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Module 3 · Reading & The Article · Lesson 11

Use of English Part 4

Six sentences. Rewrite each one keeping the meaning, using 2–5 words, and the key word UNCHANGED. Highest-mark item per question on the paper.

CEFR B260 minUse of English P4Core

Get talking · Section 1

5 min

activity
Same idea, new words

Say this aloud: 'I haven't seen him for years.' Now rephrase it starting with 'It's been…' (years since I saw him). Notice — same meaning, different grammar. That's Part 4.

discussion
Hunt the chunk

In pairs, list 5 fixed English chunks (e.g. 'as soon as', 'put up with', 'in case of'). Why do exam writers love these?

reflection
2–5 words feels what?

Most candidates lose marks because they write too many or too few words. Why might the 2–5 word limit be the hardest part?

Grammar focus · Section 2

8–10 min

The eight patterns Part 4 keeps testing

Open Grammar Reference
Grammar focus

Part 4 looks endlessly varied but recycles eight grammar patterns. Recognise the pattern and the answer almost writes itself..

  1. 1Passive voice — 'They built it' → 'It WAS BUILT'.
  2. 2Reported speech — 'I'll help' → 'He SAID he WOULD help'.

Examples

  • → (1) PASSIVE: 'They built the bridge in 1995.' / BUILT → 'The bridge WAS BUILT in 1995.'

  • → (2) REPORTED: 'I'll call you,' he said. / HE → 'He said HE WOULD CALL me.'

  • → (3) CONDITIONALS: 'I don't have a car, so I can't drive.' / HAD → 'If I HAD A CAR, I could drive.'

  • → (4) COMPARATIVES: 'No one is taller than Sam.' / TALLEST → 'Sam is THE TALLEST.'

  • → (5) MODALS OF SPECULATION: 'I'm sure he's tired.' / MUST → 'He MUST BE tired.'

  • → (6) PHRASAL VERBS: 'Please continue.' / CARRY → 'Please CARRY ON.'

  • → (7) FIXED PHRASES / LINKERS: 'In spite of the rain…' / DESPITE → 'DESPITE THE RAIN…'

  • → (8) DEPENDENT PREPOSITIONS: 'She's interested in art.' / KEEN → 'She's KEEN ON art.'

Question 1.'Someone has repaired my laptop.' / BEEN → 'My laptop ___ repaired.'

Question 2.'We last spoke in March.' / SINCE → 'We haven't spoken ___ March.'

Question 3.'No other film in the festival was so moving.' / MOST → 'It was ___ film in the festival.'

Question 4.'They postponed the meeting.' / PUT → 'They ___ the meeting.'

Question 5.'I'm certain she forgot.' / HAVE → 'She ___ forgotten.'

Answer all items, then check.

Quick check 1.How many WORDS go in each Part 4 gap?

Quick check 2.Can you change the KEY WORD given in capitals?

Quick check 3.Contractions ('don't') in Part 4 count as…

Answer all items, then check.

Vocabulary · Section 3

5–7 min

Words & phrases to own

Open Vocabulary Bank
1

to transform

to change the form of something while keeping its meaning — exactly what Part 4 asks.

Use it now

Say one true sentence about your own life using "to transform".

2

key word

the CAPITAL word that must appear in the answer, UNCHANGED.

Use it now

Finish this out loud: "For me, key word is …" — then give one reason.

3

to keep the meaning

to preserve the original sense — the most common reason candidates lose marks.

Use it now

Say one true sentence about your own life using "to keep the meaning".

4

passive voice

subject receives the action: 'The bridge WAS BUILT in 1995.'

Use it now

Finish this out loud: "For me, passive voice is …" — then give one reason.

5

reported speech

saying what someone said: 'He SAID HE WOULD call.'

Use it now

Finish this out loud: "For me, reported speech is …" — then give one reason.

6

phrasal verb

verb + particle that = new meaning: 'put off' = postpone.

Use it now

Finish this out loud: "For me, phrasal verb is …" — then give one reason.

7

dependent preposition

a fixed preposition after a verb/adjective: 'keen ON', 'afraid OF', 'depend ON'.

Use it now

Finish this out loud: "For me, dependent preposition is …" — then give one reason.

8

linker

a connector showing relationship between ideas: 'despite', 'because of', 'in spite of'.

Use it now

Finish this out loud: "For me, linker is …" — then give one reason.

9

to paraphrase

to say the same thing in different words — Part 4 is paraphrasing under pattern rules.

Use it now

Say one true sentence about your own life using "to paraphrase".

