CAMBRIDGE · USE OF ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
Cambridge Use of English
Use of English is three parts of the Reading and Use of English paper and a fifth of your final result from B2 First upwards. It is the most predictable part of the exam: a limited range of grammar and word-building is tested again and again, which makes it the part that rewards systematic study most directly.
What the Use of English Score Covers
B2 First, C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency report Use of English as its own score, out of 28 raw marks at every level. It is built from Parts 2, 3 and 4 of the Reading and Use of English paper.
| Exam | Paper | Parts | Raw marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| B2 First | Reading and Use of English | Part 2: Open Cloze (Q9-16) Part 3: Word Formation (Q17-24) Part 4: Key Word Transformation (Q25-30) | 28 |
| C1 Advanced | Reading and Use of English | Part 2: Open Cloze (Q9-16) Part 3: Word Formation (Q17-24) Part 4: Key Word Transformation (Q25-30) | 28 |
| C2 Proficiency | Reading and Use of English | Part 2: Open Cloze (Q9-16) Part 3: Word Formation (Q17-24) Part 4: Key Word Transformation (Q25-30) | 28 |
A2 Key and B1 Preliminary have no Use of English score. Their open cloze (A2 Key Part 5, B1 Preliminary Part 6) counts towards Reading, and so does the multiple-choice cloze at every level. The open cloze sets for A2 and B1 are still on this page’s samples, because the method is the same.
The Task Types
Gaps with no options. One word each, nearly always a grammar word: prepositions, pronouns, auxiliaries, linkers. A2 Key, B1 Preliminary, B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency.
A text with gaps and a stem word beside each one. Change the stem into the form the sentence needs. B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency.
Rewrite a sentence using a given word so it means the same. Two marks each, and partial credit is possible. B2 First, C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency.
What Is Actually Tested
| Part | Mostly tests | Typical keys |
|---|---|---|
| Open cloze | Grammar words and fixed structures | Articles, prepositions, relative pronouns, auxiliaries, linkers (despite, whereas), parts of phrasal verbs |
| Word formation | Prefixes, suffixes and internal changes | Negative prefixes (un-, in-, dis-), noun and adjective endings, plurals, compounds, spelling changes (explain → explanation) |
| Key word transformation | Grammar and vocabulary together | Passives, reported speech, conditionals, comparatives, phrasal verbs, fixed expressions (take into account, have no intention of) |
The level changes how far a structure is from its everyday form, not the list itself. At B2 a transformation might turn an active sentence into a passive; at C2 it turns an ordinary verb into an idiom with an inversion in front of it.
Common Mistakes
- Changing the key word in a transformation. It must appear exactly as given, or the answer scores nothing.
- Writing too many words. B2 allows two to five words including the key word, C1 three to six, C2 three to eight, and contractions count as two.
- Spelling. Every Use of English answer must be spelled correctly. A word formation answer with one wrong letter is wrong.
- Forgetting that word formation often needs a plural or a negative. Read the whole sentence, not just the words around the gap.
- Writing two answers for one open cloze gap. If one of them is wrong, the item is wrong.
How to Prepare
- Build a word-family notebook: for every new word, record the noun, verb, adjective, adverb and the common negative.
- Learn collocations and dependent prepositions in groups (depend on, rely on, insist on), not one at a time.
- For transformations, write out both marked halves of each answer. The two-mark split shows you which half you tend to lose.
- Do one open cloze a day. It takes five minutes and the keys repeat.
Practice sets for every level are on the Cambridge Use of English samples page, and the marking, including partial credit on transformations, is on the Cambridge Use of English scoring page.
