SPI English · Free notes

Fill in the Blanks: SPI English

Fill in the Blanks has 26 questions in the SPI bank: ten from the sample paper and sixteen from LWS mocks, and none from the 2022 paper. Fourteen are EASY, ten MODERATE and two HARD, and six of them have two blanks. The right option is nearly always fixed by a word somewhere else in the sentence, so read the whole sentence before the options, find that word, and then test each option in the gap.

The handout has every subtopic, worked example, formula and trap with answers shown. The formula sheet is the chapter’s formulas and traps alone, on one page.

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Subtopic notes

Formula & revision sheet

0 formulas · 7 reference tables · 18 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet

Word Choice and Collocations

Reference tables (1)

Words that always go together8 rows

Phrase	Meaning	Correct example
commit to memory	learn by heart	She committed the poem to memory.
previous conviction	an earlier finding of guilt in court	The thief had two previous convictions.
set someone up as	start someone in a business or post	His aunt set him up as a tailor.
put someone up	give someone a place to stay	Our friends put us up for the night.
make a mistake	do something wrong	I made a mistake in the sum. Not 'do a mistake'.
pay attention	listen or look carefully	Pay attention to the teacher.
keep a promise	do what you said you would	He always keeps his promises.
take part in	join in an activity	She took part in the race.

Near-synonyms are the usual wrong options: retain, keep and hoard sound close to commit but do not fit 'to memory'.

Watch out for (4)

Look-alike words can have opposite feelings
→ Fit the meaning, the feeling and the grammar
The word after the gap can rule an option out
→ Fit the meaning, the feeling and the grammar
Same meaning, wrong partner
→ Words that always go together
A small word changes a phrasal verb
→ Words that always go together

Prepositions

Reference tables (3)

Place and movement: at, in, into, on, above6 rows

Preposition	Shows	Correct example
at	a point or position	He waited at the gate.
in	inside a space	The keys are in the drawer.
into	moving to the inside	The cat ran into the kitchen. Use into, not in, after a verb of entering.
on	a surface, or a fixed phrase	The book is on the shelf. We went on a trip.
above	higher than a level	The plane flew above the clouds.
below	lower than a level	The water was below the danger mark.

At the front of a queue is a position; in the front of a car is inside a space.

With for the tool, by for the doer, to for the purpose5 rows

Job	Preposition	Correct example
who did it	by	The wall was painted by Ravi.
what it was done with	with	He painted it with a brush. Not 'by a brush'.
why, before a verb	to	She went out to buy milk.
a way of travelling	by	We came by train.
the rule a life follows	live by	He lives by his principles.

A sentence can carry both: 'The tree was cut down by the woodcutter with an axe.'

The preposition a word takes9 rows

Word	Partner	Correct example
jump	to (a conclusion)	Hear both sides before you jump to conclusions.
success, succeed	in	She succeeded in passing the test.
anxious (wanting safety)	for	We were anxious for news of the climbers.
anxious (worried)	about	He is anxious about his marks.
intrude (a place)	into	Do not intrude into the office.
intrude (time or privacy)	on	I am sorry to intrude on your evening.
congratulate	on	We congratulated her on her win.
good	at	He is good at chess.
interested	in	She is interested in music.

If two prepositions look possible, the meaning in the sentence picks between them, as with anxious for and anxious about.

Watch out for (6)

In is a place, into is a movement
→ Place and movement: at, in, into, on, above
Above a level, not on it
→ Place and movement: at, in, into, on, above
By the person, with the thing
→ With for the tool, by for the doer, to for the purpose
For a purpose before a verb is wrong
→ With for the tool, by for the doer, to for the purpose
Congratulate on, not for
→ The preposition a word takes
Success takes in before an -ing word
→ The preposition a word takes

Articles and Agreement

Reference tables (2)

A, an or the6 rows

Noun	Article	Correct example
a consonant sound	a	a tall tree, a university
a vowel sound	an	an orange, an hour Hour starts with a vowel sound, so it is an hour.
first mention, one of many	a or an	A man knocked at the door.
already known to both speakers	the	Shut the window, please.
one of a kind	the	the sun, the sky, the earth
river, canal, sea, ocean, mountain range	the	the Ganga, the Panama Canal, the Himalayas

A two-blank article question is two separate decisions: settle each gap on its own.

One or more: the verb for the subject4 rows

Subject	Number	Correct example
everybody, everyone, nobody, each	singular	Everyone in the bus was singing.
A and B (two people or things)	plural	The pen and the pencil are on the desk.
the + title and title (one article)	singular: one person	The poet and painter was honoured. With 'the poet and the painter', it is two people: were honoured.
one name or one thing	singular	My friend has gone home.

Count the articles before two job titles: one 'the' means one person.

Watch out for (4)

Go by the sound, not the letter
→ A, an or the
One of a kind takes the
→ A, an or the
Everybody sounds like many but is one
→ One or more: the verb for the subject
The word after the gap picks the helper
→ One or more: the verb for the subject

Tenses

Reference tables (1)

One blank: match the time clue5 rows

Clue	Tense	Correct example
yesterday, last year, ago	simple past	We played football last Sunday.
a story told in the past	simple past	The sky grew dark, and the wind started to blow.
now, at the moment	present continuous	She is cooking now.
every day, always, usually	simple present	He reads the paper every day.
tomorrow, next week	future with will	They will arrive tomorrow.

An -ing word alone (beginning, going) is never a full verb.

Watch out for (4)

A past story keeps its verbs in the past
→ One blank: match the time clue
Were is plural
→ One blank: match the time clue
Have and had do not mix in one past story
→ Two blanks: the order of the two actions
Will after a present verb, would after a past one
→ Two blanks: the order of the two actions

Question weightage by concept

9 concepts · 26 questions — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first

Word Choice and Collocations5 questions · 19%

Concept	Qs	Share
Words that always go together	3	12%
Fit the meaning, the feeling and the grammar	2	8%

Prepositions10 questions · 38%

Concept	Qs	Share
Place and movement: at, in, into, on, above	4	15%
With for the tool, by for the doer, to for the purpose	3	12%
The preposition a word takes	3	12%

Articles and Agreement5 questions · 19%

Concept	Qs	Share
A, an or the	3	12%
One or more: the verb for the subject	2	8%

Tenses6 questions · 23%

Concept	Qs	Share
Two blanks: the order of the two actions	4	15%
One blank: match the time clue	2	8%

Test yourself on a real paper

Sit a past SPI paper, timed and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.

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