10

marker word

a small word that signals which pattern (e.g. 'since' → present perfect; 'if' → conditional).

Use it now

Finish this out loud: "For me, marker word is …" — then give one reason.

Matching
Match each transformation prompt with the grammar pattern it triggers.

Tap an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.

Answer all items, then check.
Categorise
Sort these key words by the pattern they usually trigger.
Answer all items, then check.

Pronunciation · Section 4

3–4 min

Sentence stress in transformations — the carrier of meaning

Say it aloud

  • • Original: 'She '''rarely''' eats out.' — stress on 'rarely'.
  • • Transformation: 'She '''hardly ever''' eats out.' — stress still on 'hardly ever'. Meaning preserved.
  • • Original: 'I '''can't''' help noticing…' — stress on 'can't'.
  • • Transformation: 'I can't '''help''' noticing…' — stress shifts → meaning bends. Re-check.
  • • Drill: read both sentences aloud, side by side. If the meaning beats line up, you're right.

Reading · Section 5

8–10 min

Why Part 4 is really a pattern-recognition test

Read the passageTap to open

Part 4 of the Use of English paper looks, at first glance, like grammar's revenge on the candidate. Six sentences must each be rewritten so that the meaning is preserved, the rewrite uses between two and five words, and a 'key word' supplied in capital letters appears in the answer without being changed. To the unprepared candidate this feels like a free-fall test of vocabulary and grammar at once. It is not. It is, in fact, the most pattern-based part of the entire paper.

The Cambridge writers do not invent fresh structures for each new exam. They recycle, with small variations, eight grammar patterns: the passive, reported speech, conditionals, comparatives and superlatives, modals of speculation, phrasal verbs, fixed linkers and dependent prepositions. A candidate who learns to recognise the key word as a SIGNAL — 'BEEN' triggers a passive; 'IF + HAD' triggers a second conditional; 'TOLD' or 'WHETHER' triggers reported speech — has already done two-thirds of the thinking before the pen moves.

The second insight is the word count. Two to five words is the strictest constraint in the paper, and it punishes two opposite mistakes. Candidates who write too few words usually miss a required auxiliary or article and lose the mark; candidates who write too many usually add a redundant adverb ('very', 'really') or convert a contraction back into two words without need. The professional move is to write the answer first, then count, then trim.

The third, and most often-ignored, insight is that the key word must appear UNCHANGED. 'BUILT' cannot become 'BUILDING'; 'SUCCESS' cannot become 'SUCCEED'; 'KEEN' cannot become 'KEENLY'. Every year a small share of marks is lost not on grammar but on the simple temptation to inflect a word that the rubric forbids. The rule is mechanical: copy the key word in capitals to scratch paper before writing the answer, and then build around it.

Drilled together — pattern, count, key word — these three habits raise Part 4 scores faster than any vocabulary list. The candidates who treat it as a guessing game lose marks every time. The candidates who treat it as pattern recognition, with three small mechanical checks, walk out having banked twelve marks they did not expect.

Reading & Use of EnglishPart 5 · Multiple choice1 mark per question

For questions 1–5, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

  1. 1According to the text, Part 4 is best described as a test of…

  2. 2How many grammar patterns do Cambridge writers recycle?

  3. 3What does the writer say is the strictest constraint?

  4. 4Why do candidates lose marks by writing TOO MANY words?

  5. 5What's the mechanical move to protect the key word?

    6. Answer all items, then check.
Reading & Use of EnglishPart 6 · Gapped text2 marks per question

Sentences have been removed from the text. Choose from the sentences A–E the one which fits each gap (1–4). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

Exam conditions: keep “Read the passage” closed while you do this task.

Part 4 of the Use of English paper looks, at first glance, like grammar's revenge on the candidate. To the unprepared candidate this feels like a free-fall test of vocabulary and grammar at once. It is not. It is, in fact, the most pattern-based part of the entire paper. They recycle, with small variations, eight grammar patterns: the passive, reported speech, conditionals, comparatives and superlatives, modals of speculation, phrasal verbs, fixed linkers and dependent prepositions. A candidate who learns to recognise the key word as a SIGNAL — 'BEEN' triggers a passive; 'IF + HAD' triggers a second conditional; 'TOLD' or 'WHETHER' triggers reported speech — has already done two-thirds of the thinking before the pen moves. The second insight is the word count. Two to five words is the strictest constraint in the paper, and it punishes two opposite mistakes. The professional move is to write the answer first, then count, then trim. The third, and most often-ignored, insight is that the key word must appear UNCHANGED. 'BUILT' cannot become 'BUILDING'; 'SUCCESS' cannot become 'SUCCEED'; 'KEEN' cannot become 'KEENLY'. The rule is mechanical: copy the key word in capitals to scratch paper before writing the answer, and then build around it. Drilled together — pattern, count, key word — these three habits raise Part 4 scores faster than any vocabulary list. The candidates who treat it as a guessing game lose marks every time. The candidates who treat it as pattern recognition, with three small mechanical checks, walk out having banked twelve marks they did not expect.
Answer all items, then check.

