Escape Campus
Course contents

Module 2 · Use of English Core · Lesson 05

Use of English Part 2

Use of English Part 2. 8 gaps, ONE word each, no options. Spot the word type — article, auxiliary, preposition, linker, pronoun.

CEFR B260 minUse of English P2Core

Get talking · Section 1

5 min

activity
Guess the missing word

Look at the board: 'I have lived here ___ ten years.' Shout the answer. Now: 'It depends ___ the weather.' Notice — no options, just reflex.

discussion
Small words, big marks

In pairs, list 5 tiny English words (1–3 letters) that you use every day. Which are easiest to forget when writing?

reflection
One word only

Tell your partner about your morning using sentences of exactly 6 words. Notice how often you reach for 'the', 'a', 'to', 'in', 'of'.

Grammar focus · Section 2

8–10 min

The six word-types Part 2 tests

Grammar focus

Open Cloze gaps always belong to one of six families. Train yourself to NAME the family first, then fill the gap. (1) Articles: a / an / the. (2) Auxiliaries & modals: do / does / have / had / would / will. (3) Prepositions: in / on / at / to / for / by / with / of.

Examples

  • → She works hard ___ being only sixteen. → DESPITE (linker / preposition of contrast)

  • → There ___ a lot of traffic this morning. → WAS (auxiliary)

  • → He's the best player ___ the team. → IN (preposition)

  • → I haven't seen her ___ Monday. → SINCE (preposition of time)

  • → It depends ___ the weather. → ON (dependent preposition)

Open Grammar Reference

Question 1.She's afraid ___ spiders.

Question 2.___ the rain, we went out.

Question 3.There ___ been an accident.

Question 4.It's the tallest building ___ the city.

Question 5.I'll call you ___ I arrive.

Answer all items, then check.

Quick check 1.How many gaps are in FCE Use of English Part 2?

Quick check 2.How many words per gap?

Quick check 3.Are contractions ('don't') counted as one word in Part 2?

Answer all items, then check.

Vocabulary · Section 3

5–7 min

Words & phrases to own

Open Vocabulary Bank
1

to depend on

to be conditional on (always 'on'): 'It depends ON the weather.'

2

in spite of

= despite (followed by noun / -ing): 'in spite OF the rain.'

3

as well as

= and also: 'as well AS reading, she writes.'

4

no sooner … than

fixed inversion: 'No sooner HAD he left THAN it started raining.'

5

by far

by a wide margin: 'by FAR the best film.'

6

to look forward to

to anticipate with pleasure (always 'to'): 'I look forward TO seeing you.'

7

to be keen on

to like / be interested in: 'She's keen ON tennis.'

8

to insist on

to demand: 'He insisted ON paying.'

9

to succeed in

to manage (always 'in'): 'She succeeded IN passing.'

10

to be capable of

to be able to: 'He's capable OF more.'

Matching
Match each verb / adjective with its dependent preposition.

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

Answer all items, then check.
Categorise
Sort each gap word into its Part-2 family.
Answer all items, then check.

Pronunciation · Section 4

3–4 min

Weak forms — the sound of small words

Say it aloud

  • • a cup of tea → 'a cup OV tea' /ə kʌp əv tiː/
  • • I want to go → 'I wanna go' /aɪ wɒnə ɡəʊ/
  • • looking for you → /lʊkɪŋ fə juː/
  • • as soon as → /əz suːn əz/
  • • in spite of it → /ɪn spaɪt əv ɪt/

Reading · Section 5

8–10 min

How to read an Open Cloze in 90 seconds

Read the passageTap to open

Experienced candidates do not read an Open Cloze the way they read a magazine article. They read it twice, fast, with a different goal each time. The first read takes about 30 seconds and ignores the gaps completely. The aim is to grasp the topic and the writer's attitude — is this a positive piece about a hobby, or a cautious piece about a new technology? Knowing the overall direction means the gaps will already start to suggest themselves before you slow down.

The second read takes about 60 seconds and goes gap by gap. Before writing anything, name the family: article, auxiliary, preposition, linker, pronoun, or fixed-phrase piece. Naming the family halves the number of possible answers. If the gap is clearly a preposition after 'depends', the only realistic options are 'on' or 'upon'. If the gap follows 'in spite', the answer is 'of'. If a verb sits between two halves of a sentence and the next clause uses 'than', you are dealing with 'no sooner had X done Y than…'. None of this requires advanced vocabulary; it requires pattern recognition.

