Using correct verb tenses

To answer questions on verb tenses, you should notice the use of time markers used in the sentence or the tense of the other verb used in the situation related to the action of which verb is missing.
Let’s look at the first example:

1. We___________ for three hours before his plane landed.
    a) waiting
    b) had been waiting
    c) were waited
    d) are waiting
Here you see the time marker “for three hours” which expresses the length of time that the action happened. There are 2 actions: “we wait” and “his plane lands” whereby the former happens and ends before the latter starts. Both actions happened in the past. The action that happened first should be in Past Perfect or Past Perfect Continuous tense (in case the continuity of the action is emphasised) while the action that happened later should be in Past Simple tense. 
The “we wait” action happened and ended before the landing of his plane, so the most appropriate answer is b) had been waiting.
Let’s look at the second example:

2. Generally, people _________ unlabelled products due to safety reasons.
    a) haven’t bought
    b) don’t buy
    c) aren’t bought
    d) buy
You can see the adverb of frequency “Generally” which indicates that the action happens in general. The most appropriate tense should be Present Simple tense as we use this tense for habitual actions or things that happen all the time. Both b) don’t buy and d) buy are Present Simple, but the negative verb makes more sense in this statement. Therefore, the answer is b) don’t buy.
 

Questions with active vs. passive voice

There is a simple way of determining whether active or passive voice is needed. In an active voice sentence, the subject is the person or thing that does the action. In a passive voice sentence, the subject of the sentence is affected by the action of the doer.
Active form = S + V + (O)    The police arrested my uncle.
Passive form = S + be + v.3    My uncle was arrested (by the police).
To answer the question on active and passive voice correctly, you need to identify whether the subject does the action or receives the action.

Let’s look at the first example:
1. More information can __________ from our website.
    a) obtain
    b) be obtained
    c) obtainable
    d) be obtaining
The subject of the above sentence is “information” which cannot do any action, so it cannot obtain anything. “Information” can be obtained by people (receiving the action), so the verb must be in passive form. The correct answer is b) be obtained.

Look at the second example:
2. A car went out of control and _______ into the back of a truck.
    a) crashed
    b) was crashed
    c) crashing
    d) were crashing
Here, the subject is “A car” which crashed or hit another thing. In other words, “A car” is the doer of the action (crashing), so it should be in active form. There are 2 active verbs in the choices: a) crashed and d) were crashing. The subject is singular, so “were crashing” does not fit. Therefore, the answer is a) crashed.

Answering questions with countable vs. uncountable nouns

A very common mistake among English learners is the wrong use of countable and uncountable nouns. While the best way to avoid the wrong usage is to memorise which nouns are countable and which ones are not, there are a few tricks to determine whether a noun is countable or not. The difference between countable and uncountable nouns is that countable nouns can be in either singular or plural forms, but uncountable nouns can be only singular.
In addition to that, countable nouns can come after “a” and “an”, but uncountable nouns cannot.
Therefore, you should know whether the word given is countable or uncountable as it affects the determiner and the –s/-es suffix (a suffix is the ending of a word).
Let’s look at the following example:

1. We still need _______ to support this theory.
          a) more evidence
          b) more evidences
          c) many evidences
          d) an evidence
The missing word is definitely “evidence”, which is given with different determiners and some end with “-s”.
Since “evidence” is an uncountable noun, “evidences” is incorrect as well as “an evidence”. Remember, only countable nouns can have an article before the noun. Uncountable nouns never have the determiner “many” in front of them (that only works with countable ones). Therefore, the correct answer is a) more evidence.
Look at the next example:

2. All online __________ should be made through a secure server.
          a) purchase
          b) purchases
          c) purchasing
          d) that purchase
The word “purchase” in this context is a countable noun which means something that you have bought. Preceded by “all”, it should be in plural form. Therefore, the correct answer is b) purchases.
    

The difference between Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds (e.g. learning) and infinitives (e.g. to learn) function as nouns. In other words, they can be subjects of verbs, objects of verbs or objects of prepositions. Some verbs require gerunds as objects while others require infinitives. Sometimes words that come before the blank will indicate whether a gerund or infinitive is needed:

1. The rooms are available for anyone who plans on _______ in North Carolina for a few days.
    a) to stay
    b) staying
    c) stay
    d) stayed
In the example above, the preposition “on” comes before the missing word. Usually, a preposition is followed by a noun, a pronoun, or a gerund (but never an infinitive). Therefore, the correct answer is b) staying.

Look at the next example:
2. You can't expect _________ everything in a few days.
    a) to remember
    b) remember
    c) remembering
    d) that remember
The verb “expect” is followed by an infinitive which is the object of “expect”, so the answer is a) to remember.

