GRAMMAR FOUNDATION - PRACTICE (1)

Exercise 1. [Present simple vs. Present Continuous] Correct the errors in the following paragraphs.

Exercise 2. [Present simple vs. Present Continuous] Are the underlined verbs right or wrong? Correct them
where necessary.
1. Water boils at 100 degree Celsius. OK.
2. The water boils. Can you turn it off? is boiling
3. Look! That man tries to open the door of your car. ……………………………………………….
4. Can you hear those people? What do they talk about? ……………………………………………….
5. The moon goes around the earth in about 27 days. ……………………………………………….
6. Paul is never late. He’s always getting to work on time. ……………………………………………….
7. Nick is thinking of giving up his job. ……………………………………………….
8. Are you believing in God? ……………………………………………….
9. I’m feeling hungry. Is there anything to eat? ……………………………………………….
10. I’m thinking this is your key. Am I right? ……………………………………………….
Exercise 3. [Past Simple] Complete the sentences by giving the correct form of the words in the brackets.

Exercise 4. [Past Simple] Give the correct form of the verbs in the brackets.

1. I _________________ (not / drink) any beer last night.

2. She _________________ (get on) the bus in the centre of the city.
3. What time _________________ (he / get up) yesterday?
4. Where _________________ (you / get off) the train?
5. I _________________ (not / change) trains at Victoria.
6. We _________________ (wake up) very late.
7. What _________________ (he / give) his mother for Christmas?
8. I _________________ (receive) £300 when my uncle _________________ (die).
9. We _________________ (not / use) the computer last night.
10. _________________ (she / make) good coffee?
11. They _________________ (live) in Paris.
12. She _________________ (read) the newspaper yesterday.
13. I _________________ (not / watch) TV.
14. He _________________ (not / study) for the exam.
15. _________________ (he / call) you?
16. _________________ (I / forget) something?
17. What time _________________ (the film / start)?
18. He _________________ (have) a shower.
19. Why _________________ (you / come)?
20. _________________ (he / go) to the party
Exercise 5. [Past Continuous] Give the correct form of the verb in the brackets.
1. When I phoned my friends yesterday, they (play) were playing monopoly.
2. Yesterday at six I (prepare) _________________ dinner.
3. The kids (play) _________________ in the garden when it suddenly began to rain.
4. I (practise) _________________ the guitar when he came home.
5. We (not / cycle) _________________ all day.
6. While Aaron (work) _______________ in his room, his friends (swim) _______________ in the pool.
7. I tried to tell them the truth but they (listen / not) _________________.
8. What (you / do) _________________ this time yesterday?
9. John (sleep) _________________ at 3PM last Sunday.
10. Dr. Ford (not read) _________________ in his room when the murder happened.
Exercise 6. [Past Simple – Irregular Verbs] Give the correct form of the verb in the brackets.
1. I _________________ (come) to England in 1993.
2. She _________________ (stand) under the tree to shelter from the rain.
3. They _________________ (do) their homework yesterday.
4. We _________________ (sing) too much last night, I have a sore throat!
5. He already _________________ (eat) all the cake.
6. The child _________________ (fall) off his bicycle.
7. It _________________ (take) three hours to drive to Paris.
8. I _________________ (find) your keys under the table.
9. She _________________ (get) a new bike for her birthday.
10. She _________________ (sell) her house last year.
Exercise 7. [Present Continuous vs. Past Continuous] Underline the present continuous and past continuous
verbs in the following sentences. Discuss their use. What are the similarities between the two sentences?
Exercise 8. [Past Simple vs. Past Continuous] Complete the sentences below by giving the correct form of
the verbs in the brackets, using past simple or past continuous tense
Exercise 9. Make full sentences with the given words, using used to + V

