C1 Advanced Open Cloze: 10 Types of Words to Look For

C1 Advanced Open Cloze can be one of the trickiest parts of Reading and Use of English. The missing word is often something small — a preposition, auxiliary verb, pronoun, linker or part of a fixed expression. The challenge is recognising exactly what the grammar of the sentence requires.

She succeeded ___ convincing the committee to reconsider its decision.

What goes in it?

The answer is in.

This is one of the reasons C1 Advanced Reading and Use of English Part 2 can be so challenging. The missing words are often not impressive C1 vocabulary. They are frequently small grammatical words such as:

in, of, as, have, been, whose, than, little, whether

The difficulty lies in knowing which word the structure requires.

The good news is that Open Cloze questions are not random. Certain kinds of words and structures appear again and again.

In this lesson, we will look at 10 types of words you should learn to look for in C1 Advanced Open Cloze, with examples, common traps and an exam-style practice task at the end.

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What Is C1 Advanced Open Cloze?

C1 Advanced Reading and Use of English Part 2 is an Open Cloze task.

You read a short text containing eight gaps and write one word only in each gap.

Unlike Part 1, you do not have four possible answers to choose from. You have to decide which word completes both the grammar and the meaning of the sentence.

Cambridge identifies areas such as:

• articles
• auxiliary verbs
• prepositions
• pronouns
• verb forms
• phrasal verbs
• linking words
• fixed phrases

as important in this part of the exam.

This means that Open Cloze is not really about guessing missing vocabulary.

It is about recognising how English fits together.

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Part 1 or Part 2: What’s the Difference?

It is useful to understand the difference between the first two parts of Reading and Use of English.

You have four options.	You have no options.
Often focuses heavily on vocabulary.	Often focuses heavily on grammar and lexico-grammar.
Collocations are particularly important.	Small grammatical words are particularly important.
Phrasal verbs and fixed expressions appear.	Phrasal verbs and fixed expressions also appear.
You choose the correct answer.	You must produce the missing word yourself.

There is some overlap, of course.

But when you begin Part 2, it helps to change your way of thinking.

Instead of asking:

“What word would sound good here?”

ask:

“What grammatical structure is this gap part of?”

That one question can make Open Cloze much easier.

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1. Prepositions

Prepositions are among the first things you should look for when tackling an Open Cloze gap.

Why?

Because English contains thousands of combinations in which a particular adjective, noun or verb requires a particular preposition.

For example:

• capable of
• responsible for
• interested in
• dependent on
• accustomed to
• succeed in
• insist on
• prevent somebody from

Exam-style example

She eventually succeeded ___ persuading the board to reconsider its decision.

Answer: IN

The clue is the verb succeed.

We say:

succeed in doing something

not:

❌ succeed to do something

What should you look for?

If the word immediately before the gap is an:

• adjective
• verb
• noun

ask yourself whether it normally takes a particular preposition.

Common trap

Do not choose a preposition simply because it seems logical in your own language.

Prepositions are highly language-specific.

Learn:

rely on

rather than simply rely.

Learn:

object to doing something

rather than simply object.

The preposition is part of the expression.

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2. Articles, Determiners and Quantifiers

Tiny words can make a big difference in Open Cloze.

Look for:

• a
• an
• the
• some
• any
• each
• every
• either
• neither
• much
• many
• few
• little

Exam-style example

There is very ___ evidence to support this theory.

Answer: LITTLE

Why?

Evidence is uncountable, so we use little, not few.

Compare:

• few opportunities
• little opportunity
• few reasons
• little evidence
• many problems
• much information

Common trap

Don’t look only at the word immediately before the gap.

Sometimes you need to look several words ahead.

In:

such ___ unexpected result

the word result tells you that you need an article.

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3. Auxiliary Verbs

Some of the most important Open Cloze answers are forms of:

be, have and do

These auxiliary verbs are used to build:

• perfect tenses
• continuous forms
• passive forms
• questions
• negatives
• emphatic structures
• inversion

Exam-style example

The results ___ not yet been officially confirmed.

Answer: HAVE

Look at what follows:

been confirmed

That strongly suggests a passive perfect form:

have been confirmed

Look beyond the gap

Suppose you see:

The problem appears to ___ been caused by human error.

The words after the gap are:

been caused

You should recognise:

to have been caused

So the answer is:

HAVE

This is why the words after the gap can be just as important as those before it.

Common trap

Students often search for a lexical word when the sentence simply needs an auxiliary.

Before inventing anything complicated, ask:

Is a form of BE, HAVE or DO missing?

Related posts: Auxiliary Verbs in English

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4. Modal Verbs

Modal verbs are another important group of small words.

They include:

• can
• could
• may
• might
• must
• should
• will
• would

You may also need to recognise structures involving modal perfect forms.

Exam-style example

There is no reply. They ___ have left already.

Answer: MAY / MIGHT / COULD

Depending on the context, more than one answer can sometimes be possible.

The structure is:

modal + have + past participle

and expresses possibility about a past event.

Related posts: Modal verbs Archives

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5. Pronouns and Reference Words

Open Cloze questions often test whether you can follow references across a sentence or even across a paragraph.

Look for words such as:

• it
• they
• them
• one
• ones
• this
• that
• those
• another
• other
• both

Exam-style example

Several solutions were suggested, but only one of ___ proved practical.

Answer: THEM

The word them refers back to solutions.

Watch for reference across sentences

Consider:

The first proposal was rejected. ___ was considered too expensive.

Answer: IT

You cannot solve this gap by looking at the second sentence alone.

You need to know what it refers to.

Common trap

Open Cloze is not always a sentence-level exercise.

