Niigata Public High School Entrance Examination - English key terms

The skill of understanding spoken English well enough to answer questions about its content, speakers, and purpose, often after hearing a short passage twice.

A word or short phrase in a question or passage that carries the essential information you must catch, such as a name, place, number, or action.

An incorrect option or piece of information that sounds similar to the correct answer, testing whether you listened carefully rather than matching a single familiar word.

The main point or general meaning of a spoken or written text, as opposed to specific details; often asked as 'What is the speaker mainly talking about?'

A question that asks for one specific fact from a passage, such as a time, price, reason, or person, rather than the overall message.

A conclusion drawn from evidence in a text but not stated directly, such as guessing a speaker's feeling or what will happen next.

A spoken passage in which one person speaks continuously, such as an announcement, speech, or radio message, without a second speaker replying.

A spoken exchange between two or more people, often used to test whether you can follow who says what and why.

A restatement of the same meaning using different words; exam questions often paraphrase the passage, so exact word matching can mislead you.

The skill of catching figures such as prices, dates, clock times, and quantities, including small differences like thirteen versus thirty or a.m. versus p.m.

The place or situation in which a dialogue happens, such as a shop, station, school, or restaurant, which helps you choose the right response or answer.

The reply that fits the situation, the speaker's intention, and the level of politeness, even if other options are grammatically correct English.

The use of suitable forms such as could you, would you mind, or please to show respect and match the relationship between speakers in a given situation.

An utterance asking someone to do something, often expressed with can, could, will, or would; the correct reply usually agrees, refuses politely, or offers an alternative.

A word that shows grammatical relationship rather than concrete meaning, such as a preposition, article, conjunction, or auxiliary verb; often tested in fill-in-the-blank items.

A word such as in, on, at, by, for, or with that links a noun to another word and shows place, time, direction, or manner.

A word such as because, although, if, or while that joins clauses or phrases and signals a logical relationship like reason, contrast, or condition.

The verb form that shows when an action happens-past, present, or future-and whether it is ongoing, completed, or repeated.

The form have/has plus a past participle, used for experiences, unfinished time periods, or actions whose results matter now.

The form be plus a past participle, used when the action matters more than the doer, or when the doer is unknown or unimportant.

A word such as who, which, or that that introduces a clause describing a noun, helping you combine two sentences into one.

The base form of a verb used with to, or without to after certain verbs and modals; it can act as a noun, adjective, or adverb.

The -ing form of a verb used as a noun, as in 'Swimming is fun' or 'I enjoy reading'; some verbs take a gerund rather than an infinitive.

A verb form used as an adjective or to build tenses: the -ing form for active or ongoing meaning, and the past participle for passive or completed meaning.

The form of an adjective or adverb used to compare two things, made with -er or more, often followed by than.

A helping verb such as can, may, must, should, or will that expresses ability, permission, obligation, advice, or possibility, and is followed by a base verb.

A pair or group of words that commonly appear together, such as 'take a bath' or 'make a decision'; knowing these helps you choose natural answers.

The fixed sequence of subject, verb, object, and modifiers in an English sentence; changing it can make a sentence unnatural or grammatically wrong.

The task of arranging given words or phrases into a correct, meaningful English sentence, paying attention to grammar, meaning, and punctuation.

The rules for where adverbs go in a sentence, for example before the main verb but after be, or at the beginning or end for emphasis.

The basic English sentence pattern in which the subject performs an action on an object, as in 'She reads books'; a reliable base for checking word order.

The central message of a paragraph or passage, often stated in a topic sentence or implied by supporting details; the correct answer must cover the whole text.

A sentence, usually at the beginning of a paragraph, that states the paragraph's main point and is supported by the sentences that follow.

A pronoun or phrase such as it, they, this, or the former that points back to something already mentioned; questions ask what it refers to.

A group of sentences about one main idea, usually beginning with a topic sentence and developed with examples, reasons, or details.

A writing task that requires you to include a stated condition, such as giving two reasons or using a specified word, while staying within the word limit.

The stated minimum or maximum number of words for a writing task; going outside it can lose marks even if the English is correct.

A word or phrase such as because, however, also, or for example that connects ideas and makes a short text flow logically.

The quality of a text whose ideas are connected logically and easy to follow, achieved through clear order, linking words, and consistent focus.