CELSA Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield CELSA facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Nothing _______ done when the boss is away. → Gets
2. Which sentence uses a gerund correctly? → Swimming is her favorite hobby.
3. The phrase 'to bite the bullet' means to: → endure a difficult or unpleasant situation with courage.
4. Which word is the antonym of 'trivial'? → Significant
5. Which sentence correctly uses a demonstrative pronoun? → Those are the best options available.
6. Which sentence uses a gerund phrase as the subject? → Running a marathon requires training.
7. Select the best connector to complete the formal sentence: 'The data was inconclusive; _______, a second study was commissioned.' → therefore
8. Select the correct word form: 'The scientist made an important ______ about climate change.' → discovery
9. Which planet is known as the "Red Planet"? → Mars
10. What does the idiom 'break the ice' mean? → To reduce tension in a social situation
11. The idiom 'pull someone's leg' means to: → Joke with or tease someone
12. Have you ______ the new report yet? → finished
13. Which pronoun correctly completes the sentence: 'The team celebrated ___ victory.' → its
14. In the sentence, "The quarterly report on market trends was delivered to the board," what is the function of the prepositional phrase 'on market trends'? → It acts as an adjective, modifying the noun 'report'.
15. Which word is a synonym for 'melancholy'? → Sad
16. In a meeting: A: 'When you say quarterly targets, do you mean the sales goals?' B: '___' → Yes, exactly — specifically the revenue targets for Q3.
17. Which sentence uses an absolute phrase? → The game over, the fans went home.
18. Which word is most similar to 'exacerbate'? → Worsen
19. Choose the correct word form: 'The government passed a law to ______ pollution in the city.' → reduce
20. Identify the sentence with no pronoun error. → Just between you and me, I know the answer.
21. If a task is 'a piece of cake,' it means the task is: → Very easy to accomplish
22. Which sentence uses 'so that' correctly to express purpose? → She left early so that she could catch the train.
23. Which word is a synonym for 'proliferate'? → Multiply
24. In the sentence 'The results were beyond our expectations,' which word is the preposition? → beyond
25. What does 'turn a blind eye' mean? → To deliberately ignore something wrong
26. Which of the following is a run-on sentence? → She studied for the exam she passed.
27. Which word correctly introduces a concession? 'She had very little experience. _______, she got the job.' → Nonetheless
28. Which word is the antonym of 'lenient'? → Strict
29. What does 'beat around the bush' mean? → To avoid getting to the main point
30. In formal writing, which of the following should be avoided? → Contractions like 'don't' and 'can't'