Eng1 Grammar Blank

Download as docx, pdf, or txt
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1of 134

Grammar

1 INTRODUCTION: TERMINOLOGY 2

2 TENSES 3

2.1 THE PRESENT TENSE 5


2.2 THE PAST TENSE 11
2.3 PRESENT PERFECT 16
2.3.3 THE PRESENT PERFECT TENSE: EXERCISES ON SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS 18
2.4 PAST PERFECT 25
2.4.1 THE PAST PERFECT SIMPLE 25
2.5 GRAMMAR RECAPITULATION 29
2.5.1 MIXED EXERCISES ON PAST SIMPLE, PAST CONTINUOUS, PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE AND PRESENT PERFECT
CONTINUOUS 29
2.5.2 GRAMMAR RECAPITULATION 2: MIXED EXERCISES ON PRESENT SIMPLE, PRESENT CONTINUOUS, PAST SIMPLE,
PAST CONTINUOUS, PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE, PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS 38
2.5.3 GRAMMAR RECAPITULATION 3: MIXED EXERCISES ON THE PAST TENSE (SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS) OR THE PAST
PERFECT TENSE (SIMPLE OR CONTINUOUS) 41
2.5.4 GRAMMAR RECAPITULATION 4: MIXED EXERCISES ON THE PRESENT TENSE, THE PAST TENSE, THE PRESENT
PERFECT TENSE OR THE PAST PERFECT TENSE (ALL SIMPLE OR CONTINUOUS) 45
2.6 THE FUTURE TIME & TENSE 53
2.6.3 THEORY 53
2.6.4 THE FUTURE TIME & TENSE: EXERCISES 56

3 WORDSORTS 69

3.1. NOUNS: COUNTABLE & UNCOUNTABLE, SINGULAR & PLURAL 69


3.1.1 THEORY 69
3.1.2 EXERCISES 73
3.1.3 PLURAL & POSSESSIVE OF NOUNS 78
3.2 ARTICLES – DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE 82
3.2.1 FORM OF THE ARTICLE 82
3.2.2 EXERCISES 85
3.3. ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS 94
3.3.1 THEORY 94
3.3.2. ADJECTIVES OR ADVERBS: EXERCISES 97
3.3.3 DEGREES OF COMPARISON 106
3.4. PRONOUNS AND DETERMINERS 111
3.4.1 PERSONAL PRONOUNS 111
3.4.2 DEMONSTRATIVES (PRONOUNS AND OTHERS) 111
3.4.3 REFLEXIVE AND RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS 112
3.4.4 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS 113

1
1 Introduction: terminology
a. VOETBALLER SCHIET BAL IN HETELUCHTBALLON
Tom Jannsens, een achttienjarige keeper van voetbalclub Veerle Sport, beschikt wel
over een zeer verfijnde traptechniek. Tijd ens een trainingsessie in Laakdal knalde hij
de bal zo hoog dat die bal pardoes in het mandje belandde van een heteluchtballon.

b. FOOTBALL PLAYER SHOOTS BALL INTO BASKET HOT AIR BALLOON


It was not an accident, but the result of a challenge. According to the coach, Janssens
would never be able to shoot the ball as high as the balloon. The call was heard. The
two women aboard the balloon were just in time to take cover. They were polite
enough to throw the ball back gently afterwards. Then Janssens asked his coach if he
would repeat his statement.

1.Woordsoorten/ Word sorts

-Zelfstandig naamwoord - Noun


-Werkwoord - Verb
-Bijvoeglijk naamwoord - Adjective
-Bijwoord - Adverb
-Voorzetsel - Preposition
-Voornaamwoord - Pronoun

2.Grammaticale Functies / grammatical functions

-Onderwerp – Subject – It, Janssens


-Werkwoord(groep) – Verb (group) – was, be,
-Lijdend Voorwerp – Direct Object – The ball
-Meewerkend Voorwerp – Indirect Object - /
-Gezegde – Predicate - /
-Bijwoordelijke bepaling – Adverbial - /

2
2 Tenses

SURVEY OF THE TENSES

Past perfect Simple: Past perfect continuous


+ I had worked + I had been working
- I had not worked - I had not been working
? Had I worked ? Had I been working?
Past Simple Past Continuous
+ I worked + I was working
- I did not work / I didn’t work - I was not working / I wasn’t working
? Did I work? ? Was I working?
Present Perfect Simple Present Perfect Continuous
+ I have worked + I have been working
- I have not worked / haven’t - I have not been working / haven’t
worked been working
? Have I worked ? Have I been working
Present Simple Present Continuous
+ I work + I am working
- I do not work / don’t work - I am not working
? Do I work ? Am I working
Future Perfect Simple Future Perfect Continuous
+ I will have worked + I will have been working
- I will not have worked / won’t - I will not have been working / won’t
have worked have been working
? Will I have worked ? Will I have been working
Future Simple Future Continuous
+ I will work + I will be working
- I will not work / won’t work - I will not be working / won’t be
working
? Will I work ? Will I be working

3
Introductory exercise: Choose the right form of the
verb (including infinitives)
1. He's been ride / riding / ridden his hobby-horse for at least half an hour.
2. You'd better give / gave / given him the shares.
3. I'd rather you sent / send / sending her the fax.
4. She had been live / lived / living in England for ten years when she was offered a job
in the USA.
5. Does he often goes / go / went fishing?
6. I'd rather you have told / had told / had telling me the truth.
7. You were to have been attended / to have attended / to having been attended
the meeting.
8. I would told / telling / have told you if I knew myself.
9. Did she knew / know / knows the answer herself?
10. You ought given / giving / to give your son some money.
11. It's unfair that she's making / been making / being made fun of.
12. He's been talked / been talking / be talked of applying for a new job.
13. He says he doesn't remember fought / to have fought / having fought.
14. She didn't buys / bought / buy the car after all.
15. If the price had been favourable, I'd have buying / bought / would have bought the car.

4
2.1 The Present Tense

2.1.1 Simple Present

a. Form
Normally, the form of the simple present is the same as the infinitive for all persons,
except for the third person singular, to which <s> is added.
e.g. To work
I work - He / she / it works

He passes - He polishes - She watches - He loses - It flies - He cries - He bullies

She does - It goes

Questions and negatives:


He knows - He does not know/He doesn’t know - Do you know? - Don’t you know?

b. Use
- present habit I walk to school every day.
- general truth The sun sets in the west.
- successive actions He leaves the house and crosses the street.
- stative verbs:
* short actions He jumps out of the window.
* non-action verbs I prefer tea to coffee.
How do you like your new job?
I don’t know the animal’s name.
Do you hear the music?
- planned future actions The train leaves the station at 7.

5
2.1.2 Present Continuous (Present Progressive)

a. Form
In order to form the present continuous of a verb, you have to take the simple present of
to be + the ing-form of the verb.

e.g.
They are working - They are arguing - They are gossiping - They are coming - They are
travelling - They are lying - They are dying

Questions and negatives:


She’s looking - She is not looking / She isn’t looking - Is she looking? - Isn’t she
looking?

b. Use
- neutral tense for now I am teaching.
The children are sleeping.
- near future I’m sending you the text on Friday.
- irritation She is always teasing me.
He’s always smoking that stupid pipe.

6
2.1.3 The present tense: exercises on simple and continuous

a. Translate the verb and put it in the correct form


1. I hope he is at home. ‘m not feeling well today.
2. I’ m thinking of leaving this country and moving to Australia.' 'You don’t know
what you’ re saying'
3. Nothing succeeds like success.
4. Cheese doesn’t agree with me.
5. It's not often you meet someone who is truly talented.
6. 'Why are you wearing a warm-up suit?' I’m wearing a warm-up suit because I’m
going for a five-mile run.'
7. We normally / usually spend our holiday in Spain, but this year we are going to
Italy.
8. That man over there, who is begging for money, used to be the manager of an
international company. Now he is sleeping rough.
9. Look, I don’t like being photographed, so stop it.
10. The room is ready because I’m expecting my son and his wife. They may arrive
any minute now
11. A cuckoo lays its eggs in the nests of other birds.
12. 'What's that terrible noise?' 'Oh, it's John, he is practising the violin.
13. Get a doctor, quickly. That man is dying.
14. I remember the good old days because there were so few of them.
15. I have to go now, my mother is waiting for me.
16. The committee meets twice a year.
17. An army is marching on his stomach.
18. 'What is she doing right now?' 'She is having dinner.'
19. I always forgive my enemies. It drives / is driving me crazy.
20. She often goes shopping on Saturday. Right now she is buying vegetables.

7
b. Are the underlined verbs right or wrong? Correct if necessary.
1. Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
2. The water boils. Could you turn it off? - Is boiling
3. Look! That man tries to open the door of your car. - Is trying
4. Can you hear those people? What do they talk about? Are - talking
5. The moon goes around the earth.
6. I must go now. It gets late. It’s getting
7. I usually go to work by car.
8. 'Hurry up! It's time to leave' 'Ok, I come' - m’ coming
9. I hear you have a new job. How do you get on?
10. I'm seeing the manager tomorrow morning. - Will see
11. I'm feeling hungry. Is there anything to eat?
12. Are you believing in God?
13. This sauce is great. It is tasting really good. tastes
14. I'm thinking this is your key. Am I right? - I think

c. Complete the sentences using the most suitable present form of 'to be'.
1. I can't understand why he is being so selfish. He usually isn’t like that.
2. Jack is being very nice to me at the moment. I wonder why.
3. You'll like Jill when you meet her. She is very nice.
4. Normally you are very sensible, so why are you so silly about the matter?
5. Why isn’t Sarah not at work today? Is she ill?

d. Put the verb in the correct form


1. Let's go out. It (rain not) now. Isn’t raining
2. Julia (be) very good at languages. She (speak) four languages fluently. Is -
speaks
3. Hurry up! Everybody (wait) for you. Is waiting
4. '… (listen you) to the radio?' 'No, you can switch it off.' Are you listening
5. '... (listen you) to the radio every day?' 'No, just occasionally.' Do you listen
6. The River Nile (flow) into the Mediterranean. flows
7. Look at the river. It (flow) very fast today = much faster than usual. Is flowing
8. We usually (grow) vegetables in our garden, but this year we (grow not) any. –
grow - have not grown

8
9. 'How is your English?' 'Not bad. It (improve) slowly.' Is improving
10.Ron is in London at the moment. He (stay) at the Park Hotel. He (stay always)
there when he is in London. – is staying – always stays
11.Can we stop walking soon? I (start) to feel tired. ‘m starting
12.'Can you drive?' 'I (learn). My father (teach) me.' ‘m learning – is teaching
13.Normally I (finish) work at 5.00 pm, but this week I (work) until 6 pm to earn a
little extra money. – finish – ‘m working
14.My parents (live) in Bristol. They were born there and have never lived anywhere
else. Where (live your parents)? – live – do your parents live?
15.Sonia (look) for a place to live. She (stay) with her sister until she finds
somewhere. – is looking – stays / is staying
16.'What (do your father)?' 'He's an architect, but he (work not) at the moment.' –
does your father doing? - isn’t working
17.(at a party) Usually I (enjoy) parties very much, but I (enjoy not) this one very
much. – enjoy; am not enjoying
18.The train is never late. It (leave always) on time. – always leaves
19.Jim is very untidy. He (leave always) his things all over the place. – always
leaves

e. Translate the following sentences.


1. Hij studeert computerwetenschappen aan de universiteit van Stanford.
- Hi is studying IT at university Stanford.
2. I hoor niets hoewel ik heel scherp luister. Ik vermoed dat ze al slapen
- I don’t hear anything, even though I’m listening hard. I think they are already
sleeping.
3. Hij heeft echt een groter huis nodig. Daarom probeert hij het zijne te verkopen.
- He really needs bigger / larger house. That’s why he is trying to sell his.
4. Door het heffen van zware belastingen gaat de populariteit van de premier naar
beneden.
- By levying heavy taxes, the PM's popularity going down / decreasing.
5. Kijk! Die man steekt de straat over hoewel er aan busje aankomt van links!
- Look! This man is crossing the street although there is a van approaching from left.
6. Ik verklaar de vergadering voor gesloten.
- I hereby declare the meeting closed.

9
f. Choose the correct tense.
1. I (live) in Brussels. Where (live you)? Live – do you live?
2. We (save) to buy a new car. Are saving
3. I often (watch) English films. watch
4. Their children never (help) at home. help
5. My boss (travel) a lot at the moment. Is traveling
6. You (seem not) very happy right now. Are you ok? Don’t seem
7. My sister (learn) French for her job. Is learning
8. Can I call you back? We (have) lunch. Are having
9. Hello Ann, I (phone) you from London. ‘m phoning
10. In Toronto it (snow) at the moment. Is snowing

g.Translate the verbs appropriately and choose the present simple or progressive
tense.
1. They (wonen) are living in Australia now, but they (denken) think of emigrating.
2. People who (zeggen) say they (slapen) sleep like a baby, usually don’t have
(hebben niet) one.
3. Look! The sun (ondergaan) and it is getting darker and darker.
4. A journalist is a person who works harder than any other lazy person in the world.
5. 'I've lost my purse.' 'I might have guessed. You always lose your purse.
6. My cousin studies Russian at night school. I’m asking own how long she will keep
it up.
7. Normally she is a charming girl, but right now she is being impossible.
8. He usually sleeps late on Sudays, but now he is already working in his office.
9. I know I see a lot of him, but that doesn’t mean that I love him.
10. 'I think the Browns have ruzie.' 'That surprises me, Mrs Brown (pesten, zagen
altijd) her husband.

10
h.Translate the following sentences.
1. Vandaag regent het veel. Meestal regent het niet zoveel in Augustus.
2. Mijn broer spreekt al drie talen en nu leert hij nog een vierde taal: Russisch.
3. Ik zit na t e denken over j e vraag. Ik denk dat w e meer tijd nodig hebben.
4. 'Waarom kijk je naar deze auto?' 'Omdat hij er zo mooi uitziet.'
5. 'Zit Tom nog steeds te ontbijten?' 'Nee, ik geloof dat hij klaar is. Dat betekent dat
we kunnen vertrekken.'

1. Today, it is raining a lot. Usually, it doesn’t rain so much in August.


2. My brother speaks in three languages and now he’s even studying a fourth
one at the moment: Russian.
3. I’m thinking about your question. I think that we need more time.
4. Why are you looking at this car? Because it looks so nice.
5. Is Tom still having breakfast ? No, I believe he is ready. That means we can
leave.

11
2.2 The Past Tense

2.2.1 Simple Past

a. Form
The general rule to build the simple past is to add <ed> to the infinitive of the verb.
e.g. To knock - She knocked

They moved - It dried - It occurred - He permitted - She developed

But then are of course the irregular verbs. The list of irregular verbs should be studied in
depth. It was passed on in a different file.
It arose - He bought - She taught - They chose - He knew - It stuck

Questions and negatives


I saw - I didn’t see - Did you see? - Didn’t you see?

b. Use
- definite time in the past I read a great book yesterday.
Did you study hard last year?
Keats lived in Italy.
- past habit She always drank milk.

12
2.2.2 Past Continuous (Past Progressive)

a. Form

The past continuous is formed by taking the simple past of the verb to be + ing-form
of the verb.
e.g. To work
We were working

Questions and negatives:


She was dancing - She was not dancing/She wasn’t dancing - Was she dancing? -
Wasn’t she dancing?

b. Use

- action continuing in the past: The baby was crying all night.
- two actions taking place at same time in the past:
While he was cooking, his wife was doing the dishes.

13
2.2.3 The past tense: exercises on simple and continuous

a. Complete the sentences using the simple past, positive or negative.


1. It was warm, so I (take) off my coat. took
2. The film was not very good. I (enjoy) it very much. didn’t enjoy
3. I knew Sarah was very busy, so I (disturb) her. didn’t disturb
4. I was very tired, so I (go) to bed early. went
5. The bed was very uncomfortable. I (sleep) very well. didn’t sleep
6. Sue wasn't hungry, so she (eat) anything. didn’t eat
7. We went to Kate's house, but she (be) at home. wasn’t
8. It was a funny situation, but nobody (laugh). laughed
9. The window was open and a bird (fly) into the room. flew
10. The hotel was not very expensive. It (cost) very much. didn’t cost
11. I was in a hurry, so I (have) time to phone you. didn’t have
12. It was hard work carrying the bags. They (be) very heavy. were

b. Choose the correct form of the verb


1. I (prefer) him when he (be) a child. Preferred - was
2. They (wait) at the airport when the plane (arrive). Were waiting - arrived
3. At 11 o'clock I (still write) the report and I (type) it half an hour later. Still writing –
was typing
4. While she (read) a novel, I (write) letters. Was reading – was writing
5. They had waited for me, so when I (come) in we (have) dinner. Came - had
6. They (install) the central heating all day yesterday, but they (not can) finish the job.
Were installing – didn’t finish
7. When (she invite) you? did she invite
8. When I (come) in, I (see) they (have) supper. Came – saw – were having
9. At ten o'clock I (still work) and I (only have) a break much later. Was still working –
only had
10. I (have) a shower when the telephone (ring). Was having - rang
11. He (tell) me a joke and I (laugh).
12. While they (watch) television I (listen) to the radio.
13. I (shop) all day yesterday but I (not can) find anything I really wanted.
14. Where exactly (you meet) my girlfriend?

14
15. They (lie) on the beach when it (begin) to rain.
16. They quickly (run) into the tent when it (begin) to rain.
17. While you (talk), I (play) cards.
18. The thief (run) away when he (see) the police.
19. She (baby-sit) all day yesterday, that is why you (not can) find her.
20. When I (come) in, the teacher (already explain) what the students (must) do.

c. Put the verb in the correct tense.


1. Jane (wait) for me when I (arrive). Was waiting - arrived
2. 'What (do you) this time yesterday?' 'I was asleep.' Were you doing?
3. '(go you) out last night?' 'No, I was too tired.' Did you go
4. 'Was Carol at the party last night?' 'Yes, she (wear) a really nice dress.' Was
wearing
5. How fast (drive you) when the accident (happen)? Were you driving - happened
6. John (take) a photograph of me while I (look not). Took – wasn’t looking
7. We were in a very difficult position. We (know not) what to do. Didn’t know
8. I haven't seen Alan for ages. When I last (see) him, he (try) to find a job in London.
saw – was trying
9. I (walk) along the street when suddenly I (hear) footsteps behind me. Somebody
(follow) me. I (be) frightened and I (start) to run. Was walking – heard – was
following – was - started
10. When I (be) young, I (want) to be a bus driver. Was - wanted

d. Choose the past simple or past progressive tense.


1. I (cut) my hair two weeks ago; I (wonder) when you'd notice. Cut - wondered
2. Someone (interrupt) him while he (make) a speech. Interrupted – was making
3. I (ask) her to change her behaviour because she (be) very childish. Asked – was
being
4. They (fly) over the ocean when a hijacker (pull) out a gun. Were flying - pulled
5. He (break) his arm while he (ski). Broke – was skiing
6. As he (come) downstairs, he (slip) and (fall). – was coming – slipped - fell
7. When the dam (burst), they (run) away as quickly as they (can). Burst – ran - could
8. She (smile) but when she (see) him with another girl, she (burst) into tears. Was
smiling – saw - burst

15
9. He (have) an accident because he (drive) too quickly. Had – was driving
10. They (sleep) when lightning (strike). Were sleeping - struck
11. She (collapse) when she (hear) the news. Collapsed - heard
12. I (leave just) the house when the postman (arrive). Was just leaving - arrived
13. As I (walk) down the street yesterday, I (meet) an old friend. Was walking - met
14. They (make) so much noise that I (can not) hear anything. Were making – could not
15. We (talk) about her when all of a sudden she (come) in. were talking - came
16. He (sigh) with relief when he (hear) the good news. Sighed - heard
17. The plane (crash) because it (fly) too low. Crashed – was flying
18. (wear she) a red dress when you (see) her? Was she wearing - saw
19. While I (look) for my wallet I (find) the key. Was looking - found
20. We (drive) on the motorway when we (run) out of petrol. were driving - ran

e. Make a question and an answer. Use the words given.


1. Which country/the president/visit/when he/become ill? - He/visit/Spain
Which country was the president visiting when he became ill?
He was visiting Spain
2. How fast/they/drive/when the accident/happen? - They/drive at 120km an hour.
How fast were they driving when the accident happened?
They were driving at 120km an hour.
3. What/Helen/when she/meet her husband? - She/do research for her new book.
What was Helen doing when she met her husband?
She was doing research for her new book.
4. Who/John/speak to/when the secretary/walk in? - He/speak to his boss.
Who was John speaking to when the secretary walked in?
He was speaking to his boss.
5. Where/the children/play/when the dog/attack them? - They/play in the park.
Where were the children playing when the dog attacked them?
They were playing in the park

16
f. Translate the following sentences.
1. Gisteren zag ik Sue in de stad, maar ze zag me niet. Ze keek de andere kant op.
Yesterday I saw Sue in the city, but she didn’t see me, she was looking the

other way.

2. Ik heb Tom en Anne een paar weken geleden op de luchthaven gezien. Ze waren op
weg naar Berlijn en we spraken wat terwijl we op onze vlucht wachtten.
I saw Tom and Anne at the airport a few weeks ago. They were on their way

to Berlin and we talked a little while we were waiting for our flights.

3. Gisteren fietste ik naar huis toen plots een man op straat stapte, vlak voor me. Ik
ging vrij snel, maar gelukkig kon ik nog op tijd stoppen and raakte ik hem niet.
I was cycling home yesterday, when suddenly a man stepped into the street,

right in front of me. I was going quickly, but I could stop in time and did

not hit him.

g. Choose the correct tense


1. '(rain it) when you (leave) home this morning?' 'Yes, but when I (get) back, the sun
(shine).
Was it raining – you left – I got – was shining

2. 'Why (switch you) the television off?' 'Nobody (watch) it and I (want) to read.
Do you switch – was watching – I wanted

3. '(phone you) the travel agents' yesterday?' 'No, I'm afraid I (forget). I (remember)
when I (wait) for the bus but then it (be) too late
Did you phone – I forgot – remembered – was waiting - was

4. 'Where (go you) when I (see) you yesterday afternoon?' 'You (seem) to be in a hurry.
Were you going – saw - seemed

5. The tour guide (give) us an interesting leaflet about the church this morning.' 'Oh
yes? I (miss) that because I had gone back to the bank. When I (come) back, she
(talk) about the castle.
Gave – missed – came – was talking

17
2.3 Present Perfect

2.3.1 The present perfect simple

a. Form
In order to form the present perfect tense of a verb, we take the simple present of to
have and add the past participle of the verb.

e.g.
He has booked - She has worked - He has tweeted - They have dealt

Questions and negatives:


I’ve moved - Have you moved? - I have not moved/I haven’t moved - Haven’t you
moved?

b. Use

- indefinite time in the past I have seen the film before.


