C1 Advanced Key Word Transformations Practice

C1 Advanced (CAE) · Reading & Use of English Part 4 · 66 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.

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 5,204 real answers, 45% are wrong. Inversion is the hardest structure (54%): after negative openers, the verb moves before the subject.

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

Worked example

Practice exam — Part 4 · Advanced Expert Student’s Resource Book, Pearson Education — Six real transformations, attempted by 41 learners. See how the two hardest fail the same way — a small meaning word gets dropped.

  1. At first, the speed of the new computer system greatly impressed the office manager. (INITIAL) → made a great initial impression on (noun phrase) — 62% wrong, most wrote “made an initial impression on”: “Greatly impressed” needs “great” to survive — most dropped it.
  2. Gerry seems to have no understanding whatsoever of how important politeness is in his job. (LACK) → lack any understanding of how (verb pattern) — 45% wrong, most wrote “lack the understanding of how”: The pattern is “lack (any) understanding of” — no “the”.
  3. If you can think of some original ideas, your proposal is more likely to be accepted. (BEING) → likelihood of your proposal being accepted (passive gerund) — 60% wrong, most wrote “chance of your proposal being accepted”: “likelihood of … being accepted” — a passive gerund.
  4. Danny persuaded his friend to enrol for the outback survival course. (TALKED) → talked his friend into signing (phrasal verb) — 40% wrong, most wrote “talked his friend”: “talk somebody into doing” = persuade.
  5. “Don’t forget that you promised to get some ink cartridges,” said Amy’s sister. (REMINDED) → reminded her that she had (reported speech) — 48% wrong, most wrote “reminded her that she”: Reported speech shifts the tense back: “had”.
  6. Far from putting him off running, Clive’s ankle injury made him determined to continue. (BEING) → being put off running by his (passive gerund) — 69% wrong, most wrote “being put off by his”: The hardest — “running” was dropped, the same trap as item 1.

All Key Word Transformations exercises

Advanced Expert Coursebook, Pearson Education

Advanced Expert Student's Resource Book, Pearson Education

C1 Advanced Trainer 2, Cambridge University Press

Cambridge English Advanced 1, Cambridge University Press

Cambridge English Advanced 2, Cambridge University Press

Cambridge English Advanced 3, Cambridge University Press

Cambridge English Advanced 4, Cambridge University Press

Cambridge Exam Booster for Advanced, Cambridge University Press

Complete Advanced Workbook, Cambridge University Press

Complete Advanced, Cambridge University Press

Ready for C1 Advanced 4th Edition Workbook, Macmillan Education

Ready for C1 Advanced 4th Edition, Macmillan Education

Other levels