When I intend most using corpus tools to attention inward writing ELT materials, I tend to intend of checking details. So I’ll ofttimes piece of occupation a corpus to banking concern check the most mutual shape of a discussion or phrase, or a typical collocation or colligation pattern. An instance that cropped upwards on Facebook yesterday was whether nosotros state “in winter” or “in the winter” (the answer, yesteryear the way, seems to go nosotros piece of occupation both, sometimes interchangeably as well as sometimes inward unlike contexts). Today though, I’ve been using a corpus inward a slightly unlike agency for much to a greater extent than full general inspiration.
I’m currently working on roughly grammer do materials as well as 1 of the grammer points I demand to encompass is “compound hereafter tenses” (will convey done, volition go doing, volition convey been doing). They’re supplementary materials as well as business office of the brief is to select unlike topics as well as contexts from those used inward the student’s book. Of course, the SB author has already nabbed mayhap the most obvious context; predictions most life inward the hereafter (By 2050, we’ll all go travelling inward driverless cars, etc.). I was casting most for an option angle as well as drawing a blank, then I turned to a corpus*.
Corpora aren’t e'er ideal when it comes to grammer because it’s hard to go specific inward your searches. Yes, you lot tin piece of occupation grammer tags to search for exceptional discussion forms, but many mutual forms convey then many unlike uses that what comes upwards is ofttimes also wide to go useful inward an ELT context (imagine how many unlike uses you’d detect if you lot searched for all introduce continuous verb forms, for example). When you lot tin narrow things downwards to to a greater extent than specific words or combinations though, you lot tin uncover roughly to a greater extent than useful results. So here, I ran a quick serial of searches:
will have + yesteryear participle
will be + introduce participle
will convey been + introduce participle
will be + introduce participle
will convey been + introduce participle
Up came a whole charge of contexts which I’d in all probability never convey catch of off the top of my head. And interestingly, a lot of them genuinely referred to the close hereafter rather than distant futuristic predictions. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 distich of the recurrent themes I spotted were:
Weather forecasts:
By vi o’clock, the showers volition convey passed.
By Midweek morning, the winds volition go dying down.
The tempest volition convey reached the coast of Republic of Cuba yesteryear early on side yesteryear side week.
By vi o’clock, the showers volition convey passed.
By Midweek morning, the winds volition go dying down.
The tempest volition convey reached the coast of Republic of Cuba yesteryear early on side yesteryear side week.
Sports reporting:
The squad volition convey played ix games inward iv weeks.
She’ll go competing inward 3 events at the upcoming Winter Olympics.
The coaching staff volition convey been preparing the players all winter.
The squad volition convey played ix games inward iv weeks.
She’ll go competing inward 3 events at the upcoming Winter Olympics.
The coaching staff volition convey been preparing the players all winter.
I may non cease upwards using the exact examples turned upwards yesteryear the corpus, but they’ve provided roughly much-needed inspiration as well as sent me off downwards roughly potentially useful paths.
*When you’re only line-fishing for inspiration, I don’t intend it matters quite then much which corpus you lot use. For these searches, I used the Monco corpus, only because it’s what I’d been using of late as well as every bit a continuously-updated news-based corpus, it throws upwards a hit of electrical flow topics.
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