FCE Use of English common mistakes (and how to fix them)
The most common FCE Use of English mistakes are wrong collocations in Part 1, missing small grammar words in Part 2, spelling and word-class errors in Part 3, and changing the meaning or the key word in Part 4. This page shows each mistake with an original example and a correction, as part of our Reading and Use of English guide.
By Eleanor BennettLast updated:
Why small mistakes matter so much
Use of English (Parts 2, 3 and 4) is scored out of 28 marks, and Part 1 adds 8 vocabulary marks to your Reading score. With so few marks available, every careless error counts. The good news is that most mistakes fall into a small number of patterns. Once you know them, you can check for them in the exam.
This page goes through the mistakes we see most often in each part, with original examples and corrections. For a full explanation of each task, see the guides to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.
How to stop repeating the same mistakes
- 1
Keep an error log
After every practice task, write each wrong answer, the correct answer and the reason in a notebook. Group them by type: preposition, tense, spelling, collocation.
- 2
Find your top three
After a few weeks, count which types appear most. Those three are where your quickest improvement is.
- 3
Make a personal checklist
Before you finish each part in the exam, check your top three mistake types. For example: plural? negative prefix? spelling?
- 4
Review the rule, not just the answer
If you wrote depend of, don't only learn depend on; learn other verbs with on too (rely on, insist on, concentrate on).
Part 1 (multiple-choice cloze): common mistakes
Trap: Wrong verb in a collocation: She did a big effort to finish.
Fix: She made a big effort. Learn make / do / take / have collocations as chunks.
Trap: Confusing similar verbs: Can you borrow me your bike?
Fix: Lend = give for a time; borrow = take for a time. Can you lend me your bike?
Trap: Ignoring the preposition after the gap: He insisted to pay.
Fix: Insist on + -ing: He insisted on paying.
Trap: Confusing rise and raise: Prices have raised this year.
Fix: Rise has no object (prices rose); raise needs one (they raised prices).
Trap: Remind vs remember: Remember me to call my mum.
Fix: Remind somebody to do: Remind me to call my mum.
Trap: Win vs beat: We won the other team 3–1.
Fix: You win a match or prize, and you beat a person or team: We beat the other team.
Part 2 (open cloze): common mistakes
Trap: Missing the dummy subject: ___ is important to sleep well. Answer written: That.
Fix: English uses It here: It is important to sleep well.
Trap: So vs such: It was so a long journey.
Fix: Such a + adjective + noun; so + adjective: It was such a long journey / The journey was so long.
Trap: Wrong relative pronoun: The girl which won the race is my cousin.
Fix: Use who for people, which for things, whose for possession: The girl who won...
Trap: Missing the auxiliary in questions or negatives inside the text: Not only ___ she sing, she also plays the piano.
Fix: After Not only at the start, invert with an auxiliary: Not only does she sing...
Trap: Wrong comparative word: This route is more direct that the motorway.
Fix: More ... than: more direct than the motorway.
Trap: Writing two words: in spite in a single gap.
Fix: Write one word only. If of is already there, the answer is spite or In, depending on which word is missing.
Part 3 (word formation): common mistakes
Trap: Wrong word class: The perform was excellent. / She spoke very confident.
Fix: Noun after the: performance. Adverb after a verb: confidently.
Trap: Missing plural: There are several requirement for the job.
Fix: Several needs a plural: requirements.
Trap: Missing negative: The handwriting was completely readable (READ), so I gave up.
Fix: The context (so I gave up) shows a problem, so you need unreadable. Always read the whole sentence for meaning.
Trap: Wrong negative prefix: unpatient, inlegal, unresponsible.
Fix: impatient, illegal, irresponsible.
Trap: Spelling: succesful, begining, explaination, beleive.
Fix: successful, beginning, explanation, believe. See the spelling traps on our word formation list.
Trap: Person vs thing: She wants to be a science.
Fix: A person noun: scientist.
Part 4 (key word transformation): common mistakes
Trap: Changing the key word: SUGGESTED → suggest.
Fix: Use the key word exactly as given. If your answer needs a different form, change the structure instead.
Trap: Changing the tense: I haven't been to Rome for five years. LAST → I have last been to Rome five years ago.
Fix: Last goes with the past simple: I last went to Rome five years ago.
Trap: Wrong pattern after wish: I wish I will have more free time.
Fix: Present wish = past simple or could: I wish I had more free time.
Trap: Wrong verb form after a reporting verb: She suggested us to go by train.
Fix: Suggest + -ing or suggest that...: She suggested going by train.
Trap: Forgetting it or there: It's no use complaining. POINT → No point complaining.
Fix: There's no point (in) complaining.
Trap: Going over the word limit.
Fix: Count every word, including the key word. Contractions count as two words.
Worked example: find and fix five mistakes
The task
This short original paragraph contains five typical Use of English mistakes. Can you find them before reading the walkthrough?
Last year our school did a competition to raise money for a local charity. It was so a success that we decided to repeat it. The vast majority of students took part on it, and the teachers were really impress. If we would have started earlier, we could have collected even more.
- 1.
did a competition → held (or organised) a competition. Do doesn't collocate with competition here. This is a typical Part 1 error.
- 2.
so a success → such a success. Such a + noun. A typical Part 2 error.
- 3.
took part on it → took part in it. Take part in is a fixed collocation with a dependent preposition.
- 4.
really impress → really impressed. After were we need an adjective, and teachers feel the emotion, so -ed. A typical Part 3 error.
- 5.
If we would have started → If we had started. In third conditionals, would goes in the result clause, not the if clause. A typical Part 4 error.
Answer
Last year our school held a competition to raise money for a local charity. It was such a success that we decided to repeat it. The vast majority of students took part in it, and the teachers were really impressed. If we had started earlier, we could have collected even more.
Commonly confused words at B2
| Use it to… | Phrases |
|---|---|
| Verbs |
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| Adjectives and adverbs |
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| Nouns and other words |
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Where to go next
The best way to avoid mistakes is to build strong language knowledge. Use our collocations list for Part 1, the phrasal verbs list for Parts 1, 2 and 4, and the word formation trainer for Part 3. Linkers cause many errors in Parts 2 and 4, so it's also worth reading our linking words guide.
Then check your progress with a timed set, such as our key word transformation practice.
FCE Use of English common mistakes: FAQ
What is the most common mistake in FCE Use of English?
Spelling and word-class errors in Part 3, and wrong collocations or prepositions in Parts 1 and 2, are among the most frequent. In Part 4, changing the meaning or going over the word limit costs many marks.
Do spelling mistakes lose marks in Use of English?
Yes, in Parts 2, 3 and 4 the answer must be spelled correctly. In Part 1 you only choose a letter, so spelling isn't an issue there.
How can I stop making the same mistakes?
Keep an error log, find your most frequent types, and make a short personal checklist that you use at the end of each part.
Is it better to leave a gap empty than to guess?
No. There is no penalty for wrong answers, so always write something. In Part 4, a partly correct answer can still get 1 mark.
Are American spellings accepted?
Both British and American spelling are generally accepted if they are used correctly and consistently. On this site we use British English.