Sometimes the answer becomes clear only when you read the previous sentence or the whole paragraph.

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6. Relative Words

Relative clauses are another favourite area because they depend on small but precise words.

Look for:

• who
• whom
• whose
• which
• that
• where
• when

Exam-style example

Professor Malik, ___ research has received international recognition, will deliver the opening lecture.

Answer: WHOSE

Why?

We are talking about Professor Malik’s research.

Whose expresses possession.

Common trap

Do not automatically write which whenever the noun refers to a thing.

Ask what job the missing word performs.

Is it:

• the subject?
• the object?
• showing possession?
• referring to a place?
• following a preposition?

That will guide you towards the correct relative word.

Related posts: Relative Clauses: Defining and Non-defining

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7. Linking Words and Conjunctions

Sometimes a gap connects two ideas.

The missing word may express:

• contrast
• reason
• result
• condition
• concession
• addition
• choice

Possible words include:

• although
• though
• while
• whereas
• because
• since
• unless
• whether
• if
• yet

Exam-style example

___ the experiment had been carefully planned, the results were unexpected.

Answer: ALTHOUGH / THOUGH

The sentence expresses contrast:

The experiment was carefully planned, but the results were unexpected.

Common trap

Learn what comes after each linker.

Knowing that two words both express contrast does not mean they can be used in the same way.

Related posts: Linking Words and Phrases

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8. Words in Comparative Structures

Comparative structures contain many small words that are perfect candidates for Open Cloze gaps.

Look for:

• than
• as
• more
• less
• much
• far
• the

Exam-style example

The longer the discussion continued, the ___ difficult it became to reach an agreement.

Answer: MORE

This is the structure:

the + comparative…, the + comparative…

• The sooner, the better.
• The more you practise, the easier it becomes.
• The longer we waited, the more impatient we became.

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Common trap

When you see a comparative adjective, immediately check whether the sentence needs:

than

But don’t stop there. C1-level comparisons often involve larger structures such as:

not nearly as … as

the more …, the less …

far more … than

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9. Words in Fixed Expressions

This is where vocabulary and grammar meet.

A sentence may contain an expression in which one small word is missing.

For example:

• as well as
• in spite of
• by means of
• in case
• at least
• at all
• no matter
• by no means
• on behalf of
• in terms of
• with regard to
• for the sake of

Exam-style example

The new system is by no ___ perfect, but it represents a considerable improvement.

Answer: MEANS

The fixed expression is:

by no means

meaning:

not at all

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10. Phrasal Verbs and Multi-word Verbs

You may know the main verb perfectly and still miss the question because the gap contains its particle or preposition.

For example:

• come up with
• put up with
• get away with
• look down on
• account for
• result in
• deal with
• rely on
• bring about
• carry out

Exam-style example

After several hours of discussion, the team finally came up ___ a workable solution.

Answer: WITH

The full expression is:

come up with something

Common trap

Do not learn phrasal and prepositional verbs as isolated verbs.

Learn the complete unit:

put up with something

come up with an idea

get away with something

look forward to doing something

That final preposition or particle is often exactly what disappears in an Open Cloze.

Related posts: Phrasal Verbs Archives

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How to Solve a C1 Advanced Open Cloze

Now that you know what kinds of words to expect, you need a method.

Step 1: Read the whole text first

Do not start filling gaps immediately.

Read quickly to understand:

• the topic
• the writer’s argument
• the tense
• the relationships between ideas

Sometimes you need information from another part of the text to identify the answer.

Step 2: Look at the words immediately around the gap

Ask:

What structure am I looking at?

For example:

capable ___ doing

should immediately suggest:

OF

because the chunk is:

capable of doing

Step 3: Decide what type of word is missing

Before trying to find the exact answer, identify its job.

Could it be:

• a preposition?
• an auxiliary?
• an article?
• a pronoun?
• a linker?
• a relative word?
• part of a fixed phrase?
• part of a phrasal verb?

This is often easier than trying to guess the word immediately.

Step 4: Look for chunks

Suppose you see:

The problem is by no ___ unique.

Don’t think about every English word that could possibly follow no.

Recognise:

by no means

Or:

She had no intention ___ resigning.

Recognise:

have no intention of doing

Open Cloze rewards learners who know chunks of English, not just lists of individual words.

Step 5: Read beyond the sentence when necessary

Some gaps depend on the previous sentence or the wider paragraph.

This is particularly common with:

• pronouns
• linking words
• reference words
• logical relationships

Don’t treat each line as a separate exercise.

Step 6: Read the completed sentence aloud in your head

Once you have chosen a word, put it back into the sentence.

Ask:

Does this sound like natural English?

Then ask:

Does it make sense in the paragraph?

You need both.

Step 7: Remember: ONE word only

If your answer contains two words, something has gone wrong.

The task requires one word in each gap.

Also check your spelling carefully. A grammatically correct word that is misspelt will not earn the mark.

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Final Tip: Don’t Guess the Word — Diagnose the Gap

When you meet an Open Cloze gap, resist the temptation to throw words at it until something sounds right.

Instead, ask:

What is missing grammatically?

Then:

Is this part of a structure or fixed expression I already know?

For example:

responsible ___

→ probably a preposition

→ responsible for

may ___ forgotten

→ probably an auxiliary

→ may have forgotten

the person ___ car was stolen

→ possession in a relative clause

→ whose

far ___ perfect

→ fixed expression

→ far from perfect

The more quickly you recognise these patterns, the less Open Cloze feels like a guessing game.

And that is the real skill you need for C1 Advanced Reading and Use of English Part 2:

not knowing every word in English, but recognising what kind of word the sentence needs.

Download the C1 Advanced Open Cloze Practice in PDF