C2 — Proficiency

Time and viewpoint

Time, viewpoint and narrative distance

Control chronology and narrative perspective through advanced tense and aspect choices.

Modal remoteness

Modal remoteness and pragmatic nuance

Express advice, criticism and requests with an appropriate degree of interpersonal distance.

Complex noun phrases

Dense but precise noun phrases

Combine premodification and postmodification while keeping the head noun clear.

Concessive relations

Complex concessive structures

Express contrast and concession through compact formal structures.

Information packaging

Fronting and information focus

Reorganise clauses to control focus, contrast and the flow of information.

Advanced complementation

Sophisticated complementation patterns

Select gerund, infinitive, subjunctive and finite-clause patterns accurately.

Counterfactual meaning

Nuanced counterfactual structures

Express remote conditions, exceptions and imagined alternatives precisely.

Reference and determiners

Subtle reference and determiner choices

Manage generic, specific and contrastive reference across complex discourse.

Cohesion and parallelism

Cohesion and parallel structures

Create coherent discourse through controlled substitution, ellipsis and parallelism.

Grammar and register

Grammar across formal and informal registers

Adapt grammatical choices to academic, professional and conversational contexts.

Place and conditional inversion

Formal inversion beyond negative adverbials

Use inversion after place adverbials and in formal conditionals without if.

Academic linking

Linking claims in academic argument

Choose formal connectors according to logical function.

Referring to other work

Integrating sources and internal references

Use reporting structures to attribute claims and guide readers to other sections.

Academic lead-in phrases

Signposting stages of an academic discussion

Introduce topics, evidence, limitations and conclusions with conventional lead-ins.