Video lesson · Workplace English
Bandwidth: Grammar and Sentence Patterns
Learn bandwidth as an uncountable noun, plus its to-infinitive, for-phrase, possessive, and resource-management patterns.
In this lesson
The who slot can be personal or shared: my bandwidth, the team's bandwidth, engineering bandwidth. The how much slot is always uncountable — say limited, no, some, or more bandwidth, never a bandwidth or bandwidths.
The what-it's-for slot takes two shapes: bandwidth to plus a verb — bandwidth to review this — or bandwidth for plus a noun or gerund — bandwidth for another review, bandwidth for handling escalations.
Read video transcript
Most bandwidth patterns are built from the same three slots: who has it, how much, and what it's for. Put them together and you get a real capacity statement — like, I don't have much bandwidth for another review this week.
The who slot can be personal or shared: my bandwidth, the team's bandwidth, engineering bandwidth. The how much slot is always uncountable — say limited, no, some, or more bandwidth, never a bandwidth or bandwidths.
The what-it's-for slot takes two shapes: bandwidth to plus a verb — bandwidth to review this — or bandwidth for plus a noun or gerund — bandwidth for another review, bandwidth for handling escalations.
Bandwidth also gets treated like a resource you actively manage: you free up bandwidth, create bandwidth, or protect bandwidth. And two framing phrases show up constantly — bandwidth constraints, and given our current bandwidth — to set up a request before you make it.
Want more examples? Read the related guide.