Exercises FCE - Use Of English

Many students find the Use of English FCE exercises the hardest in the exam. There are 4 different parts of the Use of English section. All parts test your general awareness of how the language works. This paper tests your knowledge of expressions, collocations, sentence structures and word families. In this article I will attach some example Use of English FCE exercises for you to complete.

The answers for the following exercises are below >>

Exercises FCE - Use of English Part 1

For questions 1 – 8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).

0.    A were            B was         C been         D only

Example: 0 = B was

English - people and the language

I am a native English speaker from England, yet I know very little grammar. Maybe I (0).......... taught grammar when I was younger, but I cannot remember. Even if I had been taught grammar, I think it would (1).......... been very basic.

I realise that this lack of grammar and general language knowledge (2)........... the case for most English people, yet most people use the language (3)........... their main form of communication every day and it is only very rarely when one thinks twice (4)........... what they are saying or what someone else says. In fact, one would only judge the correctness of what (5)............ person has said if there is confusion over the meaning, or if you are forming opinions about a person, in a job interview, presentation type situation etc.

I found myself in (6)............ number of situations where people from other countries (7)............ practise their English skills with me and while I knew the (8).......... way to say what they wanted to say, I did not know why my way was correct and their way was incorrect.

fce exercises use of english part 1

 

There are more Part 1 exercises in my B2 First course >>

Exercises FCE - Use of English Part 2

For questions 9 – 16, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).

Write your answer IN CAPITAL LETTERS on the separate answer sheet.

Example: 0 = to

Why English schools should teach more grammar

I grew up and went (0)............ a good private school in England. I spent my whole life there and (9).......... was only when I moved abroad in my twenties that I realised I knew nothing (10) …....... the English language, its construction and (11)........... it works.

I studied English language and English literature until GCSE (16 years old) and I continued to study English at A level (17 and 18 years old). I only (12).............. vague memories of studying types (13)........... words and I have no recollection of studying sentence construction. This (14).......... be because I was a very young (15)........... when I possibly studied these things, or it may be because I didn’t study them at all. I remember being taught what a noun is, what a verb is, what an adjective is and that adverbs modify verbs…but that’s about all I remember. After primary school I don’t think this played a part in the curriculum of my English studies. In fact, (16)........... I moved to Italy aged 22, I remember looking at sentences and not even really knowing or being able to identify these words. It seemed that my studies moved more towards recognising writing styles and techniques, understanding poetry, Shakespeare, metaphor, hidden meanings etc.

 

There are more Part 2 exercises in my B2 First course >>

Exercises FCE - Use of English Part 3

For questions 17-24, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals underneath to form a word that fits in the gap. You have to change the form of the word. There is an example at the beginning (0).

0 - RELATIVE– answer = relatively

Relationships

In my (0) …........... little experience of relationships I've come to learn a lot. Love and relationships are the source for so much art and (17)............... in societies around the world. Perhaps this is because of the wide variety of emotions (18)............. in relationships. There are many different types of relationship. Each type have different emotions (19).............to them.

Relationships are often unique. It is rare that you have (20)............... the same type of relationship with more than one person. Your business (21).................. will be very different from your family relationships. Relationships can (22)............ over time. This evolution can be in a positive or negative way. In my opinion the most (23)............... thing is to learn from these changes.

There is no doubt that relationships are the cause of a lot of pain and suffering. Nevertheless, they can also bring a lot of (24)............ and they are what connect us as people. We have relationships from the day we are born to the day we die.

17 – CULTURED

18 – INVOLVEMENT

19 - ATTACHMENT

20 – EXACT

21 – RELATIONS

22 – EVOLUTION

23 – IMPORTANCE

24 - HAPPY

 

There are more Part 3 exercises in my B2 First course >>

Exercises FCE - Use of English Part 4

 

 

For questions 25 - 30, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given. Here is an example (0).

Example: (0)

0 Why can’t we go to the party?

ALLLOWED

Why _________             ____ go to the party?

0 Why are we not allowed to go to the party?

fce exercises use of english part 4

Exercises FCE - Answer Key

Part 1 Exercises

Answers: 1 = A have 2 = C is 3 B as 4 = B about 5 = C another 6 = B a 7 = D would 8 = D correct

Part 2 Exercises

Answers: 9 = it 10 = about 11 = how 12 = have 13 = of 14 =

may/might/could 15 = age/person 16 = when

Part 3 Exercises

Answers: 17 = culture 18 = involved 19 = attached 20 = exactly 21 = relationships 22 = evolve 23 = important 24 = happiness

Part 4 Exercises

Answers:

25 = You don’t need to hand in the homework until next week.

26 = Do you know what we are supposed to do for homework?

27 = I can’t help laughing when he starts singing.

28 = I really don’t feel like going out this evening.

29 = Amy didn't deserve to lose the match, because she played much better than her opponent.

30 = Rock stars often wear dark glasses to prevent people recognising them.

 

More Key Word Transformations

 

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You will also gain full access to my FCE Use of English course, including 227 Key Word Transformations exercises with answers!

 

She did not buy the car because it was too expensive.

IT

She would have bought the car_________________________________________ so expensive.

He managed to make some extra money by writing stories.

ORDER

He wrote stories _____________________________________________________make some extra money.

My father thinks that people who watch television are wasting their time.

A

My father thinks watching television ______________________________________people’s time.

You won’t have to go to the meeting next week.

NECESSARY

It will _________________________________________to go to the meeting next week.

My friend had not expected the film to be so funny.

FRIEND

The film was ____________________________________________had expected.

Martin has to wear his glasses to read the newspaper.

WITHOUT

Martin ___________________________________________________wearing his glasses.

Alan’s children are never invited to parties now because of bad behaviour.

THAT

Alan’s children _______________________________________________they are never invited to parties.

It was fortunate for him that he wasn’t injured in the accident.

LUCKY

He___________________________________________________ be injured in the accident.

Carol is the only person I know who enjoys homework.

APART

I don’t know______________________________________________Carol who enjoys homework.

I did not think that Peter would phone tonight.

UNLIKELY

I _______________________________________to phone tonight.

 

The answers to these questions are on my FCE Use of English part 4 page >>

 

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