TLC – Page 3 – English Grammar Profiler
- The Trinity Lancaster Corpus (TLC) is the largest corpus of spoken texts from learners of English as their second language.
- The data used in the TLC was collected between 2012-2018 as part of the tests in Spoken English.
- The corpus has over 4 million words.
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 Point 37 in the category of DETERMINERS is defined as: DETERMINER + ‘OF’ + DETERMINER – an increasing range of quantifying determiners (‘half of’, ‘enough of’, ‘none of”) *However, this partly clashes with the B2 Negation point for ‘none of’ Also, note that the ‘enough of’ structure might indicate a […]
HALF | ENOUGH + OF + determiner Read More »
Point 61 in the category of PRONOUNS/quantity is defined as: ‘BOTH’, ‘A FEW’, ‘ANOTHER’ as subject and object pronouns. *We have covered the use of ‘another’ here. A search in iWeb corpus for: . both _V 1 . BOTH ARE 48684 2 . BOTH HAVE 15241 3 . BOTH WERE 15188 4 . BOTH WILL
BOTH | A FEW Read More »
The non-finite subordinate clause is a subordinate clause that does not have a subject and verb relationship like a typical main clause. Instead, it uses verb forms such as the “-ing” form. The clause is introduced by the words “before” or “after” to indicate a specific point in time. Here’s an example to illustrate this:
before | after + VERBing Read More »
Let’s look at a few student speaking test examples and one from an expert using extreme adverbs modifying gradable adjectives: There are a few cases in which the parents have been excellent guides to the students, and as you know guides are extremely important for a child‘s career. TLC male India C1 Native speaker: I haven’t read it but I‘ve seen the film, have you seen the film? Student: Yes, I have, but it’s totally different from the book. TLC male India B1 It’s absolutely necessary to find a solution, and I know that in some cases, for example, in some sports facilities built in Madrid, they are trying to remodel the space. TLC male Spain C1 These are all details that are incredibly easy to record contemporaneously but are also incredibly easy to forget later on.
extreme adverb + adjective Read More »
Here is a nonliteral example of using an adjective before a noun that might be considered A2: It‘s been too long my old friend. listen Here are examples of academic collocation: It’s a pretty accurate description. (listen to this expert example) He can ask for additional information. (listen to this expert example) During my school years, I started reading to get some information because I was an active participant in almost all the literary competitions. TLC female India
adjective + noun (range) Read More »
A2 – too + adjective + prepositional phrase
– adjective phrases with a very limited range of adjectives + a prepositional phrase
In the English Grammar Profile, in the category of modifying ADJECTIVES, there is an overlap between the two points above. The EGP examples for range are:
… good for my body
… full of people
TOO adjective + prepositional phrase Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 78 in the category of PAST is defined as: past perfect continuous in relative clauses to give background information. For example: I was scrolling on social media, and I saw a friend who had been sharing positive news stories. TED A search in iWeb corpus for: who|that|which had been _vvg gives us the most common continuous verbs found in past perfect continuous relative
past perfect continuous in a relative clause Read More »
This is another grammar point where the English Vocabulary Profile is probably better at profiling the language than the English Grammar Profile. There are a handful of adverbs that already make the task across levels quite difficult to follow. We then should consider the hundred other adverbs that appear in this ‘mid position’. A2 point
past continuous + adverb (range) Read More »
B2 point 54 in the category of PAST is defined as: past perfect simple with a wide range of adverbs (including ‘finally’, ‘recently’, ‘simply’) in the normal mid-position. B1 point 46 in the category of PAST is defined as: past perfect simple with a limited range of adverbs (including ‘never’, ‘ever’, ‘just’, ‘always’, ‘already’) in
past perfect simple + adverb Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 point 19 in the category of NEGATION is defined as: ‘NEITHER OF’, ‘NONE OF’ + PRONOUN or noun phrase with the affirmative form of the verb. Expert examples: None of us thought it could happen in America or anyplace else. listen You can not bring up a conversation topic if neither of you is interested. listen STUDENT EXAMPLE: The funny part is when the investigation was done it was realised that none of the family members had actually seen the movie. TLC, Speaking Test, Female,
None of | Neither of Read More »
B2 MODALITY: She is unlikely to get a job.
BE + adjective + TO-infinitive Read More »
able to do something (used as a modal verb) having the skill, intelligence, opportunity, etc. needed to do something
A2 OXFORD
BE + able | allowed + to-INFINITIVE Read More »
Here are two student examples of using semi-modal ‘have to’ to express either a strong suggestion or that something isn’t required or necessary. Another thing is you have to make sure that you have included signal words to help the reader. PELIC Arabic female level 3 writing class. I mean if someone wears something, you don’t have to wear that because she or he wears it. TLC male Spain B1 speaking test. Listen to
have got to | have to | don’t have to Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, B2 Point 4 in the category of FOCUS is defined as ‘The reason (that)’, ‘The place (which)’ + clause as subject + ‘be’ for focus. Expert examples: The reason you‘re alive today is because of those changes in our brains that took place in Africa. TED But the reason that a lot of his fans are in the stands is because of another video. listen Student in speaking
the reason that | the place which + CLAUSE Read More »
Let’s look at how ‘rather than‘ is used to compare. In the English Vocabulary Profile, at B1 the meaning is: ‘instead of ‘ rather than examples: I‘d like coffee rather than tea. I usually wear a swimsuit rather than shorts. In the above examples: coffee, tea, a swimsuit, shorts are nouns or noun phrases, so ‘rather than‘ or ‘instead of‘ are complex prepositions. Here’s
RATHER THAN + non-finite clause | phrase Read More »
An in-depth explanation of the grammar structure ‘after being pp’ and ‘after having pp’. ‘after’ is a preposition used before a complement ‘verb-ing’ clause. For example: “After being told these stories, I started thinking” and “I moved back to India after having spent six years in the US”. In the English Grammar Profile, this structure is defined as a non-finite subordinate clause with ‘after’ + ‘having/being’ + ‘-ed’ form, before a main clause, to refer to past time.
After + having | being + PAST PARTICIPLE Read More »
To get started, let’s look at some spoken student examples that show a wide range of linking verbs with very literal meanings: It‘s like a fairy tale because it doesn’t seem real. TLC female Mexico B1 To remain healthy, we have to exercise. TLC female India B1 The verbs ‘remain’ and ‘seem’ link the adjective complements: ‘real’ and ‘healthy’ in a more detailed way than
a wide range of linking verbs used in other complex ways Read More »
Which superlative adjective should we learn at higher levels?
superlative adjective without a following noun Read More »
For this C2 grammar, ‘major’ is an adjective meaning: important, serious, or significant. ‘Very’ is an adjective meaning: actual or precise, with emphasis on the exact quality of the following noun or an extreme point in time/space. Point 73 under the category of adjectives in C2 on the English Grammar Profile these two vocabulary items
‘major cities’, ‘very beginning’ (major | very + noun) Read More »