possessive – English Grammar Profiler

We raised her to speak her mind. listen The phrase “speak her mind” means to express her thoughts and feelings honestly and openly, even if they are not popular or may upset others. It is a phrase that is often used to describe people who are not afraid to speak their truth, even if it means going against the […]

lexical verb + possessive determiner + noun Read More »

C2 example: Our country owes its creation to a man  they declared insane. listen C1 example: And he will do his damndest  to put your mind at rest. listen An iWeb search for: _VV _APPGE _NN to_II 1 MAKE YOUR WAY TO 9604 B2 Please make your way to the nearest exits. listen 2 MAKE THEIR WAY TO 6953 3 MADE THEIR WAY TO 6103 4 CHANGED ITS NAME TO 5283 B2 possessive determiner

lexical verb + possessive determiner + noun + TO prepositional phrase Read More »

A search in the iWeb corpus for: at _APPGE _NN 1 AT HIS HOME 25665 *Although this is basic grammar, it often reports the locations of crimes such as murder.  For example: A man has been shot dead  at his home  in Sydney’s eastern suburbs last night. listen   2 AT YOUR FINGERTIPS 24481 C2 What’s it like to have such power  at your fingertips? listen 3 AT YOUR DISPOSAL 17599

preposition + possessive determiner + noun 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 »

A search in NOW corpus for: _I _AP _JJ _NN2 1 TO OUR DIGITAL EDITIONS 31898 2 ON YOUR MOBILE PHONES 31713 3 TO OUR FINANCIAL SERVICES 15863 4 OF THEIR RESPECTIVE AUTHORS 12218 5 BY THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS 10188 6 OF THEIR LOVED ONES 9585 7 OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS 7876 8 TO OUR

preposition + possessive adjective + adjective + plural noun Read More »

The verb ‘assert’ is C1 in the English Vocabulary Profile:  [T] FORMAL to say that something is certainly true ‘assert yourself’ is C2: to behave or speak in a strong, confident way For example: Bright Side Of The Sun The Suns began to assert themselves midway through the fourth.       or ‘assert your authority/control/independence, etc.’ is also C2: to do something

assert Read More »

A1 point 9 in the category of DETERMINERS is defined:
possessive determiners ‘my’, ‘your’, ‘his’, ‘her’ and ‘our’ before nouns.

my | your | his | her | our + NOUN Read More »

Here’s an example of the possessive pronoun ‘yours’ in object position. It’s just like yours. Listen to the pronunciation. A2 point 21 in the category of PRONOUNS: the possessive pronoun ‘yours’, with singular reference, in object positions, and complement positions after ‘be’ and after prepositions A search in iWeb corpus for: * * * yours .  

YOURS (object) Read More »

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 44 in the category of DETERMINERS is defined as: ‘S after irregular plural nouns to indicate possession. Here’s an expert example: Women‘s organizations were active participants from the beginning. (Listen to this sentence) A search in iWeb for: _NN2 _GE _NN We removed those that are not irregular. 1 CHILDREN ‘S HOSPITAL 34865 2 MEN ‘S

irregular plural noun + ‘s + noun Read More »

Point 111 in PRONOUNS: the possessive pronoun ‘hers’ with singular reference, in subject position. Point 112 in PRONOUNS: the possessive pronoun ‘theirs’, with singular and plural reference, in subject position. *NOTE that there is no EGP point for hers as a subject with a plural reference.  This probably means that plural reference would be C2. 

HERS | THEIRS (subject) Read More »

Point 115 in PRONOUNS: ‘THAT … OF’ + possessive pronouns to express an attitude about someone or something, often in humorous or sarcastic contexts. *there are other very similar C2 points to this too. iWeb doesn’t allow more than 5 tokens in a search so a COCA search for: that _JJ _NN _IO _PPGE 1

THAT + adjective + noun + OF + possessive pronoun Read More »

When a quantifying determiner and a possessive determiner are used together before a noun, they indicate the quantity of something that belongs to someone or something else. For instance, in the sentence “For most of my life, I was terrified of ghosts,” the phrase “most of my” signifies a large portion of the speaker’s life. Similarly, in “All of our fathers enter our doors feeling hopeless,” the phrase “all of our” refers to every father associated with a certain group. In “Many of his senior team thought he was crazy,” the phrase “many of his” denotes a large number of a specific group associated with a person.

quantifying determiner + OF + possessive determiner + noun phrase Read More »

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 42 in the category of NOUNS is defined as: complex noun phrases with noun phrase + ‘of’ + noun phrase + possessive determiner ‘s + noun phrase.   PELIC STUDENT EXAMPLE: Our chairs are on the opposite side of the doctor’s chair,  in front of the desk. Chinese female, Level 3 Writing Class. An iWeb search for: _NN of _NN _GE _NN

noun + OF + noun + ‘S + noun Read More »

Here is another example of overlapping grammar points in the English Grammar Profile. B1 Point 37 in the category of NOUNS/phrases is defined as: NOUN + ‘OF’ + POSSESSIVE PRONOUN Which overlaps the more specific B1 point 47 in the category of PRONOUNS: possessive pronoun ‘yours’ after noun + ‘of’. It would be very beneficial

noun + OF + MINE | YOURS 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 63 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: possessive pronouns ‘mine’ and ‘yours’, with singular reference, in comparative clauses after ‘(not) as … as’. *The following example does not have a singular reference, and the use of ‘yours’ is A2 in the English Vocabulary Profile. They‘re not as complicated as

as * as + mine | yours Read More »

In the English Grammar Profile, C2 point 113 in the category of PRONOUNS is defined as: possessive pronouns ‘hers’, ‘theirs’ and ‘his’ after noun + ‘of’. A search in iWeb for: _N of his_P . 1 FRIEND OF HIS. 504 2 FAN OF HIS. 304 3 FRIENDS OF HIS. 115 4 PASSION OF HIS. 67   Thoroughbred

NOUN + of + his | hers | theirs Read More »

Point 118 in PRONOUNS is defined as: the possessive pronoun ‘his’, with singular and plural reference, in subject and object position, and complement positions after ‘be’ and after prepositions. An iWeb search for: his_P _V *The Claws7 tagging for this grammar point struggles to decide between words that can be both verbs and nouns, and

his (PRONOUN) Read More »

Point 103 in the category of PRONOUNS/demonstratives is defined as: ‘THAT OF’, ‘THOSE OF’ as a possessive form, in formal and professional contexts. A search in iWeb for: that|those of * * * 1 THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE 15147 2 THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE 11948 3 THOSE OF US WHO ARE 9479 4

that | those + of Read More »

Point 52 in NOUNS/phrases is defined as: POSSESSIVE ‘S WITHOUT NOUN Complex noun phrases with: noun phrase + ‘of’ + noun phrase + possessive determiner ‘s, omitting the noun where it is previously mentioned. A Ted corpus search for {nn} of {nn} * ‘s .  She got only one sample of tissue that fit her

noun phrase OF noun phrase + possessive determiner Read More »