FCE Use of English Part 4, Test 8

Answers and explanations

1. Wanted to know if my friends. Reported speech with a yes/no question (a question that can only receive ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as the answer). We introduce it with an ‘if’ structure. ‘Wanted to ask’ is incorrect, as the landlord clearly asked, not simply wanted to do so.
2. Much difference between/in our. We are forced to use the opposite word (similarity-difference) because of the negative structure in the first part of the sentence. ‘Difference between’ and ‘difference in’ in this context are interchangeable, however, in certain context they can have different meaning. ‘Difference in’ refers to a particular aspect where things are not the same, whereas ‘difference between’ talks about a general dissimilarity.
3. Run out of. A phrasal verbs which means that something such as money, patience or any other thing has ended or come to an end. Note the forms of the irregular verb ‘to run’ goes RUN-RAN-RUN.
4. Told by the jury. We use a passive voice form and mention the agent (the jury), introducing it with ‘by’.
5. Expected their new album to/would. A paraphrased structure with some leeway in word choice at the end. Very often, the context in the second sentence forces you to approach the task with a paraphrase or a negative form.
6. Does not feel (that) he. The word ‘feel’ is used in the meaning ‘have an opinion, believe’. ‘That’ is optional – note that sometimes the optional ‘that’ might exceed the word limit of 5 words. In a case like that, it obviously has to be omitted.
7. Gave his word (that). To give your word means to promise something. Another case with an omittable ‘that’.
8. To get over. If you get over something, it means that you cope with or forget some unpleasant memory such as loss, breaking up and so on.
9. You rather go. A ‘would rather’ structure, used to indicate one’s preference or choice between several options. If you would rather do it, it means you want to do it more than something else.
10. Arrived in time to prevent. Note the difference between ‘in time’ and ‘on time’. ‘In time’ means soon enough, before it was too late. ‘On time’ means at some particular moment in time that was agreed upon, e.g. ‘to arrive to the meeting on time’ as opposed to ‘to arrive in time to catch the last bus’.