Use of English Part 2-Open Cloze

For CAE (Certificate in Advanced English) Level

If you have done the First Certificate Exam, well done. You should have a good idea of what to do in the exam and how to do the exercises, like the Use of English Part 2. You do have to remember that the linguistic level is higher here, so the sentence structures into which you have to fill the missing words will be more advanced. 

If you haven't done the FCE and are starting at advanced level, relax, read on and learn. 

Complexity: 

At the CAE level, the Open Cloze exercise becomes more challenging. Sentences are often longer and more complex, requiring a deeper understanding of sentence structure and grammar rules.

Lexico-grammatical Range: 

You'll encounter a broader range of grammar elements, including advanced conjunctions, relative pronouns, modal verbs, and complex prepositions. Fixed phrases and idiomatic expressions may be more intricate.

Sentence Structure: 

Expect sentences with complex structures, such as conditional sentences, passive voice, and reported speech. Pay attention to nuances in word order and tense.

Contextual Understanding: 

The context may become a lot less obvious than at FCE, so quickly pre-reading for overall gist before careful reading as you fill in the answers is important. Consider the relationship between various grammatical elements like relative pronouns and prepositions for example.

Precision: 

Precision is paramount at the CAE level. Be meticulous in choosing the correct words and forms, as even minor errors can affect comprehension.

Preparation Advice: 

For CAE, focus on advanced grammar topics. Practice with complex sentence structures, conditionals, and modal verbs. Expand your vocabulary with idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs. Reading and analyzing longer texts can improve your contextual understanding. Take practice exams to get a feel for the level of precision required.

Typical word types

These same word types apply to the FCE, but now we are at a more advanced level, so read on. There is now an advanced level of issues:  

Pronouns:

At advanced level, the type of pronoun might be more complicated. Possessive pronouns like 'their' or 'her' might be more common. 

Relative Pronouns:

Relative pronouns at a more advanced level often need to correspond to prepositions, which you can read about below. There are also more formal relative pronouns like 'whom' and possessive pronouns like 'whose', which incidentally is often confused with the contraction 'who's' (who is), so be careful! 

Prepositions:

Prepositions are required around more advanced relative pronoun structures, with examples like 'in which' or 'to whom'. Prepositions also appear at the end of relative pronoun sentences, like for example 'where they are from' or 'who they were with', which is a less formal structure but very common. 

Auxiliary Verbs:

Auxiliary verbs are necessary in questions, negatives, passives and advanced forms like conditional structures. 

Articles: 

Articles are always a struggle whenever remembering where they go. You have to include them in the names of certain countries, whenever the type of government is mentioned in a country's official name (eg: The Republic of... or The Kingdom of...) and with mountain ranges, and so on.  

Determiners and Quantifiers: 

Determining possession and quantifying have more advanced issues, like what the difference between 'less' and 'few' or 'few' and 'a few', or when their comparative and superlative forms are used.

Fixed Phrases: 

These are larger vocabulary items and phrases within sentences, so these might be longer or less commonly seen. 

Conjunctions, Linking Words or phrases: 

Advanced linking requires more advanced linking expressions, which may be less common and more nuanced in meaning. They also connect with the concept of adverbial expressions. 

Modal Verbs: 

Understanding when to use these in different tenses intersects with the use of auxiliary verbs. They also have other uses apart from the more basic meanings and uses you studied at FCE level. .

Negation: 

Again, the need for negation in a sentence is important to notice, and words needing negative prefixes might be required. 

Additionally, you might consider these issues

The sentence complexity os more advanced at CAE, so you should consider the type of sentence you will encounter. Here are just a few. 

Verb Forms: 

Beyond auxiliary verbs, the correct forms of verbs in various tenses and moods are often tested.

Comparatives and Superlatives: 

These are important for making comparisons, and their correct usage can be tested.

Conditional Sentences: 

Understanding different conditional forms (e.g., zero, first, second, third and mixed conditionals) is crucial.

Passive Voice: 

Recognizing and correctly forming passive voice sentences is often assessed. Passives fit into all tenses, so the more advanced the exam, the more advanced the passive voice.

Reported Speech: 

Knowledge of how to change direct speech into reported speech is relevant for higher-level exams like CAE and CPE.

Infinitives and Gerunds: 

Knowing when to use infinitives or gerunds after certain verbs or prepositions is another aspect of grammar that may be tested.

Phrasal Verbs: 

Testing the correct preposition in phrasal verbs is common. Remember that two-preposition phrasal verbs exist. 

Sentence Structure: 

Candidates may be tested on sentence structure, such as word order, parallelism, and coordination.

Remember that the specific content and focus areas may vary from one exam to another, but this list covers the key grammatical elements commonly tested in open cloze exercises.