Listening · Section 6

8–10 min

A grammar tutor walks two students through three Part 4 items (≈ 2:00)

Listening audio

Tap play to listen. Drag the timeline to jump anywhere.

Show transcript

Tutor (Mr Adeyemi):Right. Item 25: 'They built the school in 1992.' Key word: BEEN.

Two to five words.

Lucia:I wrote 'The school was built in 1992.' But 'WAS' isn't the key word. I should be using 'BEEN'.

Tutor (Mr Adeyemi):Exactly. 'BEEN' signals present perfect passive. 'The school HAS BEEN STANDING since 1992' works — but watch the meaning.

Or, more naturally: 'The school HAS BEEN THERE since 1992.' Three words, key word preserved.

Marco:Item 26: ''I won't be late,' she promised.' Key word: WOULDN'T.

Tutor (Mr Adeyemi):Reported promise. 'She promised she WOULDN'T BE late.' Four words.

Key word in capitals, untouched.

Lucia:What if I'd written 'She promised that she would not be late'?

Tutor (Mr Adeyemi):Six words. Over the limit. The contraction WOULDN'T = one word, but 'would not' = two.

That's where careful candidates lose silly marks.

Marco:Item 27: 'I'm sure they're lost.' Key word: MUST.

Tutor (Mr Adeyemi):Modal of speculation, certainty. 'They MUST BE LOST.' Three words.

Don't try anything fancier — 'must be' carries the certainty exactly.

Lucia:So: spot the pattern, count the words, never touch the key word.

Tutor (Mr Adeyemi):Three mechanical checks. Do them on every item and you'll bank two more marks than you do now.

Question 1.Why did Lucia's first answer to Item 25 fail?

Question 2.Why was 'She promised that she would not be late' rejected?

Question 3.Does the contraction WOULDN'T count as one word or two?

Question 4.Tutor's three mechanical checks are…

Answer all items, then check.
Tick what you hear
Tick every habit the tutor recommends.
Answer all items, then check.

Exam skills · Section 7

5 min

Use of English Part 4 — Key Word Transformations

Open Exam Strategy Centre

🎯 Part 4

6 items. Use 2–5 words. Key word UNCHANGED.

  • Spot the pattern (passive, conditional, reported…)
  • Build around the key word EXACTLY as given
  • Count: 2, 3, 4 or 5 words. No more.
  • Re-read both sentences — meaning must match

Open the Exam Practice block below.

Quick Tip

Copy the key word in capitals onto your scratch paper before writing — it stops you accidentally changing the form.

Exam Hack

Use contractions ('wouldn't', 'isn't') — they count as ONE word and save you precious slots.

Common Mistake

Don't paraphrase too freely — 'I'm sure he's tired' / MUST = 'He MUST BE TIRED', not 'He must feel tired'. Stay literal.

Your task

Complete each item in 2–5 words. The second sentence must mean the same as the first and contain the key word UNCHANGED. Then count, then re-check meaning.

Example

Q: 'It was such a boring film that I fell asleep.' / SO → 'The film was ___ I fell asleep.' Pattern → 'so + adjective + that'. Build: 'SO BORING THAT'. Count: 3 words. Meaning preserved. ✔

Open Exam Strategy Centre

Practice · Section 8

8–10 min

Fill in the blank

Word bank — no clues, retrieve it

unchangedpassive2 and 5one6second

Question 1.Part 4 has ___ items.

Question 2.Each answer uses between ___ words.

Question 3.The key word must appear ___.

Question 4.'BEEN' usually signals a ___ structure.

Question 5.'IF + HAD' usually signals a ___ conditional.

Question 6.Contractions like WOULDN'T count as ___ word.

Answer all items, then check.
Sentence transformation
Type a short answer (1–3 words)

Q1.'They have built a new bridge.' / BEEN → 'A new bridge ___ built.' (2 words)

Q2.'I'm sure she's at home.' / MUST → 'She ___ at home.' (2 words)

Q3.'"I'll help you," he said.' / SAID → 'He ___ help me.' (3 words)

Answer all items, then check.

