Open gap, open cloze, gap fill exercises

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They are meant to test your ability to recognize patterns in grammar, collocations and idiomatic expressions, with a context, or story, to help you.

A pattern is something that repeats itself in a predictable way. In grammar, patterns can be:

• Equative: ... as big as ... the pattern is ... as ____ as ...
• Comparatives: ... bigger than the pattern is ____er than
• Present Participles: ... tired of walking the pattern is ... of ___ing
• And so on.

This is what ESL learners study in grammar, then are expected to memorize and use them in a context:

"My house is as big as a palace, but not bigger than the world. In fact, it is so big that I get tired of walking to the restroom."

If some words are removed, you are supposed to put them back in to make it read like the original:

"My house is as big ____ a palace, but not bigger ____ the world. In fact, it is so big that I get tired ____ walking to the restroom."

The idea is to fill in a gap with one word that completes the grammar, collocation or idiomatic expression appropriately.

The word or words that are missing should come from your memory, only by recognizing the patterns they form together.

Try the exercises in the navigation bar to practice your ability to recognize patterns.