Grammar Exercises

Exercise 1. Rewrite these sentences with «used to».

1. Mr Green played football before he was married.

2. Mr West drove very fast before he had that bad accident.

3. Do you think people read more books twenty years ago than they do today?

4. Travel was slower but more enjoyable fifty years ago.

5. She was quite pretty in those days.

6. Didn’t he work in your office a few years ago?

7. You didn’t smoke so many cigarettes when you were young, did you?

Exercise 2.

Make the following sentences

negative, interrogative.

1. I used to eat a lot of sweets when I was a child.

2. They used to live in a small village.

3. Tom used to travel a lot.

4. She used to be my best friend.

5. The baby used to cry every night.

Exercise 3. Write sentences describing the differences in the life of Ellen Tutin.

She has left school and goes to university now.

e.g. She used to live with her parents, but now she lives in the university.

Two years ago	Now
Lived with parents. Played a lot of sport. Had a lot of money. Didn’t read many books. Had no friends.	Live in university. Don’t like sport. Don’t have much money. Read all the time. Have a lot of good friends.

Exercise 4.

Put questions to the following sentences.

1. They used to live in London.

2. When Laura was at college, she used to have a picture of Elvis Presley.

3. He used to paint pictures.

4. Mr Parker used to get up at 6, but he doesn’t any more.

5. They used to live in a small flat in the town.

Exercise 5.

Insert the correct form of either be used or used in these sentences.

1. I ____ to go to church when I was younger but I don’t now.

2. She ____ to going to bed very late at night.

3. I ____ to driving very fast because I’ve been a fireman for ten years.

4. They ____ to going on holiday with their parents, but I prefer going on my own.

5. We ____ to go to the swimming pool every day but it’s closed down now.

6. He ____ to sleep for ten hours every night but now he only sleeps for six.

7. We ____ to ice and snow in our country but in England they aren’t.

8. I ____ to go to school with Ben Kingsley, the famous actor.

9. We ____ to having electricity and gas in our houses but a hundred years ago people didn’t have either.

10. She ____ to hard work, she’s a nurse.

Exercise 6. Make noun compounds from the two underlined words in each

sentence.

e.g.: This cup is used for drinking tea. - It is a tea cup.

This store sells books. That man delivers our milk. He’s a clerk in the bank. He wears those shoes when he plays tennis. This is a case used for carrying cigarettes. This is a bowl in which we keep sugar. This is a fork we use when eating salads. Mr. White is a teacher of languages. These balls are used for playing golf. This juice comes from pineapples.

It is a ..... . He’s our ..... . He’s a ..... . They’re his ..... . It’s a ..... . It’s a ..... . It’s a ..... . He’s a ..... . It’s a ..... . It’s ..... . It’s a ..... .

Exercise 7.	Complete the sentences with the comparative form of the adjectives in brackets.
e.g.	It’s (cheap) by car than by train. It’s cheaper by car than by train.

1. The prices are (expensive) this year than last year.

2. Many people think that nurses work (hard) than doctors.

3. Which river is (long) - the Thames or the Seine?

4. Have this armchair. It’s (comfortable) than that one.

5. I think the Science Museum is (interesting) than the Natural History Museum.

6. My new job is (good) than my old one.

7. We’re moving to a (big) office next year.

Exercise 8.	Complete the sentences with the superlative form of the adjectives in brackets.
e.g.	1989 was the (hot) year on record. 1989 was the hottest year on record.

1. When is the (wet) month in your country?

2. New York is one of the (exciting) cities in the world!

3. The (tall) person in our family is my younger brother.

4. What’s the (long) river in China?

5. The Rhine is one of the (polluted) rivers in the world.

6. The (bad) part of the journey is between Singapore and Sydney.

7. Florida has some of the (beautiful) beaches in the USA.

8. She’s one of my (good) friends.

Exercise 9. Supply the appropriate form of the adjective in the sentences

below.

1. Henry is (tall) ..... than John.

2. This is (bad) ..... car I have ever had.

3. I think John is (generous) ..... than his father.

4. The movie was (good) ..... than the book.

5. I think you are a little (short) ..... than I am.

6. The western part of the country is (dry) ..... than the eastern part.

7. Which is (long) ..... : the Mississippi River or the Amazon?

8. I think Dorothy is (young) ..... than she pretends to be.

Exercise 10. Choose the correct words to complete the sentences.

