These sentences do not make the same claim:
Mara repaired the clock. Mara had the clock repaired. Mara got the clock working.
The first makes Mara the repairer. The second makes her the arranger or affected owner; another person may have performed the work. The third says she caused a working result, possibly by repairing it herself. A transformation that ignores agency can preserve the topic while changing the event.
Cambridge C2 Proficiency Reading and Use of English Part 4 has six discrete key word transformations. The official limit is three to eight words in the gap, including the unchanged key word. Each item can earn up to two marks. This lesson focuses on causation, agency, aspect, and completion—the event structure behind grammatical paraphrase.
Continue through the Cambridge C1/C2 vocabulary practice hub or Exam English.
Build an event ledger
Before transforming, record:
- initiator: who arranged, requested, permitted, or caused the event;
- agent: who actually performed the action, if known;
- affected object: what changed;
- state: planned, starting, continuing, interrupted, or completed;
- duration: momentary or extended;
- control: deliberate causation, accidental result, or external pressure;
- time: current relevance, earlier past, or future completion.
Not every sentence specifies all seven. Do not add an agent or intention that the source leaves open.
Causative have and get
Have + object + past participle often means arrange for a service:
The archive arranged for a specialist to scan the letters. The archive had the letters scanned.
The construction can also describe an unwanted experience: “She had her bag stolen.” Context, not the grammar alone, determines intention.
Get + object + past participle can also express arrangement and may sound less formal. Get + object + adjective/participle can focus on achieving a result: get the engine running.
Make, cause, lead, and bring
Make + object + base verb presents direct compulsion or causation:
The error made the system restart.
Cause + object + to-infinitive is a formal causal frame:
The error caused the system to restart.
Lead to + noun/gerund and bring about + noun present a result without necessarily specifying direct mechanical force:
The error led to a restart. The update brought about a gradual improvement.
The source’s degree of causation must survive. A correlation should not become direct cause.
Aspect: start, continue, finish
Get around to doing
Get around to + gerund means finally find time or opportunity to do something, often after delay. It entails that the action is begun or performed in context, not merely intended.
Keep on doing
Keep on + gerund emphasises continuation or repetition, sometimes despite a reason to stop. It does not entail completion.
Go through with
Go through with + plan/action means carry it out despite hesitation or difficulty. It preserves commitment and completion of the planned act.
Leave something unfinished
Leave + object + adjective/past participle marks a resulting state:
The interruption left the review unfinished.
It does not say nobody later completed it. Time boundaries matter.
Six original C2 transformations
These items are original practice, not Cambridge sample, recalled, or predicted content. Keep the key unchanged and use three to eight words.
Understanding is only the first step.
Lyra Practice helps you retrieve and use high-value workplace expressions in realistic situations until they feel natural.
Start a practice session →1. Arranged service
The library arranged for a conservator to repair the manuscript.
HAD
The library ______ a conservator.
Answer: had the manuscript repaired by (5 words)
Rationale: the library arranged the repair; it did not necessarily perform it. The by phrase retains the identified agent.
2. Direct causal result
The power fluctuation caused the alarm to restart repeatedly.
MADE
The power fluctuation ______ repeatedly.
Answer: made the alarm restart (4 words)
Rationale: make + object + base verb preserves direct causation. Restarting would not fit this frame.
3. Delayed eventual action
I finally found time to catalogue the photographs last weekend.
AROUND
I ______ the photographs last weekend.
Answer: got around to cataloguing (4 words)
Rationale: the expression captures both previous delay and eventual action. Planned to catalogue would not entail that cataloguing occurred.
4. Continued repeated objection
Despite receiving an explanation, Niko continued to object.
KEPT
Despite receiving an explanation, Niko ______.
Answer: kept on objecting (3 words)
Rationale: the objection continued despite a reason it might stop. The progressive complement is required.
5. Completed difficult intention
Although the trustees hesitated, they implemented the closure they had planned.
THROUGH
Although the trustees hesitated, they ______ the planned closure.
Answer: went through with (3 words)
Rationale: go through with retains prior intention, hesitation, and completed implementation. Went ahead with could overlap, but the supplied key fixes the intended frame.
6. Interrupted incomplete state
The alarm interrupted the technicians before they had completed the calibration.
LEFT
The alarm ______.
