Daily-routine gap fill: infinitive in brackets is not the answer
The A1 language structures section gives a short text with five gaps: 'Jmenuji se Jana. Každý den ___ (vstávat) v sedm hodin. Snídani ___ (jíst) v kuchyni. Do práce ___ (jet) autobusem. Večer ___ (vařit) večeři a ___ (dívat se) na televizi.' The options for gap 1 are vstávám / vstává / vstávat. For gap 3: jedu / jdu / letím. For gap 5: dívám se / dívá se / dívat se. Jana is the subject throughout. The candidate, Ali, chooses 'vstávat' for gap 1 because it is in the infinitive in brackets, 'jdu' for gap 3 because he walks to the bus stop, and 'dívat se' for gap 5 because he sees the reflexive se. He must justify each choice with person and verb pattern. The section tests present-tense endings and basic vocabulary in context.
1. Correct gap 1 and explain why the infinitive in brackets is not the answer.
Read the worked answer
Correct form: vstávám.
The bracketed vstávat is the dictionary form, not a finite verb. The subject is Jana, which corresponds to first person singular. The sentence describes a habitual action with každý den, so the present tense is appropriate: Každý den vstávám v sedm hodin.
Why the distractors fail:
vstáváis third person singular - would fitJana vstává, but notJana ... vstávámif the subject is the speaker? Careful: the text saysJmenuji se Jana, so Jana is the speaker; first person is correct.vstávatis the infinitive and cannot stand alone as the main verb here.
The judgement is to use the subject, not the form in brackets, to choose the ending.
2. Choose between 'jedu', 'jdu', and 'letím' for 'Do práce ___ autobusem' and justify.
Read the worked answer
Correct choice: jedu - Do práce jedu autobusem.
Justification:
autobusemis in the instrumental case and names a vehicle. The verbjetis used for travel by vehicle.jdumeans 'go on foot'. Ali's reasoning that he walks to the bus stop is true in real life, but the sentence says he travelsautobusem, sojducontradicts the instrument.letímmeans 'fly' and requires a plane or an airborne context.
The judgement is contextual vocabulary, not personal routine. The sentence gives the transport word; the verb must match it.
3. Why is 'dívat se' wrong in gap 5 even though 'se' is present?
Read the worked answer
Dívat se is wrong because it is still an infinitive. The presence of the reflexive se does not make it finite. The subject is Jana, first person singular, so the correct form is dívám se: Večer vařím večeři a dívám se na televizi.
The distractor dívá se is third person singular and would fit Jana se dívá, but the text consistently uses the speaker's first-person forms (Jmenuji se, vstávám, jím, jedu). The judgement is to keep person agreement across the whole text. A reflexive verb still needs a personal ending.