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 vocabulary used to modify adjectives expands at the B1 level. Learners are, for example, able to form adjective phrases with quite a + adjective.
I’ve been thinking about your last letter for quite a long time and I came to the following conclusion. (Cambridge English: Preliminary; Spanish - Latin American
This is quite a difficult situation you have. (Cambridge English: Preliminary; German)
I personally think going to a large school is quite a good idea. (Cambridge English: Preliminary; Thai)
Learners at the B1 level can also demonstrate great skill in using the structures that they had previously struggled with. The use of too + adjective + to-infinitive, for example, is often introduced at the A2 level and revised at B1. It is at the B1 level that learners can produce accurate sentences using this pattern.
He always told me that he was too busy to write a letter to me, his wife. (Cambridge English: Preliminary; French)
We took two days to mend it, but the machine is too old to work well. (Cambridge English: Business Preliminary; Chinese)
On Sunday we were too tired to go out, so we didn’t leave the room. (Cambridge English: Preliminary; Catalan)
Also taught at the A2 level and revised at B1 is the pattern adjective + enough + to-infinitive. Although there are attempts to produce this structure at B1, there are still numerous errors with word order, (e.g. you are enough responsible to stay for some days without your parents). Furthermore, enough is frequently misspelled. B1 level learners are, however, able to competently use the adjective + enough structure.
My room is big enough, there is a lot of space, and for this reason I will buy a stereo. (Cambridge English: Preliminary; Greek)
I thought they had the same problem as me: we don’t think our English is good enough. (Cambridge English: Preliminary; Chinese)
The streets are not wide enough, so there is a lot of traffic nowadays. (Cambridge English: Preliminary; Spanish-Latin America)
It is not until the B2 level that learners are competently using the pattern adjective + enough + to-infinitive.
I was lucky enough to take part in it [a festival] last November, and I enjoyed it immensely. (Cambridge English: First; Spanish - Latin American)
In my opinion young people at that age are not mature enough to decide by themselves what they want for their future. (Skills for Life: Level 1; German)
I was lucky enough to visit different places in Israel. (Cambridge English: First; Russian)
B2 level learners can also form adjective phrases with rather a + adjective, often in formal contexts.
Films tend to be rather a simple art, while books are a thing to be enjoyed in a calmer way. (Cambridge English: First; Polish)
I must confess that I’m rather a poor player. (Cambridge English: First; German)
I live rather a long way from work, about 10 km. (Cambridge English: First; Swedish)
The use of adverbs of degree to intensify adjective meaning shows the learner progress achieved at the C1 level.
I am absolutely sure that it will attract even more attention. (Cambridge English: Advanced; Polish)
Nowadays, it is extremely difficult to imagine how workers lived ten years ago, especially because of the incredibly fast evolution in technology. (Cambridge English: Advanced; Italian)
I would make a totally new programme, in which the following points must be improved: … (Cambridge English: Advanced; Spanish - Latin American)
Once the C2 level is achieved, learners are able to demonstrate skill in using adjectives in comparative structures. For example, adjectives are used with nouns in the patterns as … as and so … that.
Because our debates do not draw as large a number of students as the guest appearances, but are still enjoyed by a relevant number of students, we propose a change of focus for the events. (Cambridge English: Proficiency; Swedish)
It was such a riddle that I went and saw my psychoanalyst, who revealed to me that I once had so strong a shock that I was now walking and hiding my money in my sleep. (Cambridge English: Proficiency; French)
Between the B1 and C2 levels, learners greatly improve in their use of set structures. Key lexicogrammatical gains include quite a and rather a in addition to learners’ accurate use of structures taught but not mastered at the A2 level.
