Work from the first gap down and knock words out in four steps: read past the gap, check the pattern, say it the English way, compare meaning and tone.
- Now playing: 1Collocation and Context7:42
- 2Near-Synonyms and Tone6:44
Cloze: Collocation and Context
Methods in this video
Tap a time to jump to where the video teaches that method.
- 1
Read past the gap
When to use it: The two or three words right after the gap (what follows it, who it is about) decide what can go in it.
- Don't choose yet: read the gap together with the next two or three words.
- See what the gap joins up with: what comes after it, and who it is about.
- Look at the little word just before the gap too (a, an, the).
- 2
Check the pattern
When to use it: The four words are all close in meaning, but some need a certain word after them (peer at, assign … to), or don't go with the a / an before the gap (an evidence).
- Put each word in: does what comes next still fit?
- Some words need a little word after them: peer at, gaze at, assign … to.
- The a / an before the gap has to fit too: we don't say an evidence.
- 3
Say it the English way
When to use it: The four words all sort of fit and the pattern works, but the gap is part of a fixed phrase English always uses (in that respect, springs to mind, after a fashion, last resort).
- If they all sort of fit, choose what English really says.
- Learn fixed phrases as a whole: springs to mind, in no small measure, last resort.
- A familiar word can have an unusual meaning: after a fashion.
- 4
Compare meaning and tone
When to use it: Two or more words make sense in the gap, so you compare the fine differences in meaning, strength or tone.
- If two both make sense, pick the one that fits the context better.
- Read to the end of the sentence, and the next one if you need to.
- Compare strength (a flicker or a flame) and tone (a chat or a report).
Practise exam-style questions with these methods
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