Is your English level B2/Upper Intermediate? Test your English CEFR Level to figure out!
This English grammar quiz is designed to check if an English learner is at B2/Upper Intermediate CEFR level.
This quiz is designed to test your knowledge of English grammar and vocabulary on an upper-intermediate level, as per the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) guidelines. It will cover a wide range of topics such as verb tenses, relative clauses, modal verbs, and adjective and adverb clauses, as well as testing your ability to understand and use complex grammar structures.
After taking the quiz, learners would be able to see where they stand in terms of their English proficiency and if they are ready to move to the next level. Passing the challenge indicates the control of English grammar enough to move to the next level.
Conditional sentence
Want to say I would have caught the train if I'd left earlier without freezing on the verb forms? That's a third conditional, and it's one of five patterns English uses to talk about possibilities, regrets, and hypotheticals. Get the system right and you stop sounding stuck in the present tense.
A conditional sentence pairs a condition clause (usually with if) with a consequence clause: If it rains, we stay in. The five named patterns — zero, first, second, third, and mixed — each match a specific time frame and likelihood, with their own tense rules.
Subjunctive mood
If you've heard if I were you and wondered why it's not if I was you — you've met the past subjunctive. English barely marks the subjunctive anymore, but in formal writing and a few stock phrases, getting it right (or wrong) is one of the clearest signals of a careful writer. I demand that he be present. / If I were richer. — both subjunctive, both reading as wrong if you swap them out.
The subjunctive mood marks hypothetical or counterfactual contexts. Two main forms: present subjunctive in that-clauses after verbs of recommendation (I suggest that he go) and past subjunctive were in unreal conditionals (If I were you). Mostly invisible in modern English, but unmistakable when present.
Passive voice
If your writing has been called "weak" or "evasive" — Mistakes were made, It was decided that... — you've hit the passive voice's main pitfall. Used deliberately, the passive is precise and useful: it foregrounds the action when the doer doesn't matter. Used by default, it makes prose feel like nobody's responsible for anything.
The passive voice is formed with be + past participle and turns the object into the subject: The chef cooked the meal → The meal was cooked (by the chef). Useful when the action matters more than the doer; overused, it makes writing feel evasive.
Past tense
If you've ever told a story in English and felt the timeline get tangled — I came home, the dog ate, the cat slept — you've hit the limits of using simple past for everything. The past tense system has four forms specifically because real stories have layered timing: things that happened before other things, actions caught in progress, sequences of completed events.
The past tense has four English forms: simple past (I walked), past progressive (I was walking), past perfect (I had walked — earlier than another past event), past perfect progressive (I had been walking — ongoing up to a past point). Plus irregular verbs for the simple-past form.
Simple tense
If you're at A1/A2 and the array of English tenses feels overwhelming, here's the good news: most of what you need to say at the start fits in the simple forms. I work, I worked, I will work — three forms cover habits, completed past actions, and basic future. Master these first; the progressive and perfect come more easily once the simple is solid.
The simple aspect is the unmarked verb form — no progressive -ing, no have + past participle. I go, I went, I will go. Marks single completed actions, habits, or permanent states.
Progressive tense
If you've ever paused over I work in London vs I'm working in London and not been sure which to pick — you've hit the simple/progressive distinction. The first means it's your usual job; the second means it's temporary, going on right now. Native speakers reach for this distinction constantly without thinking; learners have to make it deliberate.
The progressive aspect marks ongoing action at a time of reference, formed with be + -ing: I am working, She was reading, They will be travelling. Marks temporary or in-progress events. Stative verbs (know, believe, own) don't normally take it.
Present tense
If you've ever told someone I am living here for ten years (should be have lived or have been living) — you've hit the present perfect's main puzzle. English insists that "started in the past, still true now" lives in the present perfect, not the simple present. Internalise that one rule and a whole class of common errors disappears.
The present tense in English has four forms: simple present (I work) for habits and general truths; present progressive (I am working) for now or temporary; present perfect (I have worked) for past with present relevance; present perfect progressive (I have been working) for ongoing duration up to now.
Clause
If you've ever been told your sentence is a "run-on" or that you've used a comma where there should be a semicolon — you've hit the limits of writing without seeing clauses. Get this concept solid and most punctuation problems quietly disappear: you can finally tell a complete thought from a fragment without guessing.
A clause is a grammatical unit built around a verb, usually with a subject and a predicate. Independent clauses stand alone (I missed the bus); dependent clauses can't (Because I overslept). Combine them and you build complex sentences.