1. Your English is much better/best than mine.

2. The better/best whisky comes from Scotland.

3. We’ve had much more/most rain this year than last year.

4. The place that gets the more/most rain in the world is a mountain in Hawaii.

5. In a ‘slow bicycle race’, the winner is the person who goes the less/least distance in three minutes.

6. I don’t know much, but she knows even less/least than I do.

7. Which month has the fewer/fewest days?

8. ‘Are you any good at tennis?’ - ‘I’m the worse/worst tennis-player in the world.’

9. ‘How’s your headache?’ - ‘It’s getting worse/worst.’

10. I’ll get you an aspirin. That’ll make you feel better/best.

Exercise 11. Use «the» with comparatives to indicate proportionate change.

e.g.: (long) We waited. We became impatient.

The longer we waited, the more impatient we became.

1. (hard) It rained. He drove fast.

2. (slow) He walked. I became exasperated.

3. (soon) He comes. We can go home soon.

4. (early) The meeting ends. They can go home early.

5. (high) They climb. They can fall far.

6. (late) He worked. He became depressed.

7. (long) I listened to her story. I became sympathetic.

8. (fast) I wrote. My writing became illegible.

9. (hard) It snowed. The cars moved slowly.

10. (loud) I called. My voice got hoarse.

Exercise 12.

Write and read the following numbers:

A. Cardinal numbers:	19 32 78 90 13 458 888 6008 3800 5 000 000
B. Ordinal numbers:	1 3 5 8 9 12 20 30 22
C. Years:	1945 1805 1900 1066 1812 1147 1999 2005

Exercise 13.

Put in the correct preposition.

1. I usually go back home ____ bus. It’s much cheaper than going ____ train.

2. It gets so crowded in the rush hour that it’s quicker to go ___ foot than___ car.

3. We can take five people __ the car and the others will have to go ___ the train.

4. It takes about half an hour to get home ____ my bike.

5. I have often travelled ____ plane but I’ve never been ____ a jumbo jet.

6. When your bus arrives you get ____ it. If you want to leave it, you get ____ it.

7. Two men with guns got ____ the car and went into the shop.

Exercise 14.

Translate the following sentences into English:

1. В прошлом году я имел обыкновение рано вставать. 2. Я раньше всегда ходил в театр, когда бывал в Лондоне. 3. Ты сейчас много плаваешь? – Сейчас нет, но когда я жил у моря, я плавал много. 4. Нынешнее лето – самое сухое. 5. Мой отец – самый старший в семье, а сестра – самая младшая. 6. Наша гостиная – самая светлая комната в квартире. 7. Она такая же красивая, как и ее мать. 8. Моя поездка было более интересной, чем я ожидал. 9. Чем сильнее лил дождь, тем быстрее он ехал. 10. Какая самая длинная река в Китае? 11. Это самая плохая машина, которую я когда-либо имел. 12. Это была самая необычная вещь, которую я когда-либо видел.

UNIT 9

Grammar: Texts:

The Past Simple Tense and the Present Perfect Tense Prepositions «since/ for/ ago» Adjectives and adverbs 1. «Life in the Past» «A Gap Year» «Happy Birthday» Dialogue

Text One

«Life in the Past»

My name is Sarah Jones. I was born in 1938. I lived with my parents, my three brothers and two sisters. We weren’t very rich but we were a happy family. My sister Helen was the oldest child and she left school when she was only fourteen to help my mum at home.

Vocabulary: common an old people’s home a wedding a couple a divorce

Families have changed a lot since I was young. They were much bigger then. Most of my friends had lots of brothers and sisters. Today, many people think three is a lot.

Dad went out to work and mum stayed at home and looked after us. Today it’s normal for married women to go out to work but it wasn’t in those days. Anyway, my mum was too busy at home with her six children.

My grandad came to live with us in 1947 when grandma died. It was common then. Old people often lived with their children. It’s different today. Many old people live alone now or go into old people’s homes.

