Use of English B2 First (FCE): Complete Guide with Exercises [Updated 2025]
¿Problemas con el Use of English B2 First (FCE)? Not anymore! Aquí tienes la guía definitiva del Use of English del FCE y ejercicios de Use of English en PDF. 😎
Table of contents
The B2 First (FCE), as we have seen on other occasions, is made up of 5 different parts, also called papers or components: Reading, Use of English, Writing, Listening and Speaking. If in other articles I talked about how to pass the Writing or the Speaking, in this one I am going to tell you exactly what the B2 First (FCE) Use of English is like, describing each part in detail and showing you some exclusive example exercises created by me. ☺️ So let’s get started!
Use of English B2 First (FCE): What it is
The term Use of English, literally ‘use of English’, refers to the ability to put your lexical and grammatical knowledge of English into practice. The B2 Use of English is an ingenious mix of vocabulary and grammar that assesses how well you know how to use the elements of English in writing.
Far from being the typical mix of fill in the gaps exercises, the B2 Use of English exercises test you intuitively, determining your level of control over collocations, idioms, phrasal verbs, synonyms, grammar points, word transformation, sentence transformation, etc.
Although it can become a nightmare for some candidates, the B2 level Use of English is one of my favourite parts of the B2 First (FCE), and if you work on it enough, you can achieve very good results quickly and effectively.
[amazon box=»B09YNX5H3V» author=»Luis @ KSE Academy» description=»This book contains ten practice tests for the Use of English of the B2 First test, formerly known as First Certificate in English (FCE), an examination developed by Cambridge Assessment English.»]
Use of English B2 First (FCE): What are its parts
Before 2015, the B2 Use of English was previously divided into 4 parts, but since 2015 it consists of only 3 parts, as the remaining part is actually counted with the Reading, even though it is done together.
To understand this, you should know that the Reading and Use of English for the FCE are currently taken together, consisting of 7 parts in total. On the one hand, the Reading is made up of parts 1, 5, 6, and 7; and the Use of English of parts 2, 3, and 4. However, in this guide I am going to talk about part 1 as if it were Use of English, as it actually resembles the use of English more than reading comprehension.
B2 First (FCE): Use of English Part 1 – Multiple Choice
In the B2 First Use of English Part 1, which is actually counted as part of the Reading, you have to complete a text with 8 gaps. For each of these gaps you have 4 words from which you have to choose only one, the correct one. A priori, having 4 options may seem like a facilitating element, however, you should bear in mind that at a B2 level you should already know a series of collocations, idioms, phrasal verbs, and other elements that can make choosing from these 4 options a difficult task.
To help you understand better what the B2 Reading & Use of English Part 1 is like, here is a B2 Use of English exercise taken from an official exam.
If you would like to do the exercise for practice, here are the answers:
- B
- C
- B
- D
- C
- A
- D
- B
B2 First (FCE): Use of English Part 2 – Gap fill
In FCE Use of English Part 2, just like in Part 1, you will also have a short text with 8 gaps to fill. However, this time you don’t have 4 options, instead you have to find the word yourself. For this reason, this part can be a little tricky for new B2 First (FCE) candidates. In this part of the B2 Use of English it is common for the candidate to demonstrate their level of knowledge and use of dependent prepositions, phrasal verbs, relative pronouns, idiomatic expressions, two-word verbs, etc. Here is an example video so you can practise with me:
[amazon box=»B09YNX5H3V» description=»This book contains ten practice tests for the Use of English of the B2 First test, formerly known as First Certificate in English (FCE), an examination developed by Cambridge Assessment English.»]
If you want to practise more, below is an example of Use of English Part 2 taken from a real FCE exam, and just below are the answers.
Answers:
- where
- so
- myself
- in
- which/that
- out/on/at
- from
- any
B2 First (FCE): Use of English Part 3 – Word Transformation
In B2 First (FCE) Use of English Part 3 you will also work with a short text with 8 gaps. However, this time the task is quite different from the previous ones. In this B2 level Use of English activity, for each gap you are provided with a word. To fill the gaps you will have to transform these words so that they fit both grammatically and semantically. For example, they might provide you with the verb “know” for one of the gaps, where you will need a noun. To fill the gap you will have to transform “know” into “knowledge”, which is the noun of the verb “know”. The interesting thing in this case is that on the one hand you need to know how to transform the word, but on the other you need to know how to identify what type of word you need in each gap: verb, noun, adjective or adverb. I would say that, due to the number of common roots many words in English and Spanish share, coming from Latin, this is the easiest part for most candidates, although this is not always the case, obviously.
Below is a task. Remember that you must transform the word in capital letters at the end of some lines to fit in the gap in the corresponding line. In other words, the words come in order, so the task is simply to transform them.
