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C1 Advanced key word transformations: Part 4 drill

C1Reading & Use of English40 questionsUpdated

Key word transformations ask you to say the same thing in a different structure, using a given word you may not change, in a strict number of words. This page drills the structures C1 Advanced keeps returning to and shows where the second mark is usually lost.

What this task tests

  • Grammatical transformation: passives, inversions, conditionals, wishes and reported speech.
  • Fixed phrases built around the key word, such as ‘had no difficulty’ or ‘came as a surprise’.
  • Accurate small words: prepositions, articles and the tense in the second half of the answer.
  • Counting: staying inside the word limit, with contractions counted as two words.
  • Keeping the meaning identical rather than merely similar.
  • Reporting verbs and the patterns they take: accuse of, deny, admit to, insist on, warn against.
  • Causative structures with have and get, and passive reporting with it is said or is believed.
  • Comparatives, emphasis and degree: no sooner, not nearly as, by far, nothing like.
  • Recognising which half of the original sentence carries the tested structure.
  • Working quickly, since this part comes before the longest reading tasks in the paper.

How to do it

  1. Step 1:

    Underline the part of the first sentence that must change

    Usually one clause is simply copied and one is transformed. Identifying which is which stops you rewriting a clause that was already fine and burning words you need elsewhere.

  2. Step 2:

    Write the key word down first, then build outwards

    Put the key word on the page in the form given and construct the phrase around it. Candidates who write the sentence first and try to insert the key word afterwards usually end up over the word limit.

  3. Step 3:

    Check the tense against the original, not against your sentence

    Your version can be internally consistent and still wrong. Compare the time reference of the two sentences directly: a past regret needs a past perfect, a present preference needs a past form after ‘would rather you’.

  4. Step 4:

    Take the mark you can get

    If only half the answer is clear, write that half correctly and complete the rest as best you can. Half marks are real here, and a blank line is the only answer guaranteed to score nothing.

  5. Step 5:

    Read the first sentence for meaning, not for words to reuse

    Decide what the sentence actually claims. Candidates who copy phrases across often produce something grammatical that means something slightly different, and that scores zero.

  6. Step 6:

    Look at the key word and name the structure

    RATHER means a preference or an alternative; SOONER means an inversion; COME means a fixed phrase. Naming the structure before you write saves you from rewriting the whole answer.

  7. Step 7:

    Build the half nearest the key word first

    The two halves are marked separately. Write the part the key word controls, then fit the rest of the answer around it, so that even a partly wrong answer earns a mark.

  8. Step 8:

    Count, then reread both sentences together

    Count the words, remembering contractions count as two. Then read the original and your version one after the other. If the meaning has shifted, it is usually a tense or a modal that slipped.

Mistakes that cost marks

  • Not thisNo sooner he arrived than the phone rang.

    ThisNo sooner had he arrived than the phone rang.

    A fronted negative adverbial forces inversion: auxiliary before subject. Candidates remember ‘than’ and forget the inversion itself.

  • Not thisI wish I applied for the job.

    ThisI wish I had applied for the job.

    Regret about the past takes a past perfect after ‘wish’. The past simple would mean a present situation you want to change.

  • Not thisShe ought have been told earlier.

    ThisShe ought to have been told earlier.

    ‘Ought’ keeps its ‘to’, unlike ‘should’. Dropping it costs the mark even though the structure was correctly identified.

  • Not thisOnly when the report was published he realised the mistake.

    ThisOnly when the report was published did he realise the mistake.

    With fronted ‘only when’, the inversion goes in the main clause, not in the time clause. Candidates invert the wrong half.

  • Not thisHe accused her to take the money.

    ThisHe accused her of taking the money.

    Reporting verbs carry fixed patterns: accuse of doing, deny doing, admit to doing, warn against doing. The pattern is what the item is testing.

  • Not thisI had cut my hair last week.

    ThisI had my hair cut last week.

    The causative puts the object before the past participle. Word order here is the whole point of the item, and the wrong order changes who did the cutting.

  • Not thisThere is little chance that the flight is delayed.

    ThisThere is little chance of the flight being delayed.

    ‘Chance’ takes ‘of’ plus an -ing form here. The structure is right in spirit but the pattern after the key word is where the mark sits.

Language this task keeps reusing

would rather
would prefer; takes a past form for another person
have no difficulty in
find something easy
come as a surprise
be unexpected
put the blame on
say that someone is responsible
there is little chance of
it is unlikely that
under no circumstances
never; forces inversion when fronted
it was not until
only at that point; a cleft structure with ‘that’
is believed to have
people think that it did; an impersonal passive
the last time
used to convert ‘for two years’ into a point in the past
ought to have
should have; expresses past obligation not met
accuse someone of
say that someone did something wrong; takes -ing
have something done
arrange for someone else to do it for you
take something into account
consider it when deciding
on no account
never, under any conditions; forces inversion
nothing like as
far less than; an emphatic comparison
go out of one’s way
make a special effort to do something

Practice: key word transformations

40 original questions. The first 10 are open to everyone. Answers are checked in your browser and never sent to us, so you can share this page with a class as it is.

1Rewrite: ‘I’d prefer it if you didn’t tell anyone about this.’ Key word: RATHER.

Itell anyone about this.
Rewrite ‘They think the thief escaped through the window.’ using BELIEVED. Which completes ‘The thief ___ escaped through the window.’?

3Rewrite: ‘We only heard the news on Friday.’ Key word: UNTIL.

It was not until Fridaythe news.
Rewrite ‘Someone should have told her earlier.’ using OUGHT. Which is correct?
Decide whether each statement about Part 4 is true or false.
  • Contractions such as ‘didn’t’ count as two words.
  • The key word must be used exactly as printed, with no change of form.
  • An answer over the word limit is accepted if the meaning is right.
3 to go

6Rewrite: ‘She found the address easily.’ Key word: DIFFICULTY.

Shein finding the address.
Rewrite ‘I regret not applying for the job.’ using WISH. Which is correct?

8Rewrite: ‘He arrived, and immediately the phone rang.’ Key word: SOONER.

No soonerthe phone rang.

9A Part 4 item tests two things at once. Name them, and say which one candidates usually get wrong.

Rewrite ‘It is possible that she missed the train.’ using MIGHT. Which is correct?

Keep going

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Frequently asked questions

Do I have to use the key word?

Yes, and in exactly the form given. An answer that is perfect English but avoids the key word scores nothing, which makes this the cheapest mark in the paper to throw away.

How many words am I allowed?

A short fixed range, and the words already printed do not count. Count contractions as two and keep your answer at the lower end of the range where you can — long answers usually mean the wrong structure.

What is the fastest way to improve at Part 4?

Keep a list by structure rather than by item: inversions, impersonal passives, wishes and regrets, fixed noun phrases. After ten items in a group the pattern becomes automatic and you stop rebuilding each answer from scratch.

How long should I spend on this part?

Around ten minutes for the whole part, roughly a minute and a half an item with a little left over. If one item is refusing to resolve, write your best attempt, mark it, and come back only after the reading parts are done.

Do the words already printed count towards the limit?

No. Only the words you write in the gap count, and the key word is one of them. Count on your fingers if it helps; being one word over is a common and entirely avoidable way to lose both marks.

Is there always only one possible answer?

Usually there is one expected answer and a small number of acceptable variants, but you cannot see the mark scheme, so aim for the most obvious version. If your answer feels ingenious, it is probably not what the item was testing.