Finally, never leave a gap blank. A confident guess based on the family is always better than an empty box. There is no negative marking, and an exam without empty gaps is an exam written by a candidate who took control.

Question 1.How long does the first read take and what is its goal?

Question 2.What should you do BEFORE writing anything in a gap?

Question 3.Why should you never leave a gap blank?

Answer all items, then check.
True / False / Not Given
Decide if each statement is True or False

Q1.The text recommends reading the cloze passage three times.

Q2.Naming the word family narrows the possible answers.

Q3.'in spite' is followed by 'of'.

Q4.Leaving a gap blank is safer than guessing.

Answer all items, then check.

Listening · Section 6

8–10 min

Two students compare Open Cloze answers (about 2:00)

Listening audio

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

Show transcript

Maya:Gap 1 — I put 'the'. It said 'most popular sport in ___ world'.

Tom:Same. It's a unique noun, only one 'world'. Easy article gap.

Maya:Gap 2 was 'despite'. 'Despite being only sixteen, she…'.

Tom:I wrote 'although', but actually that doesn't work before '-ing'. 'Despite' is right because of the gerund.

Maya:Good catch. Gap 3 — 'depends ___ how hard you train' — I put 'on'.

Tom:Dependent preposition. Always 'on'.

Maya:Gap 5 was tricky. 'No sooner ___ she arrived than her phone rang.'

Tom:Inversion — 'had'. 'No sooner HAD she arrived.'

Maya:I forgot the inversion and wrote 'did'. Lost a mark.

Tom:It's a fixed pattern — drill it three times tonight and you'll never miss it again.

Maya:Gap 7 — 'as well ___ playing the guitar, she sings.'

Tom:'as'. Three-word fixed phrase: 'as well as'.

Maya:Last one — 'There ___ been a delay.'

Tom:'has'. Present perfect with 'there'. Eight for eight if I hadn't fluffed 'had'.

Question 1.Why did 'although' NOT fit before 'being only sixteen'?

Question 2.Which dependent preposition follows 'depend'?

Question 3.What completes 'No sooner ___ she arrived than her phone rang.'?

Question 4.Complete the fixed phrase: 'as well ___'

Answer all items, then check.
Tick what you hear
Tick every Part-2 family the students use in this exchange.
Answer all items, then check.

Exam skills · Section 7

5 min

Open Cloze — the family-first method

Your task

For every gap, NAME the family before you write. Article? Auxiliary? Preposition? Linker? Pronoun? Fixed phrase? Then choose ONE word.

Example

Sentence: 'She is keen ___ improving her speaking.' Family = preposition (dependent on 'keen'). Answer = ON.

Open Exam Strategy Centre

Practice · Section 8

8–10 min

Fill in the blank

Question 1.She is keen ___ improving her English.

Question 2.___ being only sixteen, she runs a small business.

Question 3.It all depends ___ the weather tomorrow.

Question 4.No sooner ___ I sat down than the phone rang.

Question 5.There ___ been several complaints recently.

Question 6.He is by ___ the best player on the team.

Question 7.I'm looking forward ___ meeting your family.

Question 8.She succeeded ___ passing her driving test first time.

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

Q1.Despite ___ tired, she finished the race. (one word)

Q2.As well ___ studying, he works part-time. (one word)

Q3.In spite ___ the rain, the match continued. (one word)

Q4.There has ___ a misunderstanding. (one word)

Answer all items, then check.

Writing · Section 9

5 min

Put it in writing

Your task

Mini-task — write 4 sentences about your week, EACH containing one of these dependent prepositions: 'depend on', 'look forward to', 'keen on', 'afraid of'. Then swap with your partner and underline the preposition in each other's sentences.

Show model answer

(1) Whether I go to the cinema on Saturday depends on my brother's plans. (2) I'm really looking forward to the weekend trip. (3) I'm not very keen on horror films, but I'll watch one for him. (4) I'm a bit afraid of driving in the city, so he'll drive instead.

Speaking · Section 10

10–15 min

Make it a real conversation

Open Useful Expressions

Roleplay

ROLEPLAY — Open Cloze pair detective. Student A reads the FCE Exam Practice text aloud, replacing each gap with the word 'BEEP'. Student B says the WORD FAMILY out loud before guessing the word ('article!' / 'preposition!' / 'linker!'). Swap roles after gap 4. Goal: train the family-first reflex by saying it out loud.

