Saga Public High School Entrance Examination - English cheat sheet

Numbers, times, and prices are usually stated once; write digits immediately, then check the unit (yen, minutes, floor, gate number).

Distractor pattern: the first number or name heard is often corrected later by phrases such as 'actually', 'no wait', or 'I mean'.

Question words decide what to capture: when/where/who/how much ask for one detail; why asks for a reason clause, usually after 'because' or 'so'.

Signal words mark the answer location: 'but', 'however', and 'although' introduce the contrast that the question usually tests.

Direction and location cues: 'next to', 'across from', 'on the second floor', 'at the back of' - sketch a small map while listening.

Inference items: judge the speaker's feeling from tone and adjectives ('That's a shame', 'Sounds great'), not from literal content only.

Announcement tasks (stations, airports, school) test action items: departure time, platform, deadline, and what listeners must bring.

Main-idea items: the answer covers the whole passage; an option true only of one paragraph is a detail distractor.

Scan for the keyword in the question stem, then read the sentence before and after it - answers rarely sit in the keyword sentence alone.

Referent questions ('it', 'they', 'this') are resolved by the nearest preceding noun that agrees in number and makes sense.

Ordering/paragraph-insertion items: look for discourse markers (First, In addition, However, As a result) that fix the logical sequence.

Vocabulary-in-context: substitute each option into the sentence; the correct one preserves grammar and surrounding logic.

True/False and NOT-true items: verify each option against the text; the false option often exaggerates with 'always', 'never', 'all'.

Author's purpose items map to three types: inform (facts), persuade (opinion + reasons), entertain or narrate (events, feelings).

Present perfect vs past simple: 'have/has + past participle' for experience or unfinished time; past simple with finished time markers (yesterday, last year, in 2010).

Conditionals: first = if + present, will + base; second = if + past, would + base; third = if + had + past participle, would have + past participle.

Relative pronouns: who for people, which for things, that for both in defining clauses, whose for possession; omit the object pronoun in defining clauses.

Participles after perception and causative verbs: 'see/hear/make/let + object + base verb'; 'have/get + object + past participle' for services.

Subjunctive and infinitive patterns: 'suggest/recommend that + subject + (should) + base verb'; 'look forward to + -ing'; 'too ... to', 'enough to'.

Countability and quantifiers: much/little with uncountable, many/few with countable; 'a number of + plural + plural verb', 'the number of + plural + singular verb.

Word-form items: decide the slot first (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) from articles, auxiliaries, and the words around the blank.

Email/message format: greeting (Dear Mr Tanaka, / Hi Yuki,), opening purpose sentence, body paragraphs, closing (Best regards, / See you,), then the name.

Opinion paragraph formula: state position, give two reasons with examples, restate position in the conclusion - one idea per paragraph.

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

Japanese-to-English pitfalls: avoid double subjects ('My father he'), keep subject-verb-object order, and use articles before singular countable nouns.

Self-introduction and school topics recur: club activities, future plans, a memory, a place you want to visit - prepare concrete details, not general claims.

Word count rules: count hyphenated words as one, numbers written in digits as one, and never copy the prompt sentence into your answer.

Punctuation and capitals: capitalize the first word, 'I', days, months, countries, and languages; end every sentence with a period.

Requests: 'Could you ...?' and 'Would you mind + -ing?' - the correct reply to 'Would you mind ...?' is 'Not at all' or 'Of course not'.

Offers and invitations: accept with 'Yes, please', 'I'd love to'; decline politely with 'I'm afraid I can't' plus a reason.

Asking directions: 'How do I get to ...?', 'Is this the way to ...?'; responses use 'Go along', 'Turn left at the second corner', 'It's on your right'.

Shopping and restaurants: 'I'm looking for ...', 'Could I have ...?', 'Can I try it on?', 'For here or to go?', 'Could we have the check?'

Telephone formulas: 'May I speak to ...?', 'Who's calling, please?', 'Hold on a moment', 'I'm afraid he's out'.

Apology and thanks: 'I'm sorry I'm late' → 'That's all right'; 'Thank you for ...' → 'You're welcome' / 'My pleasure'.

Agreement and disagreement: 'So do I' / 'Neither do I' match the auxiliary; 'I see your point, but ...' softens disagreement.

Plural and third-person -s: /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats, stops), /z/ after voiced sounds (dogs, plays), /ɪz/ after sibilants (buses, watches).

Past -ed: /t/ after voiceless (worked, watched), /d/ after voiced (played, opened), /ɪd/ after /t/ or /d/ (wanted, needed).

Word stress shifts with part of speech: RE-cord (noun) vs re-CORD (verb); PRE-sent vs pre-SENT; IM-port (noun) vs im-PORT (verb).

Content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives) carry stress; function words (a, the, of, to, and) reduce to weak forms such as /ə/ and /tə/.

Silent letters: know /n/, hour /h/, island /s/, climb /b/, listen /t/, Wednesday first /d/, half /l/.

Consonant contrasts tested by pairs: /l/ vs /r/ (light/right), /θ/ vs /s/ (think/sink), /b/ vs /v/ (berry/very), /ʃ/ vs /tʃ/ (ship/chip).

Rising intonation for yes/no questions and lists (except the last item); falling intonation for wh-questions and statements.