Form 8 exam grammar practice exercises

1. TENSES
1. Use the correct tense.
a) Dear Phil,
I 1) .. (write) to tell you about the plans for the school
Summer Fun Day. We 2) (already/put) some tables in the
school field, but I dont think there 3) . (be) enough, so we
4) . (probably/borrow) some more.
I 5) (arrange) for the mayor to come and open the event.
He 6) . (arrive) at ten oclock on the day and the
headmaster, Mr Pearson, 7) .. (take) him on a guided tour
of the school.
We 8) (go) shopping yesterday to buy some prizes for the
competitions. We also 9) (buy) some coffee, tea, orange
juice and biscuits for the refreshments stall.
Anyway, as you can see, everything 10) . (be) almost ready. I
hope everything 11) (go) well.
See you on Saturday at the fair! Wish us luck.
Yours,
Lily
b) When Jamie 12) (get) to the party, a lot of people 13)
........ (dance) to pop music. Everyone 14) ..
(wear) jeans and T shirts. Jamie 15) ... (buy) a new suit for
the party and he 16) .. (wear) that. He 17)
(feel) quite silly because everyone 18) ..
(look) at him.
2. Use the correct tense.
When the bus 1) ..................... (stop) in a small square, Helen 2) .................... (read)
her magazine and didnt realize that she 3) ...................... (arrive) her destination.
This is Santa Teresa, Martin said. You 4) ....................... (arrive) home! I suppose
your cousin 5) ..................... (wait) for us. Come on. I 6) ....................... (carry) the
bags. Helen thought, all those years when I 7) ..................... (live) in New York, I 8)
..................... (dream) of this moment. And now its real, I cant believe it! Here I am,
I 9) .................... (really/stand) in the square. Santa Teresa was Helens birthplace,
but she 10) ..................... (leave) the town at the age of six. She had some memories of
the town, and some photographs, but 11) .................... (she/belong) here still? She
12) ..................... (not/know). Nobody 13) ...................... (wait) in the square. Perhaps
her cousin Maria 14) ....................... (not/receive) Helens letter. What
15) ....................... (we/do) now? asked Martin. There isnt even a hotel here!
3. Use the correct tense.
a) Dear Martha,
I 1) ............................... (write) to tell you my good news.
I 2) ............................... (save) enough money from my part-time job and, at last I
3) .............................. (open) a flower shop. My father 4) ............................... (own) a

shop years ago and he 5) ................................. (give) me some advice and suggestions.
He 6) ................................ (think) that my shop 7) ........................... (be) a success,
because there isnt another shop in the area.
I 8) .............................. (start) work next Monday. 9) I .................................
(probably/phone) you some time next week if I 10) ............................. (have) time.
Wish me luck.
Best wishes,
Nicky
b) Last night, a bomb 11) .. (explode) outside the main branch of the
Trusty Bank in Barton. The police 12) . (receive) an anonymous
phone call minutes before the explosion. The bomb squad 13) .
(drive) to the bank when the bomb 14) (go off). There 15)
.. (be) no one inside the bank, but a security guard 16)
.. (sit) at the car park entrance. He suffered minor injuries from
pieces of broken glass. Late last night, police officers 17) ..
(still/search) the scene for evidence and they 18) .. (question) the
people living in the area. The security guard 19) .. (recover) from his
injuries in hospital now. No one 20) .. (yet/claim) responsibility
for the blast.

2. PASSIVE
1. Use the passive.
1. Her mother drives her to school every day.
..
2. Simon is moving house next month.
..
3. Clive hasnt cut the grass yet.
..
4. Liz showed me some holiday pictures.
......
5. They may not repair the car this week.
..
6. Is Sue washing the car?
..
7. They will open the new sports centre soon.
..
8. Do they sell clothes in this shop?
..
2. Use the passive.
1. Emma is showing them the photographs.
..
2. Grandmother takes care of the children.
..
3. They may not deliver the parcel today.
..
4. Jean hadnt cleaned the house by the time her husband arrived.
..
5. We hope they will send us an invitation too.
..