Useful phrases

  • • That's an article — must be 'the'.
  • • Looks like a dependent preposition after 'depend' — 'on'.
  • • It's followed by -ing, so we need 'despite', not 'although'.
  • • Fixed phrase alert — 'as well…' needs 'as'.
  • • There's an inversion coming — that's 'had'.
  • • Pronoun gap — 'it' or 'there'? I'd go with 'there'.

Teacher notes

Optional · Teacher-led

Teacher Activities

Two short extensions that lock in the family-first reflex. ~18 min total

FCE Exam Practice · Section 11

20–30 min

Real FCE tasks

One authentic Open Cloze. 8 gaps, ONE word per gap. Use the family-first method: name → choose → write. Target time: 8 minutes.

Cambridge B2 First · Reading & Use of English · Part 2 · Open Cloze
Use of English Part 2 — The rise of the home cook

Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only ONE word in each gap.

Over the last decade, home cooking has experienced a remarkable revival. being busier than ever, many people now spend their evenings chopping vegetables rather ordering takeaway. The reasons this trend are not difficult to find. Cooking from scratch is generally cheaper, healthier, and, many would argue, far more enjoyable than living out of plastic containers. Social media has also played a part. There been an explosion of short cooking videos, and millions of viewers now look forward trying a new recipe each week. As as offering inspiration, these clips remove the fear that has traditionally surrounded the kitchen. No sooner a complicated technique been demonstrated than thousands of viewers are ready to try it at home.

Answer all items, then check.

Homework · Section 12

Take-home

Take it home

grammar
Task 1

RUoE Part 2 — Open Cloze

Fill each gap with ONE word only.

Why we sleep badly on Sunday nights

Most of us have experienced (1)___ is sometimes called 'Sunday-night insomnia'. (2)___ we go to bed at the usual time, sleep simply refuses (3)___ come. According to researchers, this is largely (4)___ to a mismatch between our weekday and weekend sleep patterns.

(5)___ spite of feeling tired, our body clock has shifted by two hours during the weekend, and (6)___ a result it is not yet ready for sleep on Sunday night.

  1. 1)
  2. 2)
  3. 3)
  4. 4)
  5. 5)
  6. 6)
Finish the homework, then check.
vocab
Task 2

Dependent prepositions — choose the right one

Complete each phrase with ONE preposition.

  1. interested ___ photography
  2. good ___ maths
  3. afraid ___ spiders
  4. depend ___ the weather
  5. succeed ___ passing the exam
  6. responsible ___ the project
  7. different ___ what I expected
  8. apologise ___ being late
  9. consist ___ four parts
  10. look forward ___ hearing from you
Finish the homework, then check.
writing
Task 3

Five sentences with advanced structures

Write ONE sentence for each pattern. Make it about your real life.

  1. Despite + -ing (e.g. Despite feeling tired, …)
  2. In spite of + noun phrase
  3. as well as + -ing / noun
  4. No sooner had + past participle … than …
  5. by far the + superlative
Finish the homework, then check.
reading
Task 4

Articles, linkers and prepositions — highlight

Mark every article (a/an/the), linker and preposition in three colours.

Colour code: ARTICLES (blue), LINKERS (red), PREPOSITIONS (green). Notice how often they appear — Part 2 lives on these.

A small change with big results

Last year, the council in our town introduced a small change to the recycling system. Instead of one large bin, every household received three smaller containers — one for paper, one for plastic, and one for food waste. Although many people complained at first, the impact has been remarkable.

According to a recent report, the amount of waste sent to landfill has fallen by almost forty per cent. As a result, the council is now planning to extend the scheme to neighbouring areas.

Finish the homework, then check.

Recap · Section 13

2–3 min

What you've learned

  • FCE Use of English Part 2: 8 gaps, ONE word per gap, no options.
  • Tested families: articles, auxiliaries, prepositions, linkers, pronouns, fixed phrases.
  • Method: name the family first → then choose the word.
  • Watch fixed patterns: despite +-ing, as well as, no sooner had…than, by far, depend on.
  • Never leave a gap blank — no negative marking.
Lesson 04 · Writing the EssayLesson 06 · Use of English Part 3