Gifu Entrance English cheat sheet

Numbers, times, and prices are usually the answer target: listen for digits, then check for a correction ("actually, make it...", "no, not 3:15 but 3:50").

Question words decide what to capture: who/where/when/how much/how long/why. Predict the needed information type from the question before the audio plays.

Distractors follow a fixed pattern: the first-mentioned option is often wrong; the correct answer is usually stated second or after a contrast marker (but, however, instead).

Signal words for the answer location: "so", "that's why", "the thing is", "in the end", "to be honest" - the speaker's conclusion follows them.

Direction and place vocabulary: turn left/right at the second corner, go straight, opposite, next to, across from, between A and B, on the corner of.

Request/offer patterns: "Would you like...?" → accept (Yes, please / I'd love to) or decline with reason (I'd love to, but...). "Could you...?" expects an action, not a yes/no fact.

Days and dates: watch for ordinal vs cardinal (the 5th vs five), month-day order (May 3rd), and relative shifts (the day after tomorrow, last Friday, this coming weekend).

When a speaker self-corrects or repeats information, the later version replaces the earlier one; note it and discard the first.

Main-idea questions: the answer covers the whole passage, not one detail. Reject options that are true but too narrow.

Detail questions: locate the exact sentence containing the keyword from the question stem; the answer is a paraphrase, not a copy.

Inference questions ("What can we infer?", "Why did she say that?"): the answer must be supported by the text; an option that needs outside knowledge is wrong.

NOT/EXCEPT questions: three options match the text; find the one that contradicts or is absent. Verify each option against the passage.

Pronoun reference (it, they, this, one): look at the nearest preceding noun that agrees in number and makes sense; check by substituting back.

Dialogue function questions: identify what the second speaker is doing - agreeing, refusing politely, asking for repetition, suggesting an alternative, apologizing.

Vocabulary-in-context: replace the word with each option and test the sentence; the dictionary's first meaning is often not the intended one.

Time-order and cause-effect passages: track connectors (first, then, after that, because, so, as a result) to answer sequence and reason questions.

Subject-verb agreement: singular subjects take singular verbs; watch for intervening phrases (The box of chocolates is...), and indefinite pronouns (everyone, each, nobody) take singular verbs.

Tense rules: present perfect (have/has + past participle) for experience or unfinished time; past simple for a finished time (yesterday, last year, in 2019); "since" + point in time, "for" + duration.

Conditionals: If + present, will + base (real future); If + past, would + base (unreal present); If + had + past participle, would have + past participle (unreal past).

Comparatives/superlatives: one-syllable + -er/-est; multi-syllable take more/most; irregulars (good-better-best, bad-worse-worst, many-more-most); "as ... as" for equality.

Articles: "a/an" for first mention or one of a class; "the" for already-known or unique items; no article for general plurals and abstract nouns (I like music).

Prepositions of time: in + month/year/season, on + day/date, at + clock time/night. Place: in (enclosed), on (surface), at (point).

Countable vs uncountable: much/little/a few + countable, much/little + uncountable, many/few + countable; "a number of" + plural verb, "the number of" + singular verb.

Relative clauses: who for people, which for things, where for places, whose for possession; omit the relative pronoun only when it is the object (the book (that) I bought).

Word-class check: decide whether the blank needs a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb from its position (after an article → noun; before a noun → adjective; modifying a verb → adverb).

Indirect questions: invert back to statement order and drop the auxiliary do - "Where does he live?" → "Do you know where he lives?"

Reported speech tense shift: present → past, will → would, can → could, may → might; pronouns and time words shift (today → that day, tomorrow → the next day).

Passive transformation: object becomes subject, verb becomes be + past participle, agent with "by" only if important. Keep the original tense.

"too ... to" ↔ "not ... enough to": He is too young to drive = He is not old enough to drive. Adjective stays the same.

"so ... that" ↔ "such ... that": so + adjective/adverb + that; such + (a/an) + adjective + noun + that.

It/there structures: "It is difficult for me to swim" ↔ "I find it difficult to swim"; "There is a park near my house" for existence.

Reordering strategy: find the subject and finite verb first, then attach modifiers; fixed chunks stay together (in order to, as soon as, because of, look forward to + -ing).

Completion with the same meaning: keep the given words unchanged, match the required word count, and confirm the finished sentence is grammatical and identical in meaning.

Conjunction swaps: although/though + clause ↔ in spite of/despite + noun/-ing; because + clause ↔ because of + noun/-ing.

Structure for a guided paragraph: topic sentence stating the main point → 2-3 supporting sentences with reasons or examples → closing sentence.

Answer every prompt point explicitly; a missing point costs more than a grammar slip. Match the required word count.

Use specific detail instead of vague words: "I play tennis for two hours every Sunday" beats "I like sports very much".

Linkers for sequence and reason: first, next, then, after that, finally; because, so, however, for example, in addition.

Tense consistency: narrative/experience in past simple; opinion/habit in present simple; plans in will/be going to.

Common accuracy checks: third-person -s (he likes), plural -s, article before singular countable nouns, capital letters for I, days, months, and names.

Japanese-L1 pitfalls to self-check: missing plural -s, missing articles a/the, dropped subject (write "I think..." not "Think..."), and "very likes" → "likes very much".

Opinion format: state position → give two reasons with examples → restate position in different words. Avoid new arguments in the conclusion.

Information transfer: read the source first, then fill each blank with the exact category requested (time, place, price, name). Copy spelling from the source.

Table and chart reading: match the row label to the column heading before reading the number; check units (yen, minutes, people) and whether the figure is a total or a part.

Notices and signs: extract condition words - only, except, free, must, please do not, open/closed, until, from ... to. The condition is usually the tested point.

Forms and applications: name order (family name vs given name), date format, and required vs optional fields marked with an asterisk.

Email and letter conventions: greeting (Dear Mr. Tanaka,), opening purpose line (I am writing to ...), body, closing (Best regards,), signature.

Schedules and timetables: compute duration by subtraction; watch for transfer time and "departs/arrives" direction; AM/PM and 24-hour conversion.

Paraphrase transfer: the source says "costs 500 yen"; the answer blank may need "price: 500 yen". Match the label, not the wording.

Cross-check completed answers against the source for number, unit, and spelling before finishing.