emphasis – English Grammar Profiler
There is no specific point in the English Grammar Profile that suggests that “It was here that” is an example of introducing a cleft sentence for focus. We know that inversion starts around the B1 level but this may be C2 Clefting similar to that with nouns. Looking at the low frequency in the iWeb corpus […]
It + BE + location + that CLAUSE Read More »
A locative adverb is a type of adverb that refers to a location or to a combination of a location and a relation to that location. For example, here, there, inside, outside, etc. A preposition is a word that shows the relationship between a noun or a pronoun and another word in the sentence. For example, in, on, at, by, etc.
locative adverb + preposition Read More »
These are the search results in iWeb for: no_AT _DA * 1 NO MORE THAN 156094 C2 grammar This phrase means “not more than” and it is used to express an upper limit. 2 NO SUCH THING 49851 B2 is a phrase that means “it does not exist.” It is used to deny the existence
NO + post-determiner Read More »
Most reporting or mental processing constructions that introduce object clauses are listed at A2 or B1 in the English Grammar Profile. We believe that if adverbs are also included, this probably shows B2 ability. To check this, we look in the TLC speaking tests and find that the most common example only starts being used at
subject + adverb + lexical verb + clause Read More »
At A2 level in the Oxford learner’s dictionary, ‘All’ as an adverb can mean ‘completely’. Adverbs pre-modifying prepositions are found at A2, B1, and C1 levels in the English Grammar Profile. The iWeb corpus was searched for ALL + prepositional phrases using the pattern _DB _II _A _NN. However, not every result represents ‘all’ as an adverb. Some of the most common phrases include ‘All around the world’, ‘All across the country’, and ‘All along the way’, among others.
Each phrase is used in a unique context. For example, ‘All around the world’ is often used when referring to a global phenomenon or distribution, as in “Television rights have been sold all around the world”. Similarly, ‘All along the way’ can be used to indicate a consistent pattern or presence across a process or journey, as in “Black girls are overrepresented all along the way”.
ALL + preposition + noun phrase Read More »
The text discusses the use of interjections in language, which are words that express sudden feelings and emotions such as pleasure, anger, disappointment, shock, surprise, and excitement. These words often come with punctuation marks and are usually inserted between sentences.
The text also presents a search result from the NOW corpus for the frequency of interjections. The most frequent interjections are ‘YES’ and ‘NO’, which are sometimes classified as interjections but do not always express emotion or act as calls for attention. They are sometimes classified as a part of speech in their own right: sentence words or word sentences.
The text provides examples of how ‘YES’, ‘NO’, and other interjections like ‘OH’, ‘YEAH’, ‘HEY’, etc., are used to express various emotions. It also notes that there is no entry in the English Profile or Collins dictionary for ‘yes’ used to express emotion, suggesting this is not an A1 cando. However, ‘Yeah’ is listed at A2 as an exclamation, and ‘No’ as an exclamation is listed in the Collins dictionary at A2.
The text concludes with a list of the top 100 most common interjections according to the NOW corpus, with ‘YES’, ‘NO’, and ‘OH’ being the top three.
interjections & other sentence words Read More »
At A2 level in the English Vocabulary Profile, the adjective ‘own’ is used with a possessive to emphasize ownership or belonging. This usage is common in advanced phrases, sometimes in C1 adverbial phrases describing the manner in which something is done. ‘Own’ can also function as a pronoun, referring back to a noun phrase. Additionally, ‘own’ can mean ‘alone’ at B1 level.
Examples of usage include sentences like “The least you could do is allow me to live here in my own way,” emphasizing personal ownership, and “Feel free to use our pool, but use it at your own risk,” indicating individual responsibility. Moreover, phrases like “on their own” and “of their own” are frequently used to express independence and ownership.
