CEFR English Grammar 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which tense is most appropriate at B2 level to describe a completed action with present relevance?
- Simple past
- Present perfect (Correct answer)
- Past continuous
- Future perfect
Correct answer: Present perfect
The present perfect links past actions to the present moment, a key B2 grammar target.
At B2, learners are expected to use the present perfect accurately to express experiences, recent events, and situations with current relevance. The simple past is used for finished past events with no link to the present.
Question 2: A C1 learner correctly uses "Having finished the report, she submitted it." What structure is this?
- Reduced relative clause
- Perfect participle clause (Correct answer)
- Passive infinitive
- Cleft sentence
Correct answer: Perfect participle clause
Perfect participle clauses express an action completed before the main verb action.
Perfect participle clauses (Having + past participle) are an advanced grammatical structure mastered at C1. They indicate that the action in the participle clause was completed before the action in the main clause.
Question 3: At A2 level, which modal verb expresses ability in the present?
- must
- should
- can (Correct answer)
- would
Correct answer: can
"Can" expresses present ability, a core A2 modal verb.
At A2, learners use "can" to express ability (e.g., "I can swim"). Other modals like "must" (obligation), "should" (advice), and "would" (conditional/polite requests) serve different functions.
Question 4: Which sentence demonstrates correct use of the third conditional at B2?
- If I study, I will pass.
- If I studied, I would pass.
- If I had studied, I would have passed. (Correct answer)
- If I study, I would pass.
Correct answer: If I had studied, I would have passed.
The third conditional uses past perfect + would have + past participle for unreal past situations.
The third conditional structure is: If + past perfect, would have + past participle. It describes hypothetical past situations and their imagined results. This is a B2 grammar item in the CEFR framework.
Question 5: What grammatical feature is demonstrated in "The car needs fixing"?
- Passive voice
- Gerund as object of need (Correct answer)
- Infinitive complement
- Participial adjective
Correct answer: Gerund as object of need
"Needs fixing" uses a gerund (-ing form) as the object of the verb "need", implying a passive meaning.
In informal English, "need + gerund" (needs fixing, needs cleaning) conveys a passive meaning equivalent to "needs to be fixed". This construction is a C1-level grammar item involving gerunds with implicit passive interpretation.
Question 6: At B1, learners are expected to use reported speech. Which correctly reports "I will call you tomorrow"?
- He said he will call me tomorrow.
- He said he would call me the next day. (Correct answer)
- He said he calls me tomorrow.
- He said he called me tomorrow.
Correct answer: He said he would call me the next day.
In reported speech, "will" shifts to "would" and time expressions change accordingly.
Reported speech at B1 requires learners to backshift tenses (will to would) and adjust time references (tomorrow to the next day). This is a core B1 grammar competence in the CEFR framework.
CEFR English Grammar 2
Which tense is most appropriate at B2 level to describe a completed action with present relevance?