B1 test
Thirty questions on the grammar of the level — one for each lesson with a new topic, a dictation, reading a long text aloud and writing. The pass mark for moving on to B2 is 80% in grammar (24 out of 30). The dictation is checked word by word, but it does not count towards the pass mark; reading aloud and writing are not marked.
If your answer does not match the key, look in the section "What B1 has covered" to see which lesson deals with the topic, and go over it again.
Grammar: thirty questions
1–6. Gap fill: tenses.
- When we got to the station, the train (already / leave)
- By the time the police (arrive), the thieves had escaped
- — I've lost my phone! — Oh no! Where you (lose) it?
- You look exhausted. you (work) all day?
- According to the timetable, the train (leave) at 7.40 tomorrow
- Don't ring me at eight — I (drive) to the airport then
Show the answers
7–11. Gap fill: the future after conjunctions, conditionals, wishes, modal verbs.
- Each of the guests will get a programme as soon as they (arrive)
- If I (have) more free time, I'd learn to play the guitar
- I wish I (can) speak Italian
- His car isn't outside, so he be at home. (you are sure he isn't)
- When I was a child, I (not / allow) to stay out after nine
Show the answers
12–14. Gap fill: words.
- — You've been to Edinburgh, ? — Yes, twice
- The lecture was so (bore) that half of us fell asleep
- Train tickets are more expensive than last year — only about two per cent. (only a little)
Show the answers
15–19. Rewrite: the passive, the causative, reported speech.
- They are repairing the bridge. (The bridge …)
- A mechanic serviced my car last week. (I had …)
- "I'm tired," she said. (She said …)
- "You'd better see a doctor," my friend told me. (My friend advised …)
- Where is the post office? (Could you tell me …)
Show the answers
20–22. Join
- My sister lives in Leeds. Her husband is a pilot. (whose)
- I locked the door. I remember it clearly. (remember)
- It was raining heavily. We went for a walk. (despite)
Show the answers
23–25. Rewrite
- My boss said I had to stay late, and I did. (made)
- Working at night isn't difficult for me any more. (be used to)
- Could you switch off the radio? (replace the radio with a pronoun)
Show the answers
26–30. Error correction.
- The life in big cities is stressful.
- Most of students in my class have a part-time job.
- It depends from the weather.
- She speaks very well French.
- It's unpossible to park in the centre.
Show the answers
Dictation
Eight sentences to write down from listening:
By the time we got there, the film had started. / I've been learning English for three years. / I'll call you as soon as I get home. / If I were you, I'd talk to your manager. / The bridge was built in the nineteenth century. / She asked me where I lived. / Although it was late, nobody wanted to leave. / I'm still getting used to the new hours.
Reading aloud
I grew up in a small fishing town on the north-east coast, where my grandfather had worked at the port all his life. By the time I was born, the port had closed, and most of the young people had left for the cities.
I've been living in Manchester for almost ten years now. I'm used to the noise and the traffic, and I've even got used to the rain — well, almost. When I was a student, I used to go back home every summer, and my grandmother would cook enormous meals and tell us stories about the old days.
Last spring I went back for the first time in years. The town was much quieter than I remembered, and many of the shops had been turned into holiday flats. Although it made me sad, I could see that the town was changing, not dying. A young couple, whose café had opened the year before, told me that more and more people were moving there to work from home.
If I had more time, I'd go back more often. The longer I stay away, the more I miss the sea. As soon as the children finish school this summer, we're going to spend a whole month there.
What B1 has covered
Tenses and the future. The Past Perfect and a story with a back story (B1 #1, B1 #2), the line between the Present Perfect and the Past Simple (B1 #3), the Present Perfect Continuous (B1 #4), five forms of the future (B1 #5), the Future Continuous — an action in progress at a moment in the future and a polite question about plans (B1 #7), the present tense about the future after time conjunctions (B1 #31).
The unreal and modality. The second conditional and If I were you (B1 #8), wish and If only (B1 #9), guessing with must, might, can't (B1 #10), be able to, manage to, be supposed to, be allowed to, don't need to (B1 #11).
The passive and reporting. The passive in all tenses (B1 #13), have something done and the get passive My bike got stolen (B1 #14), reported speech with the shift of tenses (B1 #15), reporting verbs advise, offer, suggest and the direct advice You'd better (B1 #16), indirect questions (B1 #19).
The sentence and conversation. Defining and non-defining relative clauses, whose (B1 #17, B1 #18), question tags, asking again, So do I (B1 #20), verbs that change their meaning: stop, remember, try (B1 #21), want somebody to, make and let (B1 #22), phrasal verbs of four types (B1 #34).
Words and links. The pairs both … and, either … or (B1 #6), hardly (B1 #12), articles as a system and another, the other, others (B1 #23), no longer (B1 #24), quantifiers most, none, a few (B1 #25), the order of adjectives and -ed versus -ing (B1 #26), word + preposition: verb, noun, adjective (B1 #27), adverbs of degree and their place (B1 #28), word formation (B1 #29), so … that and such … that (B1 #30), every and each (B1 #31), purpose, reason and concession (B1 #32), used to, be used to, get used to (B1 #33), stronger comparisons, multiples and the …, the … (B1 #35).
Where to go over it again if you made a mistake: questions 1–6 — B1 #1–5 and B1 #7; 7 — B1 #31; 8–11 — B1 #8–11; 12 — B1 #20; 13 — B1 #26 and B1 #30; 14 — B1 #35; 15–16 — B1 #13–14; 17–18 — B1 #15–16; 19 — B1 #19; 20 — B1 #17–18; 21 — B1 #21; 22 — B1 #32; 23 — B1 #22; 24 — B1 #33; 25 — B1 #34; 26 — B1 #23; 27 — B1 #25; 28 — B1 #27; 29 — B1 #28; 30 — B1 #29.
Next — B2 #1: telling a long story, where the Past Perfect Continuous joins the three past tenses. Further on in B2 — the future in the past (B2 #2), the Future Perfect (B2 #3), the third conditional (B2 #4) and inversion (B2 #7).
End of the core
The lesson counts as done once the exercises are done. Everything after this is optional.
optional
Writing
A text of 12–15 sentences about the place where you grew up. Say what it was like (with the back story in the Past Perfect), what you used to do there (used to, would), what has changed and how much (much, far, more and more), what you have got used to where you live now, and what you will do when you go back there (the present tense after when and as soon as). At least one sentence with although or despite and one with a non-defining relative clause.
Practise this lesson in the other sections
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⚑ optional