USE OF ENGLISH PART FOUR: TRANSFORMATIONS

Each transformation part must count between three and six words and it will be divided into
two parts: A) a simple collocation (verb + preposition), which is indicated at the top of the
sentence, and B) a phrasal verb associated that you have to guess.
MAIN LIST OF TRANSFORMATIONS EXERCISES FOR C-1 LEVEL
ABACK
ACCOUNT

ADD

ATTENTION

BAD
BEEN
BEFORE
BEHALF

BEING

BETTER
BRAINS
BY
CARE
CHANCES
CONSIDERA
BLY

Johnson was quite surprised when he won the election and became President.
Johnson was rather taken aback when he was elected as President.
Because that store sells clothes made by child labour in foreign factories, he
doesn't shop there anymore.
He doesn't buy clothes from that store any more, on account of the fact that
they sell clothes made by child labour in foreign factories.
The animal rights activist was so persuasive that I felt obliged to sign the
petition.
I felt I had an obligation to add my name (or signature) to the petition
because the animal rights activist was so persuasive.
I regret not concentrating more on what the teacher said during my French
lessons.
I now wish I had paid more (greater) attention to the teacher during my
French lessons.
The government should have carefully considered the issue of global warming a
long time ago.
The government should have paid (given) careful attention to the issue of
global warming a long time ago.
I had expected the snake dish to be much worse than it actually was.
The snake dish was actually nowhere near as bad as I had expected.
It's six years since I moved here.
I have been living here for six years.
It's the first time I have seen such a beautiful painting!
Never before have I seen such a beautiful painting! (with inversion)
Since the director could not speak at the awards ceremony himself, one of the
actors took his place.
One of the actors made a speech on behalf of the director at the awards
ceremony.
It's true that I like to work on tasks by myself.
I admit (or confess) to being a person who prefers to work alone.
She didn't like the fact that he had been treated so badly.
She objected to him (his) being treated so badly.
If you don't leave now, you'll miss the bus.
You had better leave now or else.
It was Jane who came up with the idea for the sales promotion.
Jane was the brains behind the sales promotion.
A short meeting of the cast will take place after today's rehearsal.
Today's rehearsal will be followed by a short meeting of the cast.
I think this report needed to be written more carefully.
You should have taken more care in (or while or when) writing this report.
I am confident that he will be successful in his career.
I am confident of (about) his chances of success in his career.
Rene's performance in last week's test was nowhere near as good as it was in
today's.
Rene performed considerably better in today's test than he did in last
week's.

DEAL
DIFFERENC
E
DIFFICULTY
DISMISSIVE
EFFORT
EVER

EXPRESS

FAVOUR
FULLY
GET
GRANTED
GROUNDS
HAPPEN

HAVE

HAVING
HELP
HERSELF

IN

INCLINATIO
N

You don't realize quite how much fat there is in the pizza.
There's a great deal more fat in that pizza that you realize.
My boss doesn't mind what time I start or finish work.
It makes no difference to my boss what time I start or finish work
I find it difficult to remember names.
I have difficulty remembering names.
She didn't listen to my idea at all and refused to consider it.
She was dismissive of my idea and refused to consider it.
He tried very hard to stop smoking.
He made a great (big or every) effort to give up smoking.
Since he was promoted to head chef, he has never been so stressed.
He is suffering from more stress than ever before (or more than ever
before from stress) since he was promoted to head chef.
I want to inform you that I was not satisfied with the standard of service in your
hotel.
I would like to express my dissatisfaction with the standard of service in
your hotel.
The idea of flexi-time seemed to be popular with most of our senior managers.
Most of our senior managers seemed to be in favour of flexi-time.
They still haven't carried out a full assessment of the effects of these changes.
The effects of these changes have yet to be fully assessed.
My passport needs renewing because I'm going abroad this summer.
I need to get my passport renewed because I'm going abroad this summer.
He thinks his friends do not appreciate him.
He dislikes being taken for granted by his friends.
He lost his job because he was inefficient.
He lost his job on the grounds of his inefficiency.
If you should ever come to France, please feel free to visit us.
Please, feel free to visit us if you should happen to come to France.
There's a chance that you might find some interesting wildlife, so take a camera
with you.
You should take a camera with you in case you happen to come across some
interesting wildlife.
The police now think he invented the story to protect his girlfriend.
He is now though to have made up the story to protect his girlfriend.
I think Anita must have gone on a diet recently because she's quite slim now.
It looks as If (though) she has recently been (begun or started) dieting
because she's quite slim now.
It's impossible that you saw John last night - he's in the USA!
John's in the USA, so you can't have seen him last night.
Clara said that she had not seen the missing letter.
Clara denied having seen the missing letter.
I found it impossible not to laugh when he said that.
I could not help laughing when he said that.
Karen's shyness means that she tries not to speak about anything personal in
front of other people.
Karen prefers to avoid speaking (or talking) about herself in public, as she
is terribly shy.
With only three buttons to push, this new food processor looks simple, but
that's deceptive.
With only three buttons to push, this new food processor is deceptively
simple in its appearance.
The day after I lost my job, I did not feel like getting out of bed.
I had no inclination to get out of bed the day after losing my job.

