SENTENCE TRANSFORMATION.

In this type of test, you have two sentences. Sentence one is complete. Sentence two is incomplete. You have to complete sentence two so that it means the same as sentence one. For example:

Steven Spielberg directed Jurassic Park.
Jurassic Park _________ Steven Spielberg.
Answer: Jurassic Park was directed by Steven Spielberg.

Here are our tips for doing sentence transformation exercises well:

• Read the instructions carefully.
• Are you given a word to include in sentence two? If so, don’t change this word.
• How many words are you allowed to write to complete sentence two? Sometimes the instructions will tell you that there is a maximum word limit.
• Read sentences one and two slowly and carefully.
• Which part of sentence one is tested in sentence two?
• What grammar do you need to use?
• If you don’t know an answer, guess. You may be right!
• Check your spelling carefully.
• Check your answers carefully when you finish.
• Sentence transformations often test direct and indirect speech, comparative and superlative forms, active and passive forms, quantifiers, conditionals and verb patterns.
  
  
  
  

  READING.

In this type of exam, you have to change the form of a word (in brackets) to complete the sentence. For example:

My dad _____ (work) in a shop.
My sister _____ (not like) swimming.
This song is much _____ (good) than that one.

Read the whole sentence. It is important to understand the whole sentence before you begin.

The word is often a verb. Answer these questions for a verb:

• Does it refer to the present, past or future?
• Do you need a simple or continuous form?
• Do you need an auxiliary verb?
• Do you need to add an ‘s’ to the verb?
• Is it an irregular verb?
• Do you need a passive form? (be + past participle)

Sometimes the word is an adjective. Answer these questions for an adjective:

• Do you need the comparative form?
• Is it a regular or irregular form?
• Do you need the superlative form?
• Is it a regular or irregular form?
• Remember! There is no plural adjective form. e.g. Your shoes are nice. (NOT Your shoes are nices)

Sometimes the word is an adverb. Answer these questions for an adverb.

• What’s the adjective form?
• Do you add ‘ly’ to the adjective? e.g. slow + ly = slowly
• Is it irregular? e.g. fast, hard

Finally, remember these tips to get top marks in this type of test:

• Always check your spelling carefully.

• Check your answers carefully when you finish.  - See more

LINKING WORDS AND PHRASES TO SUM UP YOUR THOUGHTS

Personal opinion :

To my way of thinking, It seems to me that, In my view, It is my firm belief that, From my point of view, I think that, To my mind.

To list advantages and disadvantages:

One advantage of, Another advantage of, A further advantage of, The main advantage of, The greatest diadvantage of, The first disadvantage of.

To list points:

Firstly,To start with, To begin with, First of all, In the first place,Secondly,Afterwards,Then, Next, Thirdly, Finally.

To add more points to the same points:

What is more, Furthermore, Moreover,Besides this, Not to mention the fact that, In addition to this, Apart from this / that, Not only....but also.

To express reality :

It is a fact that, In effect,Actually, Indeed, In practice.

To express limit of knowledge:

To the best of my knowledge,As far as I know.

To make contrasting points:

But, However, Yet, Nevertheless, Though, Although, While.

To conclude:

In conclusion, All in all, To sum up, Therefore I feel that, On balance,Lastly, Finally, To sum up.

Summarasing:

In short, Briefly, To put it briefly.

ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY

THEY SAY HOW OFTEN SOMETHING HAPPENS.

THEY USUALLY COME BEFORE THE MAIN VERBS AND AFTER THE VERB TO BE.

MOST OFTEN - always, frequently, regularly,sometimes.

LEAST OFTEN- occasionally,rarely, never.

Learn the meaning of the following adverbs to use them correctly:

Hardly ever- RARELY OR NEVER.

Normally- REGULARLY

Not very often- RARELY

Now and then- OCCASIONALLY,SOMETIMES

Often- FREQUENTLY

Seldom-RARELY

Usually- REGURARLY

To practise the adverbs finish the following sentences :

1.I normally choose....

2.We occasionally watch...

3.She always wears.....

4.They hardly ever eat....

5.He never goes to ….

6. I usually ask.....

ADVERBS OF DEGREE

THEY USUALLY COME BEFORE AN ADJECTIVE ORADVERB, WHICH DESCRIBES

POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE SITUATIONS.

