At C2 in the English Vocabulary Profile: work out = to understand something or to find the answer to something by thinking about it A search in NOW corpus for which ‘question words’ follow phrasal verbs: work out _*Q 1 WORK OUT HOW 12286 Just give us five minutes, Mr Poirot, and I‘m sure we‘ll be able to work out how you did it. listen 2 WORK OUT WHAT: I […]
phrasal verb + clause ‘work out how you did it’ Read More »
Defining relative clauses, also known as restrictive relative clauses, provide essential information about the noun they refer to. This information is crucial for defining or restricting the meaning of the noun.
When the noun refers to a person, ‘who’ is often used as the subject of a defining relative clause. For example, in the sentence “The woman who lives next door is a doctor,” ‘who’ is the subject of the clause and refers back to ‘the woman’. The clause “who lives next door” provides essential information about which woman is being referred to.
On the other hand, ‘that’ can also be used as a subject in defining relative clauses when referring to both people and things. For instance, in the sentence “He’s the man that saw me yesterday,” ‘that’ refers to ‘the man’, and the clause “that saw me yesterday” tells us which man is being referred to.
WHO | THAT subject pronouns in defining relative clauses Read More »
A comprehensive overview of how the relative pronoun “which” is used in English grammar.
The examples clearly illustrate the difference between defining and non-defining relative clauses. In defining relative clauses, “which” provides essential information about the noun, as in “The book which lies on the table is mine.” In non-defining relative clauses, “which” provides additional information that doesn’t change the basic meaning of the noun, as in “I visited Paris, which is known for its beautiful architecture.”
The examples from the iWeb search also demonstrate how “which” can be used to connect discourse and introduce a clause that explains a result, inference, or consequence of a situation or fact. For instance, “Our team has won every match this season, which brings us to the top of the league.”
The AI-generated sentences using the corpus data are also very helpful in understanding how “which” can be used in various contexts. For example, “We’ve developed a system which allows users to easily track their progress.”
WHICH relative subject pronoun Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 44 in the category of PRONOUNS/substitution is defined as: ‘one’ after ‘which’ in indirect questions to refer to one of two or more options. For example: If I were to show you these two urban scenes, and I were to ask you which one is more beautiful, which one would you say? TED *not all the examples are ‘indirect questions’ in the EGP examples. A search in iWeb for: which one
In the English Grammar Profile, C2 point 117 in the category of PRONOUNS/quantity is defined as: complex noun phrases using an inverted form ‘Many’ + ‘are’ + noun phrase, followed by a relative clause, as a focusing device. FOR EXAMPLE: NBC News Covid is having a devastating impact on children — and the vaccine won’t
Many are the + NOUN + RELATIVE CLAUSE Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, A2 points 16 & 17 in the category of DETERMINERS/demonstratives is about the use of ‘these’ and ‘those’ with plural nouns.
THESE | THOSE + plural noun Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 79 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: indefinite pronouns with a relative clause to form complex noun phrases, to give focus *Note that there does not seem to be any other grammar point in the EGP or EVP that relates to indefinite pronoun + relative pronoun which
indefinite pronoun + relative clause (focus) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 70 in the category of PRONOUNS & demonstratives is defined as: ‘those’ as a substitute, followed by a relative clause or ‘-ed’ or ‘-ing’. The examples in the EGP contain: those who|which|that on iWeb these are broken down as: 1 THOSE WHO 1715629 2 THOSE THAT 337742 3
THOSE + relative clause Read More »
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
fronted preposition + relative pronoun Read More »
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. For example: I was scrolling on social media, and I saw a friend who had been sharing positive news stories. TED 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
past perfect continuous in a relative clause Read More »
‘WH-‘ questions expect a reply that supplies information. The wh-word can be a pronoun: What made you think that? (listen to this question) adverb: Where did it go? (listen) or a determiner: Which part? (listen) A search for the most common questions in the iWeb corpus with: _ddq _v _p _v ? 1 WHAT DO YOU THINK? (‘what’
Here’s an example of ‘some of’ modifying the relative pronoun ‘which’: I have many connections, some of which are less than reputable. Listen In the English Grammar Profile, C1 point 98 in the category of PRONOUNS / quantity is defined as: ‘some of’, ‘many of’ to modify relative pronouns in a relative clause. A search on iWeb for ngrams of some|many of _**q
some of which | many of whom Read More »
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 examples: The reason you‘re alive today is because of those changes in our brains that took place in Africa. TED But the reason that a lot of his fans are in the stands is because of another video. listen Student in speaking
the reason that | the place which + CLAUSE Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 102 in the category of CLAUSES that are relative is defined as: defining relative clauses and non-defining relative clauses ending in a preposition, with ‘who/which/that’ as the complement of the preposition. *This point overlaps other categories and is already covered here. Here are the 4 most common prepositions
relative clause preposition (stranding) Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 Point 100 in the category of CLAUSES is hard to find formally as it is more USE related as the relative clause: refers to a whole clause or sentence, often to express an opinion or evaluation or give a reason. This is also found in PEARSON’S: GSE 61 B2
evaluative relative clause ‘… which is good’ Read More »
There is no evidence of when students can use “which” or “whose”.
WHICH | WHOSE + subject noun + verb (questions) Read More »