And here are the answers: 😃
- producer
- illness(es)
- effective
- scientists
- addition
- pressure
- disadvantage
- spicy
If you want to practise B2 First (FCE) Use of English Part 3, I recommend my ebook 101 Word Transformation Sentences for B2 First (FCE). It is an exercise ebook with 101 sentences containing the most common transformations that have appeared in past B2 First (FCE) exams. If you want to take a look, just click on the image below.
B2 First (FCE): Use of English Part 4 – Key Word Transformation
And we come to the last part, probably the most difficult one for most candidates: Use of English Part 4 Key Word Transformation. In this part of the FCE, you will have to transform 6 sentences using a key word to form a sentence that means the same thing. When transforming each sentence, you will have to use the key word without modifying it in any way, and using between 2 and 5 words, including the key word. Cool, right? I actually love it, but I understand it can be quite difficult sometimes. Let’s look at an example so you can better understand what B2 Use of English Part 4 is like.
I decided to stop smoking only 3 days ago.
GIVE
It was only 3 days ago that I made _____________________________ smoking.
If you pay attention to the sentence, you will see that some information is already reflected (e.g.: only 3 days ago) and some is not (e.g.: decided to stop smoking). Great, now you must find a way to reflect this information using the word give. In this particular case, with this sentence I am posing two lexical challenges for you:
- Find an expression with “made” that means “to decide”.
- Use an expression with “give” that means “stop”.
Nice, isn’t it? I love it. Go on, think of the answer.
Ready? Great, check it with the solution below.
Solution: It was only 3 days ago that I made the decision to give up smoking.
And to show you more examples, here is a video and 6 more sentences for you to practise, with their respective solutions below.
Answers:
- a good idea | to go
- talented | that she/he
- if he/she knew | what/the
- spent/took/was | a long time
- are/is said | to be OR it is said
- not | call off OR you/we didn’t/ did not| call off
[amazon box=»B09YNX5H3V» description=»This book contains ten practice tests for the Use of English of the B2 First test, formerly known as First Certificate in English (FCE), an examination developed by Cambridge Assessment English.»]
Common content of B2 First (FCE) Use of English Part 4
Although you have already seen some common content for this part, it is important that you know what to expect, so below is a short list of lexical and grammatical content that is common in this part of the Use of English exam:
- Conditional sentences
- Comparative sentences
- Passive sentences
- Reported speech verbs and structures
- All tenses
- Modal and semi-modal verbs (simple and perfect)
- So and Such / Too and Enough
- Quantifiers
- Countable and uncountable nouns
- Word transformation (nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.)
- Common collocations
- Dependent prepositions
- Idiomatic expressions
- Phrasal verbs
- And much more.
The good news is that most of this content is covered in the best books to prepare for the B2 First (FCE). Then it is “simply” a matter of studying and practising. 😃
Resources for preparing for the B2 First (FCE) Use of English
My new book: Use of English B2: 10 Use of English Tests for B2 First (FCE)
In April 2022 I published a preparation book called Use of English B2: 10 Use of English Tests for B2 First (FCE).
This book contains ten practice tests for the Use of English of the FCE. These tests offer perfect practice for parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Cambridge B2 Reading & Use of English. It is designed for both English teachers and candidates, as it will help anyone who needs it to become familiar with the format and level of the exam, as well as with the type of questions. Furthermore, if you are a student, it will help you know if you are ready to pass this part of the exam.
You can purchase it in physical format on Amazon (using the box below) or directly in PDF here with a 30% discount to celebrate its launch.
[amazon box=»B09YNX5H3V» author=»Luis @ KSE Academy» description=»This book contains ten practice tests for the Use of English of the B2 First test, formerly known as First Certificate in English (FCE), an examination developed by Cambridge Assessment English.»]
In summary, this book offers you:
- Description of each part of the First Use of English.
- Frequently asked questions section about this paper (FAQ).
- 10 practice tests, including parts 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the Reading & Use of English.
- A photocopiable answer sheet for each test.
- Instructions on how to calculate your own score.
- The answers for each test in the book.
App for B2 First (FCE) Use of English
In addition to the B2 Use of English activities in PDF that you can download in the next section of this article, there is an app that I recommend to all my readers and students to practise using English for the B2 First (FCE) exam. This app is called FCE Academy, and you can see a video review I did of its C1 twin here, to get an idea of how it works.
FCE Academy, developed by the company Prosperity Education, is an app available for iOS and Android that offers 36 B2 First Use of English exercises for parts 1, 2, and 3, and 12 exercises for part 4, which you can do on your mobile without needing an internet connection. A truly amazing application, as the texts have been written and reviewed by Cambridge Assessment English exam experts, although they obviously do not belong to that organisation.
