- Have you ever heard someone boast about having this level
of English, the C1 level? This is also known as the
advanced level of English. For most English learners, the C1 advanced level
is the ultimate goal. But when students approach me and say, I want to reach C1, if I ask them, well, do you know what C1 is? Do you know what the advanced level is? They often can't tell me. In this video, I'm going to
go through all of the grammar that you need to master to be able to say that you
have a C1 level of English. There is also so much
to cover in vocabulary. I have so much to share with you, things like humour,
paraphrasing, word formation. Today, we're going to
focus on the grammar, but if you're really serious about achieving a C1 level of English, then I have something that I think you will really, really like. I have created an ebook that
you can download for free, which details everything we're
going to cover in this video, all of the grammar that you
need to be at a C1 level. We go into a lot of detail
about the vocabulary and the other skills as well. It's a fantastic resource. It will really help you
to pinpoint where you are, because we cover parts
of other levels as well in this ebook, and what you
have to do to move up a level, what you have to do to
achieve that next level. In this free ebook, I have also included the
curriculum for my new C1 programme. It's not released yet. It comes out on the 15th of May, but you can be one of the
first students to see inside and to understand how we are going to take you from B2 to C1, and what you will be learning
every single step of the way. You could also use it as an example of what needs to be studied to achieve C1. If you're truly interested in achieving the C1 level of English, you can download this free ebook, and this will also sign
you up to the waiting list for my beautiful British
English C1 programme. All you need to do is click on the link in the description box, you type in your name
and your email address, you sign up to the waiting list, and then the C1 ebook will
arrive directly in your inbox. Then you're on my waiting list. You will be the first to
know when it's released. Okay, I'm going to tell
you about the grammar that you need to master to be able to say, I am at C1 level in English. But first, let's look a little deeper into what a C1 level
of English actually is. If you reach B2, you are
said to be fluent in English, but C1 takes this further. This is why C1 is the
ultimate goal in my opinion. C1 is fluency with a deep understanding of the nuances of the English language. When you achieve C1, and I truly believe you will be able to, you will express yourself with phrases that native
speakers naturally use, and you'll be able to
do it without thinking, which means saying things like, I can't wait to put my
own stamp on this place, instead of I can't wait to redecorate. You use English as if it's
part of your instinct. You'll be able to express
yourself spontaneously without reaching for
or searching for words. Don't worry, all of us
get stuck sometimes. Even in our native
language, we can all relate, but I have got a really
good trick for that. One of my favourite parts of the C1 level is that you'll be able to understand subtle jokes in English. This means complete participation in conversations in everyday life. I've learnt multiple second languages and I know what it's like
to be in a group situation where someone says something
that's seemingly meaningless and everyone laughs apart from you. It feels bloody lonely. So this might sound like complete and utter native-like fluency. You might be wondering, what is after C1? What could C2 possibly be? Well, C2 is the highest level of English. Here, you have a near
native understanding. You can comprehend and summarise almost everything you read and listen to, including colloquialisms
or regional language, and you can express yourself
with an understanding of the finest nuances of English in just about any situation. Oh, and you need to know
around 16,000 words. Obviously, this is just a rough guide. As a teacher, I encourage
all of my students to aim for a B2 level of English. I encourage my students
who are truly passionate about English, British culture, the students who want to excel, I recommend that they go
for the C1 level of English. With B2, you would be
able to work in English, but C1 is about reaching that level of comfort and relaxation, where you don't have to reach for words. You know them as part of your instinct. So let's talk about grammar. When you do A1, B1, and B2, you have a lot of grammar to learn. In my B1 programme, there
is loads of grammar, a big focus on tenses. In B2, there's still a lot of grammar. C1 is less about learning entirely new grammatical structures, because you should have
already learnt most of that at B2 and below. Instead, C1 is about
learning grammatical nuances. So it's adding to your
repertoire of phrases and building your instincts
for English grammar. B1 and B2 are about
introducing big new topics. C1 is about fine-tuning and tweaking. Let's take a look at the grammar that you need to know for the C1 level. We'll start with the tenses. If you feel ready to study
at C1 level in English, you should already have
a strong foundation in the English tenses. However, a C1 programme or course will provide you with revision of the past, present, and future tenses with a focus on their advanced uses, and this is exactly what we will do in my beautiful British
English C1 programme. For example, you should know how to use the future perfect tense to make assumptions about the present. For example, I'm sure my
husband will have noticed that I used all the milk this morning. If you're studying at C1, you should also learn how