- recently completed actions He’s just left the building.
- with since or for He has lived here since birth.
- up to now I’ve had two interviews this week.
- result in the present I can’t write. I’ve lost my pen.

18
2.3.2 Present Perfect Continuous (Present Perfect Progressive)

a. Form
For forming the present perfect continuous of verbs, we need the present perfect of to
be + the ing-form of the verb.

e.g.
To work : She has been working

Questions and negatives:


She’s been watching - She has not been watching/She hasn’t been watching -
Has she been watching? - Hasn’t she been watching?

b. Use
The present perfect continuous is used instead of the present perfect when duration is
important.
e.g. She has been working since eight this morning.

Another difference between the present perfect simple and continuous is the concept of
‘almost/quite finished’. Mark the difference between
- I have read your book (and I love it, it’s finished!)
- I have been reading your book (and I am at page 58)

19
2.3.3 The present perfect tense: exercises on simple and
continuous

a. Choose the appropriate verb and fill in the simple present perfect.
1. That's the best one I (1) in the last thirty years. Have seen
2. They (2, not yet) to work, although it is past nine. Haven’t yet gone
3. The BBC (3, already) the news of his death. Has already
broadcast
4. Wake up! The sun (4, already)! Has already risen
6. The police (5, finally) caught the robber? Have finally caught
Have the police already caught the robber?
6. He (6) back to his native village after twenty years. He has gone
7. I (7) myself while shaving. Have cut
8. This dog isn't vicious, it (8, never) anyone. Has never bitten
9. He (9) his own grave by lying. Has dug
10. She (10, never) in love before. Has never fallen
Has never been
11. The whistle (11, just)? Has just blown
Has the whistle just blown?
12. Great Britain (12, often) with her enemies. Has often fought
13. They (13, not yet) the missing child. Haven’t yet found
13. She (14, yet) for being rude? Has
Has she apologised yet for being rude?
15. She (15) five children and she (16) all of them to behave well. Has had
Has taught
16. So far he (17) the aim even once. Has never hit
17. He (18) her feelings, that is why she is so angry. Has hurt
18. The birds (19) a nest from twigs. Have made / built
19. She (20, just), but if you hurry you might catch up with her. Has just left
20. Why (21) the door open for further negotiations? Hasn’t he opened
21. I can't see anything because I (22) my spectacles Have lost

b. Put in 'been' or 'gone'.

20
1. Jim is on holiday. He's gone to Italy.
2. Hello! I've just been to the shops. I've bought lots of things.
3. Alice isn't there at the moment. She's gone to the shop to get a paper.
4. Tom has gone out. He'll be back in about an hour.
5. 'Are you going to the bank?' 'No, I've already been to the bank.'

c. Provide answer sentences using just, already, or yet.


1. After lunch you go to see a friend at her house. She says: 'Would you like something
to eat?' You say: 'No, thank you. I have already eaten lunch.
2. Joe goes out. Five minutes later, the phone rings and the caller says: 'Can I speak to
Joe, please?' You say: 'I'm afraid he has just gone out.
3. You are eating in a restaurant. The waiter thinks you have finished and starts to take
your plate away. You say: 'Wait a minute! I haven’t finished yet.
4. You are going to a restaurant this evening. You phone to reserve a table. Later your
friend says: 'Shall I call to reserve a table?' You say: 'No, I’ve already done it.
5. You know that a friend of yours is looking for a job. Perhaps she has been
successful. Ask her. You say: Have you found anything yet?
6. Ann went to the bank, but a few minutes ago she returned. Somebody asks, 'Is Ann
still at the bank?' You answer, 'No, She has just come bac.

d. Fill in 'for' or 'since'


7. It's been raining since lunchtime.
1. Tom's father has been doing the same job for 20 years.
2. Have you been learning English for a long time?
3. Sarah has lived in London since 1985.
4. Since Christmas, the weather has been quite good.
5. Please hurry up! We've been waiting for an hour.
6. Kevin has been looking for a job since he left school.
7. The house is very dirty. We haven't cleaned it for ages.
8. I haven't had a good meal since last Tuesday.

e. Translate the verb and fill in the present perfect simple or continuous

21
1. John (nog niet doen) his exercises, that's why he can't go out.
2. Peter (doen) exercises for the last two hours and I guess he'll take another hour to
finish them.
3. I (dragen) these shoes for donkey's years and they are still good.
4. He (hebben) those shoes for only a month, but they are already completely worn
out!
5. He (vertellen) me that you have a new girlfriend. Congratulations!
6. They (vertellen) me all about your new girlfriend.
7. I (proberen) to repair this damned CD-player for more than an hour and it still won't
work.
8. I (eindelijk repareren) the tape-recorder. I have finally repaired / fixed / mended
9. She (drinken) two martinis.
10. He's a real alcoholic. He (drinken) ever since he was a student.
11. I (volgen) dancing-courses for almost a decade and I still can't do the tango.
12. I (uiteindelijk erin slagen) to solve the problem.
13. I (net, pas schrijven) this report, would you type it for me, please?
14. For the last ten days, he (schrijven) the report.
15. Small wonder he (verliezen) so much money. He (gokken) again, ….. (he)?

f. Translate the following sentences


1. Meneer en Mevrouw Hamilton zijn gaan winkelen en nu gaan ze een koffie drinken.
2. Mama heeft Tv gekeken en nu gaat ze slapen.
3. Mary en Susan hebben tennis gespeeld en nu rusten ze even uit.
4. Jan heeft gerend en nu blaast hij even uit.

g. Choose the correct form of the verb.


1. 'What's the matter with her?' 'She (feel not) very well recently.'
2. 'Do you think she'll come?' 'She'd better. I (wait) here since ten o'clock.'
3. 'Are you going home?' 'Yes, I am. I (wait) long enough now.'
4. She (collect) stamps ever since she was a child.
5. He (sing) in his bath for the last twenty minutes.
6. 'I hear you're getting married.' 'Somebody (gossip), it was supposed to remain a
secret.'

22
7. I (try) to get in touch with him for the last fortnight, but I (have not) him on the phone
yet.
8. That letter (lie) there for the last two days. (answer you not) it yet?
9. I (find just) out that you (cheat) me all the time we (play) cards.
10. Over the last two years coffee (become) very expensive.
11. 'You have some blisters on your hand.' 'That's because I (dig) in my garden.'
12. I'll come as soon as I (have) dinner.
13. 'I have a pain in the groin.' 'That's because you (run) too hard.'
14. I (practise) for a month, so now I'm ready for the match.
15. 'What (do you) all the time?' 'Oh, I (fish).' '(catch you) anything yet?' 'Yes, I (catch) a
pike! Look how big it is!'

h. Are the underlined verbs right or wrong? Correct if necessary.


1. Bob is a friend of mine. I know him very well.
2. Bob is a friend of mine. I know him for a very long time.
3. Sue and Alan are married since July.
4. The weather is awful. It's raining again.
5. The weather is awful. It's raining all day.
6. I like your house. How long are you living here?
7. Graham is working in a shop for the last few months.
8. I'm going to Paris tomorrow. I'm staying there until next Friday.
9. Do you still smoke? No, I gave it up. I don't smoke for years.
10. That's a very old bicycle. How long do you have it?

i. Read the situations and write two sentences using the words in brackets.
1. Tom started reading a book two hours ago. He is still reading it and now he is on
page 53.
(read/for two hours)
(read/53pages so far)
2. Linda is from Australia. She is travelling round Europe at the moment. She began
her tour three months ago.
(travel/for three months)
(visit/six countries so far)

23
3. Jimmy is a tennis player. He began playing tennis when he was ten years old. This
year he is national champion again - for the fourth time.
(win/the national championship four times)
(play/tennis since he was ten)
4. When they left college, Mary and Sue started making films together. They still make
films.
(make/ten films since the left college)
(make/films since they left college)

j. Translate the following sentences.


1. We zijn nu in Spanje. We zijn hier al een week.
2. Ik heb al de hele dag problemen met mijn computer. Ik heb een heel oude computer.
3. Hoe lang is uw zoon al in Oostenrijk? Zit hij in Salzburg of in Wenen?
4. Ik ken Mary al mijn hele leven. We zien elkaar iedere maand.
5. 'Hoe lang kent u uw man al?' 'We kennen elkaar al heel lang, maar we zijn pas twee
maanden getrouwd.'

k. Read the situations and complete the sentences.


1. The rain started two hours ago. It's still raining now. It ……… for two hours.
2. We started waiting for the bus 20 minutes ago. We're still waiting now. We ……… for
20 minutes.
3. I started Spanish classes in December. I'm still learning Spanish now. I ………
Spanish since December.
4. Ann began looking for a job six months ago. She's still looking now. ……… for six
months.
5. Mary started working in London on 18 January. She's still working there now. ………
since 18 January.
6. Years ago you started writing to a penfriend. You still write to each other regularly.
……… for years.

l. For each situation, ask a question using the words in brackets.

1. You have a friend who is learning Arabic. You ask: (how long/learn/Arabic)?

24
2. You have just arrived to meet a friend. She is waiting for you. You ask: (how
long/wait?)
3. You see somebody fishing by the river. You ask: (how many fish/catch)?
4. Some friends of yours are having a party next week. You ask: (how many
people/invite)?
5. A friend of yours is a teacher. You ask: (how long/teach)?
6. You meet somebody who is a writer. You ask:
- (how many books/write)?:
- (how long/write/books?):
7. A friend of yours is saving money to go on holiday. You ask:
- (how long/save)?
- (how much money/save)?

m. Read the situations and write questions from the words in brackets.
1. John tells you that his mother is in hospital. You ask him:
(how long/be/in hospital)?
2. You meet someone who tells you that he is teaching French. You ask him:
(how long/teach/French)?
3. You know that Jane is a good friend of Carol's. You ask Jane:
(how long/know/Carol)?
4. Your friend's brother went to Australia some time ago and he is still there. You ask
your friend:
(how long/be/in Australia?)
5. Tim always wears the same jacket. It's a very old jacket. You ask him:
(how long/have/that jacket)?
6. You are talking to a friend about Alan. Alan now works at the airport. You ask your
friend:
(how long/work/at the airport)?
7. A friend of your is having driving lessons. You ask him:
(how long/ have/driving lessons)?
8. You meet somebody on a train. She tells you she lives in Glasgow. You ask her:
(always/live/in Glasgow)?

n. Use the correct tense.

25
1. So far, I (teach) at four schools in Manchester. I (be) at this school since 2001.
2. I (read) this book for two hours. I (read) two chapters so far.
3. How long (learn Jenny) to drive? How many driving lessons (have she) so far?
4. Janet (talk) to her friend on the phone for 45 minutes now. She (make) six calls
since she got home from school.
5. Jack's wet and dirty because he (wash) the car. He (wash) it twice this month.
6. John (live) here since 1968.
7. I (love always) Ireland.
8. I (read) all afternoon.
9. How much (save Jo) for her holiday?
10. How long (live Jane) in the USA?
11. We (know) each other for years.
12. We (try) to call all day. Where can he be?
13. He (hate) her ever since that lie.
14. She (tell) him lies all the time.
15. Mark (fish) at the river all morning.
16. How many fishes (catch he) so far?
17. That man (look) at us since we came in.
18. The thieves (leave probably) the country.
19. Why (finish you not) your wine?
20. I (feel) dizzy since I got up this morning.

o. Translate the following sentences.


1. We wonen in Birmingham. We wonen daar al zeven jaar.
2. 'Ken je Harry?' 'Ja, we kennen elkaar al jaren.'
3. Ik heb hoofdpijn. Ik heb al drie dagen hoofdpijn.
4. 'Ik werk op de exportafdeling.' 'Hoe lang werk je daar al?'
5. Mijn vrouw werkt altijd hard, maar de laatste tijd werkt ze te hard.

26
2.4 Past Perfect

2.4.1 The past perfect simple

a. Form

The past perfect is formed by taking the simple past of to have + past participle of the
verb.
e.g. To plot - He had plotted

Questions and negatives:


He had tweeted - He had not tweeted/He hadn’t tweeted - Had he tweeted? - Hadn’t he
tweeted?

b. Use
The past perfect is used for an action in the past that happened before something else
in the past.
e.g. I had heard about it before it was in the paper.

27
2.4.2 Past Perfect Continuous (Past Perfect Progressive)

a. Form

The past perfect continuous is formed by taking the past perfect of to be + ing-form of
the verb.
e.g. To smoke - He had been smoking

Questions and negatives:


He had been singing - He had not been singing/He hadn’t been singing - Hadn’t he
been singing?

b. Use
The tense is used instead of the past perfect, when the action is still going on at a
certain moment.
e.g. By 8 o’clock last night, I had been working for twelve hours.

28
2.4.3 The past perfect tense: exercises on simple and continuous

a. Read the situations and write sentences from the words in brackets.
1. The woman sitting next to me on the plane was very nervous. It was her first
flight. (fly) she had never flown before
2. A woman walked into the room. She was a complete stranger to me. (see)
3. Simon played tennis yesterday. He wasn't very good at it because it was his first
game. (play)
4. Last year we went to Denmark. It was our first time there. (be)

b. Read the situations and make sentences from the words in brackets.
1. I was very tired when I arrived home. (I/work/hard all day)
2. Two boys came into the house. They had a football and they were both very
tired. (they/play/football)
3. There was nobody in the room, but there was a smell of cigarettes. (somebody/
smoke/in the room)
4. Ann woke up in the middle of the night. She was frightened and did not know
where she was (she/dream).
5. When I got home, Mike was sitting in front of the TV. It was switched off. (He/
watch/TV)

c. Complete the sentences


a. We played tennis yesterday. Half an hour after we began playing, it started to
rain. →We ... when it ...
b. I had arranged to meet Tom in a restaurant. I arrived and waited for him. After
twenty minutes I suddenly realized that I was in the wrong restaurant. → I ... for
twenty minutes when I ...
c. Sarah got a job in a factory. Five years later, the factory closed down. → At the
time the factory..., Sarah ... for five years.
d. I went to a concert last week. The orchestra began playing. After about ten
minutes, a man in the audience started shouting. → The orchestra ... when ...

d. Use the correct tense, past perfect simple or continuous


1. It (stop) raining by the evening.

29
2. I was late because I (sleep).
3. When we finally got to the cinema, the film (start).
4. We were tired because we (travel) for over 24 hours.
5. I (arrange) to meet Richard in a pub, but he never showed up.

30
2.5 GRAMMAR RECAPITULATION

2.5.1 Mixed exercises on past simple, past continuous, present


perfect simple and present perfect continuous
a. Choose the correct form of the verb.
1. '(you ever see) an ice-show?' 'Yes, I (see) one last year.'
2. Shakespeare (write) many famous plays.
3. My sister (write) several poems. She (just finish) another sonnet.
4. How many books (read) this year so far?
5. He (read) many books when he (be) on holiday in Spain.
6. I (not hear) from him for three years. He (send) me a letter from Pakistan three years
ago and since then he (phone not even) me.
7. She (want) to give up smoking and she (smoke not) all week, but she (light just)
another cigarette.
8. I (swim) a lot when I (be) in Italy, but since then, I (swim not even) once.
9. '(you pay) the bill yet?' 'Yes, I (pay) it two days ago.'
10. '(you save) any money since new Year?' 'Yes, I (save) £50.
11. Weather forecast, 31 August : 'It (be) very hot this summer. There (be) much more
rain than last year.'
12. 'When (they leave)?' 'They (leave) a few minutes ago.'
13. She (spend) her holidays in Ireland several times. Last year she (stay) in Belfast for
three months.'
14. '(you go) to work on Monday?' 'Yes, I …… '
15. 'I (lose) my wallet yesterday. (you see) it anywhere?' 'No, I …(not) Where do you
think you (lose) it?'
16. The number of accidents (decrease) a lot since they (build) a new road.
17. (they sell) the house when they (emigrate)?
18. Until now I (be) to the US twice. I first (go) there 3 years ago and I (return) last year.
19. '(you listen) to the PM last night?' 'No, I … (not). I (hear) all that nonsense before.'
20. He (not say) anything important so far.

31
b. Write questions with 'how long' and 'when'.
1. It's raining.
- (how long?)
- (when/start?)
2. Kate is learning Italian
- (how long/learn?)
- (when/start/learn?)
3. I know Martin.
- (how long/know?)
- (when/first meet)?
4. Bob and Alice are married.
- (how long?)
- (when?)

c. Fill in.
1. I am delighted to meet you, I (want always) to.
2. When I (be) at Oxford, I (know) your brother very well.
3. I (see) George a couple of minutes ago.
4. I (meet just) your uncle.
5. Columbus (reach) the West Indies in 1492.
6. I (lose) my spectacles, do help me to find them.
7. Now I (finish) my work, please have a look at it.
8. The kettle (boil), so I will make the tea.
9. I (see never) such a mess as this!
10. We (see not) our friends for a month now.
11. Tom is a good student and (learn) a lot this year.
12. Last week me (make) an excursion to Oxford.
13. During the last few weeks I (be) very busy.
14. During the last week of his life Paracelsus (be) very ill.
15. During this last century, scientists (invent) many things.
16. What (do you) with my hat? It was here a minute ago.
17. (see you) young Thompson recently?
18. Since 1900, women's fashions (change) a lot.

32
19. He (be) fast asleep for three hours now.
20. Wait a minute! I (finish not yet) my meal.

d. Fill in the correct tense.


1. 'Where's your key?' 'I don't know. I (lose) it.'
2. I (be) very tired, so I lay down on the bed and went to sleep.
3. Mary (go) to Australia for a while, but she's back again now.
4. 'Where's Ken?' 'He (go) out. He' be back in about an hour.'
5. I (mean) to phone Diane last night, but I (forget).
6. I did German at school, but I (forget) most of it.
7. I (have) a headache earlier, but I feel fine now.
8. Look! There's an ambulance over there. There (be) an accident.
9. They're still building the new road. They (finish not it) yet.
10. The police (arrest) three people, but later they let them go.
11. 'Is Helen still here?' 'No, she (go just) out'.
12. Ann (give) me her address but I'm afraid I (lose) it.
13. Where's my bike. It (be) outside the house. It (disappear)!
14. What do you think of my English? Do you think I (improve)?

e. Translate the verbs appropriately and choose the correct tense.


1. You may catch up with him, he (vertrekken maar net).
2. She (kijken alleen maar) without saying anything.
3. I (typen al) all the data into the computer.
4. I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid I (laten vallen) your portable computer.
5. So far we (zijn) quite successful, but I don't know about the future.
6. We (zijn) friends for over twenty years now.
7. She (uitbarsten) into tears when she heard the news of her best friend's death.
8. I (zich afvragen vaak) where she finds the money to live the way she does.
9. We (gaan) to a disco last Saturday.
10. I can't go on holiday because I (breken) my right arm.
11. We (hebben) our house since 1984.
12. They (emigreren) to Australia three years ago.
13. How long (zijn jij) a fan of his?
14. The journalist (schrijven) that article last Friday.

33
15. I (lezen eindelijk) your book. Congratulations! It's fascinating.
16. I (zich abonneren) to the magazine three years ago.
17. Never in my life (eten ik) snails.
18. When (verzwikken jij) your ankle?
19. She's feeling depressed because her boss (een uitbrander geven net, pas) her.
20. My uncle (geven) me a camera for my birthday.
21. They (horen nog niet) the news of the bankruptcy.

f. Fill in the correct tense


1. The Berlin wall (fall) in 1989.
2. (see you) Sarah today?
3. I (have not) time to study yesterday.
4. Sorry, I (forget) to phone you last night.
5. When (buy you) your new coat?
6. There you are at last! Where (be you)?
7. I (be) to LA several times. It's a great city.
8. Joe (have) an accident two weeks ago.
9. We (finish) working at six.
10. The photographer (arrive not) yet.
11. Tel me, (be you ever) on television?
12. My grandfather (be) very tall.
13. Jack (leave) school at the age of sixteen.
14. I (send already) them a reply.

g. Complete the following dialogues.


1. '(speak you) to Dave yet?' 'No. I (phone) him at two o'clock and I (ring) again at three
but he (be not) at home.'
2. '(learn you) French when you were at school?' 'Yes, but that (be) twenty years ago
and now I (forget) most of it. I (like not) the French teacher and so I (do not) my
homework.'
3. 'We (book just) our summer holidays. What about you?' 'Well, we (get) some
brochures from the travel agency last week, but we still (decide not) where to go.'

34
4. 'Last week I (decide) to go on a diet. I (buy) a new suit a couple of months ago and
now it doesn't fit. I (wear never) it.' 'I (try) to lose weight last year, but I (be not) very
successful. I (give) up after a month.'

h. Choose the right form of the verb


1. His song (be) number one in 'Top of the Pops' for six months now.
2. It (become) the new number one six months ago.
3. I (buy) my car three years ago.
4. I (have) my car for three years.
5. She (hear just) the new song and she doesn't like it.
6. I (watch) TV yesterday.
7. She (drink) champagne on her birthday.
8. How many cups of coffee (drink you) today?
9. He (write) me a letter last week.
10. I (write) three letters today.

i. Translate the following sentences.


1. Weet je het al van Sue? Ze heeft haar job opgegeven.
2. De Chinezen hebben de boekdrukkunst uitgevonden.
3. Hoeveel toneelstukken heeft Shakespeare geschreven?
4. Heb jij al een toneelstuk van Shakespeare gelezen?
5. Aristoteles was een Griekse filosoof.
6. Ai! Ik heb me in mijn vinger gesneden. Het bloedt.
7. Mijn grootouders zijn in Londen getrouwd.
8. Waar ben jij geboren?
9. Mary is niet thuis. Ze is uit winkelen.
10. Albert Einstein was de wetenschapper die de relativiteitstheorie ontwikkeld heeft.

j. Fill in the most suitable tense.


1. A: Look! Somebody (spill) coffee on the carpet.
B: Well, it (be not) me. I (do not) it.
2. A: Ben (break) his leg.
B: Really? How (happen) that?
A: He (fall) off the ladder.

35
3. A: Your hair looks nice. (have you) a haircut?
B: Yes.
A: Who (cut) it? (go you) to the hairdresser?
B: No, a friend of mine (do) it for me.

k. Are the underlined verbs right or wrong? Correct if necessary


1. I've lost my key. I can't find it anywhere.
2. Have you seen the news on television last night?
3. I've bought a new car. Do you want to see it?
4. I've bought a new car last week.
5. Where have you been yesterday evening?
6. Jenny has left school in 1999.
7. I'm looking for Mike. Have you seen him?
8. I'm very hungry. I haven't eaten anything today.
9. Diane hasn't been at work yesterday.
10. When has this book been published?

l. Fill in.
1. What (happen) to your hair? It's standing on end!
2. Where (be you) all this morning? It's nearly midday now!
3. Where (be you) this morning? I even had to eat lunch all alone!
4. He (go) to Britain about two months ago.
5. John's filthy! He (fall just) in some kind of mud.
6. What (happen) to you yesterday?
7. I'm a great traveller; I (visit) over thirty countries.
8. (sleep you) well last night?
9. Where (be you) until now?
10. (see you) John at ten o'clock?
11. I (do) enough; now I'm going to have a rest.
12. Who (leave) the chairs on the lawn last night?
13. Many people (see never) snow.
14. (meet you ever) Mrs Orfrey? No? Then let me introduce you to her.
15. A boy prodigy (win) the championship last year.
16. Did you hear that? I'm afraid Elsie (drop) our best tea-set.