The good news is that, although the full price of this app is only €9.99, after doing the video review and contacting the owners, I have managed to get you a 50% discount for my subscribers and students who decide to purchase it. To get this discount, you simply have to enter your details to subscribe to the blog, and I will send you the discount code as well as a complete B2 First (FCE) Use of English test created by me. You can’t ask for more, can you? 😀
UPDATE: Unfortunately, the discount offered to my subscribers has expired. However, I still recommend the application as it is very good. I apologise for the inconvenience. 🙁
B2 Use of English Exercises in PDF
One of the most common problems my students and readers raise is that they can’t find many B2 Use of English exercises, and of course, the problem is that most people look for Use of English exercises in PDF to download for free, without thinking about the work involved in creating these exercises. However, on the KSE Academy website there are many B2 Use of English exercises in PDF which you can also do online. In fact, right below you can subscribe to the blog and receive a complete B2 First Use of English test in PDF that I have created myself, valued at €4.99. If you want to support me, you can also buy it here.
If you want it, you simply have to enter your name and email address below, accept the conditions et voilà! After confirming your subscription, you will receive an email with a link to download the Use of English exercises and a 50% discount coupon to unlock all the FCE Academy Lite exercises.
Tips for improving B2 level Use of English
Use of English, regardless of the level, is often quite difficult for most candidates. I believe the problem we encounter here is that, in general, we are not used to doing this type of exercise in traditional English classes, as it is not, for example, about doing activities with a particular tense, but about knowing how to apply the knowledge of those tenses without being told which tense to use. And this applies to all the content we usually study in English. Therefore, the study method we should use to practise Use of English and ensure a pass must be different. So here are the tips you should follow to improve your Use of English:
- Read and listen a lot actively: Reading and listening to texts in English is essential for learning and perfecting English. However, if you want to improve your Use of English, you must do it actively, so simply putting on Netflix with English subtitles and letting it wash over you is not enough. No. If you truly want to improve your Use of English, you should put on the English subtitles and get a notebook and pen to jot down idiomatic expressions, phrasal verbs, prepositions, etc., that appear in conversations. Otherwise, you will only improve your Listening and not so much your vocabulary and grammar. You should do the same when reading. Take a short text, an article or something similar, and after reading it, reread it, highlighting interesting expressions, unusual word combinations you don’t know, etc. What you need to think is: would I know how to write this expression without reading it first? If the answer is no, write it down and study it thoroughly.
- Organised notes: Order in studying is fundamental, as it helps us categorise knowledge in our brain when studying content, especially if you are a bit rigid like me. 😂 Therefore, you should have one or more notebooks, divided into categories. To do this you can choose to divide them by Use of English parts (Part 1, 2, 3 or 4), by grammatical or lexical points (conditionals, modals, phrasal verbs, idioms, etc.), by semantic fields if it’s vocabulary, etc. You can do it however you like, but do it in an organised and systematic way.
Review and repeat regularly: This seems obvious, but you wouldn’t believe how many times I have to repeat the meaning of certain phrasal verbs in class, to give you an example. Why? Because most people wouldn’t review even if their life depended on it. However, nowadays it is very easy to review and practise, and it doesn’t have to be boring. I use the Quizlet platform and mobile app with my students, with which you can create your own revision units and study on your mobile, tablet, or computer. Quizlet is great. - Write, speak, and practise: Like everything in a language, if you don’t practise it, you forget it. Therefore, if you want to improve your Use of English, it is absolutely necessary to put your learning into practice when speaking and writing. Obviously, it will be easier to do this when writing, as you have more time to think. That’s why I recommend you do lots of Writings and make the maximum effort to include new expressions and collocations you have learned by reading or listening.
- Go to an academy or an English teacher: English academies and teachers are, obviously, professionals and many like me are specialists in Cambridge Assessment English exams, so we know what kind of content will appear in the exam and we can prepare you better than you can prepare yourself.
How the B2 First (FCE) Use of English is scored
In general, it is very easy to score the B2 First Use of English, but you must remember what I explained earlier: the Reading and the Use of English are done together, but they are scored separately, and Part 1 of the Reading & Use of English is actually part of the Reading, capisce?
Knowing this, the B2 Use of English is scored as follows:
- Part 2: 8 points (1 point / 1 item)
- Part 3: 8 points (1 point / 1 item)
- Part 4: 12 points (2 points / 1 item)
As you can see, parts 2 and 3 are very easy to mark. As for Part 4, each sentence can score 1, 2, or 0 points. When you do the Use of English exercises in PDF that I have made available to you in this article, you will see that the answers are divided with this symbol “|”. This is to assign one point to each part. That is, if you get one half wrong and one half right, you will get 1 point; if you get both right, 2 points; and if you get both wrong, 0 points.
To find out if you have passed, you must add up all the points and get 18 or more points. The maximum you can get is 28 points, and 18 is the minimum to consider this part as passed. If you want to know more about the Cambridge scoring system, read my post on how to calculate your Cambridge Assessment English exam score. A classic of this blog!
Anyway, I think there is nothing else for me to say or explain about the FCE Use of English. I hope I have helped you with this guide to the B2 First Use of English, and that both the PDF exercises and the massive discount I got for the FCE Academy app are useful to you. If you still have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment below. I always reply to all comments personally. Until next time, don’t forget to keep smiling! 😃