to talk about the future using some advanced structures like to be set to and
to be on the verge of, and you need to know
when it is appropriate to use these structures. Let's move on to modals. At C1 level, you should be comfortable with using modal verbs, and you should know
some advanced structures for speculation and deduction, and you'll also be comfortable
with using modal verbs with adverbs that collocate with them, like they could conceivably
have driven all that way in one night, but it's unlikely. You'd also know how to use structures such as the odds are or I dare say. For example, I dare say
I'll have to brush up on my grammar before I do a new course. Conditionals. At C1 level, you should
already be familiar with the basic conditionals
and the mixed conditionals, but when you're at C1, you're going to learn
about a range of words and phrases to replace if, and to take your conditionals
to a more advanced level. For example, this is quite advanced, but for a wonderful trip to
Spain when I was younger, I would never have decided
to learn the language, or given that I'd like to
achieve the C1 level of English, I'm going to have to study harder. Can you see how it's kind
of like B2 on steroids, C1? What about the passive voice? Again, if you've reached C1, you should be well-versed in
how the passive voice is used. But at C1, there will be more of a focus on using the passive infinitive
and passive ING forms. For example, Lucy recalled
having been taught about the passive voice
at some point in the past. You'll also need to learn
about the subtle differences between phrases like there's nothing to do and there's nothing to be done. Just a subtle difference
in meaning between the two, but important. You'll also need to have
a strong understanding of how to use negative inversion to add emphasis and variation to your writing and your speaking. Inversion is used widely
in literary contexts, so understanding this structure will help you to comprehend and analyse a wide range of texts more effectively, particularly those with
complex or literary styles. For example, never have I
seen such a beautiful sunset, or such was the commotion that I could barely hear myself think. I love inversion in English. I think it sounds bloody beautiful. Never have I come across such a beautiful grammatical structure. Oh, we have to mention
hedging and boosting. Those who have a C1
level should be familiar with hedging and boosting
when writing and speaking. So hedging is a linguistic strategy that allows speakers to soften or downplay the force of their statements, often by using hedging verbs like to seem or the passive voice and
adverbs like presumably. This is something we do
a lot in British English. Hedging is part of our culture. For example, it seems like
this might be a good solution, but boosting, on the other hand, involves using language
to increase the force or impact of a statement, often by using adverbs like undeniably or strong verbs like to prove. For example, this has been proven to be the best solution to our problem. Another really important aspect of achieving a C1 level of English is understanding the various meanings of a number of phrasal verbs. Depending on the context, phrasal verbs can take
on different meanings, but to effectively communicate and understand advanced conversations, you will need proficiency
in using phrasal verbs. There's no escaping them at this point. I'll show you a quick example using the phrasal verb to set up. We have to set up, meaning
to organise or arrange, to set up a time for a meeting. We can also set people up on a date. We can put two people together with the intention of informing a romance. My friend set me up with her cousin. We could also have to set someone up, meaning to trick someone
to put them in a situation where they're going to
be humiliated or tricked. You set me up when you told
me it was a fancy dress party. Everyone else was in black tie. We also have to set up as
in to put things into place. I need to set up my filming studio so I can make some lessons. Some of the most important
grammatical tools that C1 level students need to master are the use of coordinating, correlative and subordinating
conjunctions and connectors because they enable you
to form more complex and varied sentence structures, enhancing your ability to
express ideas and arguments. These tools also help you to establish logical connections between ideas, making written and spoken
communication more coherent, persuasive and fluid overall. Now these should have been
learnt at B1 and B2 level, but a demonstrated level of proficiency is really necessary at the C1 level. Okay, that in general is
the majority of the grammar that you need to know to say that you're at a C1 level of English. There is more and I put it in the ebook and I also cover the
other skills that you need to be at a C1 level and we do a deep dive on the vocabulary that you know because it is such a jump. It's all there for you to download it and to join my C1 programme waiting list because we launch very
soon on the 15th of May. Click on the link in the description box. Okay, how did you find that? What do you think is your level of English and what is your ultimate goal? I'd like you to share two things in the comment section today. Current level, current
predicted level and goal level. Is it that B2 fluency level? Is it that C1 excellence advanced level or is it the crazy near
native level of C2? Interestingly, we do actually include a lot of C2 level grammar and topics in our C1 programme for
students who want to overshoot and just want to achieve
that little bit more. That's all from me today. I hope you found this lesson useful. Don't forget to download the ebook. I will see you next
week for another lesson. Mwah. (upbeat music)
