B2 First · Reading & Use of English · Part 3

B2 word formation practice with answers (Free)

Turn a base word into the form a sentence needs. Practise word families, negative prefixes and accurate spelling in context.

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This exercise, its explanations and the downloadable PDF are in English.

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Giving old things a second life

Change each word in capitals into one word that fits the passage. Check meaning and spelling before checking your answers.

Original, independent teaching material. No account needed. The result counts correct answers in this sample, not exam marks.

Last Saturday, our library held its first repair café. The event was so (0) successful (SUCCESS) that the organisers have already planned another one.

Before the doors opened, a team of Gap 1VOLUNTEER arranged tables and tools. Each visitor received a short Gap 2EXPLAIN of the safety rules. We were asked to wait Gap 3PATIENT, without complaining, while someone checked our broken objects.

At first, I thought my old radio was Gap 4POSSIBLE to repair: three shops had already told me that nothing could be done. However, a local engineer found a simple Gap 5SOLVE to the problem and had it working in minutes. She explained each step so Gap 6CLEAR that everyone could follow her instructions.

By the end of the afternoon, more than twenty objects were ready to use again. Keeping them out of the bin meant a Gap 7REDUCE in household waste. I also left with a much better Gap 8UNDERSTAND of how everyday objects work. Next time, I plan to bring a friend and stay for the whole afternoon.

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Answers and explanations

Read the reason behind each answer, then return to the text and find the evidence yourself.

Question 1: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: volunteers

VOLUNTEER → volunteers.

A team consists of several people, so ‘a team of’ needs the plural noun volunteers here. Add -s to volunteer. Voluntary is an adjective and cannot name the people in this gap.

Question 2: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: explanation

EXPLAIN → explanation.

“Each visitor received a short explanation of the safety rules.” The article a and adjective short introduce a singular noun. Explain is a verb; its noun is explanation, with no i after the a. Simply adding -ation to explain gives the incorrect spelling explaination. Read the whole noun phrase: a short explanation, but an explanation if short is omitted.

Question 3: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: patiently

PATIENT → patiently.

The gap describes how visitors should wait, so it needs an adverb. Add -ly to the adjective patient. ‘Without complaining’ supports patiently, rather than the negative form impatiently.

Question 4: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: impossible

POSSIBLE → impossible.

The shops had said that nothing could be done, so the writer initially believed the radio could not be repaired. The adjective must therefore be negative: impossible. Possible takes the prefix im-, not un- or in-.

Question 5: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: solution

SOLVE → solution.

‘A simple’ needs a singular noun, and the usual phrase is ‘a solution to a problem’. The verb solve changes to the noun solution. Do not use solving after ‘a simple’ in this phrase.

Question 6: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: clearly

CLEAR → clearly.

We need to describe how the engineer explained the steps, so the adjective clear becomes the adverb clearly. The result, ‘everyone could follow her instructions’, confirms the positive meaning. Keep the r before -ly.

Question 7: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: reduction

REDUCE → reduction.

The article ‘a’ needs a singular noun. Repairing the objects created less waste, so we need reduction, in the phrase ‘a reduction in waste’. Notice the spelling change from reduce to reduction; it is not reducetion.

Question 8: Reveal answer and explanation

Answer: understanding

UNDERSTAND → understanding.

In ‘a much better ... of’, the gap names the knowledge the writer gained. Add -ing to understand to make the noun understanding. Here it is a noun, not part of a continuous verb tense.

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Practice exercises are AI-generated and may contain errors. They are supplementary practice, not official exam materials.