Are these nouns countable or uncountable?

1. water ____________

2. fruit ____________

3. coconut ____________

4. bread ____________

5. DVD ____________

6. meat ____________

7. ball ____________

8. snack ____________

9. glasses ____________

10. pen ____________

11. milk ____________

12. chair ____________

13. gasoline ____________

14. table ____________

15. cream ____________

16. money ____________

17. oil ____________

18. insect ____________

19. sofa ____________

20. yogurt ____________

21. school ____________

22. bus ____________

23. food ____________

24. chocolate ____________

Please complete the following exercise using a/an/the/0 (no article) in the underlined spaces where
appropriate. Change capital letters to lower case letters at the beginning of a sentence if necessary.

Ms Parrot, (1) ___ most famous lady detective of (2) ___ twenty-first century, was born in

(3) ___ United Kingdom in (4) ___ 1960s. Since then, she has been to many countries, including (5)

___ Portugal, Singapore and Australia, and has lived in (6) ___ northern hemisphere and (7) ___

southern hemisphere, as well as on (8) ___ equator. She has never been to (9) ___ Philippines or

(10) ___ United States, but she speaks (11) English, French and Portuguese. Like Sherlock Holmes,

(12) ___ famous detective, she plays (13) ___ violin, and sometimes practises up to five times (14)

___ day. She is also (15) ___ only person in (16) ___ world to have performed Tchaikovsky’s 1812

overture [a long piece of music] in one breath on (17) ___ recorder.

She has been (18) ___ detective for thirty years and claims that although many people

think that being (19) ___ detective is (20) ___ piece of cake, detectives generally work very hard

and it’s not all fun and games. (21) ___ detective is someone who solves mysteries, and (22) ___

people who contact Ms Parrot have some very unusual problems. Little information is available

about some of (23) ___ cases she has solved, but quite (24) ___ few of her most famous cases

have attracted worldwide attention and she has been offered up to (25) ___ thousand dollars (26)

___ hour to help solve mysteries such as (27) ___ case of (28) ___ Australian owl in (29) ___

uniform. (30) ___ bird laid (31) ___ egg in (32) ___ European nest in less than (33) ___ hour after

its arrival. What (34) ___ strange problem!

With great (35) ___ modesty, she has either declined such (36) ___ fee or donated (37) ___

money to (38) ___ poor, or to (39) ___ Grammar Survival Fund, believing that (40) ___ detective

should use their skills for (41) ___ common good.

Choose the correct item from the choices in the parentheses.

1. He (correct, correctly) defined the terms. The answer sounded (correctly, correct).

2. She (quickly, quick) adjusted the fees. She adapted (quick, quickly) to any situation.

3. He measured the floor (exact, exactly). They proved to be (perfectly, perfect) (exact, exactly)
measurements.

4. The stillness of the tomb was (awfully, awful). The tomb was (awfully, awful) still.

5. It was a (dangerously, dangerous) lake to swim in. The man was (dangerous, dangerously) drunk. The
gas smelled (dangerously, dangerous).

6. She performed (magnificent, magnificently). It was a (magnificent, magnificently) beautiful

performance.

7. Her voice sounds (beautifully, beautiful). She sang the song (exact, exactly) as it was written. We
heard it (perfectly, perfect).

8. He was a very (sensibly, sensible) person. He acted very (sensible, sensibly).

9. Mike wrote too (slow, slowly) on the exam. He always writes (slow, slowly).

10. Talk (softly, soft) or don't talk at all. The music played (softly, soft).

11. Andrea knows the material very (good, well). She always treats us (good, well).

12. You must send payments (regular, regularly). We deal on a (strictly, strict) cash basis.

13. The mechanic's tools were (well, good). The foreman said that his work was (good, well) done.

14. She worked (careful, carefully) with the sick child. She was a very (careful, carefully) worker.

15. He did not pass the course as (easy, easily) as he thought he would.

16. I find this novel very (interesting, interestingly). It was (interesting, interestingly) written.

Complete the sentences below using one of the verbs in the box either in simple present or present
progressive. You may use each verb once only.

Enjoy prefer play produce work seem know interview wait talk finish

1. I always________ tennis on Fridays.

2. He ________ his report. He will bring it into the office when it is complete.
3. "My parents phoned me this morning. They _________ themselves in the Seychelles.

Champagne every night! In fact, they don't want to leave."

