Challenge your English! Can you answer these 20 Questions? (A1-C1)

Hello, lovely students, and welcome back to English with Lucy.

Today, I have a challenge for you.

I'm going to ask you 12 questions—four

at A1 or A2 beginner level, four at B1, B2 intermediate level, and four at C1, C2

advanced level.

Answer as many questions as you can and

see how far you can go.

After each question, I will explain the

answer meaning this video contains 12 mini-lessons.

I've also expanded those mini-lessons in the free PDF that goes with this video.

If you'd like to receive that, just click on the link in the description box, enter

your name and your email address, and the PDF will arrive directly in your inbox.

After that, you'll be signed up to my mailing list, and you will automatically

receive my free weekly PDFs alongside my news, course updates and offers.

It's a free service, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

With this free PDF, you will also receive a secret link.

This link, which is not shared anywhere else, will also give you access to some

exclusive interactive exercises to practise what you've learnt in this video.

Right, let's get started with the quiz.

I'm going to give you five seconds to

answer each question, but you will probably need more time, so use the pause button.

Please keep count of your score and share it with me in the comments section when

you're finished.

Let's start with beginner-level questions.

Number one, choose the correct option to fill in this gap.

There aren't _ books on the table.

Is it A some or B any?

I'll give you five seconds.

The answer is any.

There aren't any books on the table.

We usually use any in negative sentences

with plural or uncountable nouns.

Okay, let's do question two.

Fill in the gaps to create a question in the present simple tense.

I want you to use the verb  to like '_ he _ olives?'

Five seconds.

Okay, here's the answer.

Does he like olives?

Did you get that?

To make yes/no questions in the present

simple, we often use do or does.

We used does here because the subject is

he and the verb is in the base form like, not likes.

All right, question number three.

Fill in the gap using the correct form of

the word easy to compare English to German.

Ready?

I think English is _ than German.

Five seconds.

Are you ready for the answer?

I'm also checking your spelling.

Easier.

Did you spell that right?

When a one or two-syllable adjective ends in a consonant plus y, we usually make

the comparative by removing the y and adding -ier (I -E -R), easy, easier,

pretty, prettier, for example.

Let's look at sentence four, and this is

your last one at A1, A2 level.

Ready?

Choose the correct option to fill in the gap.

Oh, no! He _ that mirror. Watch out!

Is it A will break, B is going to break or C is breaking?

Five seconds.

Okay, ready for the answer?

B is going to break.

Oh, no! He is going to break that mirror.

Watch out!

We use to be going to to make

predictions based on evidence we have now, often evidence that we can see.

So how did you do on that section?

Are you ready to move on to  B1 and B2 level questions?

Let's start with question five.

Find the mistake and correct it.

Have you ever been to Tokyo?

Yes, I've been in 2019.

I'll give you five seconds.

Are you ready for me to reveal the answer?

The mistake was using I've been, which

is the present perfect simple tense with a specific time reference, in 2019.

If you want to use a specific time reference, you should use the past simple.

I went in 2019.

You could also remove the time reference

from the sentence.

Have you ever been to Tokyo?

Yes, I've been.

It would be more natural to say, 'Yes, I

have,' but 'Yes, I've been' is okay.

Let's look at question six.

Choose the correct option to fill in the gap.

I finally got round to _  that film you recommended.

Is it A watch, B watched or C watching?

Five seconds.

The answer is C watching.

To get round to or to get around to is

a phrasal verb meaning to find the time to do something.

It can be followed by a gerund (an -ing verb), or a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase.

I've explained more about each of those things in the PDF.

Let's move on to question seven.

Which word forms the best collocation

with 'a reputation for something'?

Colin has _ a reputation for being very

stubborn in negotiations.

Is it A constructed, B gained or C achieved?

I'll give you six seconds this time.

Just kidding, five.

The answer is gained B.

Colin has gained a reputation for being

very stubborn in negotiations.

To gain a reputation for something is a

strong collocation.

We wouldn't usually say constructed or

achieved a reputation.

Okay, are you ready for the final

question in our B1, B2 section?

Number eight, fill in the gaps to

complete the sentence and use the verbs in brackets.

If the weather _ (be) better yesterday, we _ (eat) outdoors.

However, it was pouring, so we ate inside.

Five seconds for that one.

Are you ready for the answer?

If the weather had been better yesterday,

we would have eaten outdoors.

This is a third conditional sentence.

The structure is if plus past perfect comma would have plus past participle.

We use the third conditional to imagine a different past.