Furthermore, ‘own’ can be part of idiomatic expressions such as “mind your own business,” which means to tell someone in a rude way not to inquire about something private.
possessive determiner + OWN Read More »
At 55 B1+ on the GSE, in the vocabulary section, YET = used to emphasize that something could still happen in the future, or that there is still enough time to do something For example: There’s plenty of time yet to enter the competition. *The second sense is not listed in the EGP or EVP. It
TIME YET TO infinitive Read More »
Listed in the English Vocabulary Profile at C2: yet another/more, etc. used to show that you are surprised or annoyed that something is being repeated or increased At B2, Yet again again after something has happened or been done many times before However, this structure is also listed at B2 in the Cambridge dictionary: used
yet + another | again | more Read More »
‘All’ with the meaning ‘the only thing’ is listed at B1 in the English Vocabulary Profile. For example: All I can say is I‘m sorry. listen All it does is tire your mind and stops you thinking for yourself. listen That‘s all I can suggest. Stranger Than Fiction An iWeb search for: All * _VM _VVI _VB 1 ALL I CAN SAY IS 19460 2 ALL WE CAN SAY IS 1135 3 ALL
ALL + clause (the only thing) ‘all I can say is…’ Read More »
The difference between “it remains there” and “there it remains” is mainly in the word order and the emphasis. “It remains there” is a normal sentence with the subject “it” followed by the verb “remains” and the adverb “there”. It means that something continues to exist or stay in a certain place. “There it remains”
there it remains Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, A2 point 3 in the category of PREPOSITIONS is defined:
‘JUST’ + to modify prepositions.
JUST + preposition Read More »
‘Any’ can be used as an adverb to mean ‘at all’ or ‘in some degree’. Here are expert examples: We‘re not gonna discuss it here any further. Keep The Change You‘re not at university any longer. listen How would that end any differently than last time? Captain America In the English Vocabulary Profile, ‘any’ is listed as ADVERB B1 used in questions and negatives to emphasize a comparative adjective or adverb Do you feel any better?
ANY + comparative Read More »
Here are expert examples of negation + ‘the least‘: I’m not in the least bit religious. Listen to this sentence Well, aren’t you the least bit curious as to how I can be talking to you on the phone right now when I ‘m supposed to be taped to a chair? listen C2 Point 28 in the category of NEGATION is defined: ‘IN THE LEAST’ after a negative form for emphasis. A search in iWeb: 1 NOT SURPRISED
THE LEAST Read More »
C2 in the English Grammar Profile, point 230 in the category of MODALITY is defined as:
‘BE’ + ADJECTIVE + ‘NOT’ + ‘TO + infinitive for emphasis
adjective + NOT TO + infinitive (be careful not to disturb them) Read More »
At B1, in the English Vocabulary Profile, IT + BE + time + TO infinitive clause = something should happen: Is it time to go home yet? listen It was time to get back to work. listen Similarly, at C1, ‘time‘ can be premodified: I think it’s about time to make a deal. listen I think it is high time for me to get out of my house while I‘m still alive. Insidious: Chapter 3 At
would rather | it’s time + CLAUSE Read More »
Let’s analyse questions that have relative clauses to give emphasis. So usually, we would say something like: What do we want to ask? What are we trying to find out here? You can see the normal auxiliary verbs ‘be’ and ‘do’ get removed and relative clauses are added in the EXPERT EXAMPLES: What is it that we want
WHAT IS IT YOU WANT? (relative clause question) Read More »
On Pearson’s scale at GSE 71 B2+ describe present or future outcomes of a hypothetical situation using initial ‘only if’ with inversion of subject and object. ‘Only if’ + first/second conditional with inversion The complexity of this structure is highly unlikely to be B2 as Pearson has it listed. The most similar EGP construction is
ONLY IF + inverted conditional Read More »
The construction ‘try as * might,’ means that someone is trying very hard, but they still cannot do it. In the English Grammar Profile, point 219 in the category of MODALITY is defined: ‘try as I might’ for emphasis at the beginning of a sentence. An iWeb search for . Try as * _VM 1
Try as ‘someone’ might Read More »
NOT ONLY MUST people go to the event, but they must also be respectful there. NEVER MUST they forget what the soldiers died for.
You must not ask about it when we are there. NOR MUST I be expected to explain it.
not only | never | nor + must + (inversion) Read More »