Course: Grammar 1

Semester 1: Group 8
Prof.: Ms. Sarah Houssami

Correction
Tenses
Present Simple and Present Continuous
Practice
Complete the sentences by using the words in parentheses. Use the simple present or the
present progressive.
1. The baby is sleeping. The baby sleeps for ten hours every night.
2. Right now I’m in class. I am sitting at my desk. I usually sit at the same desk in class
every day.
3. Ali speaks Arabic. Arabic is his native language but right now he is speaking English.
4. A: Does it rain a lot in Southern California?
B: No. The weather is usually warm and sunny.
5. A: Look out the window. Is it raining? Should I take my umbrella?
B: It is starting to sprinkle.
6. A: Look. It’s Youssef.
B: Where?
A: Over there. He is walking out of the bakery.
7. A: Oscar usually walks to work. Do you walk to work every day, too?
B: Yes.
A: Does Oscar walk with you?
B: Sometimes.
8. A: Flowers! Flowers for sale! Yes sir! Can I help you?
B: I’ll take the yellow ones.
A: Here you are, mister. Are they for a special occasion?
B: I am buying them for my wife. I buy her flowers on the first day of every month.
9. Right now I am looking at the board. I see
some words on the board.
10. A: Do you need some help, Mrs. Brown?
Do you want me to carry that box for you?
B: Yes, thank you. That’s very kind of you.
11. A: Who is that man? I think that I know him, but I forget his name.
B: That’s Mr. Martinez.
A: That’s right! I remember him now.
12. A: Do you believe in flying saucers?
B: What are you talking about?
A: You know, spaceships from outer space with alien creatures aboard.
B: In my opinion, flying saucers exist only in people’s imaginations.
 13. Right now the children are at the beach. They are having a good time. They have a
beach ball, and they playing catch with it. They like to play catch. Their parents are
sunbathing They are trying to get a tan. They are listening to music on a radio. They
also hear the sound of seagulls and the sound of the waves.
14. A: What are you thinking about right now?
B: I am thinking about seagulls and waves.
A: Do you like seagulls?
B: Yes. I think seagulls are interesting birds.
15. A: Which color do you prefer, red or blue? B: I like blue better than red. Why?
A: I am reading a magazine article right now. According to the article, people who
prefer blue to red are calm and value honesty and loyalty in their friends. A preference
for red means that a person is aggressive and loves excitement.
B: Oh? That sounds like a bunch of nonsense to me.
16. A: Does the Earth turn around and around?
B: Yes, Jimmy. The Earth spins around and around on its axis as it circles the sun. The
earth is spinning rapidly at this very moment.
A: Really? I can’t feel it moving. Are you trying to fool me? B: Of course not! Do you
really think that the earth isn’t moving?
A: I guess so. Yes, I can’t see it move. Yes, it isn’t moving.
B: Do you believe only those things that you can see? Look at the trees out of the
window. All of them are growing at this very moment, but you can’t see the growth.
They are getting bigger and bigger with every second that passes. You can’t see the trees
grow, and you can’t feel the earth spin, but both events are taking place at this moment
while you and I are speaking.

Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous (Progressive)

Practice
Complete the sentences. Use the present progressive or the present perfect progressive.
1. I am sitting in class right now. I have been sitting here since one o’clock.
2. Kate is standing at the corner. She is waiting for the bus. She has been waiting for the bus
for twenty minutes.
3. Scott and Rebecca are talking on the phone right now. They have been talking on the
phone for over an hour.
4. Right now we’re in class. We are doing an exercise. We have been doing this exercise for
a couple of minutes.
5. A: You look busy right now. What are you doing?
6. B: I am working on my physics experiment. It’s a long and difficult experiment.
A: How long have you been working on it?
B: I started planning it last January. I have been working on it since then.
Complete the sentences. Use the present perfect or the present perfect progressive. In some
sentences, either form is possible.

