Grammar Tests C2

Perfect your command of English grammar at a near-native level, tackling the most nuanced structures and stylistic variations (CEFR level C2). Quizzes for this level will be added soon.

Grammar Topics

Full Inversion with Locative and Directional Adverbials – «Down the street came the parade…», «On the table lay a letter…» (literary/descriptive fronting)
Inversion with «Such» and «To such an extent» – «Such was his anger that…», «To such an extent did she excel that…» (extreme result clauses)
Inversion with Comparative Correlatives – «The more you practice, the better you become» (no inversion) vs. «The harder did he try, the less he succeeded» (literary inversion for emphasis)
Negative Inversion in Subordinate Clauses – «He left, nor did he ever return…» (coordinating negative inversion)
Reversed Conditional Structures without «If» – All Variants – «Had he but known…», «Were that the case…», «Should you require further assistance…» (consolidation with archaic «but»)
Archaic Subjunctive in Fixed Expressions – «Come what may…», «Be that as it may…», «God forbid that…», «Suffice it to say…» (fossilized C2 structures)
The Subjunctive in «That» Clauses with «Lest» and «For fear that» – «He fled, lest he be captured…» (formal/literary, consolidation with modern alternatives)
The «Mandative Subjunctive» in American vs. British English – «They insisted that he not go…» vs. «They insisted that he should not go…» (register and dialectal nuance)
«If I were» vs. «If I was» – Subjunctive vs. Indicative in Conditional Clauses – Complete stylistic and formal/informal distinction (including «if I were you» as a fixed phrase)
«Were» in Non-Conditional Hypothetical Clauses – «She spoke as if she were the queen…» (subjunctive in comparative clauses – consolidation)
«Should» for Unreal/Remote Possibility in Formal English – «If you should happen to see him…», «Should there be any issues…» (extreme politeness and formality)
Modal Verbs with Perfect Infinitive for Unfulfilled Obligation and Regret – «I ought to have known…», «You might have told me!», «Needn’t have bothered…» – Mastery of all modal perfects
«Will» and «Would» for Habitual Actions in Present and Past – «He will (always) leave the door open» (present habit with annoyance) / «She would often sit by the window» (past habit) – Stylistic nuance with «used to»
«Would» for Politeness, Desire, and Literary Wishes – «Would you mind terribly if…» (ultra-polite) / «Would that I could turn back time…» (literary wish)
«Shall» in Legal, Contractual, and Formal Register – «The tenant shall maintain the premises…» (obligation in legal English) vs. «Shall I?» (suggestion) – Complete distinction
Double Modals (Dialectal/Regional) – «I might could go…», «You might should try…» (non-standard but encountered in specific dialects – awareness level)
Ellipsis of Subjects and Auxiliaries in Informal/Diary Style – «Went to the store. Bought some milk. Met John.» (stylistic ellipsis for narrative effect)
Ellipsis in Comparative Clauses – «She can run faster than I [can run]», «He ate more than [was] necessary» – Advanced reduction rules
Ellipsis after «If», «When», «While», «Although» with Participles – «If [it is] necessary, call me…», «While [he was] walking home…» (gapping for conciseness)
«One» and «You» as Impersonal Pronouns – «One might argue that…» (formal) vs. «You might argue that…» (informal) – Register and distancing strategies
«They» as a Generic Singular Pronoun – «Everyone should bring their own lunch…» – Mastery of modern inclusive usage and historical context
Pronoun Agreement in Formal Writing – «Everyone should bring his or her own lunch…» (formal/traditional) vs. «their» (modern) – Nuanced register choice
Advanced Determiners: «All», «Both», «Half», «Each», «Every» with Pronouns – «We all…», «They both…», «All of whom…» – Syntactic positioning mastery
«Whom», «Whose», «Whomever» in Relative and Interrogative Clauses – «To whom it may concern…», «Whomever you choose…» – Formal relative pronoun mastery
Relative Clauses with «Whereby», «Wherein», «Hereby», «Therewith» – «A system whereby…», «The document wherein…» – Formal/legal/archaic relational adverbs
