Yamanashi Entrance English flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Signal word: but

A contrast marker in listening and reading. The information after it often corrects or reverses what came before, so answers to 'what did she finally decide' usually follow this word.

Quarter to ten

A time expression meaning 9:45, i.e. fifteen minutes before ten o'clock. Listening items often state the digital time once and the spoken form later, or the reverse.

Next-action question

A listening item asking what a speaker will do next. The correct option describes an action not yet performed; options describing actions already completed in the dialogue are distractors.

Second-speaker rule

In dialogues where two people disagree, the tested answer usually reflects the second speaker's view, typically introduced by 'Actually', 'Well' or 'I'd rather'.

Direction sequence

Listening task type built on turn right, go straight, past the bank, across from. Track each step in order; the destination is the last landmark mentioned.

Main-idea distractor

An option that is true of only one sentence in the passage. It states a real detail but does not cover the whole text, so it is wrong for a main-idea question.

Pronoun reference check

To resolve it, they, this or one, substitute each candidate noun into the sentence and confirm both number agreement and logical sense.

Vocabulary in context

A reading item asking the meaning of a word as used in the passage. Test by replacing the word with each option and checking the sentence still reads logically.

NOT/EXCEPT item

A question where three options are supported by the passage and one has no textual evidence. Find the unsupported option rather than the least likely one.

Inference limit

An inference answer must be derivable from the passage alone. An option that is factually true but needs outside knowledge is incorrect for the item.

Time markers for ordering

Words such as first, then, after that, by the time, finally. Listing them in sequence before reading the options makes order-of-events items straightforward.

Present perfect vs past

Have/has plus past participle goes with since and for; simple past goes with finished time words such as yesterday, last week, in 2019.

Third conditional form

If + past perfect, would have + past participle. It describes an unreal past situation, e.g. If I had studied, I would have passed.

Gerund after enjoy

Verbs enjoy, avoid, finish, mind and practice take an -ing form, not an infinitive: I enjoy reading, not I enjoy to read.

Stop doing vs stop to do

Stop + -ing means quit an activity; stop + to-infinitive means pause in order to do something else. The meaning changes with the form.

Relative pronoun choice

Who for people, which for things, whose for possession, where for places, when for times. Omit the pronoun only when it is the object of the clause.

Perception verb patterns

After see, hear, watch: bare infinitive for a complete action (I saw him cross) and -ing for one in progress (I saw him crossing).

Quantifier agreement

Many, few and a number of take plural countable nouns and plural verbs; much, little and an amount of take uncountable nouns and singular verbs.

The more, the better

A parallel comparative pattern: the + comparative clause, the + comparative clause, expressing that one change follows another, e.g. the earlier, the better.

Would you mind reply

A request form answered with 'Not at all' or 'Of course not' to accept. 'Yes' would mean the person does mind, so it declines the request.

Speaking (telephone)

The standard reply when the caller asks for the person who answered: 'May I speak to Ken?' - 'Speaking.' Alternatives are 'Hold on, please' or 'He's out.'

So do I agreement

An agreement response that must copy the auxiliary and polarity of the previous statement: 'I like tea' takes 'So do I'; a negative statement takes 'Neither do I'.

Declining an invitation

The polite pattern is acceptance plus reason plus alternative: 'I'd love to, but I have a match that day.' A bare refusal is not the expected answer.

I'm sorry to hear that

A sympathy response used only for bad news such as illness or loss. It is not used to accept an apology for lateness, which takes 'That's all right'.

Just looking, thanks

A standard shop reply to 'Can I help you?' when the customer does not want assistance yet. It politely declines the offer without leaving the shop.

Opinion paragraph frame

Three to five sentences: state your position, give one reason with an example, then restate the position. Each prompt requirement appears in its own sentence.

Tense consistency rule

Narratives use simple past throughout; opinions and general facts use simple present; plans use will or be going to. Mixing them within one paragraph costs marks.

Linking word placement

Use one connector per sentence boundary - first, also, however, for example, as a result, in conclusion - to show the relation between ideas rather than stacking several.

Word-count strategy

For a stated minimum, aim slightly above it. Falling short loses more marks than a small overshoot, and a short text cannot show the required range.

Note-to-sentence conversion

When a prompt supplies notes or a chart, turn each fragment into a complete sentence with subject and verb instead of copying the note word for word.

Paraphrase by word class

Change the grammatical form to avoid copying: 'The city built new parks' becomes 'New parks were constructed by the city.' Meaning is kept, wording is not.

According to the passage

A citation frame that keeps the source's stance clear. It signals the idea belongs to the article, so a summary does not present it as your own claim.

Two-source comparison

When two passages are given, use both and mark the relation with whereas, while or in contrast, stating which source supports which point.