JUST

KEEP

LAST
LIKE

MAKE

MEANTIME

MEMORY

MOST

MOST
NEVER

NO

NOT

NOTICE
OFF

ONLY

My brother and I have the same liking for junk food but he spends more time in
the gym.
My brother likes junk foot just as much as I do but he spends more time in
the gym.
Patrick is going to lose his job if he insists on arriving late on work.
If he will keep on turning up late to work, Patrick is going to lose his job.
Can we please stay on one channel when we're watching TV?
I wish you would not keep changing the channel when we're watching TV.
I haven't driven an automatic car for several years.
It's several years since I last drove an automatic car.
We wanted to continue our mountain trek but the weather was too bad.
We would you like to have carried (gone or continued) on with our
mountain trek but the weather was too bad.
Shall I carry your bag for you?
Would you like me to carry your bag for you?
They made us clean up the mess.
We were made to clean up the mess.
If you feel stressed, breathing slowly should calm you down.
Breathing slowly should make you (feel) calmer if you feel stressed.
It could be a long time before the dolphins swim past, so while we're waiting I
suggest you relax.
We could be waiting for a long time for the dolphins to swim past, so in the
meantime try to relax. (or I advise you, you ought)
I am really bad at remembering people's names when I meet them.
I have a really (or very) bad memory for remembering people's names
when I meet them.
Jake used his month's free membership really well by going to the gym every
single day.
Jake made the most of his month's free membership by going to the gym
every single day.
This recipe is really a lot more imaginative than the others in this book.
This recipe is by far the most imaginative recipe (one) in this book.
Having a holiday together was a mistake because we argued all the time.
I wish never we had never gone on holiday together because we argued all
the time.
The company does not intend to create any redundancies amongst employees
even though profits are down.
Even though profits are down, the company has no intention (wish) of
making (or deny to make) any of their employees redundant.
I absolutely forbid you to tell anyone about the plan.
Under no circumstances must (can or should) you tell anyone about the
plan.
This is your third warning from me this week about being late for work.
This is the third time this week I have warned (told you) not to be late for
work.
Yesterday I informed my boss in writing that I would be leaving the company.
I handed in my notice to my boss yesterday.
They've postponed the meeting until January to give the management team
longer to decide.
The meeting has been put off until January to give the management team
longer to decide.
Once I understood the question, I could answer it.
It was only after I had understood the question that I could answer it.

