Kumamoto Entrance English cheat sheet

Main-idea items: the correct answer must cover the whole passage; an option true only of one paragraph is a detail, not the main idea.

Kumamoto passages often use Japanese-school topics (club activities, school trips, local festivals); map each paragraph to one topic before answering.

Pronoun reference (it, they, this): scan back to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes sense in context.

True/False and matching items: locate the exact sentence first, then compare wording; correct options usually paraphrase, wrong ones copy surface words.

Signal words for structure: however, but, therefore, for example, in fact - they mark contrast, conclusion, and support, which item stems target.

Inference items must be supported by the text; an option needing outside knowledge or a guess beyond the passage is wrong.

Time budget: about 1 minute per short item; on long passages read the questions first, then scan for the keywords.

Order-of-events items: find the time expressions (first, then, after that, finally) and build the sequence before checking options.

Subject-verb agreement: a singular subject takes -s in the present tense; phrases between subject and verb (the bag of books) do not change the verb.

Tense sequence: if the main clause is past, reported speech and subordinate clauses usually shift back (is → was, will → would, has → had).

Participles: present participle (-ing) for active/ongoing meaning, past participle (-ed/irregular) for passive or completed meaning after nouns.

Relative pronouns: who for people, which for things, that for both in defining clauses; whose shows possession; where for places.

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

Infinitive vs gerund: want/hope/decide + to do; enjoy/finish/avoid/mind + doing; stop to do = pause in order to, stop doing = quit.

Comparatives: -er/more for two, -est/most for three or more; as ... as for equality; never double-mark (more better is wrong).

Question and negative formation: use do/does/did + base form; be and modal verbs invert directly without do.

Distinguish look-alikes by part of speech: affect (verb) vs effect (noun); advise (verb) vs advice (noun); succeed (verb) vs success (noun).

Common collocations decide the answer: take part in, pay attention to, make a decision, do one's best, keep a promise.

Preposition partners are fixed: interested in, good at, afraid of, proud of, depend on, according to, similar to.

Phrasal verbs: turn up = appear, turn down = refuse/lower, put off = postpone, give up = quit, look after = take care of, come up with = invent.

Word families: choose the form the sentence slot requires (noun after a/an/the, adjective before a noun, adverb modifying a verb or adjective).

Countable vs uncountable: much/little/a few with uncountables vs many/few/a few with countables; information, advice, furniture are uncountable.

Context clues: contrast markers (but, unlike) signal an antonym; addition markers (and, also) signal a synonym for the unknown word.

Confusable pairs: borrow (take) vs lend (give); bring (toward speaker) vs take (away); say + clause vs tell + person.

Paragraph structure: one topic sentence stating the main point, two or three supporting sentences with reasons or examples, one closing sentence.

Essay outline: introduction with a clear thesis, body paragraphs each with one idea, conclusion restating the thesis without new arguments.

Linking words by function: addition (moreover, in addition), contrast (however, on the other hand), cause (because, therefore), example (for instance).

Error correction checklist: subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, article use, singular/plural nouns, spelling, and sentence fragments.

Combine short sentences with relative clauses, participial phrases, or conjunctions to raise syntactic variety without changing meaning.

Formal written English avoids contractions, slang, and second-person you in academic opinion essays; use passive voice sparingly and deliberately.

Word count and task requirements are scored: cover every bullet in the prompt and stay within the stated limit.

Japanese-influenced errors to check: dropping articles, plural -s, and subjects; overusing and at sentence start; translating とても as very in formal prose.

Predict from the question stem before audio plays: who is speaking, where, and what information (number, time, reason) is needed.

Numbers, times, and prices are usually corrected once in the dialogue; the second mention is normally the answer.

Listen for discourse markers: however, actually, by the way, so - they introduce the key information or a change of plan.

Distinguish similar sounds and minimal pairs: thirteen/thirty, walk/work, live/leave, ship/sheep, rice/lice.

In dialogue tasks, note the speaker's intention (request, apology, suggestion, refusal) because items ask about function, not just content.

For map or direction items, track sequence words (turn left, go straight, next to, across from) and draw the route while listening.

Do not stop on an unknown word; keep following the flow and use the surrounding context to infer meaning after the audio ends.

Note-taking shorthand: arrows for direction, abbreviations for names, and symbols for numbers save time during the single play.

Japanese-to-English: identify the main subject and verb first, then attach modifiers; English requires an explicit subject where Japanese omits it.

Japanese particles map to English structure: は topic, が subject, を object, に direction/time, で place/means, と quotation/with.

Avoid literal word-for-word rendering; translate meaning units, then restructure into natural English word order (SVO).

Summary rules: keep the main idea and key supporting points, drop examples and repetition, and use your own wording rather than copying sentences.

Aim for roughly one-quarter to one-third of the original length; a 100-word passage summarizes in about 25–35 words.

Reported speech in summaries: shift to third person and past tense unless the original is a general truth.

Numbers, names, and technical terms are translated precisely; do not round or paraphrase proper nouns.

Check translated output for tense consistency, articles, and plural forms, which are the most frequent errors from Japanese source text.