Grammar Spotlight
The English Grammar Profile (EGP) is a sister resource to the English Vocabulary Profile, and has been put together by Anne O'Keeffe (Limerick University) and Geraldine Mark, the co-authors, along with Ron Carter and Mike McCarthy, of English Grammar Today (Cambridge University Press). Mark and O'Keeffe investigated the extensive data in the Cambridge Learner Corpus to establish when learners begin to get to grips with different linguistic structures.
A series of insights from their research will be posted on this page, each one putting the spotlight on an interesting aspect of learner grammar development. Please note that all of the learner examples come from the Cambridge Learner Corpus, a 55-million word electronic collection of written learner data. The examination and the candidate’s first language are given in brackets after each learner example.
See the latest Grammar Spotlight entry below. Scroll right down to the bottom of this page to browse through previous entries.
The full range of subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we and they) is known to learners at the A1 level and can be used by learners before a verb in statements.
If you want, you can go inside. (Skills for Life: Entry 1; Hindi)
He prefers chess. (Skills for Life: Entry 1; Singhalese)
They’re nice people. (Skills for Life: Entry 1; Arabic)
Learners at the A1 level are able to use the pronoun it before be to refer to a first person speaker or writer.
Hello Mrs Bishop. It’s Clarisse (Skills for Life: Entry 1; French)
Dear Cris, it’s me, Paarth. (Cambridge English: Key; Hindi)
It and you also appear in questions after be in learner work.
Hi, Mrs. Bishop. How are you? (Skills for Life: Entry 1; Tagalog)
Is it OK? (Skills for Life: Entry 1; Romanian)
Learners also use the pronouns I, you, we and they in questions after an auxiliary or modal verb.
Can I help you? (Skills for Life: Entry 1; Arabic)
What do you think about that? (Skills for Life: Entry 1; French)
Can we have a chat? (Skills for Life: Entry 1; Russian)
Once the A2 level is achieved, learners can leave out the subject pronoun when hope is present in a statement, which shows an awareness of informal English.
Hope to see you soon. (Cambridge English: Key; Turkish)
Hi! How are you? Hope you are fine. (Cambridge English: Key; Hindi)
A2 learners can also use it as an empty subject when there is nothing else to put in subject position, particularly concerning weather or time.
It’s warm and windy. (Cambridge English: Key; Vietnamese)
Now it’s 3 pm. (CELSP)
Learner use of it expands at the B1 level when learners can use dummy it as a subject to introduce something the speaker or writer is going to refer to.
It is best to spend your time in the countryside. (Cambridge English: Preliminary; Chinese)
It’s boring to be at home when you have a lot of free time. (Cambridge English: Preliminary; Turkish)
It’s normal that your parents want you to go with them. (Cambridge English: Preliminary; Spanish)
Once the B2 level is achieved, dummy it is used with appears, feels, looks and seems.
When you watch a film, it seems to be that you are inside it, and you are a character in it. (Cambridge English: First; Spanish - Latin American)
Your company has carried out a full investigation on the matter and it appears that the disappearance was not the result of criminal activity. (Cambridge English: Legal; Portuguese)
It appears that there was an error with the older computer system. (Cambridge English: Business Vantage; French)
B2 level learners can also omit the subject pronoun with a limited range of verbs in informal contexts.
Sounds great. (Cambridge English: First; Korean)
Got to go now. (Cambridge English: First; Greek)
Can’t wait to hear about your exam. (Cambridge English: First; Russian)
The formal context is also a key area of development for B2 level learners as demonstrated by learners’ use of one as a generic personal pronoun in the subject position to mean people in general.
If one doesn’t live close enough to walk to work, one can choose to get there by bicycle or by car. (Cambridge English: First; Swedish)
The use of it with the passive voice where the subject is unknown or unimportant also appears at the B2 level. However, it is largely found in the work of learners studying business English. Yet, once the C1 level is achieved, a wide range of learners are able to use this form (often in a formal context).
It was considered to be the most important thing to supply every computer with Internet and E-mail access. (Cambridge English: Advanced; German)
It is hoped that this report will help the club to improve and meet the needs of the whole school. (Cambridge English: Advanced; Greek)
Firstly it was highlighted that so many people take advantage of the park, but our survey clearly contradicts this view. (Cambridge English: Advanced; Spanish - Latin American)
The final achievement in learner work with subject pronouns is found at the C2 level. It is at this stage when learners begin to form a cleft construction beginning with it to emphasise the subject of the main clause.
It was my father who took all this away from me. (Cambridge English: Proficient; Greek)
So, although all of the subject pronouns are known to learners at the A1 level, development in the use of them continues all the way through to C2. A notable aspect of learner development with subject pronouns is the issue of formality. As early as the A2 level, particular uses of subject pronouns are able to indicate learner awareness of formal versus informal contexts.
