Ehime Entrance English flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Main idea question

A question about what the passage as a whole asserts. The correct option covers every paragraph; an option true of only one paragraph is a detail distractor, not the main idea.

Pronoun reference resolution

To identify what it, this, or they refers to, locate the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and produces a sensible meaning; demonstratives often point to an entire preceding clause.

Contrast signal words

Words such as however, in contrast, on the other hand, and unlike announce that the next statement reverses or qualifies the previous one, which is where reading-comprehension answers usually turn.

Inference validity test

An inference answer is correct only if the text logically forces it. An option that is merely plausible in real life but never stated or implied by the passage must be rejected.

Japanese verb-final order

Japanese places the verb at the end of the clause, so English S+V+O becomes S+O+V. Postmodifiers such as relative clauses and prepositional phrases move before the noun they modify.

Relative clause into Japanese

English relative clauses become noun-modifying clauses with no relative pronoun. "The book that I bought" becomes 「私が買った本」, with the clause placed directly before the noun.

Paraphrase by word class

To paraphrase, change the word class while keeping the meaning: because becomes due to, decide becomes make a decision, and an active clause can become passive. Structure changes; truth does not.

Back-translation check

Re-translate your Japanese back into English and compare with the source. If a negation, modal such as may or must, or a comparison has disappeared, the translation is faulty.

Omitted Japanese subject

Japanese often drops the subject. In English, supply he, she, they, or it from context, and use you only when the Japanese clearly addresses the reader directly.

Too-to rewriting

The pattern too + adjective + to + verb equals so + adjective + that + subject + cannot + verb. "He is too tired to walk" becomes "He is so tired that he cannot walk."

Causative have done

The Japanese 「〜してもらう」 can be rendered as have something done when someone else performs the action for you, or as a passive when the doer is unknown or unimportant.

Frequency adverb position

Frequency adverbs such as always and never go before the main verb but after the verb be: "He always arrives late" and "He is always late."

Three-part essay structure

State your position in the introduction, give one reason with a supporting example in each of two body paragraphs, and restate the position in the conclusion without adding new arguments.

Hedging in composition

Absolute words like everyone and never invite counterexamples. Use tend to, in many cases, or is likely to when the claim is a tendency rather than a universal rule.

High-frequency composition errors

The five errors to check last: third-person singular -s, past tense endings, articles, plural -s on nouns, and preposition choice after verbs and adjectives.

Prompt keyword paraphrase

In the introduction, restate the prompt's key words in your own words instead of copying them. Copying wastes words and shows no comprehension to the grader.

Affect versus effect

Affect is normally a verb meaning to influence; effect is normally a noun meaning a result. "The rain affected the game" and "It had an effect on the game" are both correct.

Phrasal verbs with give

Give up means quit, give in means surrender, give out means distribute or run out, and give away means donate or reveal. The particle, not the verb, carries the meaning.

Uncountable nouns

Information, advice, furniture, luggage, and news have no plural -s and take much or little rather than many or few. "Many informations" and "an advice" are both wrong.

Word-form slot test

Decide the needed part of speech from the position: after an article the slot is a noun, after be it is an adjective or participle, and before a main verb it is an adverb.

Number of versus a number of

"The number of students is rising" takes a singular verb because the subject is number. "A number of students are absent" takes a plural verb because the subject is students.

Third conditional form

If + past perfect in the condition, would have + past participle in the result: "If I had known, I would have called." It describes an unreal past situation and its unreal past consequence.

Restrictive versus non-restrictive clauses

A restrictive relative clause identifies the noun and takes no commas, and that is allowed. A non-restrictive clause adds extra information, takes commas, and uses which or who, not that.

Participle adjective choice

Use the -ing form for the cause of a feeling and the -ed form for the person experiencing it: "the exciting news" versus "the excited students." The pair is active versus passive in meaning.

Gerund-only verbs

Enjoy, finish, avoid, and the phrase look forward to take a gerund, not an infinitive. Decide, hope, and plan take the infinitive. Remember and stop change meaning with each form.

Answer in second speaker's turn

In listening dialogues, the information answering the question usually appears in the second speaker's reply, because the first speaker's turn is typically the question or setup.

Corrected-number distractor

In listening, a number spoken early is often revised later, as in "at three - no, make it three thirty." The final version is the answer; the first is a distractor.

Can versus can't

In natural speech, can is short and unstressed while can't is longer and stressed, with a clear final t or a glottal stop. Stress, not spelling, distinguishes them in listening.

Summary content rules

A summary contains the main claim plus its main supporting reasons. It excludes examples, new information, and personal opinion, and it paraphrases rather than copying long phrases from the source.

Ordering by dependency

In ordering tasks, a step that requires the result of an earlier step cannot come first. Sequence markers such as first, then, and finally confirm the order you infer from dependencies.

Information retrieval scanning

Scan for the question's keyword or a paraphrase of it, then read the sentence before and after the match to confirm that it answers the question asked rather than a related one.

Two-passage comparison table

When two passages are compared, build a table with topic, claim, and evidence for each passage, then answer from the table rather than from memory of the reading.