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FCE USE OF ENGLISH PART 4 PREPARATION

KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS

by Bob Wilson at autoenglish.org
 

 INFORMATION, TECHNIQUE, EXERCISES & VIDEO LESSONS

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Introduction to FCE Paper 3 Part Four
8 questions worth a maximum of 2 marks
You are given an original sentence, a single word in capitals and in bold and a second sentence with a gap. You have to use the single word, without changing it, plus up to four more words to fill the gap, so that the second sentence means the same as the first.
 
The Irish man was determined to pay for our drinks.
INSISTED
The Irish man ...................................................... for our drinks*.
Many students consider this to be the hardest part of the exam.
15 minutes to do Part Four
  * The Irish man insisted on paying for our drinks.
Typical Questions
1-2 questions on modal verbs and semi-modal verbs
1-2 questions on phrasal verbs and multi-word verbs
1-2 transformations from the active voice to the passive
1-2 questions on verb patterns such as verb + preposition + -ing
1 transformation from direct speech to reported speech
occasional questions involving:-
 
common idioms linking words
the third conditional look like and seem
do and make regret and wish
Training Exercises
MODAL VERBS AND SEMI-MODAL VERBS
The most frequently recurring modal verb transformations are:-
PREFER to WOULD RATHER BE ALLOWED TO to LET
I prefer to arrive an hour early.
RATHER
I would rather arrive an hour early.
He wasn't allowed to go because of his parents.
LET
His parents would not let him go.
OUGHT  
It was bad of you to use my mobile without my permission
OUGHT
You ought to have asked before you used my mobile.
 
This online exercise will help you to prepare:-
PHRASAL VERBS AND MULTI-WORD VERBS
Unfortunately, a wide variety of these verbs can turn up in the exam. Here are some examples:-
CARRY ON to continue PAY ATTENTION TO to take notice of
CARRY OUT to do or follow intructions or orders PUT OFF to postpone or delay
COME UP WITH to have an idea SET UP to establish
GET IN TOUCH WITH to contact TAKE CARE OF to look after
LOOK UP TO to admire TURN UP to arrive or attend
This online exercise will help you to prepare:-
ACTIVE VOICE TO PASSIVE TRANSFORMATIONS
The most frequent type of passive transformation use the key word SAID, which to a native speaker sounds rather contrived and belongs more to the narrative genre than standard English use.  Nevermind. See an example below:-
They say he eats snakes.
SAID
He is said to eat snakes.
This online exercise will help you with active to passive voice transitions:-
A strange type of passive which you sometimes get in Part 4 is TO HAVE SOMETHING DONE. I have some exercises on this:-
If you require further practice with the passive, I have more exercises available here:-

http://www.autoenglish.org/tenses.htm
 
VERB PATTERNS (VERB + PREPOSITION + -ING) TRANSFORMATIONS
For these type of transformations you need to study verb valencies or verb patterns. Here is a list of some patterns which have turned up in the exam:-
ACCUSE He accused me OF using his phone.
APOLIGISE I apoligised FOR forgetting her birthday.
FEEL LIKE I didn't feel LIKE watching TV.
INSIST He insisted ON going out in the rain.
PREVENT Her parents prevented her FROM going camping.
SUCCEED She succeeded IN getting her degree.
This online exercise will help you prepare:-
REPORTED SPEECH TRANSFORMATIONS
Here is an example:-
'How far is Madrid from here?' Pepe asked Almudena.
FAR
Pepe asked Almudena how far Madrid was from there .
This online exercise will help you with direct speech to reported speech transformations:-
If you require further practice with the reported speech, I have more exercises available here:-

http://www.autoenglish.org/generalgrammar.htm
OTHER AREAS YOU SHOULD STUDY
Click on the topics to find the resources:-
Example question-timed!
 
PAPER 3 PART 4