation topic if neither of you is interested. listen STUDENT EXAMPLE: The funny part is when the investigation was done it was realised that none of the family members had actually seen the movie. TLC, Speaking Test, Female, …

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BE adjective TO infinitive

ADJECTIVES, B1, B2, infinitive, MODALITY, PRONOUNS / JJ, likely, sure, TLC, to, unlikely, VVI

The B2 Point 156 in MODALITY and adjectives is yet another overlapping entry for features that are already covered elsewhere. It is generally defined as: SUBJECT + ‘BE’ + ADJECTIVE + ‘TO’ + INFINITIVE or pronoun or noun + ‘be’ + adjective + ‘to’ + (past) infinitive. STUDENT EXAMPLE: Children do not have serious symptoms, but they‘re likely to get the most complicated cases. …

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BE + able | allowed + to

A2, B1, facts, infinitive, MODALITY, permission / ABLE, add, allowed, bring, enter, move, offer, pick, return, save, share, supposed, TLC, to, VB, view

This is another post about overlapping grammar points in the English Grammar Profile. B1 point 76 in MODALITY: ‘BE ALLOWED TO’, PERMISSION B1 point 99 in Modality and expressions with be is defined as: a limited range of expressions with ‘be’ + infinitive (‘be allowed to’, ‘be supposed to’, ‘be able to’) with present and …

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have got to | have to | don’t have to

A2, auxiliary, B2, MODALITY, suggestion, VERBS / check, do, got, has, have, keep, not, out, PELIC, TLC, to, try, VVI, XX, you

Here are two student examples of using semi-modal ‘have to’ to express whether something is required or necessary. Another thing is you have to make sure that you have included signal words to help the reader. PELIC Arabic female level 3 writing class. I mean if someone wears something, you don’t have to wear that because she or he wears it. TLC male Spain B1 speaking test. *Note, the reduced clause ‘you don’t have to‘ is the 9th most …

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the reason that | the place which + CLAUSE

B2, CLAUSES, FOCUS, relative / PELIC, place, provide, reason, say, that, the, this, TLC, which

In the English Grammar Profile, B2 Point 4 in the category of FOCUS is defined as ‘The reason (that)’, ‘The place (which)’ + clause as subject + ‘be’ for focus. — Expert example: But the reason that a lot of his fans are in the stands is because of another video. listen Student in speaking test example: I think the reason …

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RATHER THAN + non-finite clause | phrase

B1, B2, CLAUSES, comparatives, complex, emphasis, non-finite, phrases, PREPOSITIONS / allowing, being, common, creating, exception, focusing, forced, II21, II22, rather, relying, rule, series, than, TLC

Let’s look at how ‘rather than‘ is used to compare. In the English Vocabulary Profile, at B1 the meaning is: ‘instead of ‘ rather than examples: I‘d like coffee rather than tea. I usually wear a swimsuit rather than shorts. In the above examples: coffee, tea, a swimsuit, shorts are nouns or noun phrases, so ‘rather than‘ or ‘instead of‘ are complex prepositions. Here’s …

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After + having | being + PAST PARTICIPLE

B2, CLAUSES, non-finite, PASSIVES, PAST, subordinate / after, been, being, exposed, forced, given, having, released, shot, spent, TLC, told, VVN

Let’s explain some examples of the grammar structure: ‘after being pp‘ and ‘after having pp‘: After being told these stories, I started thinking. (psychic-experiences.com) I moved back to India after having spent six years in the US. (indix.com) Firstly, ‘after’ is a preposition before a complement ‘verb-ing’ clause. For example, …

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‘They taste delicious’ (wide range of linking verbs)

ADJECTIVES, B2, linking, NOUNS, phrases, range, VERBS / appear, court, delicious, impossible, JJ, likely, NN, obvious, odd, remain, search, seem, taste, TLC, unchanged

Let’s look at some spoken student examples that show a wide range of linking verbs: 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 the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 48 in the categories of VERBS / linking …

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‘She’s the best.’ (superlative adjective without a following noun)

A2, ADJECTIVES, article, B2, ellipsis, NOUNS, range, superlative / best, brightest, busiest, common, coolest, deepest, disadvantages, driest, earliest, eldest, farthest, fittest, furthest, healthiest, heaviest, highest, JJT, largest, loudest, lowest, most, of, one, prettiest, quietest, rarest, richest, scariest, sharpest, simplest, smartest, smoothest, softest, strangest, strongest, tastiest, the, thinnest, TLC, weakest, widest

Which superlative adjective should we learn at higher levels?

‘major cities’, ‘very beginning’ (major | very + noun)

academic, ADJECTIVES, attributive, C2, degree, intensity, NOUNS, position, range / beginning, cities, end, JJ, major, NN, problem, TLC, very

For this C2 grammar, ‘major’ is an adjective meaning: important, serious, or significant. ‘Very’ is an adjective meaning: actual or precise, with emphasis on the exact quality of the following noun or an extreme point in time/space. Point 73 under the category of adjectives in C2 on the English Grammar Profile these two vocabulary items …

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