Using the correct parts of speech

Sometimes, you will come across questions with very similar given choices of answers like in the 2 examples below. When you see you this, you should know that this question is testing your knowledge of word forms or parts of speech. When answering questions on parts of speech, I suggest that you focus on the words that come before and after the missing word to consider the possible grammatical structure.

Look at the following example:

1. The cloth bag would be more popular if it were more __________.

a) fashion

b) fashioned

c) fashionable

d) fashionista

As you can see, the missing word is after the verb “were” and the determiner “more”, so the most appropriate answer should be an adjective which is c) fashionable as linking verbs like “to be” are often followed by adjectives.

Look at the next example:

2. The problem has not been settled yet. They left the meeting with _________.

a) disappoint

b) disappointed

c) disappoints

d) disappointment

In this example, the missing word comes after the preposition “with”. Normally, a preposition is followed by a noun, a pronoun, or a gerund. Since there isn’t any pronoun or gerund, the only possible answer is d) disappointment, which is a noun.

Dealing with prepositions

People often think that prepositions are just describing placement. However, their use is a bit more complex. When working on a question on prepositions, you should consider what the missing preposition is linking. For prepositions of time, place and movement, there are some rules that you can observe, and we will look at two examples below.

Look at the following example:

1. We are heading ________ Kansas City.

                  a) of

                  b) along

                  c) towards

                  d) underneath

The correct answer is c) towards. The verb “to head” indicates moving in a particular direction. “towards” means “in a direction of”, so “towards” is the most appropriate preposition for “head”.

Sometimes, certain words are used in a combination which we call word collocation. In the following example, you need to know which preposition collocates with “of”.

Look at the next example:

2. The company welcomes all new applicants ________ of educational level.

                  a) concerning

                  b) despite

                  c) except

                  d) regardless

You see here that the missing word is followed by “of”, and the only word collocating (matching) with “of” is d) regardless. The preposition “regardless of” means paying no attention to something. The other three choices are never followed by “of”.

Understanding participles

In English, we use participles, which are formed by a verb + ing or v.3, to modify (or describe) nouns or pronouns. It is important to know when to use verb + ing and when to use v.3. There is an easy way to determine this: If the modified noun/pronoun is the doer of the action, verb + ing will be used. However, if the modified noun/pronoun receives the action, v.3 will be used.
Let’s look at the first example:

1. The amount of money __________ for renovating the shop was over the budget.
    a) spend
    b) spending
    c) to spend
    d) spent
The modified noun is “The amount of money” which was spent for renovating the shop. In other word, it receives the action of spending, so the answer is d) spent.
Let’s look at the next example:

2. The person _________ the event is Ms. Wang’s new assistant.
    a) coordinate
    b) coordinating
    c) coordinated
    d) coordination
The missing participle modifies “The person” who coordinates the event. In other word, he/she is the doer of such action, so b) coordinating is the correct answer.
Remember, always figure out whether the modified noun is doing the action (then use verb + ing) or is the receiver of the action (then use v.3)

How to manage time in the TOEIC test

Hi all!

Last time, we talked about what you should do on the test day and what happens in the test room. Now, you are ready to take the actual test. The level of difficulty is one of the major concerns for test takers, but I would say that the complexity of language used in the TOEIC is not too high to understand as it is a test of communicative English proficiency. If you work in an international environment, or communicate in English regularly, I’m quite certain that just a bit more practice will help you to get a satisfactory score.

The real major problem for most of the test takers is ‘time’. Finishing 200 questions within 120 minutes is not a piece of cake unless your reading skills are near perfect. Why do I mention ‘reading skills’ specifically, but not the ‘listening skills’? Well, it’s because of the fact that the first 45 minutes dedicated to the Listening Part is beyond your control. In other words, you have to listen and mark the answer right away since the audio will be played only one time. There is no time you can save or waste during this part.

However, the next 75 minutes are completely yours to manage. Whether you will finish 100 questions of the Reading Part in time or not totally depends on your time management skills. These are my suggestions:

1.    In Part 5 and 6, read the choices first. By looking at the given choices, you will know what points of grammar you should focus on.

2.    In Part 7, read the questions first. Underline keywords in the questions and scan the passage for them. When you see the keywords, stop there and read the statement to find the answer. In case of main idea questions, you should skim through some parts of the passage such as the title, headings, and the first sentences of the first paragraph.

3.    Remember that the 75 minutes is under your control. Don’t spend more than 45 seconds on each question. If you’re not sure of the answer, skip that question and get back to it when you finish the last one. 

4.    Check your watch regularly and compare with the number of question you have finished. Increase your speed if there are too many questions left unanswered while the time is nearly up.

5.    The last thing I would recommend is that you should mark each answer on the answer sheet right after you decide on it. Don’t mark all 200 answers in the test booklet and transfer them to the answer sheet altogether at the end. Though it depends on individual technique, most of the test takers fail to make it in time. So, just do it one by one.

