C1 Advanced Use of English: Parts 1 to 4 explained with examples and tips
Use of English is one fifth of your C1 Advanced result, and it comes from only three parts of the Reading and Use of English paper: Parts 2, 3 and 4, worth 28 marks. Part 1, the multiple-choice cloze, looks the same kind of task but is marked as Reading. All four parts reward the same habit: reading the whole sentence, and a line beyond it, before you decide. Below is what each part tests, how to approach it, and worked examples written for this guide (they are not from Cambridge papers).
Part 1: multiple-choice cloze (8 questions, 1 mark each)
A text with eight gaps; for each, four words or phrases. All four usually have a similar meaning, so the question is which one fits the words around it: a collocation, a fixed phrase, a phrasal verb or a word that takes a particular preposition.
Example. She has a ___ memory for faces and never forgets one. A pictorial · B photographic · C graphic · D visual Answer: B. "Photographic memory" is a fixed collocation. The others are related in meaning but do not go with memory.
Example. It goes without ___ that the deadline cannot move. A saying · B telling · C speaking · D mentioning Answer: A. "It goes without saying" is a fixed phrase; no other verb works in it.
How to approach it: read the text through once for sense. At each gap, say the phrase aloud in your head with each option, and look at the word after the gap: a preposition or an object often decides the answer.
Part 2: open cloze (8 questions, 1 mark each)
A text with eight gaps and no options. Each gap is one word, nearly always a grammar word: a preposition, article, pronoun, auxiliary, relative word, linker or part of a fixed expression.
Example. Not ___ did he apologise, but he also paid for the damage. Answer: only. "Not only … but also" with inversion of the auxiliary did.
Example. The concert was cancelled ___ to the storm. Answer: owing (or due). Both "owing to" and "due to" mean because of; when two words are possible, either scores.
Example. ___ hard she tried, she could not open the jar. Answer: However. "However + adjective/adverb" introduces a concession: it did not matter how hard.
How to approach it: decide first what kind of word is missing (does the sentence lack a verb, a preposition, a linker?). Then check the whole sentence again with your word in place. Contractions count as two words, so they are never the answer.
Part 3: word formation (8 questions, 1 mark each)
A text with eight gaps; at the end of each line, a stem word in capitals. You change its form to fit: a noun to an adjective, a positive to a negative, a singular to a plural.
| Sentence | Stem | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| The results of the trial were completely ___ . | EXPECT | unexpected | An adjective after were; the context needs the negative |
| Her ___ is what makes her so valuable to the team. | RELY | reliability | A noun after her; reliance means depending on something, not being dependable |
| The town's ___ grew after the film was released. | POPULAR | popularity | A noun after the possessive town's |
| He spoke ___ about his plans, giving nothing away. | VAGUE | vaguely | An adverb describing spoke |
How to approach it: decide the word class from the words around the gap, then ask whether the meaning needs a negative prefix (un-, in-, im-, ir-, dis-, mis-) or a plural. Half the marks lost in Part 3 come from a right word with a missing -s or a missing negative. Spell carefully: a misspelt word scores 0.
Part 4: key-word transformations (6 questions, 2 marks each)
You are given a sentence, a key word and the start and end of a second sentence. Complete the second sentence so it means the same as the first, in three to six words including the key word, without changing the key word. Each answer is worth two marks, and a partly right answer can earn one.
Example. I regret not studying harder at school. WISH · I ___ harder at school. Answer: wish I had studied (4 words). Wish + past perfect for a regret about the past.
Example. It's possible that she missed the train. MAY · She ___ the train. Answer: may have missed (3 words). A modal + have + past participle for a guess about the past.
Example. People say the castle is haunted. SAID · The castle ___ haunted. Answer: is said to be (4 words). The impersonal passive.
Example. As soon as he arrived, the meeting started. SOONER · No ___ than the meeting started. Answer: sooner had he arrived (4 words). No sooner at the start forces inversion: had he.
How to approach it: Part 4 usually tests two things at once, so each answer has two halves, one for each mark. Find the grammar the key word forces (a passive, an inversion, a reported verb, a conditional) and the vocabulary change (a phrasal verb, a noun instead of a verb). Count your words; contractions count as two.
What appears again and again
- Inversion: Not only, No sooner, Hardly … when, Under no circumstances, Little did I know.
- Passives and reporting: is said to, is thought to have, was believed to be.
- Wish and if only; it's time; would rather.
- Dependent prepositions: insist on, object to, capable of, in favour of, regardless of.
- Fixed phrases: by no means, on the verge of, at short notice, in the long run, take for granted.
- Word families: rely, reliable, reliability, reliance; able, ability, enable, disabled, inability.
Keep a notebook of each one you get wrong, with the whole sentence, and test yourself on it a week later.
A 20-minute daily routine
| Minutes | Task |
|---|---|
| 5 | One Part 2 text, timed |
| 5 | One Part 3 text, timed; check the spelling of every answer |
| 7 | Six Part 4 transformations; count the words in each answer |
| 3 | Write today's mistakes in your notebook |
Once a week, take the whole paper timed in one of our free C1 Advanced mock tests, which mark Use of English separately and show which of the parts cost you the most.
Useful links
- C1 Advanced exam format (cambridgeenglish.org)
- Free C1 Advanced mock tests
- C1 Advanced syllabus
- C1 Advanced exam dates
- C1 Advanced score calculator
- C1 Advanced syllabus and exam pattern
Frequently asked questions
How many marks is Use of English in C1 Advanced?
28 raw marks: Part 2 (8), Part 3 (8) and Part 4 (12). It is reported as its own Cambridge English Scale score and counts for one fifth of the overall result.
Is Part 1 of C1 Advanced Use of English or Reading?
Part 1, the multiple-choice cloze, is on the Reading and Use of English paper but its marks count towards the Reading score.
Do contractions count as one word in Part 4?
No. A contraction such as didn't counts as two words, and the answer must be three to six words including the key word.
Does spelling matter in Use of English?
Yes. In Parts 2, 3 and 4 the answer must be spelt correctly to score.