OTHER

PART

POINT
PREFER

PREVENTED
PROBABLY

RATHER

REFUSAL
REGRET
REQUEST

REQUIRED

ROOM
SECOND

SECOND

SECRET
SEE

To reduce the amount of traffic, the government is proposing that drivers should
only use their cars on alternate days.
To reduce the amount of traffic, the government is proposing that drivers should
only be driven (used) every other day.
It was a waste of time attending the protest march this afternoon, as the
council had already made its decision in the morning.
We needn't have taken part in the protest march this afternoon, as the
council had already made its decision in the morning.
I understand what you are saying but I can't agree.
I can't agree, although I take you point.
Although I wanted quit smoking gradually, my doctor told me to stop
immediately.
I would have preferred to give up smoking gradually, but my doctor told me
to stop immediately.
I couldn't go away for the weekend because I didn't have enough money.
I was prevented from going away for the weekend by lack of memory.
The most likely reason for the scientists getting the conclusion wrong is that
they were not thorough enough with their research
If their research had been more thorough, the scientists would probably not
have come to the wrong conclusion.
It's likely they were delayed in a traffic jam.
They will probably have been got held (or caught) up in a traffic jam.
Didn't you want me to tell the staff about your resignation?
Would you rather I hadn't let the staff know about your resignation?
Mauro says he prefers to do his homework on his own.
Mauro says that he would rather not do his homework with other people.
I was surprised when he said he wouldn't work overtime.
His refusal to work overtime came as a surprise to me.
I'm sorry that I didn't help him.
I regret not helping him.
If the bank refuses to lend us money, we might have to ask your parents
instead.
If the bank turns down our request for a loan, we might have to ask your
parents instead.
To help us run the exhibition next month, we need at least six people.
No fewer (or less) than six people are required to help us run the
exhibition next month.
My study is full of papers - I can't get another thing on my desk!
There is no room for anything else on my desk!
Tom should have admitted his mistake, because the company usually gives
employees another chance.
The company might have given him a second chance if he had admitted his
mistake.
The Japanese are the best at making pocket-sized technology.
The Japanese are second to none when it comes to making pocket-sized
technology.
This isn't nearly as good as the chicken soup you make.
This chicken sound doesn't even come a close second to the one you make.
You were not supposed to tell anyone about my news!
I'd rather you had kept my news secret instead of telling everyone.
I went to have my own look at the apartment and I couldn't understand why my
friend wanted us to live in such a depressing place!
Having gone (or been) to see the apartment for myself, I couldn't

SENSE

SHOES
SINGLE

SOON

SOONER
SPENT
SPITE

SUCH

SURPRISE
TAKE

TENDENCY
TO

TURN

UNABLE

UNTIL

UP

USE

WEAK

understand why my friend wanted us to live in such a depressing place!

I would find Andy more attractive if he didn't laugh at strange things.
If it were not for his strange sense of humour, I would find Andy quite
attractive.
It won't be easy for anyone to take over John's job when he retires.
When John retires, it will be difficult for anyone to step into his shoes.
Each and every one of our employees has contributed to the great success of
our company.
The great success of our company is due to the contribution of every single
one of (or made by every single one of) our employees.
The moment I saw the filthy state of the restaurant kitchen, I no longer felt
hungry.
I lost interest in eating (my appetite) as soon as I saw the filthy state of
the restaurant kitchen.
I wanted to stay in last night but my flatmate insisted we go out.
I would sooner have stayed in last night but my flatmate insisted we go out.
It took Layla five minutes to find her car keys.
Layla spent five minutes looking for her car keys.
Rousseau painted fabulous pictures of the rainforest although he had never
travelled outside Europe.
Rousseau painted fabulous pictures of the rainforest in spite of never having
travelled outside Europe.
Team spirit no longer exists after one member of a team makes a mistake.
Once one member of a team makes a mistake there is no such thing as team
spirit.
We had expected Pedro to get promoted.
Pedro's promotion came as no surprise to us.
I'll be happy to show round the sights of my city when you come to visit me.
It will be a pleasure to take you on for a sightseeing tour of my city when
you come to visit me.
She will often panic if there is a problem.
She has a tendency to panic in the face of a problem.
Except for John, who is still collecting data in Antarctica, we will all be able to
attend the meeting.
We will all be able to make it to the meeting apart from John, who is still
collecting data.
I imagine it was though for you to refuse every beggar that asked you for
money.
It must have been tough (or difficult, hard) to turn down every beggar
that asked you for money.
It is thought that one in every five people cannot control how much they spend.
One in every five people is thought to be unable to keep their spending under
control.
After the noise from the machine has stopped, you can open the lid.
Do not open the lid of the machine until it stops (has stopped) making that
noise.
My parents are planning to pay someone to repair and redecorate their house
next month.
My parents are planning to have their house done up next month.
I always hated pasta when I was a child but now I cook it regularly.
I didn't use to like (or enjoy) pasta when I was a child but now I cook it
regularly.
A common belief is that British people cannot speak foreign languages very
well.

WEIGHT

WORTH
WOULD

British people are commonly believed to be weak at speaking foreign

languages.
It would be a good idea if you could lose a couple of kilos.
I don't think that losing some (or a little) weight would (or will) do you
any harm.
Don't bother to read that book.
It is not worth you reading (or bothering to read) that book
During our summers at the beach, we often used to compete with each other to
see who could collect the most shells.
During our summers at the beach, we would often compete with one
another to see how could collect the most shells.