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 1. I’m tired. We have been walking for more than an hour.
2. A: Is the post office far from here?
B: Not at all. I have walked there many times.
3. Do you like it here?
I have been living/have lived here for only a short while. I don’t know yet.
4. I have read this chapter in my chemistry text three times, and I still don’t understand it.
5. My eyes are getting tired. I have been reading for two hours.
6. I have stayed at the hotel at least a dozen times. It’s my favorite.
7. The baby has been crying for almost ten minutes.
8. Ms. Robinson is the best teacher. She has been teaching/has taught kindergarten for
twenty years.
9. A: Ed has been playing/has played tennis for ten years, but he still doesn’t have a good
backhand.
B: Neither do I, and I have been playing/have played tennis for twenty years.
10. A: Where does Mr. Stark work?
B: At the power company. He has been working/has worked there for fifteen years. He
likes his job.
A: What about his wife?
B: She is currently unemployed, but she’ll find a new job soon.
A: What kind of job experience does she have?
B: She has worked for a small manufacturing firm, for the telephone company, and at two
of the world’s leading software companies.
Past Simple and Past Continuous

Practice

Complete the sentences with the words in parentheses. Use the simple past or the past
progressive.
1. At 6:00 P.M., Bob sat at the table and began to eat. At 6:05, Bob was eating dinner.
2. While Bob was eating dinner, Ann came through the door.
3. In other words, when Ann came through the door, Bob was eating dinner.
4. Bob went to bed at 10:30. At 11:00 Bob was sleeping.
5. While Bob was sleeping, the phone rang.
6. Bob left his house at 8:00 A.M. and began to walk to class.
7. While he was walking to class, he saw Mrs. Smith.
8. When Bob saw Mrs. Smith, she was standing on her front porch. She was holding a
broom.
9. Mrs. Smith waved at Bob when she saw him.

Complete the following text using the simple past or the past continuous.
Yesterday, Toshi was sitting at his desk and was studying his grammar book. His
roommate, Oscar, was sitting at his desk, but he wasn't studying. He was staring out of the
window. He was watching bicyclists on the street below.

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Toshi walked over to the window. Oscar pointed out one bicyclist in particular. This bicyclist
was steering with one hand while he was drinking a soda with the other. At the same time, he
was weaving in and out of the heavy traffic. To Oscar, the bicyclist seemed fearless.
Oscar never learned/had never learned how to ride a bike when he was a child, so Toshi offered
to teach him. Oscar accepted gladly.

Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous

Practice
Complete the conversation with the correct verb form, past perfect simple or past perfect
progressive.
Layla: Hi Pete. How was the rock concert last night?
Pete: Well, when I was getting on the bus to go there, I realized that I had forgotten my money.
So, I had to get off again. I didn’t want to miss the concert because I had been looking forward
to it for a few weeks. So I ran, but when I got home, I realized that I hadn’t taken my keys with
me either, so I couldn’t get in. I rang the doorbell for ages, but everybody had got out.

So there I was – no money, no tickets, no keys. I thought about asking Will, but it’s a long way to
his house, and when I got there, I was really out of breath.
Layla: Let me guess, Will had spent all his money. No, I know. He had lent it all to someone
else.
Pete: Wrong. He hasn’t even been there. He hadn’t come home yet. His mother could see that I
had been running, so she asked me in and gave me a drink. She put the TV on for me while I was
waiting. I had been watching stupid cartoons for twenty minutes when I heard somebody come
in. But it wasn’t Will. When he finally arrived, I had waited for over half an hour. He said he had
taken bottles to the bottle bank for the neighbor for some extra cash.
Well, after I had explained the situation, he gave me some money and I rushed for the next bus. I
had wasted so much time, and when I finally got there, my favorite band had already played.

The Future Tense

Practice

Complete the sentences with ‘be going to’ or ‘will’.

1. A: Why did you buy this flour?
B: I am going to make some bread.
2. A: Could someone get me a glass of water?
B: Certainly. I’ll get you one. Would you like some ice in it?
3. A: Are you going to go to the post office soon? B: Yes. Why?
A: I need to send this letter today.
B: I will mail it for you.

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 A: Thanks.
4. A: Why are you carrying that box?
B: I am going to mail it to my sister. I’m on my way to the post office.
5. A: Could someone please open the window?
B: I will do it.
6. A: What are you vacation plans?
B: We are going to spend two weeks on a Greek island.
7. A: I have a note for Joe from Rachel. I don’t know what to do with it.
B: Let me have it. I will give it to him. He’s in my Algebra class.
8. A: Did you know that Sarah and I are moving? We found a great apartment on 45th Street.
B: That’s terrific. I will help you on moving day if you like.
9. A: Do you have a car?
B: Yes, but I am going to sell it.
10. A. Do you want to walk to the meeting together?
B: Okay. I will meet you by the elevator. Okay?
A: Okay. I will wait for you there.

