ECPE flashcards

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

ECPE listening: heard twice

Every listening text in the ECPE listening section is played twice. Use the first hearing to answer all items provisionally and the second to verify details, numbers, and speaker stance.

Paraphrase over repetition

In listening and reading multiple choice, the correct option usually paraphrases the text while distractors recycle exact words. Treat verbatim repetition of a phrase as a warning sign.

Hedged language signals stance

Expressions such as I suppose, to be honest, actually, and admittedly introduce the speaker's real position. For inference and attitude items, the proposition after the hedge usually carries the answer.

Resynchronising after losing place

If you lose the thread during a longer recording, locate the key noun of the next question stem in the audio and resume there rather than trying to reconstruct the missed section.

Corrected numbers in recordings

Speakers often revise figures mid-sentence, as in at first I thought Tuesday but it's actually Wednesday. Record the final stated value, not the first one mentioned.

Phrasal verbs as single units

Verbs such as put off, run out of, and make up for carry meanings not predictable from their parts. Learn each verb-particle pair with a full example sentence rather than the verb alone.

Polarity words in stems

Words like not, least, except, and hardly reverse the task. Underline them in the question before answering, since many wrong options are true statements that ignore the polarity.

Main idea versus detail

A main-idea option must cover the whole passage. An option that is accurate but confined to one paragraph is a detail distractor and does not answer a main-idea question.

Vocabulary in context test

Substitute each option into the original sentence and check whether logic and register still hold. The most common dictionary sense of a word is frequently the wrong choice.

Pronoun antecedent substitution

To resolve a reference item, replace the pronoun with each candidate noun. The antecedent must agree in number and gender and must make logical sense as the subject of the predicate.

Forced inference rule

A valid inference answer follows necessarily from the text. If an option needs outside knowledge or an extra assumption to be true, it is unsupported and therefore wrong.

Extreme versus hedged options

Options containing all, never, only, or prove are usually incorrect. Options softened with tend to, suggest, or may are more often consistent with academic passages and thus likelier correct.

Author tone versus quoted tone

Tone and purpose items ask about the writer of the passage, not about people quoted inside it. Identify the author's evaluative adjectives and concessive clauses such as although.

Locate then read around

For detail questions, find the keyword in the passage first, then read only the two sentences surrounding it. This keeps the reading section within roughly one minute per item.

Gerund after prepositions

After prepositions and after expressions such as look forward to, object to, be used to, and in addition to, use a gerund rather than a bare infinitive: I look forward to hearing from you.

Suggest takes no object infinitive

Verbs such as suggest, recommend, and insist are followed by a that-clause or a gerund, never by an object plus infinitive. She suggested taking a taxi is correct; she suggested me to take is not.

Third conditional pairing

An if-clause with had plus past participle pairs with would have plus past participle in the result clause. Wish and if only with the past perfect express regret about the past.

Inversion after negative adverbials

When a negative or restrictive adverbial begins the sentence, the auxiliary precedes the subject: Never have I seen, Not only did she agree, Hardly had he arrived when the meeting began.

Collocation decides vocabulary items

Correct answers are fixed word partnerships, not synonyms: make a decision, do research, heavy rain, strong argument, highly unlikely. Learn nouns with their usual verbs and adjectives.

Less versus fewer

Use less with uncountable nouns and fewer with countable plurals. Much, little, and a great deal of pattern with uncountables; many, few, and a number of pattern with countables.

Particle changes phrasal meaning

Turn up, turn out, turn down, and turn over share a verb but differ entirely in meaning. Memorise the verb-particle combination as one lexical item with an example sentence.

Unreal past after wish

Wish plus past simple describes an unreal present, wish plus past perfect describes regret about the past, and wish plus would expresses annoyance at someone else's behaviour.

Writing thesis in one sentence

State the essay's central claim in a single sentence in the introduction, then give each body paragraph one supporting point. This structure secures organisation marks before stylistic polish matters.

Cohesion with varied linkers

Use explicit connectives of addition, contrast, cause, and example, but vary them. Mechanical repetition of furthermore and moreover in every sentence reads as a limited range of cohesive devices.

Register follows task type

Articles may use rhetorical questions and direct address. Formal letters and proposals require impersonal tone, no contractions, and conventional openings and closings such as Dear Sir or Madam.

Range through complex sentences

Include at least one relative, conditional, participle, or concessive clause per body paragraph. Range is scored separately from accuracy, so controlled complexity raises the grammar mark.

Final five-minute error check

Reserve time to check subject-verb agreement, articles, tense consistency, and plural endings. These four error types account for a large share of avoidable grammar marks in timed writing.

Examples instead of padding

If an answer falls short of the required length, add a concrete example or a consequence rather than repeating the thesis. Repetition adds words without adding content marks.

Speaking: build on partner

In the collaborative task, acknowledge your partner's point before adding your own, for example That's a good point about cost, and it also means. Ignoring the partner lowers interactive communication marks.

Long turn fixed frame

Structure individual long turns as position, two reasons with examples, then a short conclusion. A predictable frame keeps the answer coherent when preparation time is minimal.

Paraphrase instead of stalling

When a word is missing, describe it, as in the thing you use to open bottles, and keep the sentence moving. Long silences cost fluency marks more than imperfect vocabulary does.

Interactive gambits to deploy

Use phrases such as What do you think, Shall we move on, I see your point but, and Could you say more. These initiate and sustain exchange, which examiners score as interactive communication.