Aptis for Teens cheat sheet

Aptis Core grammar items test form, not meaning: choose the option that is grammatically complete, then check it fits the sentence's time reference.

Present perfect (have/has + past participle) links a past action to now; use it with for, since, already, yet, ever, never, just.

Past simple marks a finished time (yesterday, last week, in 2019); never pair a finished-time phrase with present perfect.

Comparatives: one-syllable adjectives take -er + than; three-syllable adjectives take more + adjective + than; good/bad become better/worse.

Conditionals: zero = present + present (general truth); first = present + will (real future); second = past + would (unreal now).

Countable nouns take a/an and plural -s; uncountable nouns (information, advice, furniture, news) take no plural and no a/an.

Question and negative forms need an auxiliary: do/does for present simple, did for past simple, then the base verb.

Word-formation families to recognise: decide/decision, succeed/success/successful, care/careful/careless, invent/invention/inventor.

Collocation pairs tested at Core level: make a decision, do homework, take part in, pay attention to, keep in touch.

Aptis Reading tasks escalate: sentence-to-gap matching, then text ordering, then short-text comprehension, then long-text matching of headings or opinions.

Gap-fill items are decided by grammar first (word class needed) and meaning second; both must agree before an option is correct.

Text-ordering items hinge on cohesive links: pronouns (it, they, this), time markers (first, then, finally), and repeated key nouns.

For opinion-matching, map each person to one keyword position; a name may match more than one statement only if the task says so.

Scan for names, numbers, and dates before reading closely; the answer sentence usually sits within two lines of that anchor.

Distractor options repeat words from the text but reverse the relationship (cause/effect, before/after); check direction of logic.

Inference questions ask what is implied, not stated; reject options that need information absent from the passage.

Timing rule: short-text tasks reward speed; leave long-text matching for last if time is short.

Aptis Listening runs from word/number recognition, to short dialogues with picture-style choices, to longer monologues with factual questions.

Numbers and spellings are tested literally: listen for teens vs tens (fifteen/fifty), and doubled letters in names.

Question order follows audio order in the longer tasks; answer as you listen rather than waiting for the end.

Distractors are spoken before the correct answer: a first-mentioned figure or day is often corrected later ('actually, make it...').

Signal words flag the answer: but, however, actually, instead, so, because, the thing is.

For attitude questions, track intonation and opinion verbs (prefer, can't stand, would rather) rather than facts.

Dates and times shift with prepositions: on Monday, at 7.30, in the morning, next week, the week after.

If a detail is missed, abandon it and rejoin at the next question; the audio plays once.

Aptis Writing has four parts: word-level gaps, sentence-level gaps, a short informal message (about 30-40 words), and a longer formal email or informal message (about 50+ words).

Part 3 message must answer all listed points; each unanswered point costs marks regardless of length.

Part 4 rewards range: include at least one complex sentence (because/although/which) plus a linking phrase (however, in addition).

Formal email frame: Dear Mr/Ms + surname, opening purpose sentence, body points, closing (I look forward to hearing from you), Yours sincerely.

Informal frame: Hi + first name, contractions are acceptable, closing Best wishes / See you soon.

Spelling and punctuation are marked; write short, correct sentences rather than long, broken ones.

Word-count guidance is a minimum, not a target: meeting the count with relevant content beats exceeding it with repetition.

Keep tense consistent: a message about a past event stays in past simple throughout.

Aptis Speaking has four parts: personal questions, a picture description, comparing two pictures, and a topic discussion with follow-up questions.

Each response is timed (commonly 30-45 s for short parts, up to 2 minutes for the topic); silence scores zero, so keep speaking.

Picture description formula: place (in the foreground/background), people and actions (present continuous), then one speculation (might be, looks as if).

Comparison task formula: state one similarity with both/whereas, then one difference, then a preference with a reason.

Topic answers need structure: opinion, two reasons, one example, short conclusion.

Use fillers that buy time without breaking fluency: well, let me think, that's an interesting question.

Grammar range is scored: include one conditional or relative clause per long answer where natural.

Pronunciation is judged on intelligibility, not accent; slow down on word endings (-s, -ed) which carry grammar marks.