Complete the eccentric billionaire's press release about the upcoming Mars mission by dragging the most appropriate future phrases into the blanks.
Our brilliant engineers are on the verge of finalizing the rocket's propulsion system, so expect an official announcement any minute now.
Given the sheer amount of global media hype, the launch broadcast is bound to break all previous viewership records.
By the end of this decade, humanity will have established a permanent foothold on the red planet.
Our brilliant engineers are on the verge of finalizing the rocket's propulsion system, so expect an official announcement any minute now.
On the verge of + gerund is used to describe an action that is at the very point of happening (the immediate future). The clue "any minute now" confirms this immediacy.
Given the sheer amount of global media hype, the launch broadcast is bound to break all previous viewership records.
Bound to + infinitive expresses a very strong certainty or inevitability about a future event based on current evidence (the media hype). On the verge to break is grammatically incorrect (it must be of breaking).
By the end of this decade, humanity will have established a permanent foothold on the red planet.
The future perfect (will have done) is required here because the time marker "By the end of this decade" sets a future deadline before which the action will be completed.
Future tense
Will vs going to: the most confused future pair. Will = spontaneous decisions and predictions (I'll have the fish; It will rain). Going to = pre-existing plans and evidence-based predictions (I'm going to study law; Look at those clouds — it's going to rain). Swap them and you sound either impulsive or weirdly formal.
English encodes future time through will, be going to, present continuous (arrangements), and present simple (schedules) — each with different implications.
Diagnostic: is the decision happening right now? → will. Was it already planned? → going to. Is it a confirmed arrangement with another person? → present continuous.
Perfect tense
Present perfect vs simple past: I lost my keys (past: specific time, done). I have lost my keys (perfect: result matters NOW — I still don't have them). The perfect always connects past action to present relevance. If the time is specified (yesterday, in 2010) → simple past. If the result matters now → present perfect.
The perfect aspect = have + past participle. Marks completion relative to a time point. Three forms: present/past/future perfect.
Diagnostic: does the sentence mention a specific finished time (yesterday, last year, in 1999)? → simple past. Is it about the result/relevance NOW? → present perfect.
Phrase
Phrase vs clause: a phrase has NO subject-verb pair (on the table, the old man). A clause HAS a subject-verb pair (the man sat, because she left). This is the fundamental structural division in grammar — clauses contain phrases, not the other way around.
A phrase = group of words functioning as one unit: noun phrase, verb phrase, prepositional phrase, adjective/adverb phrase. No subject + verb.
Diagnostic: does the word group have both a subject AND a verb? Yes → clause. No → phrase. Name the head word to identify the phrase type (noun = NP, preposition = PP, etc.).
Gerund
Gerund vs infinitive: the biggest source of errors for non-native speakers. Some verbs take only gerund (enjoy reading ✅), some only infinitive (want to read ✅), some take both with different meanings (stop reading ≠ stop to read). There's no logical rule — these must be learned by verb.
A gerund is the -ing verb form used as a noun. After prepositions = always gerund. After certain verbs (enjoy, avoid, finish) = always gerund. After to (preposition, not infinitive marker) = gerund (I look forward to seeing you).
Diagnostic: can you replace the -ing word with "it" or "something"? I enjoy it → yes, it's acting as a noun = gerund.
Infinitive
Infinitive vs gerund: the #1 verb-pattern confusion. Some verbs take only infinitive (want to go ✅), some only gerund (enjoy going ✅), some both with different meanings (stop to smoke ≠ stop smoking). No logical rule exists — learn by verb.
The infinitive = base verb form used non-finitely. To-infinitive (to go) after certain verbs. Bare infinitive (go) after modals and causatives.
Diagnostic: what's the main verb? Check whether it takes to-infinitive, bare infinitive, or gerund. If unsure, try both and see which sounds natural to native speakers.
C1 | Advanced
C1 vs C2: C1 means fluent and flexible use with occasional gaps in very unfamiliar domains. C2 means native-like command of idiom, irony, and register across any subject. If you can handle advanced grammar but still miss cultural nuance or very rare idioms, you're C1.
C1 is the advanced CEFR level: inversion, cleft sentences, subjunctive mood, advanced conditionals, and precise register control in professional and academic contexts.
Diagnostic: can you write persuasively in different registers and catch subtle irony? Consistently → C2. Sometimes → C1.
Hard
Hard vs Medium: Medium tests one rule with realistic distractors. Hard tests interacting rules, edge cases, or context-dependent answers where multiple options seem correct until you think deeply. If you're scoring 80%+ on Medium, try Hard to find your real gaps.
The Hard tag filters for B2+ challenges with layered difficulty: rule interactions, subtle distractors, and contexts that demand genuine grammatical reasoning.
Diagnostic: if Hard questions feel impossible, drop to Medium and master the individual rules first. Hard assumes you already know each rule — it tests whether you can apply them together.