TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) English Language Foundations Syllabus

English Language Foundations syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for English Language Foundations in TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Grammar for Academic English

   4 topics

   • Verb tenses and aspect
     • Perfect and progressive forms
     • Sequence of tenses in reporting
   • Sentence types and clause structure
     • Complex and compound-complex sentences
     • Relative and noun clauses
   • Conditionals and modality
   • Articles, agreement, and parallelism
2. 2

   Academic Vocabulary Development

   4 topics

   • The Academic Word List (AWL)
   • Collocations and word families
     • Noun-verb and adjective-noun pairings
     • Derivation and affixes
   • Topic-based vocabulary clusters
     • Science, technology, environment
     • Business, society, education, arts
   • Paraphrasing and synonym flexibility
3. 3

   Pronunciation and Phonology

   4 topics

   • Vowel and consonant sounds
   • Word stress and syllable patterns
   • Connected speech features
     • Linking, reduction, and elision
   • Sentence-level stress and intonation
4. 4

   Idioms and Register

   3 topics

   • Formal vs. informal register
   • Common idioms and phrasal verbs
   • Campus and academic discourse expressions

English Language Foundations flashcards for TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)

21 of 50 cards from the English Language Foundations deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. What does the present perfect tense (have/has + past participle) express, and what time reference is it incompatible with?

   It links a past action to the present (unspecified time, or an action continuing to now). It cannot be used with a finished-time marker like 'yesterday' or 'in 2010' (use simple past instead).

2. Distinguish the past simple from the past perfect in terms of sequence.

   Past simple states a completed past event; past perfect (had + past participle) marks an action completed BEFORE another past action, e.g., 'She had left before he arrived.'

3. What is the difference between grammatical tense and grammatical aspect?

   Tense locates an event in time (past, present, future); aspect shows how the action unfolds over time (simple, progressive/continuous, perfect, perfect progressive).

4. When is the present progressive (am/is/are + -ing) used instead of the present simple?

   For actions happening now or around now, temporary situations, and fixed future arrangements ('I'm meeting her tomorrow'). The present simple is for habits, facts, and permanent states.

5. How is the future perfect formed and what does it mean?

   will have + past participle; it describes an action that will be completed before a specified future point, e.g., 'By 2030 she will have graduated.'

6. What are the four main clause/sentence types by structure?

   Simple (one independent clause), compound (two+ independent clauses joined by coordination), complex (one independent + one+ dependent clause), and compound-complex (two+ independent + one+ dependent clause).

7. What distinguishes an independent clause from a dependent (subordinate) clause?

   An independent clause has a subject and verb and can stand alone as a sentence; a dependent clause also has a subject and verb but begins with a subordinator and cannot stand alone.

8. Name the three types of dependent clauses by function.

   Noun clauses (act as subject/object), adjective/relative clauses (modify a noun, e.g., 'who...'), and adverb clauses (modify the verb, showing time, cause, condition, etc.).

9. How are independent clauses correctly joined to avoid a comma splice or run-on?

   Use a comma + coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS), a semicolon, a colon, or split into two sentences. A comma alone between two independent clauses is a comma splice.

10. What are the seven coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS)?

    For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So.

11. State the structure of a first conditional and its meaning.

    If + present simple, will + base verb. It expresses a likely/real future result of a possible condition: 'If it rains, we will cancel.'

12. State the structure of a second conditional and its meaning.

    If + past simple, would + base verb. It expresses an unreal, hypothetical, or unlikely present/future situation: 'If I had time, I would help.'

13. State the structure of a third conditional and its meaning.

    If + past perfect, would have + past participle. It expresses an unreal past situation and its imagined result: 'If I had studied, I would have passed.'

14. What is modality, and what do modal verbs of obligation vs. possibility express?

    Modality is the speaker's stance on likelihood, necessity, or permission. Obligation: must, have to, should; possibility/permission: can, could, may, might.

15. How do 'must,' 'might,' and 'can't' express degrees of certainty about the present?

    'Must' = strong certainty it is true; 'might/may/could' = it is possible; 'can't' = strong certainty it is false. E.g., 'He must be home / might be home / can't be home.'

16. State the three basic rules for using the definite article 'the.'

    Use 'the' for specific/already-known nouns, unique things (the sun), and second mention of a noun. Use a/an for first, non-specific mention of a singular countable noun; use no article for general plural/uncountable nouns.

17. What is subject-verb agreement, and how do collective nouns and 'each/every' behave?

    The verb must match the subject in number. Collective nouns (team, government) usually take a singular verb in US English; 'each/every + noun' and indefinite pronouns like 'everyone' take a singular verb.

18. Define parallelism (parallel structure) in a sentence.

    Items in a list or series must share the same grammatical form, e.g., 'reading, writing, and speaking' (all gerunds) — not 'reading, to write, and speech.'

19. With 'either...or' / 'neither...nor,' which subject controls the verb?

    The verb agrees with the nearer (second) subject: 'Neither the teacher nor the students were ready.'

20. What is the Academic Word List (AWL), and how is it organized?

    A list of 570 word families frequently found in academic texts across disciplines, compiled by Averil Coxhead. It is divided into 10 sublists ordered by frequency (Sublist 1 = most frequent).

21. Why is the AWL important for TOEFL preparation specifically?

    AWL words recur across all four sections (reading, listening, writing, speaking) regardless of topic, so mastering them boosts comprehension and lets you produce a more academic register.

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