36
17. I (meet once) an old man called Abraham Lincoln.
18. Who (discover) America?
19. What a pity Alfred (make up not) his mind yet.
20. Where (put I) my pen? I had it near me just now.

m. Fill in the correct tense


1. I don't know where Amy is. (see you) her?
2. When I (get) home last night, I (be) very tired and I (go) straight to bed.
3. Your car looks very clean. (wash you) it?
4. George (be not) very well last week.
5. Mr Clark (work) in a bank for fifteen years. He only (give) it up last year.
6. Molly lives in Dublin. She (live) there all her life.
7. '(go you) to the cinema last night?' 'Yes, but it (be) a mistake. The film (be) awful.'
8. My grandfather (die) thirty years ago. I (meet never) him.
9. I don't know Carol's husband. I (meet never him).
10. 'Is your father at home?' 'No, I'm afraid he (go) out.' 'When exactly (go he) out?'
'About ten minutes ago.'
11. 'Where do you live?' 'In Boston.' 'How long (live you) there?' 'Five years.' 'Where (live
you) before that?' 'In Chicago.' 'And how long (live you) in Chicago?' 'Two years.'

n. Translate the following sentences.


1. John heeft een nieuwe auto gekocht. Hij heeft hem vorige week gekocht. Hij was
niet duur.
2. Je mag het boek hebben. Ik heb het op vakantie gelezen, maar ik vond het niet
goed.
3. 'Heb je alle uitnodigingen geschreven?' 'Nee, ik heb er gisteren maar tien
geschreven.'
4. 'Heeft Sandra ons haar nieuwe telefoonnummer gegeven?' 'Nee, ze stuurde ons
vorige week een kaart, maar ze vergat er het nummer op te schrijven.'
5. 'Hebben jullie het gehoord van Hilary en George? Ze zijn verhuisd.' 'Echt waar?
Wanneer zijn ze verhuisd?'

o. Use the correct tense.


1. How many books (write Hugo Claus)?

37
2. When I was a student, I (work) on a farm during holidays.
3. I (have) a headache all morning.
4. As children, we (have always) a dog.
5. I (lose) my car keys yesterday.
6. We (be) here for two weeks now.
7. When (go skiing) for the first time?
8. I (skate/not) since I (be) fifteen.
9. Last night the baby (cry) for an hour.
10. Steve's here now; he (come just) back.
11. In those days, Sue (like not) Linda at all.
12. We (go often) to the beach this summer.
13. John and I (see not) each other for ages.
14. On Monday I (wait) for his phone call all day.

p. Translate the following sentences


1. Wij hadden dit jaar geen vakantie.
2. Ik heb vandaag niet ontbeten.
3. Mijn wekker heeft niet gerinkeld vanmorgen en ik was te laat op mijn werk.
4. Wij hebben nog niet veel sneeuw gehad deze winter.
5. Harry is vorige week iedere morgen te laat geweest.
6. Ik heb de buren dit weekend niet gezien. Zijn ze op reis?
7. Het is drie uur en ik heb de hele dag nog niets gedaan. Gisteren heb ik de hele dag
in de tuin gezeten.
8. Twintig jaar geleden heb ik Hamlet op school gelezen en pas gisteren heb ik het
stuk (play) in de schouwburg gezien.
9. Mijn man ligt al een week in het ziekenhuis. Vorig jaar rond deze tijd lag hij ook in
het ziekenhuis.
10. Het is al dinsdag en mijn dochter heeft nog steeds niet gebeld. Ze is zaterdag naar
Rome gevlogen en heeft beloofd om te bellen.

q. Complete the following dialogues with the correct tense.


1. 'My goodness! It's eleven o'clock and I still (have not) breakfast! I (have) a coffee
when I (get up), that's all!' 'Let's go for lunch soon. A new bistro (open) last month - it
serves great food!'

38
2. 'What a week! I (work) all day yesterday without a break and I (have not) a break
today either. Still, only one more hour!' 'I (make) some sandwiches this morning.
Would you like one?'
3. 'I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather. When (die he)?' 'Well, he (be) ill for a long
time and then three weeks ago he (go) into hospital and (die) two days later. Since
then my grandmother (be) with my parents.'
4. 'I (decide) to go to Scotland this year, next month probably. (be you ever) there?'
'Yes, once, as a child. My grandparents (take) me there. It really (be) a wonderful
holiday.

r. Complete the following dialogues with the present continuous or the present
perfect continuous.
1. Marianne (learn) English for two years.
2. Hello, Tom. I (look) for you all morning. Where have you been?
3. Why (look you) at me like that? Stop it!
4. We always go to Ireland for out holidays. We (go) there for years.
5. I (think) about what you said and I've decided to take your advice.
6. 'Is Ann on holiday this week?' 'No she (work).'
7. Sarah is very tired. She (work) very hard recently.

s. Fill in the simple past or the present perfect of the verb in brackets.
1. During my visit to London last year, I (take) some pictures of Harrods.
2. Who (lead) last year’s expedition to the North Pole?
3. Man is a social being: he (always, want) to reach as many people as possible.
4. In 1997, that theatre company (use) this book as the script for a play.
5. During my stay in England three years ago, I (to visit) some cathedrals. I (be)
deeply impressed.
6. For the last five years, a lot of foreigners (come) to live in our village and some of
them (even, buy) houses there.
7. As you can see, I (bring) my new suitcase from Lille today.
8. In the early sixties, Mr Spielberg (choose) this location for a film.
9. I (buy) a flat ten years ago, (get) a great job and (think) the world was my oyster.
10. Yesterday, the engine (start) and the car (move) down the hill.

39
2.5.2 Grammar recapitulation 2: mixed exercises on present simple,
present continuous, past simple, past continuous, present
perfect simple, present perfect continuous

a. Fill in.
I (1 work) for my firm for twenty years and up to now I (2 have) no difficulty in satisfying
my employers, who (3 be always) very considerate. I (4 remember) how, one day when
I was new to a firm, I (5 take) French leave in the afternoon to go to see a football
match.
I (6 enjoy) it very much, as my favourite team (7 win) although their rivals (8 put) up a
worthy resistance, and I (9 encourage) my team in a loud voice when I (10 notice) a tall
man who (11 shout) encouragement to the other team. I (12 recognize) him after a
moment: he was our Managing Director.
I (13 hope) that he (14 know not) me by sight, but only as a name on the firm's payroll,
on which I (15 pray fervently) to remain! I (16 decide) to creep away to another part of
the ground before he might notice me. (17 be you ever) on a crowded football-ground?
Yes? Then you can guess how much chance I (18 have) of creeping away! I (19 lose) a
lot of my interest in the game, especially when I (20 see) the Managing Director's
glance wander in my direction.
A few days later, while I (21 work) overtime in the office, in (22 come) the Managing
Director. "What (23 do you) here at this hour?" He (24 ask) I (25 explain) that I (26 work)
late because we (27 have) important orders to catch up.

b. Put the verb into the correct form, present simple and continuous, past simple
and continuous
1. We can go out now. It (rain not) anymore. It is not raining
2. Ann (wait) for me when I (arrive). Was waiting - arrived
3. I (get) hungry. Let's go and have something to eat. Am getting
4. What (do you) in your spare time? Do you have any hobbies?
5. What speed (do the car) at the time of the accident?
6. Mary usually (phone) me on Friday, but she (phone not) last Friday.
7. 'When I last saw you, you (think) about moving to a new flat.' 'That's right, but in the
end, I (decide) to stay where I was.'
8. What is that noise? What (happen)?

40
9. It (be usually) usually dry here at this time of the year. It (rain not) much.
10. Yesterday evening the phone (ring) three times while we (have) dinner.
11. Linda was busy when we (go) to see her yesterday. She (study) for an exam. We
(want not) to disturb her, so we (stay not) very long. We didn’t want
12. When I first (tell) Tom the news, he (believe not) me. He (think) that I (joke).

c. Choose the right alternative.


1. Everything is going well. We didn't have/haven't had any problems so far.
2. Margaret didn't go/hasn't gone to work yesterday. She wasn't/hasn't been feeling
well.
3. Look! That man over there wears/is wearing the same sweater as you.
4. Your son is much taller than when I last saw/have seen him. He grew/has grown a
lot.
5. I still don't know what to do. I didn't decide/haven't decided yet.
6. I wonder why Jim is/is being so nice to me today. He isn't usually like that.
7. Jane had a book open in front of her, but she didn't read/wasn’t reading it.
8. I wasn’t very busy. I didn't have/wasn't having much to do.
9. Mary wasn't happy in her new job at first, but she begins/is beginning to enjoy it now.
10. After leaving school, Tim found/has found it very difficult to get a job.
11. When Sue heard/was hearing the news, she wasn't/hasn't been very pleased.
12. This is a nice restaurant, isn't it? Is this the first time you are/you've been here?
Have you ever been here before
13. I need a new job. I'm doing/I've been doing the same job for too long.
14. 'Ann has gone out.' 'Oh, has she? What time did she go/has she gone?'
15. 'You look tired.' 'Yes, I've played/I've been playing basketball.'
16. Where are you coming/do you come from? Are you American?
17. I'd like to see Tina again. It is/has been a long time since I saw her/ that I didn't see
her.
18. Bob and Alice have been married since 20 years/ for 20 years.

d. Complete the questions using the right tense.


1. 'I (look) for Paul. (see you) him?' 'Yes, he was here a moment ago.'
Am looking / have you seen

41
2. 'Why (go) to bed so early last night?' 'Because I (feel) very tired.' Did you go – was
feeling
3. 'Where (go you)?' 'Just to the post box. I want to post these letters. I'll be back in a
few minutes.' Are you going
4. '(watch you) television every evening?' 'No, only if there (be) a good programme on.'
Do you watch - is
5. 'Your house (be) very beautiful. How long (have you) it?' 'Nearly ten years.' Is – have
you had
6. 'How was your holiday? (have you) a good time?' 'Yes, thanks. It (be) great.' Did you
have - was
7. '(see you) Julie recently?' 'Yes, I (meet) her a few days ago.' Have you seen – met
8. 'Can you describe the woman you (see)? What (wear she)?' 'A red sweater and
black jeans.' Saw – was she wearing
9. 'I'm sorry to keep you waiting.' '(wait you) long?' 'No, only about ten minutes.' Have
you been waiting
10. 'How long (take it) you to get to work in the morning?' 'Usually about 45 minutes. It
(depend) on the traffic.' Does it take - depends
11. '(finish you) with that newspaper yet?' 'No, I (read) it. It won't be long.' Are you
finished / have you finished – am reading
12. '(go you ever) to the United States?' 'No, never, but I (go) to Canada a few years
ago.' Have you ever gone – went

42
2.5.3 Grammar recapitulation 3: mixed exercises on the past tense
(simple and continuous) or the past perfect tense (simple or
continuous)

a. Choose the correct form


1. After what you (write) in your last letter about Mr Smith I (want not particularly) to
meet him.
2. As soon as the underground (come) to a standstill we (get) out.
3. The hotel staff (extinguish already) the fire themselves when the fire brigade (arrive).
4. They (reject) a lot of plans before they (choose) this one.
5. He (be) in prison for two months before they (discover) the real murderer.
6. He (read) the book after he (see) the film.
7. She (not want) to decide until the lawyer (give) her some advice.
8. No sooner (we go) out than it (begin) to rain.
9. After he (be) with the firm for five years he (become) the Sales Manager.
10. He (be) tired because he (have) a bad night.
11. By the time the police (find) out who he (be), he (emigrate already) to South Africa.
12. After a severe interrogation, the thief (admit) that he (steal) the jewels.
13. Never before (I see) such a frightful incident.
14. I (only drive) five miles when the car (break) down.
15. I (not can) enter because I (forget) my key.
16. When he (be) eighty, he (tell) her he (love) her all his life.
17. He (buy) a flat with the money he (inherit).
18. She (be) very worried because they (return not yet) by ten o'clock.
19. They (put hardly) on their raincoats when the rain (stop).
20. The doctor (go just) to bed when there (be) an urgent phone call.

b. Translate the verb appropriately and put it in the correct tense.


1) The witness (zeggen) that he (zien nooit) the defendant before.
2) Once he (geven) his word, he (kunnen niet) pull out.
3) After I (drinken) coffee, I (drinken) a whisky.
4) By the time she (ontdekken) who he really (zijn), it (zijn) too late.
5) He (gaan) to the British Museum as soon as he (aankomen) in London.
6) I (zijn) too late. He (vertrekken net, pas).
43
7) She (antwoorden niet) the bell until it (bellen) twice.
8) I (oversteken net, juist) the bridge when it (instorten).
9) When he (tellen) the money, he (zetten, doen) it away.
10)On finding out that his uncle (nalaten) him a lot of money, John (organiseren) a big
party.
11)He (klagen) to the police because his neighbours (storen) him the night before.
12)After she (eten) an apple, she (eten) an orange.
13)I (weten) that he (zijn) in London the week before.
14)Once the earthquake (beginnen), there (zijn) no way to save the village.
15)As soon as she (komen) round he (vertellen) her she (zijn) in hospital.
16)On seeing that the prisoner (vluchten), the sheriff (zadelen) his horse.
17)After he (controleren) the oil and the battery, he (rijd en) off.
18)Once he (krijgen) his director's approval, he (voelen) safe.
19)By the time the general (plannen) his strategy, the war (zijn) over.
20)The bomb (ontploffen) just after they (nemen) cover.

c. Fill in
a. When we (to arrive) at work this morning, we (to find out) that somebody (to break
into) the office at night. So we (to call) the police
b. I (to try) to phone Ann this morning, but there (tob e) no answer. She (to go out) out.
c. I (to meet) Jim a few days ago. He (to come back/just) from his holiday, the same
day. He (to look) very well.
d. Yesterday Kevin (to have) a phone call from Sally. He (to be) very surprised, as he
(to write) her often, but she (to reply/never) to his letters

d. Choose the correct form of the verb.


1. When I (look) at his eyes, I (know) he (take) drugs.
2. It (be not) the first time she (complain), as a matter of fact, she (complain) for a very
long time.
3. He (act) in many films before he (become finally) famous.
4. After he (study) English for five years, he (go) to England.
5. He (work) too much, that's why he (get) a nervous breakdown.
6. I (call) him Tom all the time when I suddenly (realize) his name (be) Bob.
7. He (work only) for that firm for three weeks when he (decide) to resign.

44
8. After he (teach) English for ten years he (must) teach German.
9. The superintendent (interrogate) the robber all night until he finally (confess).
10. The reporter (interview) the Governor for five minutes before he (realize) there
(be) no tape in the recorder.
11. After he (study) the problem for five years he (find) the answer.
12. They (search) for the missing child for three hours before they (find finally) it.
13. She (find) out that her best friend (gossip) about her.
14. After they (live) together for years, she (tell) him she (want not) to marry him.
15. Although it (snow) all night, they (decide) to climb the mountain.

e. Choose the correct form of the verb


a. At four o'clock I (collect) all the data I needed.
b. They (scan) the sky all morning.
c. I (skim) the books for about an hour.
d. I knew he (quit) his job.
e. At 9 pm they (count) all the votes.
f. He said he (cast not) his vote because he didn't like either of the candidates.
g. He (do not) anything because he (browse) through the magazines all morning.
h. On June 26, he (be late) for an exam.
i. 'Why didn't she pass the exams?' 'Because she (skip) lessons for almost the
whole term.'
j. He didn't leave until she (accept) the terms.
k. He (live) in Britain for ten years when he was naturalized.
l. About two months after the government (take) over, they nationalized the steel
industry.
m. They (bargain) about the price the whole morning and they (reach not) an
agreement yet.
n. He (able not) to sleep because the dog (bark) all night. She (tell hardly) him that
nothing could happen when the bomb (explode).

e. Fill in
1. It was very noisy next door. Our neighbours (have) a party.
2. We were good friends. We (know) each other for a very long time.

45
3. John and I went for a walk. I had difficulty keeping up with him, because he
(walk) so fast.
4. Mary was sitting on the ground. She was out of breath. She (run).
5. When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table and talking. Their mouths
were empty but their stomachs were full. They (eat).
6. When I arrived, everybody was sitting around the table with their mouths full.
They (eat).
7. Jim was on his hands and knees on the floor. He (look) for his contact lens.
8. When I arrived, Kate (wait) for me. She was rather annoyed with me because I
was late and she (wait) for a very long time.
9. I was sad when I sold my car. I (have) it for a very long time.
10. We were extremely tired at the end of the trip. We (travel) for more than 24
hours.

f. Complete the following story.


Two years ago, Laura (1 have) a very strange Christmas. As usual, she (2 fly) home
from Italy to spend Christmas with her parents in England. The evening before her flight,
she (3 wrap up) all the presents she (4 bought) in the weeks before Christmas. While
Laura (5 pack) her suitcases, a friend from England (6 call) and they (7 decide) to meet
for coffee at Heathrow airport as they (8 see not) each other for months.
The next day, Laura (9 wake up) very early feeling very excited. She (10 be not) home
since May and she (11 look forward to) her holiday with her parents for weeks. The
plane (12 land) on time and Laura (13 go) to the baggage reclaim to collect her
suitcases. After she (14 wait) for over twenty minutes, she (15 realize) that she (16 be)
the only person without her luggage. She (17 go) to the airline information desk and (18
fill in) a form with details about her missing suitcase. They (19 tell) her that her suitcase
would be delivered the next morning - 24 December.
After Laura (20 meet) her friend for coffee, she (21 take) the bus and train to her
parents' house. They (22 stand) on the platform when her train (23 arrive) and they (24
be) very surprised when Laura (25 get off) with only her handbag. Laura (26 explain)
what (27 happen) while they (28 walk) to the car. The suitcases (29 come finally) on 26
December. The airline (30 send) it to Casablanca by mistake!

46
2.5.4 Grammar recapitulation 4: mixed exercises on the present
tense, the past tense, the present perfect tense or the past
perfect tense (all simple or continuous)

a. Choose the right tense


1. I (drive off hardly) when I (notice) something was wrong.
2. The last time I (drink) champagne was on New Year's Eve and the next morning I
(have) a horrible hangover. I (drink not) any since.
3. After she (talk) of joining the club for a long time, she finally (become) a member last
week.
4. I (give) him a good tip the other day because he (serve) us well.
5. '(watch you) television a lot?' 'Yes, I ……' '(see you) that programme on Egypt
yesterday?' 'No, I ……… As a matter of fact I (see not) any programmes at all since
last Monday.
6. '(find she) her handbag yet?' 'No, she …………, although she (look) for it all
morning.'
7. I don’t do lots of sports. I last (play) tennis three years ago and I (play/not) football
for ages.
8. She (complain) of headaches a long time before she (go) to see a doctor.
9. '(play you ever) golf?' 'Yes, I …………… As a matter of fact, I (play) golf only
yesterday.'
10. I (think) about the problem for the last two weeks and now I (solve finally) it.
11. She (look) for a new dress the whole morning and she still (find not) anything yet. It
(be) about time that she (make) up her mind.
12. 'What (be) it you (carry)?' 'It (be) my cat. I (take) it to the veterinarian. A dog (attack)
and (bite) it yesterday.
13. I (have not) lunch at home. I (go usually) to a restaurant. Yesterday, I (try) some
Japanese food. I (try never) it before, but I (must) say it (be) delicious. (try you ever)
it?
14. 'Why (pack you) your suitcases?' 'Because I (leave) for Edinburgh soon.' 'Then why
(do you not) this yesterday?' 'because I (know not). I (hear only just) I (have) to go. If
I (know) it before, I would have done it yesterday.
15. She (be paralysed) since she (be operated) on.

47
16. 'He (talk) of setting up his own business.' 'He (mention ever) this before?' 'Not that I
(know) of, but he (want always) to leave his present firm.
17. My son (stay) in San Francisco when my mother (die).
18. Computers (change) a lot since I (buy) one.
19. There you (be), we (find) you at last. (know you) we (try) to get hold of you for the
last two hours? Where (be you) at 11 o’ clock?
20. I (be) really mad yesterday. I (discover) that my best friend (cheat) on me for a very
long time.
21. My uncle Harry (be) a bachelor. He (cook) his meals himself, (wash) his own clothes
and even (iron) them himself. He (be) a bachelor all his life and he (say) he (regret
not) it.

b. Same exercise
1. He (live) in Inverness when he was a child.
2. He (live) in Inverness when the disaster occurred.
3. He (live) in Inverness for many years when the event occurred.
4. He admitted that he (live) in Inverness at various times.
5. I (live never) in Inverness, but I do want to go there.
6. John (live) in Birmingham. His job is there.
7. Henry (live) in Glasgow at the moment, but he hopes to leave soon.
8. I (live) in London and many other big cities that I hated.
9. When I (finish quite), I called for the bill.
10. I (finish) and only then did I realize I was in the wrong restaurant.
11. After I (work) for some time, I heard a knock at the door.
12. The house (smell) of gas for several days: what can be done about it?
13. I (leave hardly) the house when it began to pour.
14. Who (use) my safety-razor? The blade is quite blunt.
15. On Saturdays, when we (have) lunch, we usually go for a walk.
16. "You (do) too much recently. Take a rest."
17. "Where (put you) my wig? I can't find it anywhere," complained the bald man.
18. Where (go you) when I passed you this morning?
19. (have you) your medicine yet?
20. Why (make you always) such idiotic mistakes?

48
21. He explained why the three angles of a triangle (equal) a hundred and eighty
degrees.
22. I (explain) this for hours: doesn't even one of you understand it by now?
23. While I (explain) this to you, you have been drawing silly pictures.
24. He (chew) gum then so of course he couldn’t speak properly.
25. Where (be you) all day today?
26. I (see) him several times this week.
27. I (see) him several times earlier this week.
28. On that occasion he (look) quite bovine, for he was chewing gum.
29. After I (be) sick, I felt better.
30. "Where have you been?" "I (swim)."
31. When he (shoot) the lion, he placed one foot on it, triumphantly.
32. Until last year, he (see never) snow on the hills.
33. When I looked out, I (find) it (snow) all night.
34. Because he (fail), he was most depressed.
35. I (work) all the time, whereas he had been amusing himself.
36. For three hours, he (seem) worried, and then he told me why.
37. When they (finish), they handed in their drawings.
38. That's very funny! Where (hear you first) that story?
39. After she (break) her promise, she was filled with remorse.
40. (have you) breakfast yet? No? Then I'll get you some.
41. After I (do) all my work, I (go) home but I remembered I (leave) my umbrella in the
kitchen, where I (put) it to dry, and I (go) to fetch it.
42. You (work) too much, I advise you to have a holiday.
43. I (work) and so (have) John, and we are both a little tired.
44. I (come) to London several times before the war.
45. (come the postman) yet?