«What», «Whatever», «Whoever», «Whichever» in Nominal Relative Clauses – «Whatever you decide is fine…» – Consolidation with emphasis
Prepositions Stranded vs. Fronted in Formal Writing – «The candidate whom we spoke to…» vs. «The candidate to whom we spoke…» – Register distinction (informal vs. formal)
Prepositional Verbs vs. Phrasal Verbs – Semantic and Syntactic Distinction – «Look at» (prepositional) vs. «Look up» (phrasal) – Advanced mastery of particle movement and transitivity
Advanced Phrasal Verbs with Three Particles – «Put up with», «Get away with», «Look forward to», «Come up against» – Consolidation with stylistic alternatives
«In that» as a Causal Connector – «He was fortunate in that he had no debts…» (formal alternative to «because»)
«Seeing that», «Considering that», «Given that» – Advanced concessive and causal subordinators with nuanced register
«Much as» + Clause – «Much as I admire him, I cannot agree…» (formal alternative to «although»)
«As it were» and «So to speak» – Hedging and distancing strategies for figurative speech (metalinguistic markers)
«Such as», «That is (to say)», «Namely», «Viz.» – Elaboration and exemplification markers in formal writing
«Rather than», «Instead of» + Parallel Structures – «She chose to resign rather than accept the terms…» – Ellipsis and parallelism rules
«No sooner… than», «Hardly/Scarcely… when» with Inversion – «No sooner had I arrived than…» / «Hardly had she spoken when…» – Consolidation with emphasis
«Only» + Adverbial + Inversion – «Only after reading the document did I understand…» – Consolidation with all adverbial phrases
«Little» with Inversion for Negative Emphasis – «Little did she know…», «Little do they realize…» (dramatic/ironic effect)
«Nowhere», «Never», «Rarely», «Seldom» with Inversion – Consolidation across all verb tenses and auxiliary types
«Not only… but also» – Parallelism and Inversion – «Not only did he arrive late, but he also forgot the gift…» (strict parallelism rules)
«At no time», «Under no circumstances», «On no account» + Inversion – «Under no circumstances should you open this door…» (emphatic prohibition)
«The… the…» Comparative Correlatives (Parallel Structures) – «The sooner, the better», «The more he ate, the fatter he got» – Advanced grammatical parallelism
Cleft Sentences with «All», «What», «The thing that», «The one who» – «All I want is peace», «The one who should decide is you» – Discourse emphasis strategies
«It is/was… that/who» – Information Structuring – «It was John who paid» vs. «It was John that paid» – Distinction between restrictive and non-restrictive in clefting
Existential «There» with Complex Subjects – «There seems to be a problem…», «There appears to have been a mistake…» – Hedged existence for academic writing
Nominalization of Verbs – Advanced Academic Style – «The implementation of the policy…» instead of «They implemented the policy…» – Abstract vs. concrete register
«This», «These», «That», «Those» as Cohesive Devices – Referencing entire previous paragraphs or ideas for academic and formal discourse cohesion
Fronting for Thematic Cohesion – «This problem, I cannot solve…» (topicalization) – Moving objects to subject position for discourse flow
Passive with «Get» – Informal and Dynamic Passive – «He got fired», «She got married» vs. «He was fired», «She was married» – Aspectual and stylistic distinction
Passive with «Have» – Experiential Passive – «I had my wallet stolen» (experiencing an event) – Consolidation with all causative/experiential forms
«Be to + Infinitive» – Formal Obligation, Plan, or Destiny – «They were to meet at dawn…», «He is to be commended…» (formal future in present and past)
«Be about to» / «Be on the point of» / «Be on the verge of» – Expressing immediate future with stylistic variation (neutral, formal, dramatic)
«Be bound to» / «Be sure to» / «Be certain to» – Expressing high probability or inevitability with modal nuance
«There is no + Gerund» – Expressing Impossibility or Prohibition – «There is no telling what he might do…», «There is no smoking in this area» (deontic vs. epistemic)
Absolute Participial Clauses – «Weather permitting, we will go…», «All things considered, it was a good decision» – Independent clauses with no grammatical subject linking (highly formal/literary)