I first met my husband in 1958. We got married in church a year later when I was twenty-one. It was an important day and my parents invited all our relatives to the wedding. Couples didn’t live together before they got married and they got married younger. Today many couples don’t get married at all or they get married much later when both partners have started their career.

The number of divorces has increased a lot. Today, one marriage in three in Britain ends in divorce. It wasn’t common at all when I was young. And many people stayed together even if they were very unhappy.

Text Two

«A Gap Year»

Today, many British students take a year out between school and higher education. Most people use their gap year to travel or to work in a foreign country. Others choose to work for the whole year at home and save their money to help them pay for their university education. A gap year helps young people to improve their self-confidence and get on with other people. Many universities like students to have a gap year. Research has shown that students who take a year out are more likely to finish their university course than students coming straight from school. Many employers also often prefer job

Vocabulary: to take a year out self-confidence to get on with an employer experience to take things easy an army survival course to be keen on smth to participate tough domestic chores remote

candidates who have taken a year out because they have more experience than other graduates.

Prince William did not take things easy during his gap year in 2001. After doing a six-week army survival course in Belize, Central America, the young prince took part in a ten-week educational project on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. William is keen on swimming and diving and he went scuba-diving on the magnificent coral reefs. He studied the ocean plant and animal life around the island.

In July, he stayed for ten weeks at a working camp in Chile. One hundred and ten young people participated in it. About twenty per cent of these young people were in the project because they had serious personal problems such as drugs and crime.

The Prince said he enjoyed every minute of the experience although he found living conditions in the Chilean countryside quite tough. At night, he slept in a sleeping bag on the floor. Every morning, he got up at five o’clock and he had to share domestic chores such as cooking and cleaning the toilet. The Prince lived in the remote village of Tortel. The community work included helping local people build a wooden footbridge and a new fire station. William also taught English to schoolchildren.

A project organizer said that William was just modest and relaxed and he enjoyed doing the same things as the other team members. When William was back home again he said that the trip to Chile was the experience of a lifetime.

During the last stage of his gap year, he went to Africa for three months. He visited a number of countries and he worked in a wildlife park. He finally returned home to celebrate his 19^th birthday on June 21^st and prepare for the next stage of his education, a History of Art degree at St Andrews University in Scotland.

Text Three

«Happy Birthday»

Father: Mother: Father: Mother: Father: Harold: Nancy:

Where is Peter? He is upstairs. He was playing football. Well, it’s his birthday. He is very happy today. Yes, very happy and very dirty, too. Do you like football, Harold? Oh, yes. I like it very much. Do you want a piece of cake?

Vocabulary: happy dirty thirsty drugs marvellous How do you do Many happy returns.

Harold: Oh, that square one looks nice.

Nancy: Father: Uncle: Nancy: Uncle: Mother: Father: Uncle: Harold: Mother: Uncle: Harold: Uncle: Mother: Peter: Mother: Peter: Uncle: Peter: Uncle: Peter: Uncle: Nancy: Peter: Harold: Peter: Father: Nancy: Harold: Mother: Uncle: Nancy: Father: Peter:

(TOOT) That’s uncle David’s car. Let uncle David in, Nancy. Good morning, Nancy. Hello, Uncle David. How nice to see you. Good morning, everybody. Hello, David. Hello, David. This is Harold, Nancy’s friend. He’s a reporter. How do you do. How do you do. Have a cup of tea, David? Yes, please. I’m rather thirsty. Did you read in the newspaper about the drugs? Yes, I did. We think those smugglers are around here somewhere on the southcoast. But it’s very difficult to catch them. I’ll call Peter down. Peter! Are you ready? Yes. Come downstairs then. We’re all waiting for you. Hello, uncle David. Hello, Peter. Many happy returns. I’ve got a small present for you. Thank you, Uncle David. Look, a fountain-pen! Thank you. How old are you today? I’m thirteen! Well, you’re a big boy now! Peter, this is Harold. Hello, Harold. Hello, Peter. Here’s a present for you. A cowboy book! Marvellous! Thank you, Harold! Now, what about a song? Yes, yes! Hear, hear! Yes! Quite right! «Happy birthday to you!» All right then. Everybody ready? Here goes! «Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday, dear Peter, Happy Birthday to You!» Thank you all very much.