Choose the correct form to complete the following article

At 6 am last week a young man (1 approach) the Empire State Building in New York. He
(2 wear) heavy hiking boots, and on his back (3 be) a pack containing a long coil of
nylon rope. A curious window washer (4 ask) the stranger what he (5 plan) to do.

49
'I (6 take) a walk', he (7 say) casually. And then he (8 proceed) straight up. Averaging
about two minutes a floor, George Willig, 27, (9 climb) steadily up the northeast corner
of the tower. He (10 move) with a forthright manner that clearly (11 indicate) he (12
know) what he (13 do). An experienced mountain climber, Willig (14 plan) his adventure
for a year. He (15 take) a day of leave from his job as a designer, and (16 be) utterly
confident that he would make it to the top of his own private Mount Everest.
To carry him up the building, Willig (17 design) two special metal blocks that (18 lock)
into a track used to guide the heavy scaffolding that (19 carry) window washers up and
down. By the time he (20 climb) about ten floors, Willig (21 create) a cheerful
happening. Down below, spectators (22 flock) to cheer him on. Television crews (23
arrive). And so (24 do) the police, but they (25 become) caught up in the spirit of the
climb. At 10.05 Willig (26 scale) the final difficult passage. The jubilant cheers of
thousands of spectators (27 rise) faintly to his ears from below, and he (28 salute) his
admirers with a wave.
Then Willig (29 turn) and (30 fall) into the arms of the law. He (31 be fingerprinted) and
(32 be questioned) then he (33 be booked) on, charged of criminal trespass, reckless
endangerment and disorderly conduct. The city (34 threaten) to sue him for $250.000.
Confronted by his talent, temperament and instant popularity, New York City (35
surrender) and (36 cancel) the suit. Instead, (37 say) the Mayor, the city (38 settle) for a
fine of $10.1 - a penny for every floor.

c. Fill in the correct tense.


1. What (read you)? It looks interesting.
2. Nobody (phone) me this week.
3. I (find) this photo when I (look through) some papers last week.
4. Jo was angry. We (forget) her birthday.
5. Sorry I'm late. I (talk) to Jim.
6. The Thames (flow) through London.
7. They (talk) when we came in.
8. Joe (buy) this computer three years ago.
9. Children (learn) foreign languages easily.
10. Why (greet not Sam) us yesterday?
11. I (play) the guitar since I (be) twelve.
12. 'Where's Tom?' 'I think he (work still).'

50
13. Jake (be always) a clever boy.
14. I (iron) when the doorbell (ring).
15. Anne (take up) painting after she (retire).

d. Complete the following dialogues


1. 'Where (go you) when I saw you with Paul on Monday? I (realize not) that you two
(know) each other.' 'We (go) to our evening class. We (learn both) Spanish.'
2. 'How (break Tom) his leg?' 'He(fall) off the step when he (clean) the windows. He
was in a hurry as the match (start already) and he (want) to see it.
3. 'When our friends (stay) with us, we decided to go for a long walk on Saturday. We
(walk only) for ten minutes when it (start) to rain.' 'I know, the weather (be) terrible on
Saturday. I (finish just) cleaning the car when it started to rain.
4. 'We (have not) a holiday this year. We were planning to go to Canada, but then my
wife (lose) her job at the factory in the beginning of the year, so we (decide) we
couldn't afford to go away.' 'We (be not) away this year either. We (save) for the last
two months because we want to buy a bigger house.'
5. 'Sorry, I (listen not). What did you say? Are we meeting the others outside the
restaurant?' 'Inside, and we're late. They (wait probably) for ages. I hope they (order)
something to drink.

e. Translate the following sentences. Pay attention to the simple or progressive


case.
1. Paul is nu twee maanden Spaans aan het leren. De cursus is (take place) altijd op
maandag.
2. Heb je het gehoord? Tom heeft zijn been gebroken. Het gebeurde vorige week, toen
hij de ramen aan het lappen was.
3. Ik wachtte op een gelegenheid (opportunity) om de auto te wassen. Ik was hem juist
aan het drogen toen ik de zwarte wolken zag.
4. Mijn vrouw zoekt al sinds het begin van het jaar een nieuwe baan. Toen ze haar job
kwijtraakte, had ze al meer dan twintig jaar bij dat bedrijf gewerkt.
5. Gisteren kwamen we te laat. Onze vrienden hadden al een uur zitten wachten toen
we eindelijk aankwamen.

51
f. Make sentences from the words in brackets. Put the verb in one of the
following tenses: present perfect simple, present perfect continuous, past
perfect simple or past perfect continuous.
1. Ann is sitting on the ground. She's out of breath. (she/run)
2. Where's my bag? I left it under this chair. (somebody/take/it)
3. We were all surprised when Andy and Jenny got married last year. (they/only
know/each other/for a few weeks)
4. It's still raining. I wish it would stop. (it/rain/all day)
5. Suddenly I woke up. I was confused and did not know where I was. (I/have a
nightmare) and (I/dream)
6. I wasn't hungry at lunchtime so I didn't eat anything. (I/have/a big breakfast)
7. Every year Bob and Alice spend a few days at the same hotel by the sea.
(they/go/there/for years)
8. I have a headache. (I/have/it/since I got up)
9. Next week Gerry is going to run in a marathon. (he/train/very hard for it)

g. Put the verb in the correct form


Julia and Kevin are old friends. They meet by chance at a station.
Julia: Hello Kevin. (I/not/see) you in ages. How are you?
Kevin: (I/be) fine. How about you? (you/look) well.
Julia: Yes, I'm very well. Thanks. So, (you/go) somewhere or (you/meet) somebody off a
train?
Kevin: (I/go) to London for a business meeting.
Julia: Oh. (you/often/go) away on business?
Kevin: Quite often, yes. And you? Where (you/go)?
Julia: Nowhere. (I/meet) a friend. Unfortunately, her train (be) delayed - (I/wait) here for
nearly an hour.
Kevin: How (be) your children?
Julia: They're fine, thanks. The youngest (start/just) school.
Kevin: How (she/get) on? (she/like) it?
Julia: Yes. (She/think) it's great.
Kevin: (you/work) at the moment. When I last (speak) to you, (you/work) in a travel agency.
Julia: That's right. Unfortunately, the firm (go) out of business a couple of months after

52
(I/start) work there, so (I/lose) my job.
Kevin: And (you/have/not) a job since then?
Julia: Not a permanent job. (I/have) a few temporary jobs. By the way, (you/see) Joe
recently?
Kevin: Joe? He's in Canada.
Julia: Really? How long (he/be) in Canada?
Kevin: About a year now. (I/see) him a few days before (he/go). (he/be) unemployed for
some months, so (he/decide) to try his luck somewhere else. (he/really/look forward)
to going.
Julia: So what (he/do) there?
Kevin: I have no idea. (I/not/hear) from him since (he/leave). Anyway, I must go and catch
my train. (It/be) really good to see you again.
Julia: You too. Bye. Have a good journey.
Kevin: Thanks. Bye

h. Put the verb in the most suitable form.


1. Who (invent) the bicycle?
2. 'Do you still have a headache?' 'No, (it/go) I'm all right now.
3. I was the last to leave the office. Everybody else (go) home already.
4. What (you/do) last weekend? (you/go) away?
5. I (like) your car. How long (you/have) it?
6. We decided not to go out because it (rain) quite hard.
7. Jill (be) an experienced teacher. She (teach) for fifteen years.
8. (I/buy) a new jacket last week, but (I/wear/not) it yet.
9. A few days ago I (see) a man at a party whose face (be) very familiar. At first I
(can/not) think where I (see) him before. Then suddenly I (remember) who (it/be).
10. (you/hear) of Agatha Christie? She (be) a writer who (die) in 1976. She (write) more
than 70 detective novels. (you/read) any of them?
11. 'What (mean/this word)?' 'I (have) no idea. I (see/never) it before. Look it up in a
dictionary.
12. '(arrive/you) at the theatre in time for the play last night?' 'No, we (be) late. By the
time we (get) there, it (begin/already).'

53
13. I went to John's room and (knock) on the door, but there (be) no answer. Either he
(go) out or he (want/not) to see anyone.
14. Angela asked me how to use the photocopier. She (use/never) it before, so she
(know/not) what to do.
15. Mary (go) for a swim after work yesterday. She (need) some exercise, because she
(sit) in an office in front of a computer all day.

54
2.6 The Future Time & Tense

2.6.1 Theory

1. The future simple: shall / will + inf.

When we give information about the future or predict future events that are not
certain we usually use shall/will

 Tomorrow’s weather will be cold and cloudy.


 I think we’ll find a hotel there.

Sometimes used for characteristic behaviour: she will go on for hours talking about
Madonna.

In many cases they indicate a promise: There is a knock at the door. I’ll go and open
it.

2. The future continuous: shall / will be + ing-participle

Used for predictions about actions or happenings having limited duration in the
future

 This time next week I will be driving to London.


 I wonder what we will be doing this time tomorrow.

3. Future perfect simple: shall / will have + past participle

Used for activities that will be completed before or at a certain time in the future.

 All the books will have been sold at the end of the week.
 On October 5th, we will have been married for 5 years.

4. Future perfect continuous: shall / will have been + ing-participle

55
Used for activities that will continue until a point of time in the future and will not be
completed

 At six o'clock we'll have been waiting here for three hours.
 When we leave Barcelona, we will have been staying in that city for nearly a
month.

! Difference between 3 & 4:

When I am sixty, I'll have been building houses for thirty years. (one incomplete
activity)
When I am sixty, I'll have built more than fifty houses. (fifty individual actions).

PRESENT TENSES FOR FUTURE


5. Be going to + inf.
Used for definite plans and arrangements in the near future. The time must be
mentioned; otherwise the sentence would have a present meaning.
 My wife is going to buy herself a new dress this summer.
 What are you going to do next weekend?

6. Simple present
It represents the future with almost as much certainty as the present.
 Tomorrow is Wednesday.
 The academic year begins on September 27th.
 Easter falls very early next year.

7. The present continuous


Used to make predictions about activities in the near future which are likely to result
from a present arrangement. An explicit time-indication is usually required.
 She’s getting married next Saturday.
 Are you taking me out for dinner tonight?
 I am leaving on Sunday. (I have decided to leave on Sunday, it is my plan.)

56
8. Be to + inf.
Used when discussing formal or official arrangements or to give formal instructions
or orders.
 The queen is to visit Scotland next summer.
 You are not to smoke

57
2.6.2 The future time & tense: exercises

Present tenses (I am doing/ I do) for the future

a. Put the verb in the present continuous or present simple.

1. I (go) to the theatre tonight.


2. (begin the film) at 7.30 or 8.30?
3. We (have) a party next Sunday. Would you like to come?
4. The art exhibition (start) on 3 May and (finish) on 15 July.
5. I (go not) out this evening. I (stay) at home.
6. '(do you) anything tomorrow night?' 'No, I’m' free. Why?'
7. We (go) to a concert tonight. It (begin) at 8.30.
8. Excuse me, Sir. When (get this train) to London?
9. Ann, I (go) to town. (come you) with me?
10. Sue (come) to see us tomorrow. She (travel) by train and her train (arrive) at
10.15. I (meet) her at the station.
11. I (use not) the car this evening, so you can have it.
12. I'm bored with this television programme. When (finish it?)

(I'm) going to (do)

b. Answer the questions. You are going to do all these things, but you haven't
done them yet. Use 'going to' and the words in brackets.
E.g. 'Have you cleaned the car?' (tomorrow) 'Not yet. I'm going to clean it tomorrow.'
1. 'Have you phoned Sally?'(later)
2. 'Have you done the shopping?'(this afternoon)
3. 'Have you read the paper?' (after dinner)
4. 'Have you had dinner?' (just)

c. Write a question with 'going to' for each situation.


1. Your friend has own some money. You ask: (what /do with it?)
2. Your friend is going to a party tonight. You ask: (what/wear?)
3. Your friend has just bought a new table. You ask: (where/put it?)

58
4. Your friend has decided to give party. You ask: (who/invite?)

d. What is going to happen? Use the words in brackets.


1. There are a lot of black clouds in the sky. (rain).
2. It is 8.30. Jack is leaving his house. He has to be at work at 8.45, but the journey
takes 30 minutes. (late)
3. There is a hole at the bottom of the boat. A lot of water is coming in through the
hole. (sink)
4. Emma is driving. There is very little petrol left in the tank. The nearest petrol
station is a long way away. (run out).

e. Complete with 'was/were going to' + the indicated verb.

1. We (travel) by train when we decided to go by car instead.


2. We (play) tennis yesterday but it rained all day.
3. I (phone) Jim, but I decided to write him a letter instead.
4. When I last saw Tim, he (give up) his job, but in the end, he decided not to.
5. We (have) a party last week, but some of our friends couldn't come, so we
decided to put it off.

Will/Shall for the future

f. Complete these sentences with 'will' + a suitable verb


E.g. I'm too tired to walk home. I think I'll get a taxi.

1. 'It's a bit cold in this room.' 'Is it? I ……… on the heating then.'
2. 'Do you want me to do the washing-up?' 'No, it's all right. ……… it.'
3. 'I don't know how to use this computer.' 'OK, ……… you.'
4. 'would you like tea or coffee?' '……… coffee, please.'
5. 'Goodbye! Have a nice holiday.' 'Thanks. ……… you a postcard.'
6. 'Are you coming with us?' 'No. I think ……… here.'

g. Write sentences with 'I think I'll…' or 'I don't think I'll…'

59
1. It's a bit cold. You decide you close the window. You say: ………………
2. You're feeling tired and it's quite late. You decide to go to bed. You say: ……
3. A friend offers you a lift in his car but you decide to walk. You say: ……………
4. You arranged to play tennis today. Now you decide you don’ t want to. You say:
…………………………………………………………………………………

h. Which is correct?
1. 'Did you phone Ruth?' 'Oh no, I forgot. I'll phone/I phone her now.'
2. I can't meet you tomorrow afternoon. I'm playing/I'll play tennis.
3. 'I meet/ I'll meet you outside the hotel in half an hour, OK?' 'Fine.'
4. 'I need some money.' 'I'm lending/I'll lend you some. How much?’
5. I'm having/ I'll have a party next Saturday. I hope you can come.
6. 'Remember to buy a newspaper.' 'Ok. I don't forget/ I won't forget.'
7. What time does your train leave/ will your train leave tomorrow?
8. 'Are you doing/ will you do anything tomorrow evening?'
9. I don't want to go out alone. Do you come/ Will you come with me?
10. It's a secret between us. I promise I don't tell/ I won't tell anybody.

i. React to the following situations with 'Shall I …?' or 'Shall we …?'


1. You and a friend want to do something this evening but you don't know what.
You ask your friend? What ……………………………………………………… ?
2. You try on a jacket in a shop. You are not sure whether to buy it or not. You ask
your friend for advice. ……………………………………………………… it?

j. Which form of the verb is correct (or more natural) in these sentences?
1. Ann is not free on Saturday. She'll work / She's working.
2. I'll go/ I'm going to a party tomorrow night. Would you like to come too?
3. I think Jane will get/is getting the job. She has a lot of experience.
4. I can't meet you this evening. A friend of mine will come/is coming over.
5. 'Have you decided where to go on holiday?' 'we will go/we are going to Italy.'
6. There's no need to be afraid of the dog. It won't hurt/it isn't hurting you.

k. Complete the sentences with will ('ll) and one of the following:

60
be - come - get - like - look - meet
1. Why don't you try on this jacket? It ………………………………… nice on you.
2. You must meet George sometime. I think you ……………………………… him.
3. It's raining. Don't go out. You ………………………………………………… wet.
4. They've invited me to their house. They ………………… offended if I don't go.
5. Goodbye. I expect we ……………………………………… again before long.
6. I've invited Sue to the party, but I don't think she ………………………………

l. Put in 'will' or 'won't'


1. Can you wait for me? I ……………………………………………… be very long.
2. There's no need to take an umbrella with you. It ………………………… rain.
3. If you don't eat anything now, you ……………………………… be hungry later.
4. I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. It ………………… happen again.
5. I have incredible news! You ……………… never believe what has happened.

'I Will' and 'I'm going to' for the future

m. Complete the following sentences with 'will' or 'going to'.


1. 'Why are you turning on the television?' 'I (watch) the news.'
2. 'Oh, I've just realized I don't have any money.' 'Don't you? Well, don't worry. I
(lend) you some.'
3. 'I have a headache.' 'Do you? wait there and (get) an aspirin for you.'
4. 'Why are you filling that bucket with water?' ((wash I) the car.'
5. 'I've decided to repaint this room.' 'Oh, have you? What colour (paint you) it?'
6. 'Where are you going? Are you going shopping?' 'Yes, (buy I) something for
dinner.'
7. 'I don't know how to use this camera.' 'It's quite easy. (show I) you.'
8. 'What would you like to eat?' (I have) a sandwich, please.'
9. 'Did you post that letter for me?' 'Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot. (do I) it now.'
10. 'Has Georges decided what to do when he leaves school?' 'Oh yes. Everything is
planned. (have he) a holiday for a few weeks and then (do he) a computer
course.'

61
n. Complete the following sentences with 'will' or 'going to'
1. 'Hello. Can I speak to Jim, please.' 'Just a moment. I (get) him.'
2. 'The weather is too nice to stay indoors. I (sit) in the garden.' 'That's a good idea.
I think I (join) you.'
3. 'Don't worry about the lost letter. I'm sure you (find) it.' 'I hope so.'
4. 'Have you decided what to do about the job you saw<w advertised?' 'Yes, I
(apply not) for it.'
5. 'Don't make so much noise. You (wake) everybody up.'
6. 'Ann, I need somebody to take me to the airport tomorrow.' 'OK. I (take) you.
What time is your flight?' '10.50' 'OK. (leave we) at about 9 o'clock then?'
7. (Later that day, Joe offers to take John to the airport) 'John, do you want me to
take you to the airport?' 'No, thanks Joe. Ann (take) me.'

Future Continuous and Future Perfect: 'will be doing' and 'will have
done'

o. Read about Colin first. Then tick the sentences which are true
He leaves home at 8 o'clock and arrives at work at about 8.45. He starts work
immediately and continues until 12.30 when he has lunch (which takes about half an
hour). He starts work again at 1.15 and goes home at exactly 4.30. Every day he follows
the same routine and tomorrow will be no exception.

At 7.45 At 12.45
he'll be leaving the house he'll have lunch
he'll have left the house he'll be having lunch
he'll be at home he'll have finished his lunch
he'll be having breakfast he'll have started his lunch

At 8.15 At 4 o'clock
he'll be leaving the house he'll have finished work
he'll have left the house he'll finish work
he'll have arrived at work he'll be working

62
he'll be arriving at work he won't have finished work

At 9.15 At 4.45
he'll be working he'll leave work
he'll start work he'll be leaving work
he'll have started work he'll have left work
he'll be arriving at work he'll have arrived home

p. Complete the following, using the future continuous or the future perfect
tense.
1. Don't phone me between 7 and 8. We (have) dinner then.
2. Phone me after 8 o'clock. (finish we) dinner by then.
3. Tomorrow afternoon, we're going to play tennis from 3 o'clock until 4.30. so at 4
o'clock, we (play) tennis.
4. 'Can we meet tomorrow afternoon?' 'Not in the afternoon. I (work).
5. 'Will you be free tomorrow at 2 o'clock?' 'Yes, the meeting (finish) by that time.'
6. If Tom continues to spend his money like this, he (spend) it all by the end of his
holiday.
7. Next Monday, Chuck (live) in Britain for exactly three years.
8. Do you think you (do still) the same job in ten years' time?
9. By the end of her tour of Europe, Jane (travel) more than 3,000 miles.
10. If you need to contact me, I (stay) at the Hilton until Friday.
11. '(see you) Laura tomorrow?' 'Yes' 'Can you give her back this book?'

When I do/When I've done - When and if

q. Complete the following sentences


1. I (phone) you when I (get) home from work.
2. I want to see Margaret before she (go) out.
3. We're going on holiday tomorrow. I (tell) you all about it when we (come) back.
4. Brian looks different now. When you (see) him again, you (recognise not) him.
5. We must do something soon before it (be) too late.
6. I don't want to go without you. I (wait) until you (be) ready.

63
7. Sue has applied for the job but she isn't very well qualified for it. I (be) surprised if
she (get) it.
8. I'd like to play tennis tomorrow if the weather (be) nice.

r. Make one sentence from two using the word given.


1. You will be in London again. You must come and see us then.
………………………………………… when ……………………………………
2. I'll find somewhere to live. Then I'll give you my address.
…………………………………………… when ……………………………………
3. I'll do the shopping. Then I'll come straight back home.
………………………………………… after …………………………………………
4. It's going to start raining. Let's go home before that.
5. ……………………………………… before …………………………………………

s. Read the situations and complete the sentences


1. A friend of yours is going to visit London. You want to know where she is staying.
You ask: 'Where are you going to stay when ……………………… ?'
2. A friend of yours is visiting you. She has to go soon, but maybe there's time for
another cup of tea. You ask: 'would you like another cup of tea before ………?'
3. You want to sell your car. Jim is interested but he has not decided yet. You ask:
'Can you let me know as soon as …………………………………………?'
4. There are serious traffic problems but they are building a new road. You say: 'It
think it will be better when ……………………………………………………'

t. Fill in 'when' or 'if'.


1. Don't worry ………………………… I'm late tonight.
2. Tom might phone while I’m out. ………………, can you take a message?
3. I'm going to Rome next week. ………… I'm there, I want to visit a friend.
4. I think Jill will get the job. I'll be surprised …………………… she doesn’t get it.
5. I'm going shopping. …………………… you want anything, I can get it for you.
6. I'm going away for a few days. I'll phone you ………………………… I get back.
7. I want you to come to the party, but … you don't want to come, that's all right.

64
General recapitulation future

u. Choose the right tense. Begin each sentence with 'That's because…' and
add 'all'. If you use the Simple Future Perfect Tense, use 'by'
E.g. She has just stopped rinsing the shirts. 
That's because she has already rinsed all the shirts.
E.g. He will stop marking the compositions at 8 o'clock. 
That's because he will have marked all the compositions by 8 o'clock.

1. They will stop writing addresses at 10 o’clock.


2. He has just stopped checking the proofs.
3. He will stop feeding the cattle at lunchtime.
4. They have just stopped scrubbing the floors.
5. He will stop doing sums at 7 o'clock.
6. She has just stopped dusting the furniture.
7. They will stop picking the fruit at 5 o'clock.
8. He has just stopped pressing the shirts.
9. She will stop checking the invoices at 4 o'clock.
10. He has just stopped stamping the letters.

v. Choose the correct tense.


