B2 First: Use of English part 4 (key word transformations)
There are six questions in this part of the exam, each worth 2 marks (total 12 marks). For each question, you complete a second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence. You must use between two and five words, including the word you are given. Contractions (e.g. isn't, won't) count as two words. In the real exam, you should write in capital letters, in pencil.
Advice and examples
- Underline the part of the first sentence that you need to change to help you focus.
The weather was freezing, so no one wanted to swim in the sea. LIKE
The weather was freezing, so no one in the sea. ✓✓
- Read the whole answer when you've finished to check for careless mistakes which might make you lose a mark (e.g. changing the time, missing 'a / an', repeating words).
We were all excited about meeting his new girlfriend. LOOKING
Everyone his new girlfriend. ✗✓(WAS not IS)
"Where do you eat lunch on Mondays?" she asked. KNOW
She wanted to lunch on Mondays. ✓✗(LUNCH repeated)
- If you have no idea of the answer, just write the word given. If you're lucky, only two words are necessary, and you'll get one point anyway. (This isn't very common though, sorry!)
"Yes, it's true, I killed my great uncle", he said. ADMITTED
He his great uncle. ✓✗ (one point - ADMITTED KILLING is the full answer)
Grammar
You will need to know how to use many grammatical structures in English, including comparatives, conditionals (and similar structures), reported speech, verb patterns (gerunds and infinitives), the present perfect, passives, and modal verbs. Test yourself with the questions below.
Vocabulary
The Key Word Transformations part of the exam also tests fixed expressions, phrasal verbs and word formation, often combined with the grammar structures above. It's difficult to predict the vocabulary it will test, but if you read lots and try to notice fixed expressions, it will help you here. Try the example questions below.