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TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) English Language Foundations Flashcards
50 question-and-answer cards covering English Language Foundations as it is examined in TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language). 24 of them are printed below, taken from across the deck — no signup, no paywall on the preview.
24 sample cards from the English Language Foundations deck
Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.
In paraphrasing, why must synonyms be chosen for context rather than from a thesaurus alone?
Synonyms differ in connotation, register, and collocation; an unfit synonym (e.g., 'thin' vs. 'skinny') can change meaning or sound unnatural. Context determines the correct choice.
What is the difference between a vowel and a consonant sound?
A vowel is produced with an open, unobstructed vocal tract (a, e, i, o, u sounds); a consonant is produced by partially or fully obstructing the airflow (e.g., /p/, /s/, /t/).
What is a minimal pair? Give an example relevant to common L2 confusion.
Two words differing by only one sound, used to test that sound contrast, e.g., 'ship' /ɪ/ vs. 'sheep' /iː/, or 'rice' /r/ vs. 'lice' /l/.
How do the 'voiced' /v/, /z/, /ð/ differ from 'voiceless' /f/, /s/, /θ/?
Voiced consonants vibrate the vocal cords; voiceless ones do not. Place and manner of articulation are the same within each pair — only voicing differs.
What does word stress mean, and what happens to stressed vs. unstressed syllables?
Word stress is the emphasis on one syllable in a multisyllable word. The stressed syllable is louder, longer, and higher in pitch; unstressed syllables often reduce to the schwa /ə/.
How can stress distinguish a noun from a verb in word pairs like 'record' or 'present'?
Many two-syllable noun/verb pairs stress the FIRST syllable as nouns (PREsent, REcord) and the SECOND syllable as verbs (preSENT, reCORD).
How does the suffix '-tion' / '-ic' affect word stress?
Stress falls on the syllable immediately BEFORE these suffixes, e.g., eduCAtion, phoTOGraphy→photoGRAPHic, eConomic.
What is the schwa, and why is it central to English rhythm?
The schwa /ə/ is the weak, neutral vowel of unstressed syllables (the 'a' in 'about'). English is stress-timed, so reducing unstressed vowels to schwa creates natural rhythm.
What is connected speech? Name three of its common features.
The way sounds change when words are spoken together in natural flow. Features include linking, elision (dropping sounds), assimilation (sounds becoming similar), and weak forms.
Define 'linking' in connected speech and give an example.
Joining the final sound of one word to the start of the next, especially consonant-to-vowel: 'an apple' → /ə-NA-pəl/; 'turn off' → /tur-NOFF/.
What is 'elision' in connected speech? Give an example.
The omission of a sound for ease of pronunciation, often /t/ or /d/ between consonants: 'next door' → 'nex door'; 'friendship' → 'frienship.'
What are 'weak forms,' and which words typically have them?
Reduced pronunciations of function words in unstressed positions, using schwa: 'and' → /ən/, 'to' → /tə/, 'of' → /əv/, 'can' → /kən'. Articles, prepositions, auxiliaries, and conjunctions take weak forms.
What is sentence stress, and which words are normally stressed?
The pattern of emphasis across a sentence. Content words (nouns, main verbs, adjectives, adverbs) are stressed; function words (articles, prepositions, pronouns, auxiliaries) are usually unstressed.
How do rising and falling intonation typically differ in function?
Falling intonation signals completeness/certainty (statements, wh-questions, commands); rising intonation signals uncertainty or a question (yes/no questions, or inviting a response).
What is contrastive (emphatic) stress, and what does shifting it do?
Stressing a particular word to highlight contrast or correct information. Moving the stress changes meaning: 'I didn't say SHE took it' vs. 'I didn't say she TOOK it.'
What distinguishes formal register from informal register?
Formal: full forms, precise/academic vocabulary, passive voice, no slang, complete sentences (e.g., 'I would like to request...'). Informal: contractions, phrasal verbs, slang, casual tone ('I wanna ask...').
Give the formal equivalents of the informal verbs 'get,' 'find out,' and 'put off.'
'Get' → obtain/receive; 'find out' → discover/determine; 'put off' → postpone. Formal writing favors single-word Latinate verbs over phrasal verbs.
What is an idiom? Why are idioms challenging for learners?
A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal meanings of its words (e.g., 'hit the books' = study hard). They must be memorized as whole units.
What is a phrasal verb, and what makes it tricky grammatically?
A verb + particle (preposition/adverb) with a meaning different from the verb alone (e.g., 'look up' = search for). Many are separable ('look it up') vs. inseparable, and the meaning shifts with the particle.
Give the meaning of the academic idioms 'hit the books,' 'ace a test,' and 'pull an all-nighter.'
'Hit the books' = study intensively; 'ace a test' = get a top score; 'pull an all-nighter' = study/work through the entire night.
In campus discourse, what do 'office hours,' 'a syllabus,' and 'a prerequisite' mean?
Office hours = set times a professor is available to meet students; syllabus = the course outline of topics, readings, and grading; prerequisite = a course/requirement you must complete before enrolling in another.
In US academic English, what do 'major,' 'minor,' and 'GPA' refer to?
Major = primary field of study; minor = secondary, smaller field of study; GPA = Grade Point Average, the numerical average of grades (typically on a 4.0 scale).
What do the academic discourse expressions 'drop a course,' 'audit a class,' and 'a TA' mean?
'Drop a course' = withdraw from it; 'audit a class' = attend without earning a grade/credit; 'TA' = teaching assistant, a graduate student who helps run a course.
What hedging language is common in academic discourse, and why is it used?
Cautious expressions like 'may,' 'might,' 'tend to,' 'it appears that,' 'suggests' soften claims to show appropriate academic caution and avoid overgeneralization.
What this deck covers
The English Language Foundations deck follows the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) English Language Foundations syllabus — 4 chapters and 15 topics — so questions land on material that is genuinely examinable rather than trivia around it. That works out to roughly 12.5 cards per chapter.
Answers are written to be recallable, not just readable — averaging about 168 characters, which is long enough to carry the reasoning and short enough to say out loud.
A deck like this earns its keep on the second and third pass. Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then use the cards to find the specific facts that have not stuck.
English Language Foundations flashcards FAQ
How many English Language Foundations flashcards are in this TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) deck?
50 cards. This page previews 24 of them, sampled evenly across the deck so you can judge the difficulty before installing anything.
Are these TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) flashcards free?
Yes. The preview here is free to read with no signup, and the full 50-card deck is free inside the Examius app.
What do the English Language Foundations cards cover?
They follow the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) English Language Foundations syllabus — 4 chapters and 15 topics — so the questions track what is actually examinable.
How should I use these flashcards?
Read the syllabus first so you know the shape of the subject, then drill the deck. Examius schedules each card with spaced repetition, so cards you keep missing come back sooner and ones you know drift further apart.