Skills for English B2 Grammar List

This list provides a selection of grammar points that could appear in a B2 level Skills for
English test. This list is for guidance purposes only and grammar not included in this list may
also appear in the B2 tests.

Future continuous:
Tenses
At this time next week, I will be working on
my project.
Present simple:
They will be travelling to Europe during the
I eat breakfast every morning.
summer.
He likes ice cream.

Present continuous: Future perfect:

I am eating lunch right now. By the time you arrive, I will have finished
She is reading a book. preparing dinner.
In five years, they will have saved enough
Present perfect simple: money to buy a house.
I have seen that movie before.
They have not spoken yet. Future perfect continuous:
By next year, I will have been studying French
Present perfect continuous: for five years.
He has been running since 3.30. They will have been living in this city for a
I’ve been thinking about this all day. decade by 2025.

Past simple:
Future in the past:
I played tennis yesterday.
Last year, he said he would visit Paris, and he
She ate pizza last night.
did.
She told me she was going to graduate in a
Past continuous:
few months.
I was studying when you called.
We were waiting a long time.

Past perfect: Verbs

She had left the building by 5 pm.
He’d wanted to stay longer. Basic regular and irregular verbs:
She has a cat.
Past perfect continuous: I am happy.
She had been staying at the hotel when the
power went off. There is/are:
They had been asking about the problem There is a fox in the garden.
until it got solved. There are three pigs in the field.

Future simple: Subject-verb agreement:

I will call you later. The woman drinks 8 glasses of water every
They will not arrive on time. day.
The couple are waiting for the bus to arrive.
 Causative verbs:
Talking about future plans with "going He was allowed to take the car home by the
to": mechanic.
I'm going to visit my friend tomorrow. She forced him do his homework.
They are going to the beach this weekend.

Imperatives for giving advice:

Take an umbrella with you. Non-finite verbs
Don't forget to study.
Gerunds & infinitives as subjects:
Passive voice – simple tenses: Gerund: Concentrating is not always easy for
Passive voice: The newspaper was left at the me.
door by the postman. Infinitive: To travel in Europe can be very
Active voice: The postman left the newspaper expensive.
at the door.
Gerunds & infinitives as objects:
Used to / be used to / get used to: Gerund: I look forward to helping you later.
I used to play in the park. Infinitive: My sister decided to get a job
I am used to waking up early.
I will get used to it eventually. Gerunds & infinitives for purpose:
Gerund: The towel is for drying your hair.
Phrasal verbs: Infinitive: I use a standing desk to improve my
I’ll wash up the dishes as long as you do the posture.
drying.
Don’t throw away your old clothes; take them
to a charity shop.
Modals
I feel like we don’t hang out as much as we
used to.
Basic modal verbs and their negatives:
She can play the drums.
Passive voice – Perfect tenses & modals:
He can’t go to school today.
The book has been read by many people.
The car must be repaired before it can be Ability and possibility:
driven. I can/ can’t swim.
Could you help me?
Passive voice – Gerunds & infinitives: He may / may not be able to help.
I remember being taught how to swim by my
grandfather. Necessity and obligation:
She wants to be invited to the conference. You must finish your homework.
We have to wear special shoes when working
Passive voice – Distancing expressions: on the site.
It is said that the ancient city was founded by
a king. Permission & requests:
The document was allegedly forged by a Could I speak to Henry, please?
dishonest employee. Can you do me a favour please?
Deduction: Adverb clauses of reason / purpose /
She’s ten minutes late. She might be stuck in contrast:
traffic. Reason: Because of the weather, it’s probably
That’s my phone ringing. That must be her. best to stay indoors.
Purpose: He works hard so there is less to do
Suggestion: later.
You should take the bus – it’s much faster. Contrast: I work here even though the pay’s
We could meet after lunch. not great.

Certainty expressions: Relative clauses with 'Whose':

She must be at home by now. The woman whose car was stolen reported
It can't be true. the incident to the police.
He found a book whose author is a friend of
Obligation expressions: mine.
You should attend the training session.
I must finish this report before the deadline. Relative clauses with relative adverbs:
The house where they used to live is now
Regret & unreality: abandoned.
I should have studied more for the exam. She visited the restaurant where we had our
If only I could have been there for her when first date.
she needed me.
Relative clauses – preposition placement:
Ideal situations: The person to whom I spoke was very helpful.
Everyone should be treated with respect. The dress for which she paid a lot was worth
In a perfect world, people would live in every penny.
harmony.
Relative clauses as sentence modifiers:
Having finished the project, they celebrated
their success.
Clauses
With a smile on her face, she accepted the
award.
Relative clauses:
Defining: I am the player who scores the
Relative clauses – reduced:
most goals.
Non-defining: The leisure centre, which was The man driving the car is my brother.
built last year, is just across town. The book written by Hemingway is a classic.