3. Use the passive.

1. They have elected a new president.
..........................................................................................................................................
2. United won the cup last year.
..........................................................................................................................................
3. They are rebuilding the damaged stadium.
..........................................................................................................................................
4. People grow corn in Iowa.
..........................................................................................................................................
5. The pilot will fly the hijacked plane to another country.
..........................................................................................................................................
4. Use the passive.
1. The headmaster will sign the letter.
..
2. The storm did a lot of damage.
..
3. It appears that he has not paid the phone bill.
..
4. They are currently rebuilding the old town theatre.
..
5. They were doing it without his knowledge.
..
6. She sells food at the local market.
..
7. You should write applications only on this form.
..

3. CONDITIONALS
1. Complete the sentences to make conditionals.
1. Vegetarians believe that if nobody (1) ..................... (eat) meat, everyone would
live longer.
2. Actually its a very friendly dog. If you touch it, it (2) ...................... (not/bite) you.
3. If people used bikes instead of cars, there (3) ...................... (not/be) so much
pollution.
4. If I (4) .................... (be) an astronaut, Id enjoy being weightless.
5. If you (5) ..................... (not/find) the book interesting, you wont enjoy any of the
others.
2. Complete the sentences to make conditionals.
1. If Jane (be) older, she could live by herself.
2. If Bill .. (come) home early, he will eat dinner with us.
3. If the temperature falls below 0C, water .. (turn into) ice.
4. Robert . (feel) better if you talked to him.
5. If I (not/have to) get up, I would stay in bed for another hour.
3. Complete the sentences to make conditionals.
1. If I .. (be) you, I wouldnt drive in the snow.

2. Peter (be able to) help you if he had been here.

3. You may win if you . (take) part in the contest.
4. Unless you (hurry) you will be late again.
5. If I had closed the window, the cat .. (not/jump) out.

4. INFINITIVE & -ing

1. Put the verbs in brackets into the infinitive or ing form.
1. They managed .. (open) the door.
2. The boys were too tired .. (play) football.
3. I fancy .. (go) to a nightclub later tonight.
4. My parents let me .. (have) a party for my friends.
5. Penny mentioned . (go) to the cinema at the weekend.
6. They are glad . (be) home again.
7. Jim would like .. (start) his own business.
8. Theres no point in .. (complain) about it.
9. He stopped (fill) the tank with petrol, then continued
driving.
10. Ill never forget (travel) by plane for the first time.
11. Tom suggested ... (drive) to the seaside.
12. We look forward to .. (have) dinner with you when you are
in town.

5. ARTICLE
1. Fill in the where necessary.
1. In a few weeks 1) .. Greys are planning to move to the seaside. 2. 2) ..
President Bush made an interesting speech last night. 3. They stayed at 3) .....
Bridgeford Hotel. 4. Chris went diving in 4) .. Red Sea. 5. Woody Allan is a
famous film director who also plays 5) .. saxophone. 6. According to the latest
press reports 6) .. Prime Minister is going to resign. 7. Sam and Pat played 7) ..
chess for hours yesterday. 8. The injured man had to be taken to 8) .. hospital. 9.
We went horse riding across 9) .. Sahara Desert when we were in 10) .. Africa.
10. We had 11) .. dinner at 12) .. Hyatt. The service was excellent.
2. Fill in the where necessary.
1. While we were in London we stayed at 1) Royal Hotel in 2) Albert
Street near Trafalgar Square. 2. 3) Lake Windermere in 4) north of
England is one of 5) largest lakes in 6) British Isles. 3. 7) Mount
Everest is in 8) Himalayas on 9) border between 10) Nepal and 11)
Tibet, which is part of 12) Peoples Republic of China. 4. 13)
President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. 5. Albert got pneumonia and was taken
to 14) hospital. 6. Please, dont be late for 15) dinner. 7. 16) Wilsons
are back in town already. 8. Do you play 17) piano? 9. We have landed men on
18) Moon.
3. Put the article where necessary.
1) ..... friend of mine, Sally Milton, wanted to become 2) ..... dancer when she was
3) ..... girl. 4) ..... every morning before 5) ..... school she used to practise in 6) .....
living room at 7) ..... home. 8) ..... dancers need 9) ..... lot of 10) ..... exercise, so Sally

