Category Archives: Grammar exercises

PAST SIMPLE OR CONTINUOUS

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1. George (fall)                       off the ladder while he (paint)                 the ceiling.
2. Last night I (read)                          in the bed when I suddenly (hear)                   a scream.

3.                  you  (watch)                          TV when I (call)                       you?

4. Ann  (wait)                           for me when I  (arrive)                                  .

5. I  (not drive)                                 very fast when the accident (happen)                                .

6. I  (break)                      a plate last night. I  (wash)                       the dishes when it  (slip)                            out of my hand.

7. Tom  (take)                  some photos while I  (play)                            in the garden.

8. We  (not go)                       out because it  (rain)                               .

9. What  (you do)                          last week?

10. I  (see)                     Carol at the party. She  (wear)                       a new dress.

11. The cell phone  (ring)                                when I  (take)                            a shower.

12. It  (begin)                        to rain when I  (walk)                          home.

13. We  (see)                 an accident when we  (wait)                          for the bus.

14. The children  (sleep)                              all night.

Past Simple – exercises

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Complete the text with the past form of the verb:

BE (X 7) – PUT – NEED – WALK  – ARRIVE

It _____ a warm, sunny day. She _____ a hat on to keep the sun out of her eyes. She ____ to visit her bank. She _____down to the corner. There were four buildings at the intersection. One ____ her bank. Opposite the bank was a fast food restaurant. The other two buildings _____a dry cleaner and an office building. Before she arrived at the corner, she could smell the fried chicken. The restaurant ____ open seven days a week, and the odor of fried chicken _____ in the neighborhood daily. She ____ a vegetarian.

BE – FIND – HAVE – OPEN – KNOW

She used to eat meat and fish. But that ____ before she ______ a dead cat in her dumpster one day. Of course, she ___ smelled the dead cat before she _______ the dumpster lid. Everyone knows the smell of dead flesh. She ____ that something in the dumpster was dead, but she didn’t know what.

OPEN – SEE – COVER – LOVE

Just in case it was a human (some people dump their babies into dumpsters), she _____ the lid. She ____ the cat. Flies ______ most of it. They were enjoying their meal. She _____ cats. She had two of her own.

ORDER – THINK – SPIT – BECOME

A week later at a restaurant, she _________ a hamburger. While she was eating it, she suddenly ________ about the dead cat. She _____ out the hamburger. That was the day she _________ a vegetarian.

Present Simple

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Statement + Statement – Questions Answer + Answer –
I work I don’t work Do I work well ? Yes, I do No, I don’t
You work You don’t work Do you work ? Yes, you do No, you don’t
He works He doesn’t work Does he work ? Yes, he does No, he doesn’t
She works She doesn’t work Does she work ? Yes, she does No, she doesn’t
It works It doesn’t work Does it work ? Yes it does No, it doesn’t
We work We don’t work Do we work ? Yes, we do No, we don’t
You work You don’t work Do you work ? Yes, you do No, you don’t
They work They don’t work Do they work ? Yes, they do No, they don’t

Do the test:

1. Jane (buy) beautiful clothes.
2. My parents  (not/speak) English, sorry !
3. Her sister (phone) every day.
4. I am very good at German; I (understand) it quite well.
5. I am not good at Spanish ; I (not/understand) it at all.
6. (understand/she) Italian ?
7. They have a car, they (not/take) the bus.
8. He has a funny dog. His name is Sugar ; he (play) with him all the time.
9. He’s very big ! He (eat) a lot !
10. (know/ you) Mr Smith ?
11. It’s 10.30 ! They always (get up) late.
12. What time (go/your children) to school ?
13. Harry  (watch) television from 7.00 to 9.00 every evening.
14. She is hard-working, she always (try) to do her best.
15. Jane (study) psychology at university.

 

Listen and count the verbs in Simple Present and Frequency adverbs in these wonderful songs: Present Simple Songs

Get used to, be used to and used to

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Let’s look at something that many students get a bit confused with. First of all, read the following passage:

Do you think we will ever get used to working or studying all the time? I am used to working a lot. I didn’t use to like it but now I do. It keeps my busy and active all day. I used to work in an office and I was sitting all day, which I hated. Now I get to move around visit clients and have fun talking to people. I am used to working long hours too, but the pay is good so I don’t mind. My boss asked me the other day if I would like to move up in the company, which means more hours. I said I would first have to get used to the idea and get back to him.

Now, let’s have a look at how and when to use get used to, be used to and used to + infinitive.

Get used to – If you get used to something or you are getting used to something, it means you are becoming accustomed to it – it was strange, now it’s not so strange. This structure is followed by gerund or a noun.

Be used to -If you are used to something, you are accustomed to it – you don’t find it unusual.This structure is followed by gerund or a noun.

Used to + infinitive – We use ‘used to’ to talk about things that happened in the past – actions or states – that no longer happen now.

Remember that in negatives and questions with “did” we drop the “d” of “used to”and it becomes “use to”.

For example:

“I used to go horse riding all the time, but now I don’t have time”

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