VVG – English Grammar Profiler
_VV stands for lexical verbs.
_VVG is the CLAWS 7 tag for ING forms.
This could include the non-finite verb form, gerunds, continuous form of verbs, some adjectives.
For example eating_VVG
*Tagging is never perfect.
A search in iWeb corpus for: _I _A _NN 1 AT THE END 1115284 2 IN THE WORLD 1112517 3 AT THE TIME 941972 4 OF THE YEAR 829363 5 AS A RESULT 815540 6 OF THE WORLD 772719 7 AROUND THE WORLD 569912 8 IN THE FUTURE 551723 9 IN THE PAST 498297 10 …
preposition + article + noun Read More »
FOUND MYSELF THINKING | FIND THEMSELVES FACING | SEE HIMSELF PLAYING | KEEP ITSELF WAITING | DEFENDED HIMSELF SAYING
“ALL ABOUT” is used to describe the purpose or an aspect of something. (OXFORD B1) For example ‘Some days, we forgot all about getting to Italy.’ ‘It’s all about the money.’ 2 ALL ABOUT MAKING 4081 3 ALL ABOUT WINNING 1859 4 ALL ABOUT GIVING 1851 5 ALL ABOUT CREATING 1801 6 ALL ABOUT FINDING 1480 7 ALL ABOUT TAKING 1397 8 ALL ABOUT TRYING 1340 9 ALL ABOUT PUTTING 1279
10 ALL ABOUT KEEPING 1279
B1: NO PROBLEM GETTING | NO EVIDENCE LINKING | NO TROUBLE FINDING | NO POINT TRYING
The following English Vocabulary Profile C1 entry: with a view to doing sth FORMAL = so that you can do something inspired this post as a grammar structure, regardless of the meaning, the complexity of two prepositional phrases with the second complemented with a gerund is clearly advanced grammar. A search in the NOW corpus …
WITH + determiner + noun + to Verb-ing Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile at B2: work at sth = to try hard to achieve something A search in the NOW corpus for: WORK at _VVG 1 WORK AT GETTING 170 2 WORK AT MAKING 156 3 WORKS AT EXPERIENCING 126 4 WORKING AT GETTING 118 5 WORK AT KEEPING 94 6 WORK AT …
WORK AT + Verb-ing Read More »
Although there are a number of similar points in the English Grammar Profile for modal verbs followed by continuous aspect, there is not an entry for ‘CAN + continuous’. We predict that if future continuous affirmative is A2, should + continuous B2, might or may + continuous C1 that ‘can + continuous’ is at least …
can be + VERB-ing Read More »
This post relates to B2 range of gerunds. A search in iWeb for imagin* _VVG 1 IMAGINE GOING 3285 2 IMAGINE TRYING 3183 3 IMAGINE LIVING 2565 4 IMAGINE GETTING 2190 5 IMAGINE USING 1728 6 IMAGINE TAKING 1476 7 IMAGINE WALKING 1368 8 IMAGINE WORKING 1117 9 IMAGINE SEEING 1033 10 IMAGINE SITTING 1026 …
IMAGINE + gerund Read More »
On this website, ing forms are best located in our posts by searching for the tag: VVG A search in the iWeb corpus for _VVG gives the most common ing forms as follows: 1 USING 9077632 2 GOING 8570578 3 MAKING 4986719 4 LOOKING 4903064 5 WORKING 4440144 6 GETTING 4427697 7 TAKING 3186185 8 …
ing forms Read More »
In this post, we explore the passive + prepositional phrase with gerund complement: ‘Be banned from doing‘ For example: I was banned from seeing her. listen You‘re banned from busking. listen In the English Vocabulary Profile, ‘ban’ is listed at B2: VERB [T usually passive] (-nn-) to forbid something, especially officially NOUN [C] an official order that prevents something from happening An iWeb …
BE + banned from + VERB-ing Read More »
In the English Vocabulary Profile at B2, ‘bear’ is defined: accept someone or something unpleasant For example: I can’t bear to see him like this. listen *There are other uses of ‘bear’ that are more advanced. However, the sense defined above has a distinct grammar pattern: (CAN | COULD) (often negative) + bear + (to-infinitive | Verb-ing | noun phrase) Verb-ing …
can’t bear + to-infinitive Read More »
In the English Grammar Profile, A2 point 28 in the category of VERBS/patterns: ‘enjoy’ followed by the ‘-ing’ form. An iWeb search for: ENJOY _VVG 1 ENJOY WORKING 15550 2 ENJOYED READING 12553 3 ENJOY PLAYING 12353 4 ENJOY READING 11886 5 ENJOY WATCHING 11164 6 ENJOY USING 9039 7 ENJOYED WORKING 7176 8 ENJOY …
ENJOY + verb-ING Read More »
Here’s an expert example of past continuous affirmative: I was trying to get you back. Listen to the pronunciation of this verb phrase. Here are two English Grammar Profile points in the category of PAST: A2 point 10 past continuous: actions and states in progress around a particular time in the past. A2 point 16 past continuous: show that an event …
past continuous affirmative Read More »
B1+ Reduced Adjective Clauses We reduce sentences when you have the same subject in the main clause and the adjective clause. Adjective clauses contain relative pronouns like who, which, or that. The reduced adjective clause becomes an adjective phrase, which does not have a subject. An adjective phrase does not have a subject and a verb. Instead, it has a present participle (base verb + ing) for the active voice or a past participle for the passive voice.
(Mt. SAC Writing Center)
Although gerunds are covered in a few different ways across a few CEFR levels in the English Grammar Profile, there is no entry given to the use of a gerund after ‘need’ as MODALITY which is listed by PEARSON: GSE 63 B2 ‘need’ with verbs in the gerund to express necessity. ‘need’ + Verb Phrase …
IT NEEDS REPLACING. (‘need’ + gerund) Read More »
Here are some examples of past perfect continuous questions:
He just did something very unusual. WHAT HAD HE BEEN THINKING?
She was really sick in the taxi. HAD SHE BEEN DRINKING?
Adverb expressions such as ‘not only’, ‘not just’, and ‘not simply’ emphasize that something is true, but it is not the whole truth. These co-ordinate clauses. In the English Grammar Profile, C2 point 92 in the category of PAST is defined: present perfect continuous, invert the subject and affirmative auxiliary verb with ‘not only … but’ …
NOT ONLY + present perfect continuous (inversion) + BUT Read More »
C2 English Grammar Profile point 38 in the category of PRESENT/continuous is defined as: POLITENESS: with verbs that are not usually used in this form to make statements and requests sound less direct. EXAMPLES: I am asking us to use our power to choose. I am asking us to level up. TED We are asking businesses not to produce and consumers not to go out and consume. TED An iWeb search for I|We am|are asking|wanting * …
I am asking | wanting (polite) Read More »
Here is another group of A2 English Grammar Profile points that overlap multiple categories. Many of these could be all merged into one point. Point 3 in the category of QUESTIONS: yes/no AUXILIARY ‘BE’ + subject + the continuous A search in NOW corpus for: _VB _P _VVG 1 ARE YOU GOING 38887 2 ARE …
BE | HAVE | DO (auxiliary verbs) Read More »
B1 FUTURE continuous NEGATIVE WITH ‘WILL’ (won’t)
English Grammar Profile