I85PREP
⌘ K
Castilla y León PAU English study materials
Castilla y León PAU English study resources

Castilla y León PAU English: Lexical and Grammatical Competence: Use of English

Castilla y León PAU English · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Lexical and Grammatical Competence: Use of English

The use-of-English part of the Castilla y León PAU English paper checks control of grammar and vocabulary in context: gap-fill items, word formation from a root, sentence rewriting with a given word or structure, and verb-form choices. It rewards precision: one wrong tense, preposition or word class can lose the mark even if the sentence sounds right.

Core areas

  • Tense and aspect: present perfect versus past simple; future forms; conditionals; passive; reported speech.
  • Concord: subject-verb agreement with collective nouns, neither ... nor, there is/are.
  • Word formation: noun, adjective, adverb and verb suffixes; negative prefixes (un-, in-, im-, dis-); spelling changes (happy → happiness; succeed → success).
  • Collocation and dependent prepositions: depend on, interested in, good at, pay attention to.
  • Sentence transformation: keep the meaning, use the given word exactly, respect the word limit.

Worked example: word formation

The instructions were so ___ (confuse) that nobody knew where to start. Reasoning: the gap follows so and describes instructions through the linking verb were; we need an adjective. Confuse is a verb; confusing describes a thing that confuses people, while confused describes a person. Answer: confusing.

Worked example: transformation

Despite the rain, the match continued. Rewrite with although. Reasoning: Despite is a preposition followed by a noun phrase; although is a conjunction followed by a clause. Change the rain to it was raining and keep the contrast: Although it was raining, the match continued. Do not write Although the rain ..., because that is ungrammatical.

Traps

  • Using the given word in a different form; transformation items usually require the exact word.
  • Changing the meaning by adding not or a modal.
  • Forgetting that after prepositions we need -ing (interested in learning), not the infinitive.
  • Word formation: choosing the right class but the wrong negative prefix (unpossible versus impossible).
  • Subject-verb agreement in long subjects: The list of items was ..., not were.
  • Overusing will for future arrangements or timetables.