whether – English Grammar Profiler

English lexical bundles and their most frequent equivalent forms in French

In this post, we put common lexical bundles that French EFL students use in their writing, through our GRAMMAR PROFILER. Magali Paquot wrote a paper about Lexical bundles. Here are the significant forms found in the ICLE – FR: Here are our expert examples: You‘ll be tempted to tear it off. listen They may never be considered as such by religion, but they are just as important as the ones in your textbooks. listen Kaleb‘s art can be viewed as deeply rooted in the pop minimalism of Aureur or Baer. […]

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ask + if | whether + CLAUSE

B1, CLAUSES, PRONOUNS, QUESTIONS, REPORTED SPEECH, tense

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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WHETHER * OR NOT (conditional clause)

alternative, C2, CLAUSES, conditional, formal, GSE

C2: it is not important which possibility is true

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LINKING ADVERBS / SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

A2, ADVERBS, B1, cause, CLAUSES, CONJUNCTIONS, consequence, contrast, DISCOURSE MARKERS, informal, linking, mentioned, modify, purpose, result, sentence, summarise

Linking adverbs, also known as conjunctive adverbs, are used to connect ideas between two independent clauses or sentences. They help to show the relationship between these ideas. Here’s how the adverbs ‘also’, ‘however’ and the conjunction ‘so’ function in this capacity: Also: This adverb is used to add information or express agreement with the previous

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fronted preposition + relative pronoun

B2, CLAUSES, complements, formal, PREPOSITIONS, PRONOUNS, relative, stranding

Wh-relatives can be preceded by a preposition unlike ‘that’ or ‘zero’ relatives. For example: This is the thing which I am interested in. (stranded preposition) This is the thing in which I am interested. (fronted preposition) This is the thing that I am interested in. (stranding) This is the thing I am interested in. (‘zero’ relative pronoun and stranding) In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 12 in the category of PREPOSITIONs is defined as: preposition + relative pronoun as complement, to

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IF meaning WHETHER

alternative, B1, CONJUNCTIONS, indirect

The words “if” and “whether” are both used to introduce indirect questions or to express doubt or uncertainty. However, there are some differences in their usage: Conditional vs. Choice: “If” is primarily used to introduce conditional clauses or to express a condition that must be met for something else to happen. It implies a cause-and-effect

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EVEN SO

ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, C1, comparatives, CONJUNCTIONS, contrast, emphasis, subordinate, surprising, true, VERBS

In this post, we are most interested to find the most advanced uses of the word ‘even‘. At C1, The phrase “even so” is used to introduce a surprising fact or conclusion that contrasts with what has been said before. It can be used to express a sense of defiance or determination or to simply

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BE + not

A1, A2, auxiliary, B1, be, C2, NEGATIVE, VERBS

Here is a comprehensive analysis of the most common “BE + NOT” forms in English, essential for expressing negation. The forms are listed in order of their frequency in the iWeb corpus. The top three forms are “is not”, “are not”, and “isn’t”, used in various contexts to deny or contradict assertions, form negative statements, and express doubt or uncertainty. Other forms like “’s not”, “was not”, “wasn’t”, “I’m not”, “aren’t”, and “were not” are also discussed with examples illustrating their usage.

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