means – English Grammar Profiler
If we check ‘text inspector’ without part of speech: when we check for nouns: A search in iWeb for: alternative approach|explanation|form|interpretation|means|method|model|solution|source|strategy|view|way 1 ALTERNATIVE WAY 6465 2 ALTERNATIVE METHOD 6153 I believe we might be at a point where we might want to try some alternative methods. listen 3 ALTERNATIVE APPROACH 4546 Isn’t there an alternative approach? listen 4 ALTERNATIVE MEANS 3901 5 ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION 3228 6 ALTERNATIVE SOURCE 1925 …
academic collocations of ‘alternative’ Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, there are two similar points at A2 in the category of PRONOUN/demonstratives: Point 20 is defined as: ‘that’ as a pronoun to refer back to something which has already been mentioned Point 28: ‘that’ as a pronoun with singular reference For example: No, it‘s nowhere near that. listen That‘s why I brought you here. An iWeb search for: …
that (pronoun) Read More »
Here are 3 similar A2 points in the English Grammar Profile. Point 25 in the category of NOUNS is defined: post-modify noun phrases by using a non-defining relative clause. Point 23 in the category of CLAUSES is defined: non-defining relative clause with ‘which’ as the subject Point 12 is the same but: defining relative clause …
WHICH (relative clause) Read More »
Here’s an example of indefinite pronouns as subjects in two clauses with singular verbs: Nobody wants to help when something goes wrong. Point 39 in the category of PRONOUNS/indefinite is defined as: increasing range of indefinite pronouns (‘something’, ‘nobody’) as subjects, with a singular verb. *Remember the inflectional -s at the end of a verb indicates that the verb is the …
SOMETHING | NOBODY + singular verb 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 »
in the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 58 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: wide range of indefinite pronouns as objects or complements. For example: You don’t have to show anyone any of these steps. TED *We have taken the 3 pronouns found in the EGP examples as the basis for our search in iWeb corpus: _VV nothing|anyone|everywhere …
nothing | anyone | everywhere Read More »
A2 superlative adjective phrases using ‘the most’, with longer adjectives of two or more syllables.
(ENGLISH GRAMMAR PRO – ADJECTIVES)
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 7 in REPORTED SPEECH is defined as: REPORTED THOUGHT using ‘wonder’ + ‘wh-‘word + clause, with a tense shift where relevant. A search in iWeb for: wondered _*Q _P _VV 1 WONDERED WHAT IT TAKES 172 2 WONDERED WHAT IT MEANT 95 Tillamook Headlight Herald Wellness: What is insulin …
wondered wh* + CLAUSE Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 Point 42 in the category of VERBS/patterns is defined as: an increasing range of verbs, typically reporting or mental process verbs, with a ‘that’-clause as the direct object PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: I started to understand that there are many types of movies, and I started to distinguish between them. Arabic, Male, Level 4, Writing Class. *Note that this partly overlaps ’28 …
understand | realise + that CLAUSE Read More »
Point 16 in the category of QUESTIONS is defined as: ‘RIGHT’ AS AN INFORMAL TAG in informal contexts. A search in iWeb for: * * , right ? 1 I KNOW , RIGHT ? 1260 2 MAKES SENSE , RIGHT ? 866 3 PRETTY COOL , RIGHT ? 735 National Law Review New Jersey …
right? Read More »
Here are a few English Grammar Profile points in the category of PRONOUNS/demonstratives which are hard to locate manually in corpora: A2 point 10: ‘this’ to refer to something that is happening now. A2 point 36: ‘this’ as a pronoun with singular reference. B1 point 41: ‘this’ as a pronoun to refer back to whole …
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A search in iWeb corpus for the frequency of indefinite pronouns with the tag: _PN1 1 SOMETHING 7038440 B1 (want + object + infinitive) Are you sure you don’t want something to eat? No, thanks. I‘m fine. listen 2 ONE 7014912 3 EVERYTHING 3661675 4 SOMEONE 3447852 5 ANYTHING 3347394 6 EVERYONE 3007402 7 NOTHING 2966176 8 ANYONE 2741077 9 NO ONE 863063 (PN121 …
indefinite pronouns: SOMEBODY SOMEONE EVERYBODY EVERYONE Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, A2 point 24 in the category of VERBS/patterns is defined as: limited range of verbs, typically reporting, with a ‘that’-clause as the direct object Here are examples that are not really ‘reporting’: l just want you all to know that I care about each and every person at this table. listen Studies have shown that there are many benefits of music education. pianogen.com.au An iWeb search for _VV that_CST * …
verb + THAT clause Read More »
In this post we explore the ways ‘by’ is tagged in large corpora such as iWeb and NOW. 1 BY (II) is clearly most commonly found to be a simple preposition. What we think happened, but we don’t know for sure, one killed the other, either on purpose or by accident. And then took his own life, drowned himself. Cassandra’s Dream 2 BY (II31) (complex prepositional phrase) 1 BY WAY OF 81460 C1 Second, the other sentences which make up the body of the paragraph should support the topic sentence …
BY phrases Read More »
Which vocabulary to teach with ‘whose name’?