1 Precision Pick › 2 Precision Flip › 3 The Gauntlet
C1 Grammar Series · Lesson 3 of 3

⚔️ The C1 Gauntlet

Three rounds · Sprint · Fix · Transform · The final test

Warm-up

The 13 Structures — Quick Reference

All 10 structures from the Precision Pick, plus the 3 new ones from the Precision Flip. Check the quick reference cards before you go into battle.

1 · Inverted Conditionals

Were / Had / Should + subject + infinitive…
Were it not for the funding, it would have failed.

2 · Scarcely / Hardly

Scarcely/Hardly had…when (not "that")
Scarcely had she arrived when the alarm rang.

3 · It's High Time

It's (high) time + subject + past tense
It's high time he took responsibility.

4 · Not Until + Inversion

Not until X + auxiliary + subject + verb
Not until the report was published did they act.

5 · Would Sooner / Rather

would sooner/rather + bare infinitive (no "to")
She would sooner resign than compromise.

6 · Participle Clauses

Participle subject = main clause subject
Having reviewed the data, the team approved the plan.

7 · Be Supposed To

be supposed to + have + past participle
They are supposed to have completed it by now.

8 · Comment Adverbials

…were, to put it mildly, disappointing.
Commas required around interrupting adverbials.

9 · What-Cleft Agreement

What X does is/are → agrees with complement
What concerns us is the lack of transparency.

10 · Whether vs If

decide/consider + whether + to-infinitive
She hasn't decided whether to accept the offer.

★ A · Negative Adverbial Inversion

Never/Rarely/Seldom + aux + subject + verb
Never have I witnessed such precision.

★ B · Mandative Subjunctive

insist/demand/require that + bare infinitive
The court ordered that the fine be paid immediately.

★ C · Fronted Concession

Much as / Try as + subject + verb, main clause
Much as I value her opinion, I must disagree.
Round 1 of 3

⚡ Sprint — Correct or Error?

12 sentences. Each one is either grammatically correct or contains a single C1-level error. Vote fast, then check the explanation.

Round 2 of 3

🔧 Fix It — Type the Correction

Five sentences, each with one error. Type the corrected sentence, then check. Accuracy over speed here.

Round 3 of 3

🔀 Transform — Rewrite It

Five production tasks. You're given a sentence and an instruction. Rewrite using the target structure. This is the hardest round — take your time.

⚔️ 🏆

C1 Gauntlet Complete

Here's how you did across all three rounds

Round 1 Sprint: —/12
Round 2 Fix: —/5
Round 3 Transform: —/5

Your C1 Grammar Toolkit — 13 Structures

1
Inverted conditionalsWere it not for / Had she known
2
Scarcely / Hardly…when (not "that")
3
It's high time+ past tense subjunctive
4
Not until + inversion…did I understand
5
Would sooner / rather+ bare infinitive
6
Participle clausesNo dangling modifiers
7
Be supposed to+ perfect infinitive
8
Comment adverbialsCommas required
9
What-cleft agreementVerb agrees with complement
10
Whether vs ifBefore to-infinitive: whether
A
Negative adverbial inversionNever/Rarely + aux + subject
B
Mandative subjunctivedemand/require that + bare inf
C
Fronted concessionMuch as / Try as + subject