C2 Grammar lessons cover the rules, patterns, and structures you need at the C2 Proficiency level. Each lesson explains a grammar point with clear examples, common mistakes to avoid, and practice opportunities. Topics are ordered to build on each other so you can work through them step by step.
Quick Answer Fluent English hates saying the same word twice. It either leaves the word out (ellipsis) or swaps in a short stand-in like so, one or do (substitution). “Can you come?” “I would if I could.” — the word come is said once and then simply understood. See the Pattern First The full sentence…
Quick Answer Academic and professional English almost never says “X is true”. It says “X appears to be”, “X tends to happen”, “this may suggest that…”. Softening a claim is called hedging, and it is a mark of a careful writer, not a timid one. See the Pattern First The same idea, stated twice. Notice…
Quick Answer After verbs of demanding and advising — insist, demand, recommend, suggest, request — and after it is essential / vital / crucial that, English uses the plain base verb: I insist that he be present. No -s, no to, no change for past or present. It looks like a mistake. It is not….
Quick Answer A concessive clause admits the other side before you make your point: Although the evidence is thin, the argument holds. The family runs from everyday (although, though, even though) to formal (albeit, notwithstanding, much as) — and they are not interchangeable. See the Pattern First Each sentence concedes something, then lands the real…
Quick Answer To guess about the past, English uses a modal + have + past participle. Must have = I am sure it happened. Can’t have = I am sure it did not. Might have = maybe. And the pair that catches everyone: needn’t have gone means you went and it was unnecessary — didn’t…
Quick Answer Discourse markers are the signposts of an argument. Moreover adds. Nonetheless concedes. Conversely flips. Hence concludes. Choosing the one that names the actual turn your argument makes is what gives formal writing its shape — and choosing the wrong one is immediately obvious to a reader. See the Pattern First Same two facts,…
Quick Answer Passive reporting structures let you report what people say or think without naming them. There are two patterns, both formal and impersonal. People say he is rich. → It is said that he is rich. · He is said to be rich. See the Two Patterns Start from a normal sentence like “People…
Quick Answer Nominalisation means turning a verb or adjective into a noun. It makes writing sound more formal and academic, and packs more information into fewer words. Verb: They decided quickly. → Noun: Their quick decision… Verb: Prices rose sharply. → Noun: There was a sharp rise in prices. See the Pattern — Verbs and…
Quick Answer In formal English, you can drop “if” and invert the subject and verb to make a conditional sound more elegant. Three verbs allow this: Had, Were, and Should. If I had known → Had I known. · If it were not for you → Were it not for you. · If you should…
Quick Answer A cleft sentence splits a normal sentence into two parts so you can put a spotlight on one piece. The word “cleft” means “split”. Normal: John broke the vase. It-cleft: It was John who broke the vase. (spotlight on John) Wh-cleft: What John broke was the vase. (spotlight on the vase) See the…