1. The oculist (see) her at 2 pm and by 2.30 he (test) her eyes.
2. The anaesthetist (give) her a sedative at 8am and then the surgeon (begin) to
operate on her. By 10.30 he (perform) the operation.
3. The pharmacist (look) at the prescription first thing in the morning and half an
hour later he (prepare) the medicine.
4. I (begin) to type the text at 8 pm and I am confident that I (print) it all before
midnight.
5. When they (get) the bank statements, they (examine) the accounts and they
(check) everything before noon.
6. The teacher (get) the copies in the early afternoon and by tomorrow evening she
(mark) them.
7. She (start) writing a new book next week and she hopes she (finish) it by the end
of the year.

65
8. It (take) me two months.
9. He (start) translating the chapter in the afternoon and by midmorning on Tuesday
he (finish).
10. If the share prices continue to rise, we (make) a lot of money by the end of the
year.

w. Choose the correct form (not only future meaning!)


1. Up till last month, he had seen her twice.
2. By next week I (read) all his books.
3. Don't talk business till we (finish) lunch.
4. He (repair) the bicycle by tomorrow.
5. He won't go away until you (explain) everything.
6. After they (break) the news to him, he asked for a glass of brandy.
7. '(pay you) your taxes?' 'No, but I (pay) them by the end of the month.'
8. By the time the police arrive, the robbers (flee).
9. He felt better after he (have) a good rest.
10. ‘(Check he) the proofs yet?' 'No, but he (check) them by tomorrow.'
11. He ran as soon as the bus (stop).
12. If you continue to work on this speed, you (finish) in time.
13. We won't make it. The plane (take) off by the time we arrive.
14. He said he (hear never) such a stupid thing in his life.
15. '(Be you ever) to Japan?' 'No, I ………… (not), but I (visit) Japan before I'm thirty.

x. Choose the right tense.


1. They (move not) till the end of the year
2. By next week she (stay) in the USA for three months.
3. After he (sit) on the chair for a few minutes, he (fall) asleep.
4. They (go) out together since they (meet) two years ago.
5. By tomorrow he (paint) the windows for three days.
6. It (rain) for three hours now.
7. By the end of the year he (work) as an independent salesman for two years.
8. He (talk only) for a few minutes when someone interrupted him.
9. She (cry) all the time since she heard the news.
10. He (bet) for years before she found it out.

66
11. In an hour's time, the sailors (scrub) the deck for three hours.
12. She (wear) trousers ever since she was a little girl.
13. Next week he (wear) that suit for two years.
14. He (collect) postcards since he was five.
15. By midnight, she (sit) in the pub for five hours.
16. He was tired because he (travel) all day.

y. What do you say to your friend in these situations? Use the words given in
brackets. Use the present continuous, 'going to' or 'will'.
1. You have made all your holiday arrangements. Your destination is Jamaica. Your
friend asks: 'Have you decided where to go for your holiday yet?' you say: 'Yes,
……… (I/go)'
2. You have made an appointment with the dentist for Friday morning. Your friend
asks you: 'Shall we meet on Friday morning?' You say: 'I can't on Friday. ………
(I/go).'
3. You and some friends are planning a holiday in Britain. You have decided to hire
a car, but you haven't arranged this yet. Another friend says: 'How do you plan to
travel around Britain? By train?' You say: 'No, ……… (we/hire).
4. Your friend has two young children. She wants to go out tomorrow evening. You
offer to look after the children. Your friend says: 'I want to go out tomorrow
evening, but I don't have a baby-sitter.' You say: 'That's no problem. ………
(I/look after).
5. You have already arranged to have lunch with Sue tomorrow. A friend asks you:
'Are you free tomorrow at lunchtime?' You say: 'No, ……… (have lunch).
6. You are in a restaurant. You and your friend are looking at the menu. You ask
your friend if she has decided what to have: ……… (you/have)? Your friend
answers: 'I don't know. I can't make up my mind.'
7. You and a friend are reading. It's getting a bit dark and your friend is finding it
difficult to read. You decide to turn on the light. Your friend says: 'It's getting dark,
isn't it? It is difficult to read.' You say: '……… (I/turn on).
8. You and a friend are reading. It's getting a bit dark and you decide to turn on the
light. You get up and walk towards the light switch. Your friend asks: 'What are
you doing?' You say: '……… (I/turn on).

67
z. Put the verb in the most suitable form.

CONVERSATION 1 (in the morning)


Jenny … (do/you) anything tomorrow evening, Helen? Do you fancy going to the
cinema? I want to see this new film, but … (want/I/not) alone
Helen OK, … (come/I) with you. What time … (meet/we)?
Jenny Well, the film … (begin) at 8.45, so … (meet/I) you about 8.30 outside the
cinema, OK?
Helen Fine. … (see/I) Mary later this evening. … (ask/I) her if … (want/she) to
come too?
Jenny Yes, do that. … (see/I) you tomorrow then. Bye.

CONVERSATION 2 (later the same day)


Helen: Jenny and I … (go) to the cinema tomorrow night. Why don't you come
with us?
Mary: I'd love to come. What time … (begin/the film)?
Helen: 8.45
Mary: … (meet/you) outside the cinema?
Helen: Yes, at 8.30. Is that OK for you?
Mary: Yes, … (be/I) there at 8.30

aa. Put the verbs in the most suitable form. Sometimes there is more than one
possibility.
A has decided to learn a language.
A: I've decided to try and learn a foreign language.
B: Have you? Which language … (learn/you)?
A: Spanish.
B: I see. And … (do/you) a course?
A: Yes, … (start/it) next week.
B: That's great. I'm sure … (enjoy/you) it.
A: I hope so. But I think … (be/it) quite difficult.

A wants to know about B's holiday plans.

68
A: I hear … (go/you) on holiday soon.
B: That's right. … (go/we) to Finland.
A: I hope … (have/you) a nice time.
B: … (send/I) you a postcard and … (get/I) in touch with you when … (get/I) back.

A invites B to a party:
A: … (have/I) a party next Saturday. Can you come?
B: On Saturday? I'm not sure. Some friends of mine … (come) to stay with me next
week, but I think … (go/they) by Saturday. But if … (be/they) still here, … (be able/I/not)
to come to the party.
A: OK. Well, tell me as soon as … (know/you).

bb. Put the verb in the correct form. Choose from present continuous, present
simple, going to, will, won't, will be doing, shall.

1. I feel a bit hungry. I think … (have/I) something to eat.


2. Why are you putting on your coat? … (go/you) anywhere?
3. What time … (phone/I) you this evening? About 7.30?
4. Look! This plane is flying towards the airport. … (land/it).
5. We must do something soon, before … (be/it) too late.
6. I'm sorry you have decided to leave the company. … (miss/I) you when …
(go/you).
7. … (give/I) you my address? If … (give/I) you my address, … (write/you) to me?
8. Are you still watching that programme? What time (end/it)?
9. … (go/I) to London next week for wedding. My sister … (get) married.
10. I'm not ready yet. … (tell/I) you when … (be/I) ready. I promise … (be/not/I) very
long.
11. 'Where are you going?' 'To the hairdresser's. … (have/I) my hair cut.'
12. She was very rude to me. I refuse to speak to her again until … (apologise/she).
13. I wonder where … (live/we) ten years from now?
14. What do you plan to do when … (finish/you) your course at college?

cc. Compare the following pairs of future sentences. Can you spot the
difference in meaning?

69
1 (the phone rings)
- I’m going to answer it.
- I’ll get it.

2 - I am taking Mary out do dinner tonight.


- I am going to take Mary out to dinner tonight.

3 - Joan will have another baby.


- Joan is going to have another baby.

4 - He is leaving in five minutes.


- The train leaves at 6.15.
- We leave Brussels at 6, arrive in Paris at 9 and meet our business partners at
the Novotel at 10.

70
3 WORDSORTS

3.1. Nouns: countable & uncountable, singular &


plural

3.1.1 Theory

a. Nouns with regular plurals


The general rule to form the plural of a noun is to add <s> to the singular.
Dogs – writers – students – books - words

Exceptions
 Nouns ending in a sibilant: After a sibilant, we add <es> to the singular form. If
the noun ends in <e>, we just add <s>.
Buses – boxes – churches – bushes – bridges – garages - quizzes

 Nouns ending in <y>: final <y> after a consonant: drop the <y> and add <ies>
Ladies – cries – babies – flies - countries

If the <y> is preceded by a vowel, however, we add <s>


Keys – boys – days – donkeys - trays

 Nouns ending in <o>: some nouns in <o> take <es> as their plural ending
Echoes – embargoes – goes – heroes – potatoes – tomatoes – torpedoes – vetoes –
dominoes

All other nouns ending in <o> have regular forms


Pianos – sopranos

 Nouns ending in <f> or <fe>: Nouns ending in <f> and three nouns ending in
<fe> have the plural form <ves>

71
Calf / calves - half / halves - leaf / leaves - loaf / loaves - self / selves - shelf /
shelves - thief / thieves - wolf / wolves - knife / knives - life / lives - wife / wives

All other nouns ending in <f> have regular forms


Belief / beliefs - proof / proofs - chief / chiefs

b. Nouns with irregular plural(s)


Man / men - child / children - tooth / teeth - mouse / mice - goose / geese -
woman / women - ox / oxen - foot / feet - louse / lice

c. Nouns with no plural ending


Sheep / sheep - deer / deer - plaice / plaice - salmon / salmon - grouse/ grouse –
Japanese/Japanese – Swiss/swiss

d. Foreign plurals

Nouns ending in <us>


Alumnus / alumni - bacillus / bacilli - stimulus / stimuli

Bonus / bonuses – campus / campuses - circus / circuses

Both plurals can be used in the following cases:


Cactus / cactuses / cacti - focus / focuses / foci - radius / radiuses / radii
Terminus / terminuses / termini - syllabus / syllabuses / syllabi

Most nouns ending in <a> take the regular English plural


Area / areas - arena / arenas

But: alumna / alumnae

Some words can have both plurals


Formula / formulas / formulae - antenna / antennas / antennae

72
Nouns ending in <um> (Latin): In contemporary English, most nouns ending in <um>
do not take the foreign plural (<a>) but the regular form (<s>). The noun erratum has
only the foreign ending: errata.

Museum / museums - album / albums - ultimatum / ultimatums - forum / forums -


medium / mediums / media - stadium / stadiums - memorandum / memorandums /
memoranda - symposium / symposiums / symposia

Nouns ending in <is> (Greek): All nouns ending in <is> have the plural form <es>
except for metropolis, which is irregular

Analysis / analyses - crisis / crises - oasis / oases

Exceptions
Criterion / criteria / criterium - criteriums - Phenomenon/ phenomena

73
e. Words with no singular form

Binoculars, glasses, scissors, trousers, jeans, pajamas: a pair of, a set of

Some can take either a plural or a singular verb form:

The NY headquarters are/is in trouble.

The steels works are/is likely to make a profit this year

Some always take plural verbs and pronouns:

Arms, contents, customs, goods, premises, sales, savings, surroundings

Mixed: singular form, no plural form, but plural verb, plural pronouns (they, these)

Police, people, youth, cattle

GENDER OF NOUNS

General rule

People HE boy, man

SHE girl, woman

Things IT pen, lorry, computer (unlike Dutch!!)

Special cases

 PEOPLE

Sometimes the same word is used for male and female, only the pronouns make clear
which gender is involved:

Cousin, friend, foreigner, guest, neighbor, parent, person, stranger, student, nurse,
doctor, manager, teacher, judge, journalist, lawyer

To distinguish, the words ‘male, boy’ or ‘female, lady, girl’ can be added: a male cousin,
a lady friend, a girlfriend, a female friend, a male nurse, ….

74
 THINGS

‘The ship is ready to set out on her voyage’

Ships are considered female, especially by people who are connected to shipping
and/or have a personal connection to that particular vessel.

‘Where’s the ship?’ ‘It’s right there’

Outsiders see ships as mere things

The same goes for all vehicles:

‘Have you seen my new car?’ She’s absolutely gorgeous!’

‘The motorbike is new. It is the latest model’.

Countability

Uncountable : only 1 , only article ‘the’, verb is singular

Information, furniture, bread, money , people (! : people are), sugar , light

Piece,

3.1.2 EXERCISES

a. Complete the sentences using the words given. Sometimes you need a plural '-s'.
Chair - experience - experience - furniture - hair - information - job - luggage -
permission - progress - work

1. I didn't have much ........., just two small bags.

2. They'll tell you all you want to know. They'll give you plenty of .........

3. There is room for everybody to sit down. There are plenty of .........
4. We have no ........., not even a bed or a table.

5. 'What does Alan look like?' 'He has a long beard and very short .........'
6. Carla's English is better than is was. She has made .........

7. George is unemployed. He is looking for a .........

8. George is unemployed. He is looking for .........

9. If you want to leave work early, you have to ask for .........

75
10.I don't think Sue will get the job. She doesn't have enough .........
11.Rita has done many interesting things. She should write a book about her .........

b. Complete the sentences by one of the following words. Some words might need
a plural '-s'.
Air - country - day - friend - meat - language - letter - patience - people -
photograph - queue - space

1. I had my camera, but I didn't take many ..............................

2. There are seven ................................. in a week.

3. A vegetarian is a person who doesn't eat ..............................

4. Outside the cinema there was ................................. of people waiting to see the film.
5. I'm not very good at writing .................................

6. Last night I went out with some ................................. of mine.

7. There were very few ........................... in the shops today. They were almost empty.
8. I'm going out for a walk. I need some fresh .................................

9. George always wants things quickly. He has no .................................

10.Do you speak any foreign ....................................... ?


11.Jane travels a lot. She has been to many ....................................
12.Our flat is very small. We don't have much ....................................

c. Fill in the right plural of the nouns in brackets.


1.My (foot) hurt.
2.He has a lot of animals: some (swan), some (goose), some (deer) and some (sheep).
3.Feed the (datum) into the computer.
4.Don't go near the (cliff).
5.(wolf) hunt in (group).
6. had several (tooth) pulled out.
7.It cost fifty (penny).
8.I need two (penny) for the machine.
9.Her (sister-in-law) visit her every day.
10.Do you believe in (UFO)?
11.They published as many (erratum) as books.
12.They bought two (baby carriage) for the twins.

76
13.What's more dangerous: (man-eater) or (lady killer)?
14.There are few (woman surgeon).
15.(Baby crocodile) are harmless.
16.'The (life) and (time) of ...' is a live television programme.
17.(University professor) usually have (PhD).
18.The (trauma) and (stigma) of their unhappy youth haunted them for the rest of
their (life).
19.The (MP) had to deal with two (crisis) at the same time.
20.At the convention, there were some (Swiss), some (German), some
(Japanese), some (Spaniard), some (Frenchman), some (Croat) and some (Pole).

d. Singular or plural? Correct the following sentences if necessary


1.The government want to increase taxes.
2.Susan was wearing a black jeans.
3.Brazil are playing Italy in a football match next Wednesday.
4.I like Martin and Jill. They're nice persons.
5.I need more money than that. Ten pounds are not enough.
6.I'm going to buy a new pajama/pyjama.
7.The committee haven't made a decision yet.
8.Many people has given up smoking.
9.There was a police standing at the corner of the street.
10.Has the police arrived yet?
11.This scissors is not very sharp.
12.Gymnastics are my favourite sport.
13.The trousers you bought for me don't fit me.
14.Physics was my best subject at school.
15.Fortunately, the news weren't as bad as we expected.
16.Where does your family live?
17.Three days aren't long enough for a good holiday.
18.I can't find my binoculars. Do you know where it is?
19.I don't like very hot weather. 30 degree Celsius are too hot for me.

e. Use the indicated noun as countable or uncountable. Choose the singular or


plural form and add an article, if necessary.

77
WINE
1. It's old ......... in new bottles.
2. The ......... of Bourgogne have a rich bouquet.
3. I'd like some .........
TEA
1. In Britain, ......... is usually drunk with tea and sugar.
2. Two .......... please.
BEAUTY
1. A thing of ......... is a joy forever.
2. We admired ......... of the tropical sunset.
3. That last goal was .........
4. She was a woman of great .........
HAIR
1. There were two blonde ......... on his coat collar.
2. There's ......... in the soup.
3. You're splitting .........
4. It made my ......... stand on end.
5. She won by .........
AIR
1. I need a breath of fresh .........
2. There's a feeling of unrest in .........
3. Send the goods by .........
4. Al her hope vanished into thin .........
5. I don't like him. He's always giving himself .........
6. She walked past us with her nose in .........
GOLD
1. All that glitters is not .........
2. The sun shone on ......... of her hair.
3. She has a heart of .........
4. He is worth his weight in .........
WHISKY
1. ......... is a drink distilled from malted grain.
2. Two .......... please.
3. ......... a day is good for you.

78
COFFEE
1. Three .......... please.
2. I bought half a pound of .........
3. ......... contains caffeine.
IRON
1. He's a man of .........
2. This wood is as hard as .........
3. I need ......... to iron a crease in my trousers.
PAPER
1. I need ......... to write on.
2. Where's .........? I want to read what has happened.
3. The Daily Telegraph is .........
4. His desk is always covered with .........

f. Fill in the right form of the verb.


1. Dominoes (be) an interesting game.
2. The scissors (be) in the drawer.
3. Darts (be) mainly played in pubs.
4. Five hundred miles (be) a long way to go.
5. The Netherlands (have) changed a lot over the last fifty years.
6. Some people (say) draughts (be) more difficult than chess.
7. Two hundred pounds (be) a lot of money.
8. The United States (be) against the proposal.
9. His trousers (be) torn.
10. Billiards (be) played by women as well as by men.
11. Fifty kilos (be) too much for me to carry.
12. Checkers (be) the American word for the game the English call draughts.
13. Those clothes (be) very fashionable.
14. The nutcrackers (be) on the desk.
15. Diabetes (be) a disease in which there is too much sugar in the blood.
16. The goods (be) sold to the highest bidder.
17. Measles (be) highly infectious.
18. His belongings (be) given back to him when he was released.

79
3.1.3 PLURAL & POSSESSIVE OF NOUNS

THEORY POSSESSIVE OF NOUNS

The possessive case is formed in a number of ways

1. By adding apostrophe + s (= ‘s)


 to a singular noun
my sister’s bike, the boss's car, a bird's nest
 to a plural noun NOT ending in –s
the children’s books, a men’s club
 to the last word of compounds and names consisting of several words
my sister-in-law's car, Romeo and Juliet's grave, the Prince of Wales's yacht

!!! BUT !!! John's and Peter's books - John’s book and Peter's book

2. by adding a simple apostrope (= ')


 to a plural noun ending in -s
a boys' school, girls' fashion
 to classical names ending in –s
Sophocles' plays, Archimedes' law

3. by adding either a simple apostrophe (’) or ‘s to names in –s


Dickens's works - Dickens' works (less common)
Burns's poetry - Burns' poetry (less common)

80
EXERCISES ON PLURAL & POSSESSIVE OF NOUNS

a. Translate the following phrases


1. de secretaresse van mijnheer Williams
2. Linda is de nicht van Brian
3. de naam van zijn vrouw
4. de eetzaal van de bedienden
5. kinderboeken
6. de beslissing van de baas
7. de toespraak van de eerste minister
8. herenkleding
9. de keuze van het volk
10. de verjaardag van de Koningin van Engeland

b. Genitive with no following noun / double genitive. Translate.


1. Dit is een lievelingsliedje van me.
2. Een collega van mijn vader is net uit Hong Kong teruggekeerd.
3. Is zwemmen een hobby van je?
4. Ik logeer bij mijn grootouders tot ik een geschikt appartement vind.
5. Is die handelaar geen verwant van Peter?
6. Kan ik maandagmiddag vrij krijgen? Ik moet naar de oogarts.
7. De bedrijfsleider is een kennis van mijn oom.
8. Het is een gewoonte van haar op zaterdag te gaan winkelen.

c. Translate the following phrases


1. het loon van die arbeiders
2. de begroting van volgend jaar
3. de kosten van ons bedrijf
4. dameshandschoenen
5. de methoden van de bazen
6. de deur van het kantoor
7. op aanbeveling van mijn schoonbroer
8. de grootte van de kist
9. de hutten van de bemanning
10. de ondergrondse van New York
11. de ogen van een kat

81
12. Ik zal het je over drie weken laten weten.
13. de aankomst van de vertegenwoordigers
14. een artikel in de `Financial Times' van gisteren
15. aan het einde van deze straat

d. Complete the following sentences with the translation of the words in between
brackets. There are always two possibilities.
1. I was introduced to (een paar van John’s familieleden) ………………………
2. I haven’t met (geen van Jill’s vrienden) yet. …………………..……………
3. He went to the cinema with (drie van zijn vrienden) ……………
4. (een broer van zijn vrouw) ………………………… got killed in a car accident.
5. Tomorrow I’m having lunch with (twee collega’s van me) …….…………………
6. (een zoon van Andrew) ……………………………….……… lives in Australia.
7. John Lennon was killed by (een fan van hem) ………………..…………………

e. Translate the following sentences


1. Ik kan de krant van gisteren niet vinden.
2. Celia is het zusje van Pepe
3. Ik moet vanmiddag naar de kapper.
4. Heb je het nieuwe huis van Chris al gezien?
5. Ik ben het niet eens met de beslissing van het team.

f. Rewrite the following phrases, using a possessive


1. the characteristics of his style
2. the idea of Summerhill
3. the future of our children
4. the abilities of infants
5. the president of a country
6. the ceremonies of Indians
7. the hiding places of these men

g. Translate the following phrases, using genitives


1. de dood van haar echtgenoot
2. de steun van haar vrienden
3. het huis van mijn grootmoeder
4. de hand van haar moeder
5. het management van de bedrijven van de vader van mijn vrienden.

82
6. het ongeval van beide Emma’s
7. iemands lichaam
8. het leven van een piraat
9. de pen van Paul
10. het adres van de school van het kind
11. drie nieuwe cd’s van Marc
12. de echtscheiding van zijn ouders
13. de rug van de eenden van de bruggen van de rivier van Gent
14. de grenzen van dit land
15. over tien jaar

83
3.2 Articles – definite and indefinite

3.2.1 Form of the article


The article in English has the following forms:

a. the car
b. a car / an exam
c.  care

We call the in a. the definite article, a and an in b. the indefinite article and  in c. the zero
article.

It is the initial sound of the word following the article that determines how the indefinite article is
spelt and how the definite and indefinite articles are pronounced.

The definite article is pronounced


/+schwa/ before consonant sounds
the pilot - the chair - the union - the uniform

The definite article is pronounced


/+I/ before vowel sounds
the egg - the idea - the X-ray - the hour

The indefinite article is a (schwa) before consonant sounds and an (schwa + n) before
vowel sounds
a car  an egg a pilot  an idea a union  an X-ray a uniform  an hour

2. Article use

Specific reference
In specific reference, the indefinite article is a or an in the singular, and  in the plural.

1. I saw a man in our street.


2. He’s a teacher and she is a doctor.

84
3. I used my shoe as a hammer.
4. I have a throbbing headache.

