In the English Grammar Profile, A2 point 21 in the category of ADJECTIVES/combining is defined as: join a limited range of common adjectives, after ‘be’. All the examples use ‘but’ to join the adjectives. In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 38 in the category of ADVERBS/modifiers is defined as: DEGREE: ‘really really’ with verbs and adjectives […]
In the English Vocabulary Profile at C1: wrongly accused/convicted/imprisoned, etc. accused or punished unfairly or illegally For example: My father’s currently being wrongly incarcerated for 12 years. TED A search in NOW corpus for: wrongly _VVN Wrongly + 1 ACCUSED 3646 2 CONVICTED 2727 We‘re trying to help people who have been wrongly convicted. TED 3 IDENTIFIED 744 4 CLAIMED 679 5 ASSUMED 592 6 DECIDED 563 7 ATTRIBUTED 520 […]
When “not” is used before an adverb, it typically forms a negative construction that modifies the action or verb it is associated with. This construction is used to indicate the absence or negation of the quality or manner expressed by the adverb. Next, we want to know the most common adverbs in this position, so […]
The negative form of the present simple passive is formed: present form of BE + NOT + PAST PARTICIPLE am | is | are + n’t | not + past participle In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 10 in the category of PASSIVES is defined as: PRESENT SIMPLE, NEGATIVE + range of pronoun and noun […]
I’m often asked by my students just before they take an IELTS test for some quick tips on what to study before a particular task. Therefore, in this post, I will summarise the salient grammar and vocabulary features I found in very good introductions and overviews in the Academic IELTS Task 1 tests using our […]
MIGHT HAVE BEEN BEING RELEASED can’t/couldn’t very well do sth = used to say that something is not a suitable or practical thing to do You can’t very well expect other people to be nice to you if you aren’t willing to lead the way. English Vocabulary Profile at C2 While working on another piece […]
The grammar of the past continuous tense is as follows: Subject + was/were + present participle For example: I was becoming more and more tired as the day went on. The plants were growing very quickly in the warm weather. Something strange was happening in the forest. The past continuous tense is used to describe […]
While working on another piece of grammar, I noticed a complex piece of grammar that is not listed in the English Grammar Profile. There are many grammar points that are listed that are about adverbs in the middle position, but none about two which should be listed at C2. A search in iWeb corpus for […]
After a passive verb phrase (or a past participle as an adjective), the preposition “for” indicates purpose or reason. Here are the results of a search in the iWeb corpus for: _VB _VVN for 1 BE USED FOR 284604 Crush. It‘s funny how the same word for the feeling of attraction can be used for the feeling of disappointment. listen 2 IS KNOWN FOR 97688 And he is known for being a liar. listen The sentence “he is known […]
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 21 in the category of PAST is defined as: past simple with ‘wish (that)’ to express regret that things are not different. TLC STUDENT SPEAKING TEST EXAMPLE: I listen to music a lot and sometimes I wish that my life was a musical. male Spain C2 EXPERT EXAMPLES: I wish I never called. TED There were many moments growing up where I wished that I was white. TED *Note that past perfect is also possible with […]
The following two B1 points are only different in the order. Point 4 in REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: DIRECT SPEECH, REPORTING CLAUSE, INITIAL POSITION: report speech and thought directly, using the reporting verb before the reporting clause Point 9 is END POSITION: report speech and thought directly using the reporting verb after the reporting […]
Here’s an iWeb search for: _VV _P _I _P 1 THANK YOU TO EVERYONE 11555 This sounds like it is a shortened version of “a big thank you to everyone” in which case thank is a noun. 2 RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE 8607 3 SHARE IT WITH YOU 8590 4 GIVE IT TO YOU 5530 […]
Here’s a student example of a determiner + uncountable noun: My teacher told me “enjoy the music and you will dance naturally.” PELIC Taiwanese female level 3 writing class A2 point 18 in the category of NOUNS is defined: form simple noun phrases by pre-modifying nouns with an increasing range of determiners. A2 point 24 in the category of NOUNS: form […]
The following two B1 points are only different in the order. Point 4 in REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: DIRECT SPEECH, REPORTING CLAUSE, INITIAL POSITION: report speech and thought directly, using the reporting verb before the reporting clause Point 9 is END POSITION: report speech and thought directly using the reporting verb after the reporting […]