It's a hypothetical conditional because we can't change the past.

Okay, that's the end of our B1, B2 intermediate section, and remember that

the PDF and interactive exercise pack will really help you to understand and

remember what you're learning.

Okay, now we're moving on to C1 and C2

level questions, and these questions are really challenging.

Please don't worry if you can't answer them, but do have a go because I'm going

to explain the answers, and there are more detailed explanations in the PDF.

Even if you're not at this level yet, it's interesting to see what to aim for.

Remember to pause the video if you need longer to think about your answer.

Let's start with number nine.

Think of one word to fill in the blank in

all three sentences and the word must be exactly the same.

Sentence one 'I was at a _ as to how to help'.

Two 'The _ of his mother hit Erik hard', and

three 'We made a _ during our first year in business'.

Five seconds, but you may need longer.

Ready for the answer?

The word for all three sentences is loss.

'I was at a loss as to how to help', 'The

loss of his mother hit Erik hard', and 'We made a loss during our first year in business'.

Explanation time.

If you are at a loss, you don't know what

to do or say, that's the first sentence.

In the second sentence, loss means the

death of a person.

In the third sentence, loss means the

money a business lost, and it's the opposite of profit.

All right, let's move on to the next one.

This is a high level vocabulary question.

Number 10, choose the correct option to fill in the gap.

The singer had a wonderfully _ voice that was perfect for jazz.

Is it A gruff, B husky or C hoarse?

Five seconds for you.

The answer is B husky.

The singer had a wonderfully husky voice

that was perfect for jazz.

Now, gruff, husky, and  hoarse have similar meanings.

We can use them all to describe the sound of someone's voice.

However, gruff usually has a negative connotation.

A gruff voice is low, deep  and sometimes unfriendly.

Hoarse also has a negative connotation.

If someone's voice is hoarse, it's rough

and unpleasant, often because someone has a sore throat.

A husky voice is also low and rough, but it's often in an attractive way.

It's essential to know these nuances in meaning when you get to an advanced level

in English.

Nuance is something we really focus on in

my Beautiful British English C1 Programme.

If you'd like to learn more about that,

visit englishwithlucy.com.

Okay, let's move on to question eleven.

You might recognise this question type from English exams.

Ready?

Use the word brink to fill in the gap and

make the second sentence mean the same as the first.

Do not change the word brink.

You can use between three and six words

in the gap.

Ready?

First sentence 'Medical advances should soon produce a breakthrough in gene therapy'.

Second sentence, this one's for you, 'The medical community is thought _ a

breakthrough in gene therapy'.

Five seconds, but I honestly think you'll

need longer.

Ready for the answer?

The medical community is thought to be on the brink of a breakthrough in gene therapy.

Did you get that?

If you did, well done, that's amazing.

If you are on the brink of something - a new or different situation is about to begin.

It implies that something is going to happen or someone is going to do

something in the very near future.

There was also an impersonal passive

structure in that sentence 'The medical community is thought to be'.

Again, there is more about that in the PDF if you want to learn about it.

Now, the final question, number twelve, and then you can share your score with me.

Number 12, change the form of the highlighted word so that it fits in the gap.

Ready?

The city was _ by large stone walls.

The highlighted word is circle.

I'll give you five seconds to think this through.

Okay, the answer is encircled.

The city was encircled by large stone walls.

Did anyone get that?

That question was all about word

formation, something that, again, we cover in great detail in my Beautiful British

English C1 Programme.

In this case, we took the word circle and

made it into a past participle by adding d and we added the prefix -E -N.

To encircle means to surround completely.

We wouldn't say circled because that

means moving in a circle or drawing a circle around something.

I put some examples in the PDF to show this more clearly, I know it's complex.

And that was the last question, wasn't that a challenge?

I really want to know how you did so please do share your score or let me know

which questions were easy or difficult for you in the comments.

Sometimes, I find with my higher level students that they get the C1 and C2

questions, but then they make a mistake in an A2 question.

Remember, if you want to download the PDF, there are more explanations on

everything I covered today, the link is in the description box, and you also get

access to that secret link with an interactive activity.

I really hope you enjoyed today's lesson, I hope you learnt something.

If you like my lessons, I think you will love my courses.

We've got our B1, B2 and C1 Beautiful British English Programmes.

They are 12-week programmes, over, well over 10,000 students have participated

in these programmes now, and the feedback has been awesome.

All of the information is at englishwithlucy.com.

I will see you soon for another lesson.

Muah!