In specific reference, the definite article is the. The listener already knows which specific
referent is meant.
5. My neighbours have just told me they know the man.
6. The forum was held late on Saturday.
7. The Pope is leading an unprecedented drive by the Roman Catholic Church to prevent
the fragmentation of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
8. Shut the door!
9. Let’s go to the pub round the corner.
10. The only problem is that it is expensive.

Most geographical names are used with the zero article, as in


 America  Europe  Rome  Lake Victoria  Mount Everest

Seas, rivers, canals, islands, mountain groups are proper names with the definite article:
The North Sea The Thames The Suez Canal The Alps

Generic reference
Referring to a referent in general is possible with all three article types, depending on singular or
plural forms of the referent:

The whale is an intelligent creature.


A whale is an intelligent creature.
Whales are intelligent creatures.

I like  cars.
I like  wholesome food.
I like  music, especially  1960s music.
 Prices have gone up again.
I like to go to  school.
I always travel by  bus.
At  night, you can hear the coyotes howling.

Abstract nouns take zero article:

85
 nature
 love
 industry

The definite article is used for musical instruments:


I play the piano, but my sister plays the guitar.

The + adjective is used to refer to groups of people:


The rich - the unemployed - the elderly - the blind - the middle classes

86
3.2.2 EXERCISES

THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE - A/AN

a. Some of these sentences need a/an. Correct the sentences


which are wrong.

1. Jim goes everywhere by bike. He doesn't have car.


2. Ann was listening to music when I arrived.
3. We went to restaurant to eat.
4. John plays guitar but does not like to play cards.
5. I clean my teeth with toothpaste.
6. I use toothbrush to clean my teeth.
7. Can you tell me if there's bank near here?
8. My brother works for insurance company in London.
9. I don't like violence, but violence in movie can be funny.
10.Can you smell paint?
11.We need petrol. I hope we come to petrol station soon.
12.I wonder if you can help me. I have problem.
13.John has interview for job tomorrow.
14.Liz does not usually wear jewellery, but yesterday she was wearing necklace.
15.I think volleyball is very good game.

b. Which of the bold parts of these sentences is correct?

1. Did you hear noise/a noise just now? No, I didn't hear anything.
2. a. If you want to know the news, you can read paper/a paper.
3. b. I want to write some letters, but I don't have a paper/any paper to write
on.
4. I thought there was somebody in the house because there was light/a light on
inside.
5. Light/A light comes from the sun.
6. I was in a hurry this morning. I didn't have time/a time for breakfast.
7. 'Did you enjoy your holiday?' 'Yes, we had wonderful time/a wonderful
time.'
8. Sue was very helpful. She gave us some very helpful advice/advices.
9. We had very good weather/a very good weather while we were on holiday.
10.We were very unfortunate. We had bad luck/a bad luck.
11.It's very difficult to find a work/job at the moment.
12.When the fire alarm rang, there was total chaos/a total chaos.
13.I had to buy a/some bread because I wanted to make some sandwiches.
14.Bad news don't/doesn't make people happy.
15.Your hair is/Your hairs are too long. You should have it/them cut.

87
16.Nobody was hurt in the accident, but the damage/the damages to the car
was/were quite bad.

c. Express units of measure. Use the indefinite article and one of


the following nouns.

Bottle - dozen - gallon - gram - hour - litre - packet - piece - pint - pound - yard

1. He was driving seventy miles .........


2. They sell the cloth at 20 pounds .........
3. One pound and fifty pence ......... for the eggs! That's too much!
4. What's the price of cigarettes these days? Over four pounds .........?
5. How much is this draft beer .........?
6. I can't keep up with price changes. How much is unleaded petrol ......... these days?
7. How much is this red wine .........?
8. Both diamonds are worth a fortune .........
9. How much is diesel ......... in Germany?
10.What's the price of butter .........?
11.The street value of heroin ......... is enormous.

d. Put 'a/an' or 'some' where necessary.

1. I have seen ............... good films recently.


2. What's wrong with you? Do you have ............... headache?
3. I know a lot of people. Most of them are ............... students.
4. When I was ............... child, I used to be very shy.
5. Would you like to be ............... actor?
6. Do you collect ............... stamps?
7. What ............... beautiful garden!
8. ............... birds, for example the penguin, cannot fly.
9. I've been walking for three hours. I have ............... sore feet.
10.I don't feel very well this morning. I have ............... sore throat.
11.Pity we don't have ..... camera. I'd like to take ..... photographs of this house.
12.Those are ............... nice shoes. Where did you get them?
13.I'm going shopping. I want to buy ............... new shoes.
14.You need ............... visa to visit ............... countries, but not all of them.
15.Jane is ............... teacher. Her parents were ............... teachers too.
16.Do you enjoy going to ............... concerts?
17.When we got to the city centre, ..... shops were still open but most were closed.
18.I don't believe him. He's ............... liar. He's always telling ............... lies.

e. Fill in 'a/an', 'some' or nothing '-'


1. I drank ......... glass of beer.
2. The window was broken and there was ......... glass on the floor.
3. In the past all bottles were made of ......... glass.
4. According to some scientists ......... coffee causes cancer.

88
5. ......... black coffee and ......... biscuits, please.
6. I have to buy ......... coffee and ......... tea.
7. There are some creases in my trousers. I need ......... iron.
8. It's a good scheme on ......... paper.
9. He was reading ......... paper.
10. Please give me ......... paper. I want to write a letter.
11. Try this one. It's ......... cheese from Finland.
12. Say ......... cheese.
13. ......... cheese and .........wine, please.
14. Let me give you ......... advice.
15. I need ......... information.
16. Jews don't eat .....pork, Indians don't eat .....beef and vegetarians don't eat .....meat.
17. ......... people (= not many) survived the crash.
18. Come ......... little closer.

THE DEFINITE ARTICLE - THE

a. Complete the sentences with the word given. Add 'the' if necessary.

SCHOOL
1. Every term parents are invited to ..................... to meet the teachers.
2. Why aren't your children at ..................... today? Are they ill?
3. When he was younger, Ted hated .....................
4. What time does ..................... start in the mornings in your country?
5. 'How do your children get home from .....?' 'They walk. .....isn't very far.'
6. What sort of job does Jenny want to do when she leaves .....................?
7. There were some people waiting outside ..................... to meet their children.

HOSPITAL
1. Nora works as a cleaner at .....................
2. When Ann was ill, we all went to ..................... to visit her.
3. My brother has always been very healthy. He's never been in ....................
4. Peter was injured in an accident and was kept in ............... for a few days.

PRISON
1. In many places people are in ..................... because of their political opinions.
2. The other day the fire brigade were called to ............. to put out a fire.
3. The judge decided to fine the man £500 instead of sending him to ................

89
b. Choose the correct form, with or without 'the'.

1.I'm afraid of dogs / the dogs.


2.Can you pass salt / the salt, please?
3.Apples / the apples are good for you.
4.Look at apples / the apples on that tree! They're very big.
5.Women / the women live longer than men / the men.
6.I don't drink tea / the tea. I don't like it.
7.We had a very nice meal. Vegetables / the vegetables were especially good.
8.Life / the life is strange sometimes. Some very strange things happen.
9.I like skiing / the skiing, but I'm not very good at it.
10.Who are people / the people in this photograph?
11.What makes people / the people violent? What causes aggression / the aggression?
12.All books / the books on the top shelf belong to me.
13.Don't stay in that hotel. It's very noisy and beds / the beds are very uncomfortable.
14.A pacifist is somebody who is against war / the war.
15.First World War / The First World War lasted from 1914 until 1918.
16.One of our biggest social problems is un employment / the unemployment.
17.Ron and Brenda got married but marriage / the marriage didn't last very long.
18.Most people / the most people believe that marriage / the marriage and family
life / the family life are basis / the basis of society / the society.

c. Complete the sentences using one of the following. Use 'the' if


necessary.

Basketball - questions - history - hotels - meat - lies -


information - patience - people - water - grass - spiders

1.My favourite sport is .........


2. ......... we were given, wasn't correct.
3.Many people are afraid of .........
4.A vegetarian is somebody who does not eat .........
5.The test was not very difficult. I answered all ......... without difficulty.
6.Do you know ......... who live next door?
7. ......... is the study of the past.
8.George always tells the truth. He never tells .........
9.We couldn't find anywhere to stay in the town. All ......... were full.
10. ......... in the pool did not look very clean.
11.Don't sit on ......... It's wet after the rain.
12.You need ......... to teach young children.

90
d. Insert 'the' if necessary

1. They play ......... trombone and ......... drums.


2. He plays ......... football, ......... basketball and ......... volleyball.
3. ......... breakfast is at 7.45.
4. ......... meat is underdone.
5. Let's have a drink at ......... King George.
6. The marital problems of ...... Prince Charles and ..... Lady Di boosted newspapers'
sales.
7. ......... Queen Mary sailed at 8 o'clock.
8. Let's have ......... brunch.
9. ......... eggs are hard-boiled. I don't like that.
10. He plays ......... guitar and ......... trumpet.
11. She plays ......... tennis, ......... hockey, ......... squash and ......... badminton.
12. We stayed at ......... Hilton.
13. He began to work at ......... dawn and he finished at ......... dusk.
14. My dad was a teenager in ......... roaring sixties.

e. Complete these sentences, using the and one of these adjectives

Injured - poor - rich - sick - unemployed - young

1. ......... have the future in their hands.


2. Ambulances arrived at the scene of the accident and took ......... to hospital.
3. Life is all right if you have a job, but things are not so easy for .........
4. Julia has been a nurse all her life. She has spent her life caring for .........
5. In England there's an old story about a man called Robin Hood. It is said that he
robbed ......... and gave the money to .........

f. Choose the correct form with or without 'the'.

1. Have you ever been to British Museum / the British Museum?


2. Hyde Park / the Hyde Park is a very large park in Central London.
3. Another park in central London is St James's Park / the St James's Park.
4. Grand Hotel / the Grand Hotel is in Baker Street / the Baker Street.
5. We flew to New York from Gatwick Airport / the Gatwick Airport near London.
6. Frank is a student at Liverpool University / the Liverpool University.
7. If you're looking for a good clothes' shop, I would recommend Harrison's / the
Harrison's.
8. If you're looking for a good pub, I would recommend Ship Inn / the Ship Inn.
9. Statue of Liberty / the Statue of Liberty is at the entrance to New York harbour /
the New York Harbour.
10. You should go to Science Museum / the Science Museum. It's very interesting.
11. John works for IBM / the IBM now. He used to work for British Telecom / the
British Telecom.

91
12. 'Which cinema are you going to this evening?' 'Classic / the Classic.'
13. I'd like to go to China and see Great Wall / the Great Wall.
14. This book is published by Cambridge University Press / the Cambridge University
Press.

g. Correct the following sentences by adding 'the' (sometimes more


than once) if necessary.

1. Who is Doctor Johnson?


2. I was ill, so I went to see doctor.
3. President is most powerful person in USA.
4. President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.
5. Do you know Wilsons? They are a very nice couple.
6. Do you know professor Brown's phone number?
7. Mount Everest was first climbed in 1953.
8. Milan is in north of Italy.
9. Africa is much larger than Europe.
10.Last year I visited Mexico and United States.
11.South of England is warmer than north.
12.Portugal is in western Europe.
13.France and Britain are separated by Channel.
14.Jim has travelled a lot in Middle East.
15.Chicago is on lake Michigan.
16.The highest mountain in Africa is Kilimanjaro (5,895 metres).
17.Next year we are going skiing in Swiss Alps.
18.United Kingdom consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
19.Seychelles are a group of islands in Indian Ocean.
20.River Wolga flows into Caspian Sea.

h. Translate the words in between brackets

1. John has relatives in (Nederland).


2. I hate travelling (met het vliegtuig), I prefer going (met de boot).
3. My grandfather is (in het ziekenhuis) at the moment. I can't visit him very
often because (het ziekenhuis) is too far away.
4. My sister is studying at (de universiteit). She has a nice room in the centre of (de stad).
5. (Muziek) is very important to me. I love (klassieke muziek) and I play (piano).

i. Insert 'the' if necessary.

1. Last year we went skiing in Alps. Hotel was great, we had breakfast there and
went to a restaurant for dinner.
2. My son wants to go to university in United States. Before course starts, he
hopes to go to Rocky Mountains.
92
3. A lot of people go to Trafalgar Square on New Year's Eve.
5. Ivisit my grandparents on Sundays. I usually go by car but if weather is bad, I
take train. I always take them out for lunch.
6. Life is very difficult for homeless people. Many of them need to go to hospital but
that is not always possible.

j. Translate the following sentences.

1. Is de Mont Blanc in Zwitserland?


2. The Britse keuken (cuisine) is beter dan de mensen denken.
3. Ik ben dol op de natuur en ik speel vaak viool.
4. Ik neem nooit de bus; ik ga altijd met de auto naar kantoor.
5. Mijn buurman zit in de gevangenis in Brazilie. Het leven is daar hard.

4. REVISION: ALL ARTICLES

a. Fill in 'a’, ‘an', 'the' or nothing.

1. She has ......... heartache.


2. I have .........cold.
3. She has ......... anorexia.
4. She has ......... sore throat.
5. I have ......... laryngitis.
6. I have ......... runny nose.
7. She has .........mumps.
8. Your room is in ......... mess. Clean it!
9. My son has ......... measles.
10.She has ......... concussion.
11.The children have ......... smallpox.
12.He's desperate. He has ......... AIDS.
13.You have ......... egg on your face.
14.I can't move. I have ......... backache.
15.The text was printed in ......... italics.
16.I didn't do it on ......... purpose. It was ......... accident.
17.Don't let him become too familiar. Keep him at .........distance.
18.She's been on .........diet for two weeks but she hasn't lost any weight yet.
19.She has ......... heart condition.

b. Correct the following sentences with a/a/the if necessary

1. Would you like apple?


2. How often do you go to dentist?

93
3. Could you close door, please?
4. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. It was mistake.
5. Excuse me. Where is bus station, please?
6. I have problem. Can you help me?
7. I'm just going to post office. I won't be long.
8. There were no chairs, so we had to sit on floor.
9. Have you finished with book I lent you?
10. My sister has just got job in bank in Manchester.
11. We live in small flat near city centre.
12. There's small supermarket at end of street.

c. Correct the following sentences by inserting a/an/the if necessary.

1. Sun is star.
2. Tim lives in small village in country.
3. Moon goes round earth every 27 days.
4. What is highest mountain in world?
5. I'm fed up with doing same thing every day.
6. It was very hot day. It was hottest day of year.
7. I don't usually have lunch, but I always eat good breakfast.
8. If you live in foreign country, you should try and learn language.
9. We missed our train because we were waiting at wrong platform. We were on
Platform 3 instead of Platform 8.

d. Translate the words in between brackets.

1. 'I heard your husband is (architect).' 'Well, he used to be (architect), but nowadays he
is (tandarts).'
2. '(Als student), I had a room with (zo'n vreemde) family. The man was (dichter).' 'My landlady
was (een alcoholiste) and her husband was (een anarchist).'
3. 'I'd like (een halve) pumpkin and how much are the mushrooms?' 'They're three
euros (per kilo).'
4. 'My sister (is gids) on Malta. She says this is a good time of the year to go there.'
'Maybe, but I went there this time last year for a week and I didn't have (zo'n goed
weer).'

e. Translate the following sentences.

1. 'Ik heb hoofdpijn.' 'Je werkt te veel: minstens zestig uur per week.'
2. Kunt u, als computerexpert,me een goede raad geven?
3. Dat is het ziekenhuis waar ik vroeger als verpleegster werkte.
4. Ik heb zo'n goede pianolerares. Haar man is ook pianoleraar.
5. Mijn vriendin is Amerikaanse en belt haar moeder twee keer per dag.

94
Gap filling
f. Fill in the correct form of the article in the gaps below.

1.In ….. US and ….. UK, people often think about ….. ghosts as ….. shapeless white figures
that make ….. strange noises.
2.….. holidays started with ….. exuberant rush of ….. energy.
3.How can ….. recapture ….. ability to inspire us?
4.….. eye for ….. eye will make ….. whole world go blind.
5.….. West Side Story is ….. musical play, also made into ….. film, about ….. life in the streets
of ….. New York by ….. Leonard Bernstein.
6.As ….. peace activist, this is my place.
7.….. who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
8.Today, when ….. English is one of ….. major languages in ….. world, it requires an effort of
….. imagination to realise that this is ….. relatively recent thing.
9.How to cut ….. cost of going to ….. university?
10. ….. best biotech companies should offer ….. huge rewards to both ….. investors and …..
society.
11. ….. Mont Blanc is ….. mountain in ….. Alps on ….. border between ….. France and ….
Italy.
12.Since 1998, ….. flag adopted by ….. Council of Europe has been used as ….. European
Union flag. It consists of ….. circle of twelve gold stars on ….. blue background.
13. (Beginning of a story:) ….. certain man has three sons.

95
3.3. Adjectives and Adverbs

3.3.1 Theory

Adjectives
Determines a NOUN, PRONOUN

The new secretary doesn’t like me.


He’s going out with a famous dancer.
The dancer is famous
She looks unhappy.

My elder sister is a pilot. She is three years older than me.


In that game they catch live fish. The fish are still alive.
Although he is only thirty years old, he is an old friend of mine.
That is a nice little house. This is a really little house
You bloody fool!

The baby is asleep. A sleeping baby. An asleep baby.


He was afraid. He is a frightened man.
You look ill. Nurses take care of sick people.

Let’s paint the kitchen white. Let’s paint the white kitchen.

Send all the tickets available / available tickets.


It’s the only solution possible / possible solution.

Two metres high.


Ten years older.
Two miles long.
Six feet deep.
Three metres wide.

96
Worth 100 euros.

Have you read anything interesting lately?


Let’s go somewhere quiet.
A fat old white horse /
A big grey woollen sweater
A small round black leather handbag
A little modern square brick house
He was tall, dark and handsome.
My soul is exotic, mysterious, incomprehensible.

Adverbs
Determines a VERB, ADJECTIVE, ADVERB
Adjective + -ly
He is a slow talker
He talks slowly
He is slow

Friendly
He is friendly
He talks friendly

This is easy
This is done easily

This is good
This is well done
Are you well? Are you good?

Hard – hardly
The bed is hard
He talks hard

97
He hardly talks

ADVERB + ADJECTIVE
He is famous
He is extremely famous

ADVERB + ADVERB
He speaks slowly
He speaks incredibly slowly

She speaks English very well.


He drove off angrily. – he is angry
John works really hard.
She read the letter slowly.
She sang extremely badly.
I stupidly forgot my keys.
The house is partly ready.
I have completely forgotten your name.

Adverbs of indefinite frequency: always, ever, usually, normally, often, frequently,


sometimes, occasionally, rarely, seldom, never

He is often bad-tempered.
Sometimes I think I’d like to live somewhere else.
I am seldom late for work.
You can always come and stay with us if you like.

Adjectives ending in –ly


Costly, cowardly, deadly, friendly, likely, lonely, lovely, silly, ugly, unlikely

She gave me a friendly smile.


Her singing was lovely.

98
She smiled in a friendly way.

Late – lately
You are late
You arrived late
Have you been here lately?

The dog smells good – the dog smells well


Zwobbels : zijn, worden, lijken, blijken, schijnen
Senses
He looks angry – he looks angrily

3.3.2. Adjectives or adverbs: Exercises

a) Choose the correct form

1. "I always forget how pretty/prettily you are until I see you again," he said as
he looked careful/carefully at her face.
2. The end of the story is always ironical/ironically.
3. From chapter six onwards, the author's style becomes very direct/directly.
4. She played tennis so good/well that she was given a place in the team.
5. Having married late/lately in life, my aunt remained childless/childlessly.
6. Do you remember how serious/seriously we used to talk about these things?
7. Have you seen any good/well films recently?
8. The walls of the playground were bright/brightly coloured.
9. This beer tastes too bitter/bitterly.
10. Pasteur used an extreme/extremely strong microscope to study bacteria.

b) Fill in the correct translation and form of the Dutch word.

Slecht I slept very ……………………………………… last night.


Goed Our plan worked out very ………………………………………

99
gemakkelijk It's ……………………………………… said than done.
Gelukkig He didn't appear too ………………………………………, did he?
Onzeker We remained …………………………………… of the results of our efforts.
ongeduldig Why do you always look so ………………………………………?
Goed The relationship with my parents is very ……………………………………..
Redelijk I thought I had done …………………………………… well.
onmiddellijk Come back ………………………………………. after the lesson.
Typisch Gambling seems to be ……………………………………… male.
Zuur I am afraid the milk has gone ……………………………..
nauwelijks I can ………………………… believe what you told me.
zorgvuldig Mr Parker read his son’s story …………………….
Cynisch Susan was looking at her mother ………………………………….

c) Fill in adjectives or adverbs derived from the nouns /verbs given

origin/ The …………… plan was very …………… from the one …………… accepted.
difference /final
Continue We should be ………………… aware of the danger of a nuclear war.
Mechanic She walked on ………………………… without thinking.
Fortune The plane crashed, but …………………………, nobody was killed.
Necessity Is it really ………………………… to make such a fuss?
Respect His answer did not sound very …………………………
late/scarce I woke up ……… this morning; I ………………………… had time for breakfast.
Technique His invention is ………………………… impossible.
Health I can’t believe she’s ill. She looked quite …………………… when I last saw her.
Object Try to look at this problem ………………………………
Sleep I feel ……………………………, I think I will go to bed.
Continue We should be ……………………………. aware of the danger of a nuclear war.
Reason The teacher seemed to be ……………………. Satisfied with my results.
Act / particular You should be more ……… during lessons, ………… when we do exercises.
Attract Ann could be very ……………………….. when she wanted to.
Haste They opened the door ………………….
Privacy I’d like to talk to you ……………………., if possible.
Politics ……………………….., the British are the most urban people.
Tradition The British bobby is ……………………… courteous and helpful.

100
d) Complete the sentences with an adjective or an adverb.

1. I always feel tired. Maybe I work too (hard).


2. We're (good) prepared for our next meeting.
3. My sister does not seem very (happy).
4. My boss is (serious) ill.
5. Harry was hurt quite (bad) in the accident.
6. It was a most (remark) coincidence.
7. His work is very (origin).
8. It was a (please) surprise.
9. He's a (cheer) kind of person.
10. That is really a (horror) story.
11. His actions were truly (hero).
12. She smiled a (girl) smile.
13. Watch out for him. He is very (aggression).
14. After listening to him for over an hour, the audience became (rest).
15. She was scratching herself in a way that was not very (lady).
16. The subject produced a (life) debate.
17. If you see anything (suspect), let the police know at once.
18. She is very (lone) without the children.
19. There is nothing particularly (note) in this report.
20. She has a lot of energy. She is very (industry).

e) Which is correct, the adjective or the adverb?