Adverb clauses of time: Participle clauses:

I usually take a shower before I go to bed. Having finished their work, they went out for
Can you wait over there until I am ready? dinner.
The book, written by a famous author,
became a bestseller.
 Proper nouns:
Conditionals New York is a big city.
Sarah is 11 years old.
Zero conditional
If you mix red and white, you get pink. Countable nouns:
The TV works if you turn it on. I have three apples.
There are two cats.
First conditional:
If it rains, I will stay at home. Uncountable nouns:
He’ll be late if the train is delayed. I need some water.
Do you have any money?
Second conditional:
If I won a lot of money, I’d buy a sports car. Demonstrative pronouns:
If she studied harder, she would pass the test. This is my hat.
Those are your shoes.
Third conditional:
If you had worked harder yesterday, you
Reflexive & reciprocal pronouns:
would have finished by now.
I’m using an app to teach myself a new
If there hadn’t been so many delays, we
language.
wouldn’t have missed the start.
I hope you enjoy yourselves later.

Conditionals – 'if' alternatives:

Unless you study, you won't pass the exam.
Assuming it rains, we'll stay indoors. Possessives

Mixed conditionals: Simple possessives:

That is Mary's car.
If you had studied harder, you wouldn't be
The dog's tail is brown.
failing now.
If I spoke Korean more fluently, I might not
Possessive pronouns:
have had such problems. This is my book.
Is this yours?

Nouns
Articles
Singular nouns:
The cat is black.
Definite article:
The plant is new.
The book is on the shelf.
The computer is broken.
Common regular and irregular plural
nouns:
Indefinite articles:
Dogs are cute animals.
A dog is barking.
There are three babies.
An ant is small.
Personal pronouns:
She is my sister.
They are friends.
 Comparatives with adverbs:
Adjectives Can you walk more slowly please? I can’t
keep up!
Describing nouns:
The bird sings more quietly in the morning.
The red car is fast.
That's a big house.
Adverbs with perfect tenses:
I’ve already watched this film. Let’s watch
Comparative and superlative:
another instead.
The turtle is slower than the rabbit.
Ben has been playing a lot of football
This is the biggest cake.
recently.

Comparative and superlative using ‘more’

and ‘most’:
Comparative: This book is more interesting Conjunctions
than that one.
Superlatives: It's the most beautiful place. Combining simple sentences:
I like pizza and he likes chips.
Adjectives ending in ‘-ing’ and ‘-ed’: The cat is black but the dog is white.
That clicking noise you make when you eat is
very annoying. Coordinating conjunctions:
I was surprised to see you here. We can eat pasta or pizza.
I passed because I studied a lot.
Intensifiers to modify adjectives:
You played exceptionally well today.
That was a really interesting story. Prepositions
Ordering of multiple adjectives before a Prepositions of place, e.g., in, under, on,
noun: near, next to, between, on the left/right:
It's a beautiful, old house. The pen is on the desk.
The big, red car. The cat is under the table.

Prepositions of time:
The film starts at 5 pm.
Adverbs We have class on Monday.
The weather is nice in May.
Common adverbs
They moved slowly.
Adjective and preposition combinations:
She walked quickly.
Adjective + at:
She's really good at football.
Adverbs of degree:
He's amazing at the flute.
The boy is very tall.
I really like it. Adjective + about:
He's nervous about the meeting.
Adverbs of frequency: We’re excited about the new house.
I always brush my teeth. Adjective + in:
They sometimes come on time. She's interested in the project.
We’d prefer someone who's experienced
in marketing.
Adjective + for: Contrasting:
Exercise is good for you. However, on the other hand, whereas
The city is famous for its river. Cause and effect:
Adjective + to: As a result, consequently, therefore
I'm married to Helen. Informal spoken:
It’s important to arrive early. As I was saying, anyway, I mean
Adjective + of:
I'm afraid of the dark.
He's proud of the team.
Questions

Yes/no questions:
Negation Is it sunny today?
Are you coming?
Negative sentences: Do you speak English?
I don't like bread.
She isn't here. ‘Wh’ and ‘How’ questions:
What's your name?
Negative questions: Where do you live?
Don't you like pizza? Why are you here?
Isn't he coming? Who is your friend?
How did you get here?

Intensifiers Question tags:

The race starts over there, doesn’t it?
The book’s over there, isn’t it?
‘So’ and ‘Such’ to intensify adjectives,
adverbs and nouns: Questions – Past for politeness:
The weather’s so hot! What was the name please?
The new laptop cost so much money. Did you want another coffee?
The pollution here is such an issue right now.
Questions – Negative (uncontracted):
Are you not coming to the meeting today?
Has he not finished his homework yet?
Discourse markers

Sequencing:
Firstly, secondly, next, finally Reported speech
Adding information:
Moreover, additionally, furthermore Questions / Requests / Commands:
She asked me if I could help her with her
homework.
He told us to be quiet during the meeting.