POSITIVE---- extremely, very, rather, quite, fairly, incredibly, pretty, absolutely.

OK--------- a bit, fairly, quite, slightly.

NEGATIVE---- rather, pretty, very, incredibly, extremely,absolutely.

Exercise to practise adverbs of degree. Give it a try !

1.The new bank manager is -----friendly.

2.He has been getting.......(fairly) good results.

3.We were.....pleased with the room servise at the Hilton.

4.The food was excellent but the bill was.......expensive.-negative

5.The film has good actors but the story is ------boring.

Grammar. Modal verbs . Have to and must.

Grammar. Modal verbs . Have to and must.

What is the difference between ´´have to´´ and ´´must´´?

When do we use each of them ?

A- I have to do something = it is necessary to do it, I am obliged to do it:

• Yo can`t turn right here. You have to turn left.
• I have to wear glasses for reading.
• George can`t come come out with us this evening

He has to work late.

• Last week Tina broke her arm and had to go to hospital.
• I haven`t had to go to the doctor for ages.

We use do/does/did in questions and negative sentences (for the present and past simple):

• What do I have to do to get a new driving licence? (not What have I to do )
• Karend doesn´t have to work Saturdays. (not Karen hasn`t to)
• Why did you have to leave early?

You can use have to with will and might/may:

• If the pain get worse, you`ll have to go to the dorctor.
• I might have to work late tomorrow evening. Or I may have to work ...

(= it`s possible that I will have to )

B- Must is similar to have to:

• It's later than I thaught. I must go. Or I have to go.

You can use must to give your own opinion. (For example, to say what you think is necessary to recommend someone to do something). Have to is also possible:

• I haven`t spoken to Sue for ages. I must phone her. (=I say this is necessary)
• Mark is a really nice person.You must meet him.(=I recommend this)

We use have to (not must) to say what someone is obliged to do.The speaker is not giving his/her own opinion:

• I have to work from 8 to 5 every day ( a fact , not an opinion)
• Jane has to travel a lot for her work.

But must is often used inn written rules and instructions:

• Applications for the job must be received by 18 May.
• (exam instruction) You must write your answers in ink.

You can not use must to talk about the past:

• We had to leave early.

B2: Sentence transformation

Part 4 of the Use of English paper is one of the most difficult tasks in the FCE exam. It's important that you study the grammar sections of our book and, of course, you need to practise a lot. Below are some links to online exercises and information

Introduction and typical questions
Modal verb key word transformations
Phrasal verb key word transformations
Active to passive
Verb patterns
Direct to report speech
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
Cooking a stew

In addition, you can find a summary of the rules we've seen in class regarding the use of adverbs modifying comparatives such as slight, by far, etc.

Comparatives and superlatives

Then do this exercise to check your understanding.


Joe-Floe
http://www.flo-joe.co.uk/fce/students/tests/tsindex.htm
The Tiny TEFL Teacher
http://www.tinyteflteacher.co.uk/learning-english/grammar/much-comparatives.html
International House
http://www.ihbristol.com/free-english-exercises/test-esol/esol-kt-cooking-a-stew 
AutoEnglish.org
http://www.autoenglish.org/FCEUse/FCEUsePart4.htm#Training_

Writing . Successful letters.

A SUCCESSFUL LETTER SHOULD CONSIST OF :

---an appropriate greeting: Dear Kate, Dear Richard ;

---an introductory paragraph which clearly states your reason for writing ;

---main body in which you develop the subject and deal with the additional objectives of the letter if necessary ;

--- a conclusion in which you summarise the subject; and

----an appropriate ending e.g. Best wishes , your name. Regards, All the best, Take care, Take it easy, Kind regards, Good luck, The best. See you soon, Drop me a line .

PARAGRAPH PLAN FOR LETTERS

INTRODUCTION

Paragraph 1

reason(s) for writing

MAIN BODY

Paragraph 2

development of the subject

CONCLUSION

Final paragraph

closing remarks

Your full name

USEFUL LANGUAGE FOR LETTERS

To begin letters :

I am writing to you...

I am writing to ask …

I wonder if you could possibly..

I would be grateful..

I wonder if I might ask you...

To end letters :

I look forward to meeting you..

Looking forward to hearing from you..

Waiting for your answer...

I hope that you will....

Thank you in advance