1. 'Sorry, I'm late/lately but we've been so busy late/lately.' 'That's OK, but be
careful/carefully - don't work too hard/hardly.' 'I won't. I've been sleeping
bad/badly - that's the real/really problem.'

101
2. 'What's the matter with Don? He looks so unhappy/unhappily.' 'He's been
terrible/terribly worried/worriedly about losing his job since the management
changed sudden/suddenly last month.' 'Oh, dear, and his wife's job isn't very
good/well paid either, is it?'
3. 'I've just heard the terrible/terribly news about your sister's horrible/horribly
accident. Was she bad/badly injured?' 'No, thank goodness. She was only
slight/slightly hurt, but her boyfriend's injuries are more serious/seriously.'
'There have been so many bad/badly accidents on that part of the road. It's
real/really dangerous/dangerously.'
4. 'I feel so angry/angrily. Our new neighbours are really noisy/noisily. Their

music is always playing so loud/loudly - I just can't concentrate on my work

proper/properly.' 'Why don't you ask them polite/politely to turn it down?' 'I did

last week and since then, they've had two noisy/noisily parties which finished

real/really late/lately!'

f) Put the words in between brackets in their correct form and place

1. I don't get much mail. (usual)


2. We've had a lot of pets. (always)
3. We are looking for a new flat. (still)
4. Sue has lunch in the canteen. (every day)
5. Dave won't be on time. (probable)
6. I don't think we are going. (to London/next month)
7. Myra's father is rich. (extreme)
8. I go to the cinema. (often)

g) Complete each sentence with a verb and an adjective from the box.

feel seem sound awful wet nice


look smell taste interesting upset fine

1. Ann …………………………………… this morning. Do you know what was wrong?

102
2. I can't eat this. I've just tried it and it ……………………………………………………
3. I wasn't very well yesterday, but I …………………………………………… today.
4. What beautiful flowers! They …………………………………………………… too!
5. You …………………………………………………… Have you been out in the rain?
6. He told me about his new job. It ……… quite …… much better than his old job.

h) Correct the sentences if necessary.

1. I'm tired because I've been working hard.


2. I tried hard to remember her name, but I couldn't.
3. This coat is practically unused. I've hardly worn it.
4. She is a good tennis player. She hits the ball hardly.
5. Don't walk so fastly! I can't keep up with you!
6. Why are you walking so slow? Are you tired?

i) Complete the sentences.

1. I get very ……………… when I speak French and people don’t understand me.
2. It’s very ………………… when you can’t remember someone’s name.
3. I wish the sun would come out. I find these grey days so …………….
4. We were ………………. when the plane suddenly began to lose height.
5. The journey had been very ……………………… so he decided to go to bed early.
6. I wish he’d come home! It ……………………... me when he’s out late at night.
7. Jack wasn’t very …………………………... when we laughed at his new haircut.
8. It was a …………………. match! England won 3-2 with a goal in the last minute.
9. What an ………………………… day! I need to relax and put my feet up.

j) Choose the right adjective.


1. I was delighted to meet her. She was a ………………………….. person.
2. I was scared during the film. The film was very ……………………………
3. We were extremely impressed by your CV. Your CV is ……………………………
4. I’m very stressed by my job. My job is very …………………………………………
5. I was offended by what you said. What you said was ………………………………..

103
k) Insert an adjective or adverb. Choose from the words below and use the
right form.
Beautiful, dead, deep, easy (2x), excellent, fast, hard (3x), late, near, nervous (2), scientific, thirsty
1.It was ......... to be on time.
2.He could ......... speak for tears.
3.Take it ......... You're working far too .........
4. I ......... won the match.
5.He drives too ......... in that sports car of his.
6.He was behaving ....... .., that's why the police followed him.
7.The research was done very .........
8.He felt ......... after the race.
9.I think you look ......... in that green dress.
10.The meat tastes .........
11.He had been working overtime for a week, so by Friday he was ......... tired.
12.She ......... answered the policeman's questions.
13.I haven't seen her .........
14.I was ......... hurt by your remarks.
15.He had an accident and was ......... killed.

l) Reformulate the following sentences using an adverb.


1.David is an extremely careful driver. David drives .........
2.They are good dancers. They dance .........
3.She is a really fast runner. She runs .........
4.We have regular meetings. We meet .........

5.His death was completely unexpected. He died

m) Which is correct, the adjective or the adverb?


1. 'Sorry, I'm late / lately but we've been so busy late / lately.' 'That's OK, but be
careful / carefully. Don't work too hard / hardly.' 'I won't. I've been sleeping bad /
badly. That's the real / really problem.'
2. 'Hello Jane! Did you have a good / well holiday?' 'Yes, thanks! The weather
was beautiful / beautifully; it hard / hardly rained.' 'Real/ Really? That's unusual /
unusually for England, isn't it?'
3. 'What's the matter with Don? He looks so unhappy / unhappily.' 'He's been
Terrible / terribly worried / worriedly about losing his job since the management
changed sudden / suddenly last month.' 'Oh, dear, and his wife's job isn't very
good / well paid either, is it?'

104
4. 'I've just heard the terrible / terribly news about your sister's horrible / horribly
accident. Was she bad / badly injured?' 'No, thank goodness. She was only
slight / slightly hurt, but her boyfriend's injuries are more serious / seriously.'
'There have been so many bad / badly accidents on that part of the road. It's
real / really dangerous / dangerously.'
5. 'I feel so angry / angrily. Our new neighbours are really noisy / noisily. Their music is
always playing so loud / loudly. I just can't concentrate on my work proper / properly.'
'Why don't you ask them polite / politely to turn it down?' 'I did last week and since
then, they've had two noisy / noisily parties which finished real / really late / lately!'

n) Translate the following text.

John voelde zich vreselijk moe toen hij naar bed ging. Meestal droomde hij niet veel, maar die
nacht had hij vreemde dromen. Plotseling werd hij wakker. Zijn zoon en zijn vrienden waren naar
harde muziek aan het luisteren en praatten hard in de woonkamer. John ging slaperig naar
beneden. "Je ziet er heel boos uit," zei zijn zoon, "waarom kijk je me zo boos aan?"

o) Put the adverbs in between brackets in their correct place in the


sentence.
1. I don't get much mail. (usually)
2. We've had a lot of pets. (always)
3. We are looking for a new flat. (still)
4. Sue has lunch in the canteen. (every day)
5. Dave won't be on time. (probably)
6. I don't think we are going. (to London / next month)
7. Myra's father rich. (extremely)
8. I go to the cinema. (often)
9. We'll phone you. (certainly)
10.We found the building without any trouble. (luckily)
11.My grandparents both worked. (very hard)
12.She stopped the car. (at that moment / abruptly)
13.I don't like swimming. (very much)
14.Most museums are closed. (on Mondays)
15.My father drinks tea. (rarely / at breakfast)

105
16.Bill spends his holidays in Italy. (usually)
17.I'm busy. (often)
18.I won't be able to come. (tomorrow / probably)
19.He speaks Spanish. (very well)
20.Jane and I meet. (every week)

p) Put the adjectives in between brackets in the correct position. Eg. a


beautiful table (wooden / round) => a beautiful round wooden table
1.an unusual ring (gold)
2.a new pullover (nice)
3.a new pullover (green)
4.an old house (beautiful)
5.black gloves (leather)
6.an American film (old)
7.a long face (thin)
8.big clouds (black)
9.a sunny day (lovely)
10. a wide avenue (long)
11. a metal box (black / small)
12. a big cat (fat / black)
13. a little village (old / lovely)
14. long hair (brown / beautiful)
15. an old painting (interesting / French)
16. an enormous umbrella (red / yellow)

q) Write the following in another way, using the first.../ the next.../ the last ...
Eg. the first day and the second day of the course →the first two days of
the course
1.next week and the week after
2.yesterday and the day before yesterday
3.the first week and the second week of August
4.tomorrow and a few days after that
5.questions 1, 2 and 3 of the examination

106
6.next year and the year after
7.the last day of our holiday and the two days before that

r) Complete each sentence with a verb (in the correct form) and an
adjective from the boxes.
Feel look seem awful fine interesting smell sound taste nice upset wet

1. Ann ............................................. this morning. Do you know what was wrong?


2. I can't eat this. I've just tried it and it .................................................................................
3. I wasn't very well yesterday, but I .............................................................................. today.
4. What beautiful flowers! Th ey .......................................................................................... too!
5. You ....................................................................................... Have you been out in the rain?
6. Jim was telling me about his new job. It ........... quite ........... much better than his old job.

s) Choose the correct word.


1. This tea tastes a bit strange / strangely.
2. I always feel happy / happily when the sun is shining.
3. The children were playing happy / happily in the garden
4. The man became violent / violently when the manager of the restaurant asked him to
leave.
5. You look terrible / terribly! Are you all right?
6. There's no point in doing a job if you don't do it proper / properly.
7. The driver of the car was serious / seriously injured.
8. The driver had serious / seriously injuries.
9. I think you behaved very selfish / selfishly
10.Rose is terrible / terribly upset about losing her job.
11.There was a sudden / suddenly change in the weather.
12.Everybody at the party was colourful / colourfully dressed.
13.Linda likes wearing bright / brightly clothes.
14.She fell and hurt herself quite bad / badly.
15.He says he didn't do well at school because he was bad / badly taught.
16.Don't go up that ladder. It doesn't look safe / safely.
17.He looked at me angry / angrily when I interrupted him.

107
t) Insert 'good' or 'well'.
1. I play tennis but I'm not very .........
2. Your exam results were very .........
3. You did very ......... in your exams.
4. The weather was very ......... while w e were on holiday.
5. I didn't sleep very ......... last night.
6. How are you? Are you .........?
7. George speaks German very .........
8. George's German is very .........
9. Our new business is going very ......... at the moment.
10. I like your jacket. It looks ......... on you.
11. I've met her a few times, but I don't know her very .........

3.3.3 DEGREES OF COMPARISON

COMPARATIVES

a. Complete the sentences using a comparative form


1. It's too noisy here. Can we go somewhere ……………………………………… ?
2. This coffee is very weak. I like it a bit …………………………………………………
3. The hotel was surprisingly big. I expected it to be ………………………………………
4. The hotel was surprisingly cheap. I expected it to be …………………………………
5. The weather is too cold in this country. I'd like to live somewhere ……………
6. My job is a bit boring sometimes. I'd like to do something ………………………
7. I was surprised how easy the task was. I thought it would be ……………………
8. Your work isn't very good. I'm sure you can do …………………………………………
9. Don't worry. The situation isn't so bad. It could be ……………………………………
10. I was surprised we got here so quickly. I expected the journey to take ……

b. Complete the sentences using the comparative forms of the words in the list.
serious - important simple – peaceful – reliable - thin - easy - high – important – early

1. I was feeling tired last night, so I went to bed ………………… usual.


2. I'd like to have a ……………… car. The one I've got keeps breaking down.

108
3. Unfortunately her illness was ……………….…… we thought at first.
4. You look ……………………… Have you lost weight?
5. He doesn't study very hard. He thinks it is ……….… to have a good time.
6. Health and happiness are ……………….…… money.
7. The instructions were very complicated. They could have been ……….…
8. I like living in the countryside. It's ………… living in town.
9. You'll find your way around the town ……… with a good map.
10. In some parts of the country, prices are ……………… in others.

c. Complete the sentences. Use a comparative form.


1. The journey takes four hours by car and five hours by train. It takes ………………
2. Dave and I went for a run. I ran ten kilometres. Dave stopped after eight. I ran ………
3. Chris and Joe both did badly in the exam. Chris got 20%, Joe only 15%. Joe did ..…
4. I expected my friends to arrive at about 4 o’clock. They arrived at 2.30. My friends ..
5. You can go by bus or by train. The buses run every 30 minutes. The trains run every
hour. The buses ……………………………………………………………………………….

d. Complete the sentences using the words in brackets and a comparative form.
1. Her illness was ………………………………… we thought at first. (much/serious).
2. I'm afraid the problem is ………………………… it seems. (much/complicated)
3. I enjoyed the museum. It was …………………… I expected. (far/interesting)
4. You're driving too fast. Could you drive ……………………………? (a bit/slowly)
5. It’s …………… to learn a foreign language in the native country. (a lot/easy)
6. I thought she was younger than me but in fact she’s …………(slightly/old)

e. Complete the sentences using any/no + a comparative.


1. I’m fed up with waiting. I’m not waiting ……………………………………………………
2. I'm sorry I'm a bit late but I couldn't get here …………………………………………
3. This shop isn't expensive. The prices are ………………………… anywhere else.
4. I must stop for a rest. I can't walk …………………………………………………………
5. The traffic isn't particularly bad today. It's …………………………………… usual.

f. Complete the following sentences using the structure “more and more’
1. It's becoming ………………………… to find a job. (hard)
2. That hole in your pullover is getting ……………………… (big)
3. My bags seemed to get …………… (heavy) as I carried them.
4. As I waited for my interview, I became ……… (nervous)

109
5. As the day went on, the weather got ……………… (bad).
6. Since she has been in Britain, her English has got ……… (good)
7. As the conversation went on, he became …… (talkative)

g. Complete the sentences using the structure like in ‘the more the merrier’
1. I like warm weather. The warmer the weather, the ……………………………….
2. I didn’t like him at first. But the more I got to know him, the ……………………
3. In business, you want to make a profit The more you sell, ……………………. (profit)
4. It's hard to concentrate when you're tired. The more tired you are, …………… (hard)

h. Complete the sentences using “as ……… as”


1. I'm quite tall but you are taller. I'm not ……………………………
2. My salary is high but yours is higher. My salary isn’t ………………
3. You know a bit about cars but I know more. You don’t know … …………………
4. It's still cold but it was colder yesterday. It isn't ……………
5. I still feel a bit tired but I felt a lot more tired yesterday. I don't ………

i. Rewrite these sentences so that they have the same meaning.


1. Jack is younger than he looks. Jack isn't ………………………………………………
2. I didn't spend as much money as you. You ………………………………………………
3. The station was nearer than I thought. The station wasn’t ………………………
4. The meal didn't cost as much as I expected. The meal ……………………………
5. I go out less than I used to. I don't …………………………………………………………

j. Complete the sentences using as ……… as. Choose one of the following.
Bad comfortable fast long quietly soon well well-qualified

1. I'm sorry I'm a bit late. I got here ………………………………………………… I could.


2. It was a difficult question. I answered it ……………………………………… I could.
3. 'How long can I stay with you?' 'You can stay …………………………… you like.'
4. I need the information quickly, so please let me know ………………possible.
5. I didn't want to wake anybody, so I came in ………………………………… I could.

k. In the following sentences use just as ……… as.


1. I'm sleeping on the floor. It's ………………………………… sleeping in a hard bed
2. Why did he get the job rather than me? I'm …………………………………… him.
3. At first I thought you were nice but really you're ………… everybody else.

110
l. Write sentences using ‘the same as’.
1. Sally and Kate are both 22 years old. Sally is …………………………………………
2. You and I both have dark brown hair. Your hair is ………………………………………
3. I arrived at 10.25 and so did you. I …………………………………………………………
4. My birthday is 5 April. Tom’s birthday is 5 April too. My ……………………………

m. Complete the sentences with than... or as...


1. I can't reach as high as you. You are taller ………………………………
2. He doesn't know much. I know more ……………………………………
3. I don't work particularly hard. Most people work as hard ………………
4. We were very surprised. Nobody was more surprised ………………

SUPERLATIVES

a. Complete the sentences. Use a superlative + a preposition.


1. It's a very nice room. It’s ……………………………………………………… the hotel.
2. It's a very cheap restaurant. It's …………………………………………… the town.
3. It was a very happy day. It was …………………………………………………… my life.
4. She's a very intelligent student. She is …………………………………… the class.
5. It's a very valuable painting. It ……………………………………………… the gallery.
6. Spring is a very busy time for me. It ………………………………………… the year.

b. Complete using ‘one of’ + a superlative + a preposition.


1. It's a very nice room. It …………………………………………………………the hotel.
2. He's a very rich man. He's …………………………………………………… the world.
3. It's a very old castle. It …………………………………………………………… Britain.
4. She's a very good player. She ……………………………………………… the team.
5. It was a very bad experience. It ………………………………………………… my life.
6. He's a very dangerous criminal. He ……………………………………… the country.

c. Complete the sentences. Use a superlative or a comparative


1. We stayed at ……………………… hotel in the town. (cheap)
2. Our hotel was …………… than all the others in the town. (cheap)
3. The United States are very large but Canada is ……… (large)

111
4. What's ………………………………… river in the world? (long)
5. He was a bit depressed yesterday but he looks ……… today. (happy)
6. It was an awful day. It was ………………… day of my life. (bad)
7. What is …………………… sport in your country? (popular)
8. Everest is … mountain in the world. (high). It is …… than any other mountain. (high)
9. We had a great holiday. It was one of the …… holidays we've ever had. (enjoyable)
10. I prefer this chair to the other one. It's ……… (comfortable)
11. What's ……… way of getting from here to the station. (quick)
12. Mr Brown has three daughters. ……………… is 14 years old. (old)

d. What do you say in these situations? Use a superlative + …… ever …… Use the
words given in brackets (in the correct form).
1. You’ve just been to the cinema. The film was extremely boring. You tell your friend:
(boring/film/see) That’s ………………………………………………………………………
2. Your friend has just told you a joke, which you think is very funny. You say:
(funny/joke/hear) That’s ………………………………………………………………………
3. You’re drinking coffee with a friend. It’s really good coffee. You say: (good/
coffee/taste) This ……………………………………………………………………………………
4. You are talking to a friend about Mary. Mary is very patient. You tell your friend about
her: (patient/person/meet) She …………………………………………………
5. You have just run ten kilometres. You’ve never run further than this. You say to your
friend: (fast/run) That …………………………………………………………………
6. You decided to give up your job. Now you think this was a terrible mistake. You say to
your friend: (bad/mistake/made) It ………………………………………
7. Your friend meets a lot of people, some of them famous. You ask your friend:
(famous/person/meet) Who …………………………………………………………………

112
3.4. Pronouns and determiners

3.4.1 Personal pronouns

Number and Nominative case Objective Genitive case Reflexive case

person (subject) case (Od, Oi)

Singular 1st I Me My, mine Myself

Singular 2nd You You Your, yours Yourself

Singular 3rd He, she, it Him, her, it His, his / her, Himself, herself, itself

hers / its, its

Plural 1st We Us Our, ours Ourselves

Plural 2nd You You Your, yours Yourselves

Plural 3rd They Them Their, theirs Themselves

3.4.2 Demonstratives (pronouns and others)

THIS/THESE box/boxes: close (literally, spatially, textually, emotionally, etc.)


THAT/THOSE box/boxes: further away (literally, spatially, textually, emotionally, etc.)

Most common sense:


Sometimes I wonder what I am doing in this country.
Have you heard from that girl you met in New York?

Special uses:
 This/that + ONE
‘Which file do you want?’ ‘I want that/this one’ (only with countable nouns
‘Which files do you want?’ ‘I want these/those’
 This/that and these/those as pronouns
‘What’s the meaning of this?’
‘Who on earth did that?’

113
 Compare
‘These are mine. Those belong to Caroline.’

3.4.3 Reflexive and reciprocal pronouns

Watch out! Some verbs are reflexive in Dutch but NOT in English
Zich iets kunnen veroorloven To be able to afford something
Zich verontschuldigen To apologize
Zich wenden tot/aanmelden bij To apply to
Zich kleden To dress/to get dressed
Zich (goed) voelen To feel (good)
Zich haasten To hurry
Zich inbeelden To imagine
Zich voegen bij To join
Zich vergissen To be mistaken
Zich bewegen To move
Zich verzetten tegen iets To oppose something
Zich klaarmaken To prepare, to get ready
Zich ontspannen To relax
Zich afvragen To wonder
Zich verstoppen To hide

Extra:
 After prepositions:
Talking to yourself - To do it by myself
 Emphatic use
Did you speak to the director yourself?

RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS
How long have you and Mr Grey known each other / one another?
Put all these boxes on top of each other
To meet is reciprocal in Dutch, not in English
‘Waar zullen we elkaar ontmoeten?’ - ‘Where shall we meet?’

114
Translate the following sentences:
1. De studenten organiseerden de beurs zelf.
2. Heb je je al aangepast aan je nieuwe omgeving?
3. Waarom wend je je niet tot de directeur?
4. We verontschuldigen ons voor de vergissing
5. Voor zover ik me kan herinneren, heb ik die rekening betaald.
6. Beweeg je niet, ik probeer een foto te maken
7. Je bent geen vriend van mij

3.4.4 Indefinite pronouns

1. 'SOME' AND 'ANY', 'NO', 'NONE'

e. Fill in 'some' or 'any' and explain why.

1. ......... people like working at night, but I don't.


2. I don't have ......... change on me.
3. Choose ......... colour you like.
4. We don't have ......... instruction manuals left.
5. We have been doing ......... research into the causes of the problem.
6. A telex can be received at ......... time of the day or the night.
7. Would you like ......... whisky?
8. Cars can be hired at almost ......... American airport.
9. Do you have ......... luggage?
10. ......... manager will tell you that flexitime is difficult to administer.
11.Is there ......... model you particularly like?

b. Complete the sentences with 'some', 'any', + '-body, -thing, -where'.


1. I was too surprised to say .....................
2. There's ..................... at the door. Can you go and see who it is?
3. Does ..................... mind if I open a window?
4. I wasn't feeling hungry, so I didn't eat .....................
5. You must be hungry. Would you like ..................... to eat?

115
6. Quick, let's go! There's .................. coming and I don't want ................. to see us.
7. Sally was upset about ..................... and refused to talk to .....................
8. This machine is very easy to use. You just ask ..................... to show you and
that's it! In fact, ..................... could learn it!
9. There was hardly ..................... on the beach. It was nearly deserted.
10.'Do you live ..................... near Jim?' 'No, he lives in another part of town.'
11.We slept in a park because we didn't have ..................... to stay.
12.'Where shall we go on holiday?' 'Let's go ..................... warm and sunny.'
13.They stay at home all the time. They never seem to go .....................
14.I'm going out now. If ..................... phones while I'm out, can you tell them I'll be
back at 11.30?
15.Why are you looking under the bed? Have you lost .....................?
16. ..................... who saw the accident should contact the police.
17.Sue is very secretive. She never tells ..................... ..................... (2 words)

c. Complete the following sentences with 'some' or 'any'.


1.We didn't buy ......... flowers.
2.This evening I'm going out with ......... friends of mine.
3.'Have you seen ........ good films recently?' 'No, I haven't been to the cinema for
ages.'
4.I didn't have ......... money, so I had to borrow .........
5.Can I have ......... milk in my coffee, please?
6.I was too tired to do ......... work/ any .
7.You can cash these traveller's cheques at ......... bank.
8.Can you give me ......... information about places of interest in town?
9.With the special tourist train ticket, you can travel on ......... train you like.
10. If there are ......... words you don't understand, use a dictionary.

d. Complete these sentences with 'no-' or 'any-' + '-body/-thing/-where'

1.I don't want ......... to drink. I'm not thirsty.