Writing · Section 9

5 min

Put it in writing

Your task

Write your OWN Part 4 item. Choose a key word and write the original + second sentence with a 2–5 word gap. Swap with a partner and solve theirs.

Show model answer

ORIGINAL: 'They postponed the meeting because of the snow.' KEY WORD: OFF SECOND SENTENCE: 'The meeting ___ because of the snow.' ANSWER: 'WAS PUT OFF' (3 words) — passive of the phrasal verb 'put off' = postpone. Meaning preserved, key word in capitals, within the 2–5 range.

Speaking · Section 10

10–15 min

Make it a real conversation

Open Useful Expressions

Roleplay

Pair drill. A says: 'pattern + key word' (e.g. 'second conditional, HAD'). B says a complete transformation example in under 10 seconds. Swap. Cover all eight patterns.

Useful phrases

  • • The key word here is… so the pattern must be…
  • • I'd start the gap with…
  • • Counting: that's three words.
  • • If I change BUILT to BUILDING I'll lose the mark.
  • • Meaning still matches the original.
  • • Contraction saves me one word.

Teacher notes

Optional · Teacher-led

Teacher Activities

Two compact extensions that train pattern-recognition reflexes — both work 1:1 online. ~18 min total

FCE Exam Practice · Section 11

20–30 min

Real FCE tasks

Cambridge B2 First · Reading & Use of English · Part 4. Six items. 2–5 words. Key word UNCHANGED. Teacher Mode reveals answers and per-item rationale.

Cambridge B2 First · Reading & Use of English · Part 4 · Key Word Transformations
Key Word Transformations — set 1

For questions 1–6, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. Use between two and five words.

  1. 1.They are repairing the road outside our house.

    BEING

    The road outside our house at the moment.

  2. 2.'You took my umbrella,' Sara said to me.

    ACCUSED

    Sara her umbrella.

  3. 3.If you don't hurry up, you'll miss the train.

    UNLESS

    You'll miss the train up.

  4. 4.I'm sure he didn't see us.

    CAN'T

    He us.

  5. 5.I find it impossible to work with so much noise around.

    PUT

    I can't with so much noise around.

  6. 6.She started learning Italian five years ago.

    BEEN

    She Italian for five years.

Answer all items, then check.

Homework · Section 12

Take-home

Take it home

grammar
Task 1

Six-item Part 4 set

Complete six FCE-style transformations in 12 minutes.

Each gap must be 2–5 words, include the KEY WORD UNCHANGED, and preserve the meaning. Count your words before submitting each item.

  1. 'I haven't visited my grandmother for three years.' / SINCE → 'It's been three years ___ my grandmother.'
  2. 'They cancelled the concert because of the storm.' / CALLED → 'The concert ___ because of the storm.'
  3. ''I'll see you tomorrow,' Tom said to me.' / WOULD → 'Tom told me ___ the next day.'
  4. 'I'm sure she didn't take the keys.' / CAN'T → 'She ___ the keys.'
  5. 'The film was so boring that we left.' / SUCH → 'It was ___ that we left.'
  6. 'In spite of the rain, we went out.' / DESPITE → '___ raining, we went out.'
Finish the homework, then check.
vocab
Task 2

Key-word pattern radar

Match ten key words to their most likely grammar pattern.

For each key word, write the pattern it most often signals in Part 4 (one of: passive / reported / conditional / comparative / modal speculation / phrasal verb / linker / dependent preposition).

  1. BEEN
  2. WOULDN'T
  3. IF
  4. MUST
  5. PUT
  6. DESPITE
  7. KEEN
  8. TOLD
  9. AS
  10. UNLESS
writing
Task 3

Mini Part 4 paper

Invent two of your own Part 4 items and swap with a classmate.

Pick TWO of the eight patterns. Write the original sentence + key word + second sentence with a 2–5 word gap. Provide the answer on a separate line marked TEACHER ONLY.

Recap · Section 13

2–3 min

What you've learned

  • Part 4 = 6 items, 2–5 words each, key word in CAPITALS UNCHANGED.
  • Eight patterns recycle: passive, reported, conditionals, comparatives, modals of speculation, phrasal verbs, linkers, dependent prepositions.
  • Key word is a SIGNAL — name the pattern before writing.
  • Word count is the strictest rule on the paper. Count BEFORE submitting.
  • Contractions count as ONE word — use them to stay within the limit.
  • Three mechanical checks every time: pattern · count · key-word unchanged.

Lesson progress

This lesson completes automatically once you finish every activity, or when you continue to the next lesson.

Lesson 10 · Writing the ArticleLesson 12 · Listening Part 2