These are all of my suggestions on time management. I hope you find them helpful for your preparation. Remember that the more you practice, the higher score you get. Next time, I’ll come up with suggested practice resources.

See you then!

Preparing for the TOEIC Test – Things to consider on Test Day

Hey there!

After knowing what you will face in the test, I hope you are well-prepared to take it with confidence. You are now getting close to the test day.  Here are some things you have to consider at this stage.

1.    Once you decide on taking the test, choose the most convenient date. Remember that you have to spend at least half a day at the Test Center. Check your schedule carefully and choose a suitable day.

2.    The Test Centre is open from Mondays to Saturdays. Two test sessions, mornings and afternoons, are available each day. You can call to book a seat at least one day before the test date, or simply walk in and register at the Centre. However, advanced booking is recommended as it can help you secure your seat, especially during the peak season of TOEIC test (e.g. when airlines or international companies call for application).

3.    You should arrive at the Test Centre at least one hour before the test starts. If you take the morning session which starts at 9:00, arrive at the Test Centre before 8:00 a.m. For the afternoon session, you should be present at 12:00 p.m.

4.    On the test day, only your ID card (or driving license) is needed for registration. You will have to pay the test fee after registration.

5.    You are not permitted to bring anything into the test room, except your wallet. Other personal stuff such as your mobile phone and handbag must be left on the shelf provided by the Test Centre. However, they do not secure your belongings, so it is best that you bring only necessary belongings (e.g. wallet, cell phone, car key, etc.) with you.

6.    Pencils and rubbers are provided in the test room.

7.    When you are called to line up to enter the test room, a security check (scanning) will be done. Again, make sure that you do not bring any prohibited things with you.

8.    The seat will be assigned to you by the Test Centre staff.

9.    Once all test takers have their seats, the test booklet along with the answer sheet will be distributed.

10. The first thing is to write your name and complete the answer sheet with a number of details. Don’t worry. All you have to do is to follow the proctoring staff’s instructions and don’t hesitate to raise your hand if you need help.

11. You cannot open the test book unless you are officially allowed to do so by the proctoring staff.

The test starts with the Listening Part, so concentration is very important. Though it sounds easier said than done, don’t let pressure, stress or nervousness disturb your concentration. Otherwise, you will lose track.

It’s not only thorough knowledge of the test that will get you a high score but also time management skills are a huge key factor. You have to complete 200 questions within 2 hours, so you have less than one minute to finish each of them. There’s no time to hesitate as you won’t finish otherwise. Next time, I will talk about how to manage (limited) time wisely.

See you then!

Understanding the 4 types of questions in Part 7 - Reading comprehension

Hope your preparation for the TOEIC is going well! In this blog post, I’m going to discuss what you need to do in part 7 of the test. You probably have to spend most of your time on this part. A series of passages are given to you to read, and you have to find information from those passages to answer the questions. This part is split into two sections: Single Passages, which are questions 153 to 180 and Double Passages, which are questions 181 to 200.

There are 48 questions in this part. But generally, there are four types of questions, which are

1.    Specific information: The answers to this type of questions are quite straightforward as they are directly mentioned in the text. For instance:

When will the opening ceremony take place?

2.    Vocabulary: You will be asked which word has a similar meaning to the word taken from the text. This type of questions seems easy if you know what the given word means, but it can be a tough question if you do not know that word. For example:

Which word has the closest meaning to “advent” in paragraph 2 line 4?

3.    Main idea / inference: This type of questions asks you what the passage is about, what the writer’s purpose is, what you infer from the passage, and so on. The answers may not be obviously stated. You have to skim the text and think what the text is mainly about. Skimming is a technique which involves quickly looking at a text to understand the main idea or topic of the text. Following are the points you should pay attention to:

·      Title and headings

·      First and last sentences of the first paragraph

·      Captions under the pictures, tables, graphs, etc.

·      Words frequently appearing throughout the text

4.    Negative information: Sometimes you may be asked what statement or information is “not true”, “not stated”, “not mentioned”, and not available”. These types of question are the most time-consuming as you need to check each given choice one by one and find which choice is not in concordance with the text.

Most test takers cannot finish the test in time because they spend too much on reading everything. Don’t be one of them! Here are 5 tips for finding information while saving valuable time:

1.    Scan the passage to see what kind of message it is. For example, it might advertisement, article, email, or letter. However, do not read the whole passage until you know what you are asked.

2.    Start reading the questions so that you know what kind of information you are required to answer.

3.    Underline keywords in the question and use them as clues to look for the information in the passage.

4.    When you see the keywords, stop and read the sentences.

5.    Compare what you read with the given choice. After getting the answer, mark it and move on to the next question.

I hope you found this information useful and as always make sure to read my other tips and strategies for the other parts of the test!