Parts of Speech
Nouns
Practice

Choose two of the words below as the most likely ways of completing each sentence. For one
answer you will need to make the word plural, and for the other you will need to make no
change.

accommodation bag equipment house jewelry job

luggage painting shower sunshine tool work

1. On the weather forecast they said there would be sunshine/showers this afternoon.
2. The waiting room was so full of people and their luggage/bags, there was nowhere to sit.
3. Repairing car engines is easy if you've got the right equipment/tools.
4. In Stockholm at the moment there's a fascinating exhibition of jewelry/paintings from
19th century Sweden.
5. Both my brothers are looking for work/jobs.
6. The price of accommodation/houses has increased by 12% this year alone.

Choose from the words below to complete each sentence. Decide if the word should be countable
or uncountable. If the word is countable, add ‘a/an’ or make it plural as appropriate.

chicken dislike improvement language life success

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 1. Mary used to keep chickens in her garden until they started to get out.
2. A score of 40% may not be very good but it’s certainly an improvement on her last
mark.
3. After so many previous successes, it was inevitable that one of his films would be
unpopular.
4. Life is too short to worry about keeping your house spotlessly clean.
5. I’ve had a dislike of green vegetables ever since I was a child.
6. Our students study both language and literature in their English degree.

Choose from the words below to complete each pair of sentences. Use the SAME word in (a)
and (b). Decide if the word should be countable or uncountable. If the word is countable, add
‘a/an’ at an appropriate point in the sentence or make it plural.

damage education traffic paper resistance speech

1. a. I had to go through very strict and traditional education.

b. Education has been hit once again in the government’s spending cuts.
2. a. Traffic was building up on the motorway as the fog got thicker.
b. Since the war, an illegal traffic in weapons has grown.
3. a. Outnumbered by at least three to one, he knew that resistance was useless.
b. After a while we seemed to build up a resistance to mosquitoes.
4. a. The judge awarded Mr. Sinclair damages of nearly £50,000.
b. The accident caused some damage to my car but it wasn’t worth getting it repaired.
5. a. A Muriel gave a paper at the conference on the psychological effects of divorce.
b. The use of recycled paper is saving thousands of trees from being cut down each year.
6. a. It is said to be speech that distinguishes us from the other animals.
b. We had to listen to some long and boring speeches after the meal.

Pronouns
Practice
Correct these sentences if necessary. Put a  if the sentence is already correct:
1. I had a swim, quickly dried myself, and put on my clothes.
2. Now that he was famous, he heard a lot about himself on TV and radio. 
3. Why don’t you bring the children with you? 
4. You ought to be ashamed of yourself/yourselves.
5. They pulled the sledge behind them through the snow.
6. She put out her hand and introduced herself as Antonia Darwin. 
7. ‘Have you even been to California?’ ‘No…oh, yes, once,’ he corrected himself.
8. I could feel the ground start to move under me. 
9. They applied themselves to the task with tremendous enthusiasm.
10. It was another rainy Sunday afternoon, and we didn’t know what to do with ourselves.
11. She should look after herself better. She’s lost a lot of weight. 

Complete the text with an appropriate pronoun or possessive adjective.

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My brother and his girlfriend have known each other for about five years, but they have only
been going out together for six months. Before that, he did not like her and she did not like him,
but later they became good friends, and started going out together. They both have small flats. His
flat is in the center and it is very comfortable. It is a long way out, and it’s not so nice. So they
spend most of their free time at his place.
He works in a garage, and she is a teacher, but she doesn’t let him touch her car. She looks after
it herself. I like them both very much, and I think they are good for each other, so I hope they
will stay together.

Complete the sentences. Use reflexives or reciprocals.

1. No one is going to help us, so we’ll have to do it ourselves.
2. Veronica always cuts her hair herself, and it always looks great.
3. Countries are competing with each other to build the tallest building in the world.
4. You will all need photos of yourself for your membership cards.
5. Christine and I always take each other to lunch on our birthdays.
6. The companies are helping each other to produce an electric car. It’s good to see them
working together at last.
7. I haven’t tried it myself, but I was told that karate is very good exercise.
8. I’ve never met John, but we’ve been writing to each other for over a year now.
9. When babies first start to feed themselves, they usually make a big mess.
10. John fell and hurt himself yesterday.
11. That’s a beautiful sweater, Susan, did you knit it yourself?
12. For an explanation we need to look back to the beginning of the Universe itself
13. Did you know that the Morrises built their house themselves?
14. We talk to each other in English because it’s a good way to improve it.