2.The bus was completely empty. There was ......... on it.
3.'Where did you go for your holidays?' '......... I stayed at home.'

116
4.I went to the shops, but I didn't buy .........
5.'What did you buy?' '......... I couldn't find ......... I wanted.'
6.The town was still the same when I returned.......... had changed.
7.Have you seen my watch? I've looked all over the house but I can't find it .........
8.There was complete silence in the room.......... said .........

e. Choose the right word

1.She didn't tell nobody/anybody about her plans.


2.The accident looked serious, but fortunately nobody/anybody was injured.
3.I looked out of the window, but I couldn't see nobody/anybody.
4.My job is very easy. Nobody/Anybody could do it.
5.'What's in that box?' 'Nothing/Anything . It's empty.'
6.The situation is uncertain. Nothing/Anything could happen.
7.I don't know nothing/anything about economics.

f. Translate the following sentences.

1.Ben je afgelopen weekend nog ergens naartoe geweest?

2.We hebben (nog) nauwelijks meubels in onze nieuwe flat.

3.Sommige kinderen zijn erg geïnteresseerd in insecten .


4.Als er nog kaas in de koelkast ligt, hoef je die niet t e kopen.
5.Ik heb al twee maanden niets van Susan gehoord. Heb jij iets gehoord?

g. Complete the following sentences with 'no', 'any', 'none'

1.It was a public holiday, so there were ......... shops open.


2.I don't have ......... money, could you lend me some?
3.I couldn't make an omelette because there were ......... eggs.
4.I couldn't make an omelette, because there weren't ........ eggs.
5.'How many eggs do we have?' '....... I'll go and buy some from the shop if you like.'
6.We took a few photographs, but ........ of them were ........ good.
7.What a stupid thing to do! ........ intelligent person would do such a thing!

117
8.I'll try and answer ......... questions you ask me.
9.I couldn't answer ......... of the questions they asked me.
10.We cancelled the party because ......... of the people we invited were able to
come.

h. Fill in 'no' or 'none' and explain why.

1.We have had ......... orders for the XL863 and we're going to drop it from the
catalogue.
2.They paid ......... of their invoices.
3. ......... of the candidates was appointed.

2. 'MUCH', 'MANY', '(A) FEW', '(A) LITTLE', 'ALL (OF)', ETC.

a. Fill in 'much', 'many', '(a)few' or '(a) little'

1.He isn't very popular. He has ......... friends.

2. ....... things respond more quickly to exchange rates than international travel.
3.Do you have ......... work to do?

4.Did you meet ........ people at the exhibition?


5.In ........ years' time we shall be market leader.
6.Ann is very busy these days. She has ......... free time.
7.Did you take ........ photographs when you were on holiday?
8.Do you mind waiting ........ minutes?

9.I'm not very busy today. I don't have ......... to do.


10.If there are ......... opportunities for promotion, young executives will tend to
leave the firm.
11.The museum was very crowded. There were too ......... people.

12.He seems to have ......... motivation for the job. We should fire him.
13. ......... decisions are taken after ......... consideration.
14.Most of the town is modern. There are ......... old buildings.

118
15.There is ......... time left for discussion so let us decide straight away.
16. ......... people like their boss interfering with their work.
17.The weather has been very dry recently. We've had ......... rain.
18.I need ......... time to think about your offer but I shall phone you soon.
19.I have not had ......... time recently.
20.The first half-year results were ......... disappointing.

119
b. Read the following situations and answer the following drill
questions:
A.Mr Kipling is an American tourist from Texas. He is London airport now. He is going
through Customs and the customs officer wants to know what is in his luggage. "Oh,
not a lot," he says, 'just some cameras, cigars, cognac, Swiss watches, gold, things like
that." Th customs officer wants to know the quantity of all these things. Ask questions
with 'How much' and 'How many' with these words:

Cameras – gold – whisky – watches – cigars – cognac – American dollars – foreign


money

B.Tony and Susan want to give party next week. Susan wants to buy everything
for it now. She and Tony are talking about it now and Susan is asking questions
like: 'How much ...?, how many ...?' Make these questions with the following
words:
wine - cheese - champagne - coffee - chocolate - wine - glasses – Coca-cola bottles - bottles of
champagne - bottles of cream - packets of crisps - beer - money - biscuits - sugar - butter - tea -
eggs - apples – cooking-oil - beef steak – baby-food - tomatoes - oranges - paper - plates - straws

c. Some of these sentences need an 'a'. insert it if necessary.

1.She's lucky. She has few problems.


2.Things aren't going so well for her. She has a few problems.
3.Can you lend me a few dollars?
4.I can't give you a decision yet. I need a little time to think.
5.There was little traffic, so the journey didn't take very long.
6.It was a surprise that he won the match. Few people expected him to win. / …a. People
though he would fail
7.I don't know much Spanish = only a few words.

d. Complete the following memo appropriately using 'few', 'a few', 'little',
'a little'.

120
This is just a summary of what was discussed at the joint marketing meeting
(Perfumes Division) last month so as to keep you up-to-date.

1.Crescendo
Sales figures were ......... disappointing as very ......... wholesale merchants are
willing to stock and push the product. The margin available to them has been kept
low and there is consequently ......... incentive for them to make the necessary
effort. However, sales have picked up ......... in the last two months or so.

2.Dark Gypsy
......... consumers (only 18% of those polled) feel that the packaging is attractive
and sales have suffered as a consequence. However, artwork for a new pack
have been finalised and ......... sample packs circulated for testing purposes.

3.Musk
Tests have demonstrated that customers have no marked preference for any
particular colour, so after ......... hesitation, we have chosen black to give an
image of luxury.

4. TakaokaI Femme Fatale I Radiant Moon


Even with heavy discounts, ......... of these products have sold well and they will
be discontinued at the end of the year. Your ideas on replacement items would
be more than welcome.
Finally, could you please investigate the situation in Greece? We get ......... or no
information from our agent in Athens and I am beginning to get ......... worried about
the situation there.

d. Put in little/ a little/ few/ a few

1.We must be quick. We have ......... time.

2.Listen carefully. I'm going to give you ......... advice.


3.Do you mind if I ask you ......... questions?
4.This town is not a very interesting place to visit, so ......... tourists come here.

121
5.I don't think Jill would b e a good teacher. She has ......... patience.
6.'Would you like milk in your coffee?' 'Yes please..........'
7.This is a very boring place to live. There's ......... to do.'
8.'Have you ever been to Paris?' 'Yes, I've been there ......... times.'

e. Use all/some/none + it/them/us

1.These books are all Jan's. ..................... belongs to me.

2.'How many of these books have you read?' '..................... Every one.'
3.We all got wet in the rain because ..................... had an umbrella.
4.Not all this money is yours. ..................... is mine.
5.I asked some people for directions, but ..................... were able to help me.
6.She made up the whole story from the beginning to the end. ..................... was true.

7.Not all the tourists in the group were Spanish. ..................... were French.
8.I watched most of the film, but not …………………………………….

f. Translate the words in between brackets.

1.(de meeste) of my friends have a car.


2.My brother does not have (veel) money.
3.I know only (erg weinig) people at this party.
4.Last night Steve and I had (een paar) beers together.
5.We saw (veel) different birds on the island.
6.Only (weinig) students have handed in their papers so far.
7.I don't have (genoeg) time to help you today.
8.(Hoeveel) visitors has the museum had this year?

122
g. Complete the following sentences by adding 'much', 'many', 'a lot of',
(a) little, (a) few. Sometimes there is more than one possibility.

1. We didn't see ......... wild animals on our safari.


2. How ......... bottles of wine have you bought for the party?
3. Peter said he didn't have ......... homework today.
4. I think the soup needs ......... more salt.
5. Last year I wrote ......... Christmas cards, but this year I'm not in the mood.
6. In August, we had .........rainy days.
7. Since I have ......... money left to spend on clothes, I often buy second-hand.
8. This year only ......... tourists have come to this town.

h. Translate the words in between brackets.

1. The teacher explained (alles) clearly.


2. This is (alle informatie) that I can give you.
3. Not (iedereen was) happy with the situation.
4. (Het hele gebouw) was destroyed by the fire.
5. I knew (alle mensen) in the room.
6. I'll do (alles wat je maar wil) if you leave my sister out of it.
7. Sue tried to remember the names of (iedereen die) she had met.

i. Translate the following sentences.

1. Ik had hard gestudeerd, maar op het examen was ik bijna alles vergeten.
2. Ik ben deze hele week ziek geweest.
3. Al mijn vrienden wilden helpen. Iedereen kwam opdagen.
4. Ik ken bijna elke straat in dit dorp.
5. Elk land had maar een vertegenwoordiger (representative) in de vergadering.

123
j. Put in 'of' if necessary.
1. All ......... cars have wheels.
2. None ......... this money is mine.
3. Some ......... people get very angry easily.
4. Some ......... the people I met at the party were very interesting.
5. I have lived in London most ......... my life.
6. Many ......... people watch too much TV.
7. Are any ......... those letters for me?
8. Most ......... days I get up before 7 o'clock.
9. Jim thinks that all ......... museums are boring.

k. Translate the following sentences.

1. De meeste mensen op dit kantoor werken erg hard.


2. Ik heb niet veel tijd om me te ontspannen, want ik heb een drukke baan.
3. Mandy heeft veel exotische planten in haar tuin.
4. U kunt uw tas hier laten. Er is plaats genoeg.
5. Ik vind dat je te weinig vers fruit eet.

l. Complete this letter using 'no' 'one' 'some' 'any' 'much' or 'many'.

Dear Mrs Lambert,


Clinton West has requested that I contact you with reference to his agreement with you for
the sale of BURO cartridges in the USA. He has tried on ......... occasions to reach you at
work but has repeatedly been told that you were absent.
This agreement provides for the payment to Mr West of £0.005 for ......... cartridges sold
by you and for monthly reports of sales made.
Since this agreement was signed, ......... payments have been made, but only at irregular
intervals. Not ......... reports have been sent (five in the last 18 months) and .........
commissions at all have been received over the past year.
You are clearly in breach of contract and in order to avoid ........ legal action, would you
please forward by return:

124
1. A report of BURO cartridges to date.
2. Payment by cheque of ......... sums owing on the sales mentioned.
Your agreement with Mr West is over three years old. For ......... of the time, you
have chosen to disregard its obligations. Only ......... of my client's letters has been
answered in the recent past. Therefore, in order to avoid wasting ......... time, I am
sending this letter by telecopy and expect a prompt response, certainly ......... later
than by the end of this month.

Very truly yours, Randolph T. Zick

m. Ask questions with 'how much' and 'how many' considering the
situation

1. You are a doctor. A patient is telling you about his bad cough. You think he is
a heavy smoker.
2. You are pouring out tea for your friend. You know she likes sweet tea, but you
don't know how sweet.
3. Tony is telling you he thinks he is too fat. You know he is a sweet tooth.
4. Bert Johnson is a car salesman. He says he is a very good one.

n. Ask questions with 'how much' and 'how many' and supply answers
like 'very little' or 'very few'.

1. Mrs. P drinks alcohol only at Christmas and then never more than a glass of sherry.
2. Tim smokes about two cigarettes a day.
3. The only exercise Mr Anderson gets is when he is working in the garden.
4. Edna is not actually a vegetarian, but eats meat only once or twice a year.
5. Stanley gets about four hours of sleep a day.
6. Stuart saw only three or four films last year.
7. Some teachers earn no more than bus-drivers do.

125
8. Old Mrs Samuels never gets more than two letters a month.
9. In the whole of last term, Roger did exactly two pages of homework.
10.Joe spends some time at home, but never more than two or three evenings a
week.

3. 'BOTH (OF)', 'NEITHER (OF)', 'EITHER (OF)'

EITHER
‘Do you want to or coffee?’ ‘Either, I don’t mind’
 ONE OR THE OTHER OF TWO
‘There are trees on either side of the road’
 ON BOTH SIDES

NEITHER
‘I invited Ann and Paul, but neither showed up’
 NOBODY OF TWO

Both EITHER and NEITHER as subject are followed by an affirmative verb

EITHER …. OR …..
He’s either Spanish or Italian
NEITHER ….. NOR …….
He speaks neither French nor German
BOTH …… AND …….
Both brother and sisters have ginger hair.

a. Complete the sentences with 'both/either/neither'. Add 'of' where


necessary and sometimes 'us' or 'them'.

1. 'Do you want tea or coffee?' '...................... I really don't mind.'


2. 'What day is today = the 18th or the 19th?' '...................... It's the 20th'.

126
3. 'There are two sandwiches here. Do you mind which I take?' 'No, take ................'
4. I was invited to two parties last week .I didn't go to ................
5. 'Where did you go for your holidays? Scotland or Ireland?' 'We went to ........ A week
in Scotland and a week in Ireland.'
6. ..................... my parents came from London.
7. I asked two people the way to the station but ................. could help me.
8. 'When shall I phone you, morning or afternoon?' '................ I'll be in all day.'
9. There were two windows in the room. It was very warm, so I opened .....................
10.Sarah and I play tennis together regularly, but ................ can play very well.
11.To get to the town centre, you can go along the footpath by the river, or you
can go along the road. You can go ..................... way.
12.'Where's Kate? Is she at work or at home?' '............. She's away on holiday.'
13.I tried two bookshops for the book I wanted, but ..................... had it.
14.I tried twice to phone George, but ..................... times he was out.
15. ............. Tom's parents is English. His father is Polish and his mother is Italian.
16.I saw an accident this morning. One car drove into the back of another.
Fortunately ......... driver was injured, but ....... cars were quite badly damaged.
17.I have two sisters and a brother. My brother is working but .............. my sisters
are still at school.

b. Write sentences with 'both ... and'/ 'neither ... nor'/ 'either ... or'
Eg. Tom was late. So was Ann. Both Tom and Ann were late.

1. She didn't write and she didn't phone.


2. Jim is on holiday and so is Carol.
3. George doesn't smoke and he doesn't drink.
4. Jim doesn't have a car. Carol doesn't have a car either.
5. It was a very boring film. It was very long too. The film .........
6. Is that man's name Richard? Or is it Robert? It's one of the two. That man's
name .........
7. I don't have time to go on holiday. And I don't have the money. I have ......... the time
nor the money to go on holiday
8. We can leave today or we can leave tomorrow, whichever you prefer. We .........

127
c. Complete the sentences with 'neither/either/none/any.

1.We tried a lot of hotels but ............ of them had any room.
2.I took two books with me on holiday but I didn't read ............ of them.
3.I took five books with me on holiday but I didn't read ........... of them.
4.There are a few shops in this street but ............ of them sell newspapers.
5.You can phone me at ............ time during the evening. I'm always at home.
6.I can meet you on the 6th or the 7th. Would ....... of those be convenient for you?
7.John and I couldn't get into the house because ............ of us had a key.
8.There were a few letters this morning but ............ of them were for me.

d. Put 'of' in between brackets if it can be/should be left out.

1.Both of my sisters like ballet.


2.Neither of these maps is very up to date, I'm afraid.
3.The drivers were OK, but both of the cars were badly damaged.
4.'Which of your friends smoke?' 'None of them does'.
5.Both of her parents have a busy job.

d. Complete the following sentences with 'both', 'either', or 'neither'.

1.I like ......... sweaters, but I'm not sure about these jeans.
2.Which of these games would you like to have? You can choose .........
3.I saw two videos last night, but ......... of them was very good.
4. ......... my parents have had problems with their health lately.
5.'Did you see Kim or Ruth yesterday?' 'I saw them .........'
6.My hobbies are gardening and reading, but these days I hardly find time for .........
7.If you don't study, you won't pass ......... of the exams.

f. Translate the words in between brackets.

128
1.Sam and Tim (allebei) drive dangerously.

2.(allebei) the items you ordered are out of stock at the moment.
3.(geen) of these two paintings is expensive.

4.(allebei de banken) in town are closed today.

5.We'd (allebei) like to go to the cinema tonight.


6.(geen) of the students failed the exam.
7.(geen van beide broers) was very successful in business.
8.(geen wijn meer) for me, please, I'm about to leave.

g. Translate the following sentences.


1. Mijn beide buren zijn erg vriendelijk.
2. Niemand van ons begreep het huiswerk.
3. Kan een van jullie tweeen me een fiets lenen?
4. We hebben allebei vorig jaar een nieuwe auto gekocht.
5. Ik ben blij dat geen van beide honden vannacht heeft geblaft.

h. Complete the following sentences using plenty (of) + one of the


following
hotels - money - room - time to learn - things to see

1. There's no need to hurry. We have .........


2. He has no financial problems. He has .........
3. Come and sit with us. There is .........
4. She knows a lot but she still has .........
5. It's an interesting town to visit. There are .........
6. I'm sure we will find somewhere to stay. There are .........

i. Complete the following sentences with 'hardly' +


'any/anybody/anything/anywhere/ever'.

1. I'll have to go shopping. We have ....................................... ....................................... food.

129
2. It was a very warm day and there was .................................... .................................... wind.
3. 'Do you know much about computers?' 'No, ................................. ....................................'
4. The hotel was almost empty. There was ........................ ........................ staying there.
5. I listen to the radio quite often but I ........................ ........................ watch television.
6. Our new boss is not very popular. .................................. ................................. likes him.
7. It was very crowded in the room. There was ........................... .............................. to sit.
8. We used to be good friends, but we ..................... ........................ see each other now.
9. It was nice driving this morning. There was ........................... ........................... traffic.
10. I hate this town. There's ................. ................. to do and .................. ............... to go.

4. 'SO' AND 'SUCH'

a. Fill in 'so', 'such' or 'such a'.


1. He's difficult to understand because he speaks ......... quickly.
2. I like Tom and Ann. They're ......... nice people.
3. It was a great holiday. We had ......... great time.
4. I was surprised that he looked ......... well after his illness.
5. Everything is ......... expensive these days, isn't it?
6. The weather is ......... lovely today. I didn't expect it to be ......... nice day.
7. I have to go. I didn't realise it was ......... late.
8. He always looks ......... good. He always wears ......... nice clothes.
9. It was ......... boring film that I fell asleep watching it.
10. I couldn't believe the news. It was ......... shock.
11. I think she works too hard. She looks ......... tired all the time.
12. The food at the hotel was ......... awful. I've never eaten ......... awful food.
13. They have ......... much money, they don't know what to do with it.
14. I didn't realise you lived ......... long way from the city centre.
15. I can't decide what to do. It is ......... a problem.

130
b. Make one sentence from two. Use 'so' or 'such'. Select the second part
from the list.
Eg. She worked hard - She made herself ill -> She worked so hard she made
herself ill.

1. I have a lot of things to do. I don't know where to begin.


I had .....................
2. I was tired. I couldn't keep my eyes open.
I was …………………….
3. We had a good time on holiday We didn't want to come home
We had ………………….
4. It was horrible weather. We spent the whole day indoors
It was ……………………..
5. She speaks English well f. You would think it was her native language
She speaks …………………..
6. It was a beautiful day We decided to go to the beach
It was ……………………
7. The music was loud. You could hear it from miles away
The music …………………….
8. I had a big breakfast I didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day
I had ………………………

5. 'ENOUGH' AND 'TOO'

a. Complete these sentences using 'enough' with one of the following


adjectives or nouns.

Adjectives: big – old – warm – well


Nouns: cups – milk – money – qualifications – room – time

1. She shouldn't get married yet. She's not .........


2. I'd like to buy a car, but I don't have .........
3. Do you have ......... in your tea or would you like some more?

131
4. Are you .........? Or shall I switch on the heating?
5. It's only a small car. There isn't ......... for all of you.
6. Steve didn't feel ......... to go to work this morning.
7. I didn't answer all the questions in the exam. I didn't have .........
8. Do you think I have ......... to apply for this job?
9. Try this jacket on and see if it's ......... for you.
10. There weren't ......... for everybody to have coffee at the same time.

b. Complete the answers to the questions. Use 'too' or enough' with the
words in brackets.
1.'Is she going to get married?' 'No, she is not .........' (old)
2.'I need to talk to you about something.' 'Well, I'm afraid I am ......... to you now.'
(busy)
3.'Let's go to the cinema.' 'No, it's ......... to the cinema.' (late)
4.'Why don't we sit in the garden?' 'It's not ......... in the garden.' (warm)
5.'Would you like to b e a politician?' 'No, I'm ......... a politician.' (nice)
6.'Do you want to play tennis today?' 'No, I don't have ......... tennis today.' (energy)
7.'Did you hear what she was saying?' 'No, we were ......... what she was saying.'
(faraway)
8.'Can he read a newspaper in English?' 'No, he doesn't know ......... a newspaper.'

(English)

c. Make one sentence from two. Complete the new sentence using 'too'
or 'enough'.
Eg. We couldn't eat the food. It was too hot. → The food was too hot to eat.

1.I can't drink this coffee. It's too bitter.


2.Nobody could move the piano. It was too heavy.
3.I don't wear this coat in winter. It isn't warm enough.
4.I can't explain the situation. It's too complicated.

132
5.Three people can't sit on this sofa. It isn't wide enough.
6.We couldn't climb over the wall. It was too high.
7.You can't see some things without a microscope. They are too small.

6. 'QUITE' AND 'RATHER'

a. Complete the sentences using 'quite' and one of the following.


A busy day, a good voice, a nice time, a lot of mistakes, a nice day, a long way, a strong wind, a
frightening experience
1.The weather was better than we had expected. It was ...............................................
2.Tom often sings. He has ................................................................................................

3.The bus stop wasn't very near the hotel. We had to walk ..........................................
4.I'm tired. I've had ..........................................................................................................
5.Our holiday was OK. We had ........................................................................................

6.It is warm today, but there is .................................


7.I hope that never happens again. It was ............
8.He speaks English very fluently, but he makes ……………………………………

b. Complete the sentences using the words in brackets. Each time use
'quite' with the positive word and 'rather' with the negative word.
1. She is ......... but ......... (intelligent / lazy).
2. The car goes ......... but it is ......... (well / noisy)
3. The programme was ......... but ......... (long / interesting).
4. George is ......... but he is ......... (a hard worker / slow).
5. I was ......... with the hotel, but Jim was ......... (disappointed / pleased).
6. It's ......... job, but it's ......... work (a well-paid / hard).
7. Sarah lives ......... us, but it is ......... to get to her house. (near / difficult).

c. Complete the sentences using 'quite' and one of the following.


amazing - different - impossible - right - safe - sure - unnecessary – true

133
1. I didn't believe her at first, but in fact what she said was .........
2. You won't fall. The ladder is .........
3. I'm afraid I cannot do what you ask. It is .........
4. I couldn't agree with you more. You are .........
5. You cannot compare the two things. They are .........
6. You needn't have done that. It was .........
7. I think I saw them go out, but I am not .........
8. I couldn't believe what had happened. It was .........

134

You might also like