4. We ________ to entertain our guests in a local restaurant rather than the canteen.
Although it is expensive, we can talk freely there.

5. I ___________ the answer to your problem. Get a new computer.

6. "Where is John?"

"In his office ____________ for an important telephone call."

7. I can't make the meeting tomorrow. I _____________ the applicants for the sales manager's job.

8. My brother_____________ for Shink Inc. which makes bathroom fittings.

9. Who ___________ to Bill? Is it the new secretary?

10. The new contract ________________fine to me. However, could you just check it through once
more?

In each of these complex sentences, underline each independent clause once and each dependent
clause twice.

1. Until you change those strings, your banjo won’t sound very good.

2. Darryl looked after my dog while I was away.

3. Bring your backpack when you come to school today.

4. When my grandmother was young, she listened to Frank Sinatra records.

5. Unless I am wrong, peaches were first grown in China.

6. Linda will lend Wei the book when she has finished it.

7. The announcer whose voice is so pleasant has switched to the morning drive time.

8. Write about your experience while it is still fresh in your mind.

9. In this plan, you pay as you go.

10. None of the poems that I like best are in this anthology.
Identify each sentence below with “S” for simple, “CD” for compound, or “CX” for complex.

1. Scientists can determine the relative age of fossils from the layers of rock in which the fossils are
found. ________

2. Fossils in lower layers are older; those in higher layers are younger. ________

3. The oldest fossils of any group of living things are simpler than the more recent fossils are. ________

4. To scientists, this is clear evidence that plants and animals change over time. ________

5. The oldest fossils are approximately 3.5 billion years old. ________

6. These ancient fossils are traces of bacteria, which are one-celled organisms. ________

7. Animals without backbones came into being about 700 million years ago, but animals with backbones
did not appear until about 500 million years ago. ________

8. If you could travel in time, would you go to the time of the dinosaurs? ________

9. Even the air must have smelled different that long ago! ________

Change the following sentences so that the verbs will be in the passive voice.

1. The boy killed the spider.

2. The police caught the thief.

3. The boy made a kite.

4. The sudden noise frightened the dog.

5. Edison invented the light bulb.

6. He made a very remarkable discovery.

 7. His own brother betrayed him.

8. I have sold my old car.

9. They opened the store only last month.

10. We do not permit smoking in the kitchen.

11. The cat chased the mouse.

12. Your behavior disgusts me.

13. The cat drank all the milk.

14. A stone struck me on the head.

Use the simple future to complete the sentences below:

1. Susana will jog / is going to jog (will / to be going- to jog) at the track.

2. The hibiscus __________________ (to be going – to thrive) with lots of water.

3. If you don’t wear a bee suit, the bees _________________ (to be going - to

sting) you.

4. He __________________ (will- to sunburn) if he doesn’t wear sun block.

5. Calculus problems __________________ (to be going – to vex) me.

6. She __________________ (to be going to- weep) when she cuts onions.
7. Karla __________________ (shall – to be) very angry at Carlos.

8. The gymnasts __________________ (shall- to spring) off the springboard.

9. Both girls __________________ (to be) eighteen years old.

10. When Francheska goes to church, she __________________ (to be going to

kneel).

Put the verbs in brackets into the Past Continuous or the Past Simple.

1) Frank _______________ (finish) his lunch and ____________ (ring) his friend Jason.

2) Jason ____________ (watch) TV when Fran______________ (phone) him.

3) He ____________ (turn off) the TV when he ____________ (hear) the phone ringing.

4) They _________________________ (decide) what to do when Jason _____________________

(suggest) going to the club.

5) Frank _______________ Jason ____________ (pick up) and _________________ (drive) to the club.

6) Two other people _______________________(use) their tennis court when they

_________________________ (arrive).

7) They ______________________ (drink) a soda and ____________________ (eat) a sandwich while

they _____________________(wait) to play.

8) While they __________________________ (play), it ________ (start) to rain so they

______________________ (have) to stop playing.

Tell what the underlined pronoun refers to:

1. Gold would be more enjoyable for me if I could just hit it.

2. He was told that the class was not full, so you could register for it.

3. As soon as Dean gets paid, he spends it.

4. Pam told her roommate she didn’t have any more fudge.

5. In yesterday’s paper it says the school board meeting was canceled.

6. When John and Paul got to the parking lot, they found that his car was missing.