PET Preliminary English Writing 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Your PET task asks you to write a story ending with: 'She never forgot that day.' What writing technique is most important here?
- Building events that logically lead to an emotional or memorable moment (Correct answer)
- Using as many adjectives as possible in every sentence
- Writing only in the present tense throughout
- Starting with the ending and working backwards
Correct answer: Building events that logically lead to an emotional or memorable moment
A story with a given ending requires plotting events that naturally lead to that conclusion.
Question 2: Which sentence is written in the past continuous tense?
- They were walking through the park when it started to rain. (Correct answer)
- They walked through the park yesterday.
- They have walked through the park many times.
- They will walk through the park tomorrow.
Correct answer: They were walking through the park when it started to rain.
The past continuous uses 'was/were + -ing' to describe an ongoing past action interrupted by another event.
Question 3: In PET Part 1, you rewrite a sentence so it means the same. Choose the correct rewrite: 'It's a long time since I saw him.'
- I haven't seen him for a long time. (Correct answer)
- I didn't see him since a long time.
- I haven't saw him for a long time.
- I don't see him for a long time.
Correct answer: I haven't seen him for a long time.
'It's a long time since' is rewritten using the present perfect with 'for' to express the same duration.
Question 4: Which word is spelled correctly?
- Necessary (Correct answer)
- Neccessary
- Necesary
- Neccesary
Correct answer: Necessary
'Necessary' has one 'c' and two 's's — a common spelling tested in PET writing tasks.
Question 5: You need to write 35-45 words for PET Part 1. Your draft has 55 words. What should you do?
- Remove unnecessary words and combine sentences to meet the word limit (Correct answer)
- Submit it anyway since the content is good
- Add a note explaining why it is longer
- Cut words randomly until the count is right
Correct answer: Remove unnecessary words and combine sentences to meet the word limit
PET Part 1 word limits are strict; candidates must edit for conciseness without losing meaning.
Question 6: Which sentence correctly uses 'used to'?
- I used to live in New York, but now I live in Boston. (Correct answer)
- I use to live in New York when I was young.
- I am used to lived in New York before.
- I used to living in New York last year.
Correct answer: I used to live in New York, but now I live in Boston.
'Used to + infinitive' expresses a past habit or state that no longer exists.
Question 7: In a PET email, which closing phrase is appropriate for writing to a teacher?
- Best regards, [Your name] (Correct answer)
- Lots of love, [Your name]
- See ya, [Your name]
- Peace out, [Your name]
Correct answer: Best regards, [Your name]
'Best regards' is semi-formal and appropriate for writing to someone in a position of authority.
PET Preliminary English Writing 3
Your PET task asks you to write a story ending with: 'She never forgot that day.' What writing technique is most important here?