Decide which word is correct.

1. I can’t go to the party. I haven’t got ……………… to wear.
a. anything b. everything c. nothing d. something
2. take care, won’t you, Anna? Look after ……………….
a. you b. herself c. yours d. yourself
3. If you want some apples, I’ll get you ……………… at the supermarket.
a. one b. some c. any d. they
4. We’ve brought some food with …………………
a. me b. ourselves c. us d. we
5. Yes, ……………… would be lovely to see you again.
a. that b. it c. there d. you
6. Who does this CD belong to? It’s ……………. I’ve just bought it.
a. I b. me c. mine d. myself
7. Is ……………… a post office near here, please?
a. here b. it c. this d. there
8. The two girls often wear ……………… clothes.
a. each other b. themselves c. them d. each other’s
9. The shop doesn’t sell new books. It only sells old …………….
a. of them b. ones c. them d. some
10. Have you had enough to eat, or would you like ………………?
a. some b. another c. anything d. something else

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Rewrite these sentences substituting the words underlined with pronouns.
1. David’s girlfriend is French.
His girlfriend is French.
2. Gloria’s star sign is Aquarius.
Her star sign is Aquarius.
3. Those books belong to Sarah.
Those books belong to her.
4. Excuse me, does this dog belong to you?
Excuse me, does it belong to you?
5. The coast has beautiful beaches.
It has beautiful beaches.
6. This CD belongs to my brother.
It belongs to him.
7. Jessica is a friend of mine.
She is a friend of mine.
8. Our parents are both retired.
They are both retired.
9. Look at Paul and Elisa!
Look at them!
10. Can you post these letters today, please?
Can you post them today, please?

Articles
Practice
Write ‘a’ or ‘an’ in the blanks.
1. I just committed a mistake.
2. “I have a dream.” is the most famous quote by Martin Luther King.
3. That was an interesting dream.
4. I found an empty box in the attic.
5. He said that we need to wear a uniform to school.
6. Mark received an urgent message this morning.
7. She needs an hour or two to get ready.
8. They slept in a house on top of a hill.
9. He grew up as an unhappy child.
10. Daniel was a handsome man.

Complete the passage below. Put in a, an, or the where necessary. If no article is needed, write
the symbol Ǿ).

When a crime is first discovered, Ǿ police often don’t know who has done it or why. Usually,
though, the person who has committed the crime will have left some evidence of their identity at

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the scene such as a footprint, Ǿ blood, or Ǿ fibers from clothing. This evidence often forms the
basis of any case against the suspect.

Complete the conversation. Put in a/an, the, or some when necessary.

A: I think we ought to book for a holiday. Where shall we go?
B: What about Scotland? I think Edinburgh is a beautiful city. I love going there.
A: The weather might not be very good. We went there at Easter, and it was freezing,
B: We could have a walk along Princess Street and up to the castle. And I wanted to go to
the Royal Scottish Museum, but we never found time.
A: Can’t we go somewhere different?
B: We could spend some time in Highlands, I suppose.
A: When I go on holiday, I want to do something more relaxing than climbing mountains.
And I find it pretty boring.
B: How can you say such a thing?
A: Actually, I’d prefer somewhere warmer and by the sea. I think Corfu would be nice.
We might get some sunshine there. I just want to lie on a beach.
B: Martin, you know I’m not at all keen on beach holidays.

Complete the paragraph. Put in ‘a/an’, ‘the’, or zero article ‘Ø’ when necessary.
Bob Collins: A Profile
Bob Collins recently became a minister in the new government, being appointed the Minister for
Industry. Mr. Collins has had a varied career. He was a professional footballer in the 1960s, some
people considering him to be the most skillful player of his generation. After a serious injury, he
became the manager of the oldest pub in Edinburgh. Five years later, he was offered the position
of Ǿ executive director of Acron, one of the biggest supermarket chains in the country. He became
a Member of Parliament in 1990.