Shimane Public High School Entrance Examination - English key terms

A verb pattern used to talk about plans decided before speaking or about things likely to happen based on present evidence. In the exam it often appears in dialogue completion and sentence reordering tasks.

A modal verb used for decisions made at the moment of speaking, offers, promises, and predictions. Distinguishing it from 'be going to' is a common grammar-in-context question.

The form have/has plus a past participle, used for experiences, unfinished time periods, and results that matter now. It is frequently tested against the simple past in fill-in-the-blank items.

The verb form used for completed actions at a definite past time, often with words like yesterday or last week. Candidates must choose it when a finished time expression is present.

Prepositions paired with the present perfect: 'since' marks a starting point such as a year or day, while 'for' marks a length of time such as three years. Choosing between them is a standard test point.

Forms of adjectives and adverbs used to compare two things (longer, more careful) or one thing against all others (the longest, the most careful). Watch for irregular forms such as better and best.

A pattern showing equality, as in 'She is as tall as her brother.' Negated, it shows difference: 'not as busy as.' It appears in sentence transformation and reordering questions.

A helping verb such as can, must, may, should, or have to that expresses ability, obligation, permission, or advice. Questions test which modal fits the situation described in a short dialogue.

The structure be plus a past participle, used when the doer is unknown, unimportant, or obvious, as in 'This temple was built 400 years ago.' Transformation items often ask you to switch between active and passive.

A word such as who, which, or that that joins a describing clause to a noun, as in 'the book that I bought.' Reordering items frequently require placing the clause directly after its noun.

The base form of a verb, with or without 'to.' It follows certain verbs and adjectives, as in 'I want to visit' or 'easy to read,' and appears in fill-in-the-blank grammar items.

A verb form ending in -ing used as a noun, as in 'Swimming is fun' or 'I enjoy reading.' Test items check which verbs take a gerund rather than an infinitive.

A verb form used as an adjective or in a reduced clause, such as 'the running boy' or 'a broken window.' Distinguishing present and past participles is a frequent question type.

The fixed arrangement of subject, verb, object, and modifiers in an English sentence. Japanese word order differs greatly, so reordering questions test whether you can rebuild a natural English sentence.

A task in which scrambled words or phrases must be arranged into one correct English sentence. Look first for the subject and main verb, then attach modifiers and clauses in their proper places.

A task requiring you to rewrite a sentence so it keeps the same meaning while using a given word or structure, for example changing active to passive or direct to reported speech.

The grammar of retelling what someone said, usually shifting tense and pronouns, as in 'She said she was tired.' Transformation items often test this shift and the matching question word order.

A question embedded in another sentence, which keeps statement word order, as in 'Do you know where he lives?' It is a common trap in conversation and transformation items.

A courteous way of asking for something, using forms such as 'Could you ...?', 'Would you mind ...?', or 'May I ...?' Choosing the right level of politeness matters in situational English items.

The reply that fits the situation, relationship, and intention of the speaker in a short exchange. Test items offer several grammatically correct replies, but only one that answers naturally in context.

A task in which one or more lines of a conversation are missing and must be filled with the option that keeps the exchange logical, natural, and consistent with what came before.

Information in surrounding words, sentences, or the situation that helps you guess an unknown word's meaning or choose the correct answer. Using clues rather than translating word by word improves accuracy.

The central point a passage is making, which the other sentences support. Questions may ask for the title, the topic sentence, or the best summary rather than a single detail.

A specific fact, example, or reason inside a passage that backs up the main idea. Detail questions usually require locating a particular sentence and reading it carefully.

Reading quickly to find one specific piece of information, such as a time, price, or name, without reading every word. It is the key skill for practical texts like notices and timetables.

Reading quickly for the general sense of a passage, often by looking at headings, first sentences, and repeated words. It helps you predict content before answering detail questions.

A real-world document such as a notice, email, menu, timetable, poster, or application form. Questions ask you to find conditions, deadlines, and rules, and to judge whether a statement is true.

Moving facts from a passage or dialogue into another format, such as a table, chart, schedule, or short form. Accuracy with numbers, dates, and names is essential.

Understanding the overall message of a spoken passage even when some words are missed. Focus on who is speaking, what they want, and the situation rather than on every single word.

Catching specific spoken information such as times, places, prices, or instructions. Read the question before listening so you know which kind of detail to listen for.

Spoken forms such as half past seven, a quarter to nine, 1,500 yen, or the third of May. Listening and transfer items often depend on converting these into figures correctly.

A writing task in which a Japanese prompt asks you to state and support your own opinion in English within a set number of words. Clear structure, a reason, and an example earn marks.

The sentence that states the main point of a paragraph, usually placed first. In composition it tells the reader immediately what your opinion or description will be about.

Connectors such as because, so, however, for example, and also that show the relation between ideas. They make a short composition flow and are part of the scoring criteria.

A verb whose past form or past participle does not follow the -ed pattern, such as go-went-gone or write-wrote-written. Mistakes here are penalized in grammar and writing sections.

Nouns that can be counted with a plural form (books, chairs) versus those normally used without a plural (water, information). This affects articles, quantifiers, and verb agreement.

Choosing among a, an, the, or no article. Rules involve first versus later mention, uniqueness, and fixed phrases, and errors are common in composition and fill-in-the-blank items.