used to go to 11) ..... gym two or three times 12) ..... week. In 13) ..... end she got
14) ..... job in 15) ..... theatre company and became 16) ..... actress. In 17) ..... fact, 18)
..... last week I saw her in 19) ..... programme on 20) ..... television.

6. QUANTIFIERS
1. Fill in many, much, (a) few) or (a) little.
Clair pushed the door open 1) and looked inside. The house was small
and there was not 2) furniture. There were 3) chairs and a
table, but there were very 4) signs of comfort. There was not 5)
light, but Clair could see that there were not 6) pictures or
ornaments. It was as though the owner of the house spent very 7) time
there. After 8) .. more moments, she quietly closed the door and walked
away.
2. Use some, any or their compounds (-one/body, -thing or -where).
1. She is going on holiday with friends in August.
2. Im sure he doesnt have .evidence for his accusations.
3. We dont think theres wrong with her reading ability.
4. She was a teacher from near Frankfurt.
5. Hardly turned up in the meeting.
6. Perhaps theres . wrong with a car.

7. REPORTED SPEECH
1. Use the reported speech.
1. Will you come to the dance tonight? Bob asked Nancy.
..
2. Im taking my final exams next month, Roger said.
..
3. What did you do in your German class yesterday? Roses mother asked Rose.
..
4. I really have to go now, Jack said to me.
..
5. Ive already done the shopping, she said.
..
6. Dont forget to buy some toothpaste, Jane said to her sister.
..
7. Mr Collins says, You dont have to work late this evening.
..
2. Use the reported speech.
1. We dont want to watch a film tonight, the children said.
..
2. Hes playing in the garden now, his mother said.
..............
3. Will you take the children to school today? he asked.
..
4. Where is the tourist information centre? we asked.
..

5. She said to him, Open the window, please.

..
3. Use the reported speech.
1. Mary said, I wont be here tomorrow because Im having a party.
..........................................................................................................................................
2. Did you remember to lock the door, my father asked me.
..........................................................................................................................................
3. Rita said, Shes had an accident and she is in hospital near Chelmsford now.
..........................................................................................................................................
4. The reporter from the Daily Express said, Give us a photo of your new luxury
home, Andrea! ...............................................................................................................
5. What does procrastinate mean? I asked my teacher.
..........................................................................................................................................

8. QUESTION TAGS
1. Add the question tags.
1. Thats a lovely picture of Sally. She looks just like Mary, ?
2. I think youve seen this one before, ..............................?
3. We took this one on holiday, ................?
4. You can see the sea in the distance, ..?
5. Well go there again next year, .?
6. We had never done anything like that before, ..?
7. Nearly everyone was asleep in this one, ...?
8. There is something wrong with this one, ..?
9. Thats me. Im looking awfully fat, ..?
2. Add the question tags.
1. You wont be late,..........................?
2. I told you not to forget them, .............................?
3. There isnt any milk in the fridge, ..............................?
4. Nobody has bothered to plant new ones, ...............................?
5. See that she gets safely back, ..............................?
6. She doesnt work here, ..?
7. They went out, .?
8. There is a book on the table, ..?
9. Lets go to the beach, ..?
10. Dont talk, ..?
11. She has a headache, ..?
12. No one knows about your plan, ...........................?
13. I am more experienced than you, .............................?
14. You wont forget to call me, ..........................?