Perfect tense
If you've ever written I am living here for ten years (should be have lived or have been living) — you've hit the perfect tense's main puzzle. English insists that "started in the past, still true now" lives in the present perfect, not the simple present. Get this clear and a whole class of common errors disappears.
The perfect aspect marks completion relative to a point in time, formed with have + past participle: I have eaten (present perfect), She had finished (past perfect), They will have arrived (future perfect). Combinable with progressive aspect (I have been working).
Modal verb
If you've ever struggled with the difference between You must do this (strong command) and You should do this (advice) — or It might rain (possible) and It will rain (certain) — you've felt how much modal verbs do in English. They're how the language signals certainty, obligation, possibility, and politeness, and getting them right is what stops your speech from sounding either pushy or wishy-washy.
A modal verb is an auxiliary — can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would — adding meaning around ability, permission, possibility, obligation, or speculation. Always followed by the bare infinitive (can swim, never can to swim), and never inflected for person.
Negation
If your native language uses double negatives (I don't see nothing) — like Russian, Spanish, or French — you've probably been told this is wrong in English and not been entirely sure what the fix is. Standard English uses one negative per clause: either I saw nothing or I didn't see anything, never both. Once you internalise that single rule, your written English clears up a lot.
Negation in English uses not after an auxiliary or modal verb: I am not going. Without an auxiliary, you add do-support (I do not go). Negative words like never and nobody already negate the clause — adding not on top creates non-standard double negatives.
Adverb
If you've ever written she sings beautiful when you meant beautifully, you've hit the most common adverb mistake. The fix sounds small, but it's the kind of detail that signals fluency at a glance — and once you see the pattern, you stop second-guessing it.
An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, telling you how, when, where, how often, or to what degree: she sings beautifully, unbelievably fast, we go there often. Most form with -ly (quick → quickly), but a stubborn group don't change shape at all: fast, well, hard, late.
Adjective
If you've ever written a French nice old wooden table and felt something was wrong without knowing why, you've hit the adjective-order rule. English insists on a particular sequence — opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material — and rearranging the words makes a sentence sound non-native even when every individual choice is correct.
An adjective describes a noun or pronoun: a tall building, the soup is hot. Most adjectives also take comparative and superlative forms (taller, tallest), which is how you compare things — another core piece you need from day one.
Adjective and adverb
If you've ever wondered why she sings beautifully sounds right but she sings beautiful sounds wrong, you've bumped into the adjective-vs-adverb split. Pick the wrong one and the sentence sounds clearly off — even though native speakers couldn't always tell you the rule. Getting this distinction reliable is what makes descriptions land instead of stumble.
Adjectives describe nouns: a fast car, the soup is hot. Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs: he drove fast, unbelievably smart. The same word can flip roles — fast covers both — but most words don't.
Future tense
If you've ever wondered why a native speaker said I'm meeting her tomorrow instead of I will meet her tomorrow — you've felt the future-tense puzzle. English has at least four common ways to talk about the future, and they're not interchangeable. Pick the wrong one and you sound either unnaturally formal or surprisingly vague about your own plans.
English uses several constructions for future time: will + infinitive (predictions, spontaneous decisions: I'll call), be going to (planned intentions, evidence-based predictions: It's going to rain), the present continuous for arrangements (I'm meeting Sam at six), and the present simple for fixed schedules (The train leaves at 8).
Relative clause
If you've ever paused over who vs whom vs that vs which — or wondered whether a comma belongs before who — you've hit the relative-clause puzzle. English makes meaning depend on whether the clause is essential information or just extra; one missing comma can flip the meaning of the whole sentence.
A relative clause is a dependent clause modifying a noun, introduced by a relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, which, that) or relative adverb (where, when, why). Restrictive relatives are essential and unmarked; non-restrictive are extra information and set off with commas.
B2 | Upper Intermediate
If a university admissions team or visa office has ever asked you for an English test score, B2 is probably the level they had in mind. It's the threshold where your English stops being a constraint and starts being a tool — and the line between B1 and B2 is often the line between "stuck in beginner classes" and "ready to study or work in English."
B2 is the upper-intermediate level in the CEFR framework, demanding flexible control of mixed conditionals, passive voice across tenses, reported speech with backshifting, and participle clauses.
Difficulty: Medium
If easy questions feel too obvious but hard questions leave you guessing, you're probably ready for Medium — the level where most real learning happens. It pushes just enough to expose the rules you don't quite have yet, without burying you in edge cases. This is where steady fluency is built, one well-aimed challenge at a time.
The Medium difficulty tag marks middle-range challenges — typically A2 to B1. One rule per question, realistic distractors, and contexts that require active thought rather than instant recognition.