Grammar exercises

Grammar Revision:

• Adjectives

• Degrees of comparison

• Word-building

Exercise 1. Give comparative and superlative degree of the following adjectives.

Thin, joyful, yellow, comfortable, polite, shy, dry, free, narrow, deep, right, real, sweet, grey, complete, glad, happy, good-natured, wide-spread, well-known, bad, busy, well, little, many, wonderful, popular, clearly.

Exercise 2. Use the appropriate form of the adjectives in brackets.

1. He is the (amusing) person you have ever met. 2. The (near) house is 15 miles away. 3. She is much (young) than your sister. 4. He seemed to be (angry) than I expected. 5. She felt (bad) yesterday than two days before. 6. This problem is as (serious) as the others. 7. This wine is (good) I have ever tasted. 8. She is a (kind) woman, (kind) I have ever seen. And today she has been (kind) than ever. 9. This bedroom is (sunny) in the house. 10. The opera house is one of the (beautiful) buildings in our city. 11. What is (high) mountain in the world? 12. We offer (low) possible prices. 13. The goods must be (well) packed when they are delivered by sea. 14. The prices will be (high) next month.

Exercise 3. Translate into Russian.

1. The more we work together, the more successful is our cooperation. 2. This brand of coffee is not so expensive as that one. 3. The lower is the price, the more you can buy. 4. John knows Russian as well as English. 5. The more people know about the product, the better they buy it. 6. The more you read, the more you know.

Exercise 4. Choose the correct form.

1. They leave (quick / quicker / the quickest) way they can. 2. This is (great / greater / the greatest) problem she has ever had. 3. My case is not very (heavy / heavier / the most heavy). 4. Of the two skirts, that one is the (smart / smarter / smartest). 5. I am not so (strong / stronger / the strongest) as a horse. 6. China has got (large / larger / the largest) population in the world. 7. Of the three girls, this one is the (pretty / prettier / prettiest). 8. Which is (little / less / the least) five, fifteen or fifty?

Exercise 5. Choose the correct items.

1. I suppose you know him well – probably better/ more well than anybody else.

2. I can not understand what you are saying. Could you speak a bit slowlier / more slowly?

3. I would like to change cars oftener/ more often.

4. The younger you are, the easier /more easy it is to learn.

5. I am getting fatter and fatter/ more and more fat.

6. This camera costs twice more than/ twice as much as the other one.

7. He spoke English badly – worse/ more badly than expected.

Exercise 6. Use the appropriate form of the adjectives in brackets.

The Americans are very (proud) of their country. They say that in the USA the buildings are (tall), the cigars are (long), the cars (big), and the girls are (pretty) than anywhere in the world. The English do not always agree. Some say the Americans are (loud), (rich) and (noisy) than any other nationality. Other British people think there are lots of (good) things about the USA like Hollywood, jazz and Superman.

It is true that most American skyscrapers are (tall) than buildings in the UK, but the British think their stately homes are (old) and (beautiful) than anything in the USA. The Americans love coke and hamburgers – people in the UK think British food is much (healthy). Clothes are (cheap) in the USA but fashion design in the UK is (good) than design in the USA.

Exercise 7. Translate into English.

1. Наш директор – старейший и наиболее уважаемый сотрудник этого предприятия. 2. Это текст гораздо труднее, чем тот, который мы переводили на днях. 3. Комната хорошая, но не такая хорошая, как мне бы хотелось. 4. У вина волшебный аромат, но вкус еще лучше. 5. Скажите, пожалуйста, где ближайшая остановка автобуса? 6. Эта проблема не так серьезна, как Вам кажется. 7. Ваша сестра очень талантливая. Пожалуй, самая талантливая из молодых художников. 8. Нам нужен стол поменьше, так как комната небольшая. 9. Я читала обе статьи. Первая значительно занимательнее второй. 10. Она выглядит намного моложе. 11. Сегодня холоднее, чем вчера. 12. Эта машина дороже того, что я ожидал.

Exercise 8. Use these suffixes to form adjectives from the following words.

-ful: beauty, care, doubt, fruit, peace, use.

-less: home, help, use, aim, fruit.

-able : reason, value, accept, read, change.

-y : cloud, fog, frost, wind, rain, smile .

Things to do

Task 1. Answer the following questions. You can find the answers in the text.

1. What are the functions of a customs officer?

2. In what case does a traveler have to pay extra duties?

3. What must be declared in the declaration form?

Task 2. Translate and comment on the following.

• When the passenger enters or leaves the country, he must fill in an entry or exit declaration which is to be produced to the customs officer. What must be filled in?

Task 3. Give your arguments for and against the following saying.

• If you follow the customs instructions and if you do not break any law, you will enjoy your trip abroad.

Task 4. Speaking and Discussing.

1. Interview your partner (a foreign guest) who has come from abroad. Ask him/her about the experience he/she has had going through the customs.

2. Imagine you are going to spend two weeks outside your country. Where would you like to go? Give reasons for your choice and say what you would like to do there.

3. Work in small groups. Take a map and imagine that you have to choose a place – to spend your weekend at, to travel to, to study at, to stay for a year at, to settle for a long time. Express your opinion.

4. Write a letter for your foreign friend describing your latest visit to some interesting (exotic, dull, historical, etc.) place and the experience you have had going through the customs.

5. Project Work:

• Collect as much information as possible about some place (town, city in any other country). Imagine you are going to advertise this place in your local paper (magazine, etc.).

• Discuss the ways of going through the customs and visiting this place with your group.