LAN-BLanguage: gap-fill, right option, tense and form

Circle the right option

Idée directrice

The second or third language task offers, inside a short paragraph, groups of three options in brackets: a verb form, a preposition, a derived word, a collocation. Only one option fits both grammar and collocation. The near-synonym is the trap: made up against added up, including against to include, highly against high.

Signature de reconnaissance — l'énoncé se trahit ainsi

« Circle the right option. (3 marks) » ; « Circle the right alternative. (3 marks) » ; « Circle the correct option »

Sujet principal

Language — Task 2: circle the right option (3 to 3.5 marks)

1 questionCorrigé masqué

III - LANGUAGE. Circle the right option. (3 marks)

Last winter the small fishing port of Ghar El Melh (attracted / attended / assisted) more visitors than ever. Tourists came (for / to / at) admire the old fort and the lagoon, and many of them stayed (in / on / at) family guesthouses rather than hotels. According to the tourist office, the number of overnight stays has (raised / risen / arisen) by forty per cent, (which / what / who) is good news for a town where jobs are (rare / rarely / rarity). Local guides, (whose / who / which) knowledge of the birds is famous, now offer walks at dawn.

Voir la correction commentéeAprès avoir posé votre démarche

Answers: attracted — to — in — risen — which — rare — whose.

Move EN-LANG-03 — circle the right option. Each choice is settled by one rule: attracted is the only verb that takes visitors as object (attend a place, assist a person); came to + verb is the infinitive of purpose; stay in a guesthouse; has risen is intransitive and irregular (raised needs an object, arisen is for problems); which refers to the whole preceding clause; after are an adjective (rare), not an adverb or a noun; whose introduces possession before a noun.

What is marked. 0.5 per option; circling two options in one bracket scores zero for that bracket.

Exercices d'entraînement — une nuance à la fois

Entraînement 01 / 02

Drill LAN-B.1 — Verbs, prepositions and relatives

1 questionCorrigé masqué

III - LANGUAGE. Circle the right option. (3 marks)

The new tram line (has reduced / reduced / has been reducing) traffic in the city centre since it opened in March. Shopkeepers, (who / which / whose) had feared losing customers, now report (the highest / higher / highest) sales for years. The council is now (thinking / thought / think) of extending the line (towards / until / to) the university, (where / which / when) ten thousand students commute every day.

Voir la correction commentéeAprès avoir posé votre démarche

Answers: has reduced — who — the highest — thinking — towards — where.

Move EN-LANG-03. since it opened → present perfect (has been reducing is also grammatical, but the paper counts one option and the completed result has reduced is the intended one; when two options look possible, prefer the one the time marker names directly); relative for people → who; superlative with for years and the article → the highest; is … of extending → thinking (progressive after is, followed by of); direction of a line → towards; place relative for the university → where.

Entraînement 02 / 02

Drill LAN-B.2 — Collocations in a news paragraph

1 questionCorrigé masqué

III - LANGUAGE. Circle the correct option. (3.5 marks)

A report (published / publishing / publisher) yesterday warns (of / from / about) a growing shortage of teachers. Nearly a third of new teachers (leave / are leaving / left) the profession within five years, (mainly / main / mainstream) because of low pay and heavy workloads. The minister promised (raising / to raise / raise) salaries, (although / despite / however) no date was given. Unions say the plan is (too / enough / so) vague to reassure anyone.

Voir la correction commentéeAprès avoir posé votre démarche

Answers: published — of — leave — mainly — to raise — although — too.

Move EN-LANG-03. Reduced relative → past participle published; warn of; general truth → present simple leave; adverb before a clause → mainly; promise to + infinitive; a clause follows → conjunction although, not the preposition despite nor the adverb however; too … to structure.

Méthode / Automatismes

Read the sentence to the end before choosing: the clue is often after the bracket (as object, before a noun).
Ask what kind of word the slot needs — verb, preposition, adjective, adverb, relative — then eliminate the options of the wrong kind.
For verbs, check transitivity (rise / raise) and the following preposition (warn of, contribute to).
For relatives: which for things or whole clauses, who for people, whose for possession.
Circle one option only, clearly.

Pièges classiques

Choosing by meaning (« high qualified sounds fine ») instead of by grammar (highly modifies the adjective qualified) is the classic loss. The second is rise / raise / arise: arise only for problems and questions, raise always with an object.