keep – English Grammar Profiler

Although there is an English Grammar Profile point at B2 for introducing a new subject before a gerund, there is no point for a new subject before a past participle which we then assume points to C1 ability.  Even a ‘new’ subject is questionable as a criterion for advanced ability. Here’s an advanced example sentence …

lexical verb + pronoun + past participle Read More »

In the English Vocabulary Profile at B1: not believe/understand/hear/say, etc. a word = anything A search in iWeb corpus for: _XX _VV a word 1 N’T SAY A WORD 1726 Don’t say a word against my father. listen 2 NOT SAY A WORD 756 3 N’T UNDERSTAND A WORD 608 It was brilliant, even though I didn’t understand a word of it. listen 4 N’T BELIEVE A …

WORD (phrases) Read More »

Let’s look at the most frequent ‘to infinitives’ on the internet in the top 100 verbs.  Our research is by doing a search in iWeb for _TO _VVI At A2, ‘keep’ stands out. We have put in bold the most frequent collocations too: I’m trying hard to keep my family out of my life. Cat Run At B1, ‘create’ is the most frequent. The …

TO infinitive Read More »

Here are two A2 English Grammar Profile points in different categories that cover imperatives. Point 39 in the category of CLAUSES is defined: affirmative imperative with the base form of a main verb Point 7 in NEGATION:  negative imperatives of main verbs with ‘don’t’ + main verb. For example: Now, wait a minute. Sit down, Zero. listen …

imperative Read More »

English Grammar Profile A2 point 32 in the category of CLAUSES is defined as: non-finite subordinate clause with ‘to’, to introduce purpose For example: I paid you a lot of money to do this job. listen *This grammar is very hard to locate in corpora if it isn’t at the front of the sentence.  It is also overlapped by other grammar points. For …

TO infinitive (purpose) Read More »

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 92 in MODALITY is defined as: ‘might’ to make polite suggestions and give advice. We cannot automatically check a corpus for usage, but we can follow the EGP examples which both contain the pronoun ‘you’. An iWeb search for: You might * * * 1 YOU MIGHT BE …

You might Read More »

A2 point 52 in MODALITY: ‘could’ with a limited range of verbs to make suggestions. A2 point 27 in MODALITY: negative form B1 point 78 in MODALITY: affirmative form of ‘could’ to talk about ability. B1 point 79 in MODALITY: ‘could’ with an increasing range of verbs to make suggestions. An iWeb search for: could …

COULD (range) Read More »

You guys might not know this = B1 MODALITY NEGATIVE.
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 73 in the category of MODALITY is defined: ‘might’ negative form.

Here are examples of ‘BE going to’ with A1 infinitives: It is going to take time. Listen Are you going to do anything about it? Listen This is a group of people who want to tell you your work is going to live. listen I need a video clip, and you‘re gonna give it to me. listen   ‘Snow’ is A2 in the English Vocabulary Profile: The weather forecast said it‘s going to snow tonight. listen In the English Grammar Profile, in the category of FUTURE: B1 Point 31 is defined: ‘be going …

am|is|are + going + to-INFINITVE (future) Read More »

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 26 in the category of FUTURE is defined: the negative form of ‘be going to’ to talk about plans and intentions EXPERT EXAMPLES: The words mean the same thing, so we‘re not going to waste any more time differentiating between them. the18.com *This is hard to find automatically because this structure is difficult to differentiate from predictions with present …

BE + not going to INFINITIVE Read More »

The English Grammar Profile (EGP) B1 point 23 in the category of future is defined: past form of ‘be’ + ‘going to’ (future in the past) EGP B1 point 36 in FUTURE  is defined: PLANS IN THE PAST (often followed by ‘but’) to talk about a plan, sometimes one that may have changed. These grammar …

future in the past Read More »

B1 Point 116 in the category of MODALITY is defined: ellipted ‘must’ without a subject *Note the general B2 subject pronoun ellipsis A search in iWeb for: . must _VVI *also note that this grammar is either non-existent in PELIC student writing or very difficult to locate in TLC or on Google.  The example come …

MUST (ellipted subject) Read More »

Point 117 in the category of MODALITY is defined: ‘have to’ as an infinitive form *This will overlap sometimes with B2 adjectives followed by an infinitive. PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: A child is very expensive, this causes parents to have to work more, which can lead to frustration and anger. Taiwanese female, level 4 writing class. An iWeb search for: * _TO have _TO _VVI 1 GOING TO HAVE TO GET 4269 …

TO HAVE TO Read More »

B1 Point 55 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: increasing range of singular reflexive pronouns with an increasing range of verbs to refer to actions where the subject and object of the verb are the same. A2 Point 12: range of singular reflexive pronouns (‘myself’, ‘yourself’) with a limited range of verbs (‘enjoy’, …

VERB + myself | yourself | himself | itself | herself Read More »

Point 57 in the category of PRONOUNS/possessive is defined as: yours with singular reference in subject position. FOR EXAMPLE: The world needs every voice and perspective, and yours is included. A search in iWeb for: yours _VV 1 YOURS LOOKS 1874 2 YOURS LOOK 1099 3 YOURS SOUNDS 428 4 YOURS SEEMS 380 5 YOURS TURNED 346 6 YOURS STAND 340 7 YOURS CAME …

yours (subject) Read More »

There are three very similar B1 points in the English Grammar Profile in the Category of PRONOUNS/singular reflexive Point 45 is defined as: ‘myself’, ‘yourself’, ‘himself’ and ‘herself’ after prepositions where the object of the preposition is the same as the subject of the verb. Point 65 is: ‘myself’, ‘yourself’, ‘himself’ and ‘herself’ for emphasis. …

himself | herself | myself | yourself Read More »

This post contains an example of overlapping B1 grammar points located inside two different categories in the English Grammar Profile (EGP). EGP B1 point 6 in the category of REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: REPORTED REQUESTS AND COMMANDS with ‘ask’ or ‘tell’ + direct object and ‘to-‘infinitive EGP B1 point 38 in the category of …

VERB + DIRECT OBJECT + to INFINITIVE Read More »

The verb ‘help’ can be followed by a bare infinitive clause or a to-infinitive clause.  In the following examples ‘understand’ is a bare infinitive (without ‘to’),  ‘to remember’ is the to-infinitive.  The pronouns ‘us’ and ‘you’ are objects. Help us understand your father‘s work. listen These might help you to remember the truth. listen B1 point 40 in the category of VERBS/patterns: ‘help’ + object + infinitive …

HELP + object + infinitive Read More »

A2 Verb Patterns expressing preference

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 74 in the category of CLAUSES/conditional is defined as: PRESENT SIMPLE ‘IF’ CLAUSE + MODAL, FUTURE, POSSIBLE OUTCOME: introduce a possible future condition, with modal verbs in the main clause, to talk about a possible result. A search in TED corpus for expert examples: If you‘ve got a couple of final words you want to share, that would be great. listen So if you look that up, you can hear more of those tunes. listen PELIC …

If + PRESENT SIMPLE + MODAL CLAUSE Read More »