B2 First Key Word Transformations Practice

B2 First (FCE) · Reading & Use of English Part 4 · 46 free exercises

Rewrite a sentence so it means the same as the original, using a given key word without changing it — in three to six words. Key word transformations test grammar and vocabulary together: passives, conditionals, reported speech, comparatives, phrasal verbs and fixed phrases.

Key Word Transformations: Same meaning, different grammar.

• 6 — items
• 2 marks — each — 1 per half
• 3–6 words — incl. the keyword
• Keyword — must not change

Grammar transformations — turning one structure into another with the same meaning. The keyword is not a hint; it points to the structure Cambridge wants. Every piece of the original meaning must survive.

What real learners get wrong: Across 2,195 real B2 answers, 50% are wrong — the hardest part of the B2 paper. Wish/regret (58%) and reported speech (54%) cause the most loss.

The method

1. Say the full meaning of the first sentence to yourself — including small words like "really" or "at first".
2. Let the keyword choose the structure: NO → inversion, WISH → unreal past, LACK → "lack understanding of".
3. Write your answer, then read the whole second sentence — it must connect before and after the gap.
4. Count the words, and remember contractions count as two. The keyword must appear, unchanged.
5. Check the meaning is 100% the same, and the tense matches the original.

The traps

• Losing a small meaning word: Suddenly, really, great, first — each carries meaning, and each costs a mark when it disappears.
• Tense drift: Answers slide into the present because the gapped sentence "sounds fine". Check the original.
• Negative openers need inversion: After "under no circumstances", "no sooner", "only then", the verb moves before the subject.
• Changing the keyword’s form: The keyword must appear exactly as given — TAKEN cannot become take.
• Right idea, wrong pattern: English patterns are exact: "the subject of a debate", not "subject to".

All Key Word Transformations exercises

Cambridge B2 First 4, Cambridge University Press

• Key Word Transformations - Test 1
• Key Word Transformations - Test 2
• Key Word Transformations - Test 3
• Key Word Transformations - Test 4

Cambridge English First 2, Cambridge University Press

• Key Word Transformations - Test 5
• Key Word Transformations - Test 6
• Key Word Transformations - Test 7
• Key Word Transformations - Test 8

Cambridge English First 3, Cambridge University Press

• Key Word Transformations - Test 1
• Key Word Transformations - Test 2
• Key Word Transformations - Test 3
• Key Word Transformations - Test 4

First Expert Coursebook, Pearson Education

• Key Word Transformations - Module 1
• Key Word Transformations - Module 10
• Key Word Transformations - Module 11
• Key Word Transformations - Module 4
• Key Word Transformations - Module 5
• Key Word Transformations - Module 7
• Key Word Transformations - Module 8

First Expert Student's Resource Book, Pearson Education

• Key word transformations - Module 10
• Key word transformations - Module 2A
• Key word transformations - Module 3B
• Key word transformations - Module 4A
• Key word transformations - Module 5B
• Key word transformations - Module 6A
• Key word transformations - Module 7A
• Key word transformations - Module 8
• Key word transformations - Module 9

Ready for B2 First 4th Edition Workbook, Macmillan Education Limited

• Key Word Transformations - Unit 10 - Nothing But the Truth
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 12 - Looking After Yourself
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 2
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 4 - A Good Story
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 6 - Relative Relationships
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 8 - On the Move

Ready for B2 First 4th Edition, Macmillan Education Limited

• Key Word Transformations - Unit 1
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 10
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 11
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 12 Review
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 2
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 3
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 4
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 5
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 6
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 7
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 8
• Key Word Transformations - Unit 9

Other levels

• C1 Advanced (CAE)
• C2 Proficiency (CPE)