Cambridge Exam Blog 4

It’s time to look at the last part of the the Use of English exam – task 4!

KEY WORD TRANSFORMATION

What is the task?

There are 6 sentences. Below each sentence the is a word in bold- this is the key word. Further below there is another sentence with a gap. You have to complete the second sentence using the  key word without changing it or the meaning of the sentence. You can use between 2-5 words.

Ex.

Leah suggested that I arrive on time for the presentation.

LATE

Leah advised………………………………. for the presentation.

How many points is it worth?

Each correct sentence is worth a posible 2 points – 12 in total for the task- that’s 33% of the Use of English or 7% of the total exam.

How long do I have?

We recommend you give youself about 10 minutes to do this task.

How should I go about it?

First , score out the word that are the same on both sentences.

Ex.

Leah suggested that I arrive on time for the presentation.

LATE

Leah advised………………………………. for the presentation.

Next we look for any synonyms and score them out too. Then highlight the remaining words.

Leah suggested that I arrive on time for the presentation.

LATE

Leah advised……………………… for the presentation.

Now we can focus on what remains and look for a way to paraphrase using the key word LATE.

                    Arrive on time = Not be late.

Now let’s look at the second sentence and think about which structure we need.

ADVISE + SOMEBODY + INFINITIVE

So our final answer is:

      Leah advised me not to be late for the presentation.

(me not = 1 point / to be late = 1 point)

What structures usually come up?

Present perfect + since

Too + adj (for somebody to..)

Would rather

Had better + infinitive

In case + present simple

Modals ( can, could, may, might …..)

Perfect modals ( could have/ might have / may have ….. + past participle)

Reporting verbs

Gerunds and infinitives

Wish / if only

So/such

Passives

Have something done

Adjective + noun / veb + adverb

If you don’t know the answer, give it a go – you have a good chance of getting one point!

Remember you need to use between 2-5 words – contractions count as 2!

Be careful with your spelling – misspelt words are incorrect!