FCE Use of English Part 4, Test 11

Answers and explanations

1. Put other motorists at risk. If you put somebody at risk, you expose them to danger. Even though grammatically you can answer “You are putting other motorists at risk”, remember that your answer should not exceed 5 words.
2. If we had not gone. A case of Third Conditional sentence is present here. Be ready to see (and know how to use) all types of mixed conditionals in FCE Use of English Part 4.
3. Offered to lend me. Be careful not to confuse the words ‘lend’ and ‘borrow’. To borrow is to take money from somebody in order to pay it back later, whereas to lend is to give the money and receive it later.
4. Prevents me from meeting. The structure ‘Prevents from’ requires a gerund form.
5. (Good) knowledge of math was. Try to stay as close to the original as possible – so turning ‘know’ into ‘knowledge’ is the only viable option. This is also important for tense consistency – both the original and the changed sentences are in Past Simple.
6. Made him an offer of. Do not be tempted to use verbs in the past, e.g. “I decided to offer him” – first of all, you won’t be able to squeeze them into the 5 word limit, and secondly, the meaning of the original sentence will be changed as a result. Another key thing is when you introduce a number in a word like ‘offer’ or ‘amount’, it should come with the ‘of’ preposition.
7. High time the kids went. The expression ‘It’s high time somebody did something’ means that the time for it has come or is past due. Note that the phrase ‘It is high time’ is normally followed by a structure in the Past Simple.
8. The fireworks going off. The phrasal verb ‘to go off’ in this context means to explore or to make a distinct noise. Answering ‘The fireworks were going to explode’ would obviously be wrong, as the action has already taken place according to the original sentence.
9. Change my mind about quitting. If you change somebody’s mind it means you convince them to change their decision or opinion regarding something.
10. Difficulties getting to. To have difficulties doing something should be pretty self-explanatory – it means that something wasn’t easy for somebody.