Answer: left the calibration unfinished (4 words)
Rationale: the result at the interruption point was an unfinished calibration. The answer does not claim it was never completed later.
Mechanical audit
| Item | Completion | Words | Key unchanged | Event preserved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | had / the / manuscript / repaired / by | 5 | Yes | arranger and agent distinct |
| 2 | made / the / alarm / restart | 4 | Yes | direct repeated causation |
| 3 | got / around / to / cataloguing | 4 | Yes | delay followed by action |
| 4 | kept / on / objecting | 3 | Yes | continuation despite explanation |
| 5 | went / through / with | 3 | Yes | hesitant plan completed |
| 6 | left / the / calibration / unfinished | 4 | Yes | incomplete state at interruption |
All answers fall within C2’s official three-to-eight-word limit. The word count covers only the gap, and every key appears unchanged.
Agency tests
Decide whether each rewrite preserves agency.
- “Tariq painted the office.” → “Tariq had the office painted.”
- “Tariq arranged for the office to be painted.” → “Tariq had the office painted.”
- “The technician made the motor start.” → “The technician started the motor.”
- “The technician got the motor running.” → “The technician repaired the motor.”
Only item 2 is reliably equivalent. Item 1 changes Tariq from agent to arranger or affected person. Item 3 may be close, but “made ... start” can describe indirect causation while “started” may imply direct operation. Item 4 adds a repair method that the source never states; the technician could have reconnected power or changed a setting.
At C2, do not fill unspecified causal details merely because the completed sentence sounds natural.
Aspect tests
“She intended to review the file” does not entail a start. “She began reviewing” entails a start but not completion. “She kept reviewing” entails continuation. “She went through with the review” presents the planned act as carried out. “She had reviewed the file” locates completion before a later reference point.
When transforming, mark the last stage guaranteed by the source. If it only says an action began, do not use a phrase that entails completion. If it says finally, preserve the delayed-eventual component through a construction such as got around to when the key licenses it.
Causation can be too strong
Compare:
The new timetable coincided with a fall in attendance. The new timetable caused attendance to fall.
The second sentence asserts causation; the first only states timing. Similarly, contributed to presents one factor, while brought about may make the subject a sufficient or salient cause. A transformation must preserve hedges such as partly, may have, and helped to.
Source: “The publicity may have contributed to the increase.”
An inaccurate rewrite is “The publicity brought about the increase.” It removes both uncertainty and partial causation. Grammatical sophistication cannot repair that semantic expansion.
Common errors
- Turning an arranger into the person who performed the service.
- Adding a named agent when the source leaves agency open.
- Confusing make someone do with make someone to do.
- Treating get around to as intention rather than delayed eventual action.
- Using keep on where the source describes a single completed act.
- Using go through with when a plan was abandoned.
- Reading left unfinished as “never completed later.”
- Strengthening association or contribution into direct causation.
- Losing perfect aspect or the source’s reference time.
- Counting beyond the three-to-eight-word gap limit.
A five-pass C2 method
First, draw the event ledger. Second, identify the grammatical frame forced by the key. Third, draft the entire second sentence, including fixed words outside the gap. Fourth, slash-count the gap. Fifth, challenge the result: who performs the action now, what stage is guaranteed, and has a possible or partial cause become certain or complete?
This last adversarial pass is essential. Many incorrect answers are grammatical paraphrases of the general situation. The task requires equivalence of the specific event.
Independent practice
Write six transformations: an arranged service with a known agent, direct causation, delayed eventual action, persistent continuation, a difficult plan carried out, and an interruption that leaves a task incomplete. Provide a ledger, completion, and word count. Then write one plausible but wrong answer for each and explain exactly which agency, aspect, or causal feature it changes.
Sources
- C2 Proficiency exam format — Cambridge English
- C2 Proficiency preparation — Cambridge English
- C2 Proficiency Part 4 teaching material — Cambridge English
- C2 Proficiency handbook for teachers — Cambridge English
Related articles
- Cambridge C2 Key Word Transformations: Meaning and Collocation
- Cambridge C2 Open Cloze: Grammar and Fixed Phrases
- Cambridge C2 Part 1: Collocations and Shades of Meaning
- Cambridge C2 Vocabulary: Precision Beyond C1
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