1. I / live in a flat when I was a child.

____________________________________________________________________________________
2. We / go to the beach every summer?
____________________________________________________________________________________
3. She / love eating chocolate, but now she hates it.
____________________________________________________________________________________
4. He / not / smoke.
____________________________________________________________________________________
5. I / play tennis when I was at school.
____________________________________________________________________________________
6. She / be able to speak French, but she has forgotten it all.
____________________________________________________________________________________
7. He / play golf every weekend?
____________________________________________________________________________________
8. They both / have short hair.
____________________________________________________________________________________
9. Julie / study Portuguese.
____________________________________________________________________________________
10. I / not / hate school.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 10. Complete the story below by giving the correct form of the verbs in the brackets, using past
simple or past continuous tense.
Yesterday, it was (rain) _________________ and (thunder) _________________ all day. Ann (play)
_________________ inside the house. She (want) _________________ to be outside. She (not play)
_________________ outside because it (rain) _________________.
She (read) _________________ her book until the electricity (go out) _________________. Then, she
(decide) _________________ to practice her sewing. She (practice) _________________ sewing until
lunchtime. After lunch, she (sit) _________________ by the window and watched the rain.
While Ann (watch) _________________ the rain, the phone (ring) _________________. Her mother was
calling to say she (come) _________________ home. She was bringing a new game. Ann and her mother
(eat) _________________ ice cream and (play) _________________ the game.
While they (play) _________________, the rain (stop) _________________! But Ann didn't even notice. She
(have) _________________ such a good time with her mom!
Exercise 11. Use the words in the brackets to make sentences, using present simple or present continuous
tense.

Exercise 12. [Past Simple – Irregular Verbs] Give the correct form of the verb in the brackets.
1. We _________________ (go) to New York in January.
2. Finally, my mother _________________ (let) me go to a party.
3. It _________________ (be) cold last night.
4. I _________________ (meet) John at the weekend.
5. Lucy _________________ (pay) the bill, before leaving the restaurant.
6. We _________________ (see) the new film yesterday.
7. She _________________ (wear) her new coat to the party.
8. I _________________ (think) my football team would win.
9. They _________________ (put) their bags in the bedroom.
10. Billy _________________ (run) after the bus.
11. She _________________ (say) that she would come later.
12. I _________________ (buy) some books this morning.
13. We _________________ (make) a cake, it was delicious.
14. He _________________ (sit) on the old chair, and it broke.
15. They _________________ (write) a letter to their parents.
Exercise 13. Fill in the gaps with somewhere, anywhere, everywhere or nowhere
1. There must be a restaurant ................................. round here.
2. You can get ................................. in the world in a few hours.
3. He is ................................. in the school. Where can he be?
4. You can't go ................................. in this mud.
5. I can't see my pencil, it must be ................................. in my school bag.
6. I looked and looked but couldn't find it ................................. .
Exercise 14. Fill in the gaps with the correct reflexive pronouns.
1. Tom cut ................................. while he was shaving this morning.
2. We really enjoyed ................................. very much.
3. I repaired my bike ................................. .
4. Why don't you clean the windows ................................. ?
5. Jack and I intoduced ................................. to our new neighbour.
6. He decided to repair his bike ................................. .
7. They looked at ................................. .
8. The film ................................. wasn't very good, but I liked the music.
9. The old woman sat at the park bench talking to ................................. .
10. Let's paint the house ................................. .
11. Did you write it ................................. ?
12. She locked the door ................................. .
13. The children cleaned their room ................................. .
14. Ann baked the cake ................................. .
15. The cat caught the mouse ................................. .
Exercise 15. Choose the correct pronouns.
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves or each other.
1. Sandra and Angela lost ................................. in front of the stadium.
2. My friends enjoyed ................................. very much at the concert.
3. Tim repaired his car ................................. .
4. We helped ................................. with our report.
5. People often give ................................. presents at Christmas.
6. I bought ................................. a new camera.
7. Chris, did you do the maths homework ................................. ?
8. They looked at ................................. and smiled.
9. Ron and Tom often write e-mails to ................................. because they're good friends.
10. Ann only thinks of ................................. . She's selfish.