Grammar Exercises

Exercise 1.

Make the following sentences: a) interrogative; b) negative.

1. They’ve been waiting for half an hour.

2. She has been wearing glasses since she was ten.

3. It has been raining for two days now.

4. I have been working in the laboratory since October.

5. They have been walking for three hours.

6. He has been teaching in this school since 1985.

7. We have been fishing for two hours.

8. They have been living in France since 1980.

Exercise 2. Add «since» or «for»:

1. He has been selling cars ..... ten years.

2. He has been living here .... 1934.

3. I’ve been waiting ..... five o’clock.

4. We’ve been reading this book ..... last January.

5. We’ve been studying English ..... three months.

6. He has been sleeping ..... seven hours.

7. He has been working ..... seven o’clock this morning.

8. They’ve been very busy ..... the last week.

9. My friend has been ill ..... a long time.

10. It has been raining ..... yesterday morning.

11. That church has been standing here ..... centuries.

12. She has been teaching in that school ..... 1978.

13. I’ve been working in this office ..... a month.

14. That man has been standing there ..... six o’clock.

15. The kettle has been boiling ..... a quarter of an hour.

16. I’ve been trying to open this door ..... forty five minutes.

Exercise 3. Make sentences with the Present Perfect Continuous tense.

e.g.	How long/ you/ wait? How long have you been waiting?

1. I/ try/ to phone him all day.

2. We/ live/ in this house for about twelve years.

3. Janet/ practise/ the violin all afternoon.

4. I/ wait/ for a letter from my father for weeks.

5. How long/ you/ learn/ English?

6. People/ fight/ each other for millions of years.

7. They/ talk/ for a long time.

8. It/ rain/ since I got up this morning.

Exercise 4. Complete the sentences by putting the parts in brackets in the order:

object + manner + place + time.

1. She can play ..... (now/ very well/ the piano).

2. The children have been playing ..... (this afternoon/ in the park/ football).

3. We work ..... (at school/ hard/ every day).

4. They live ..... (on Main Street/ now).

5. I’ll meet you ..... (at 10 o’clock/ in front of the office).

6. Johnny goes ..... (early/ to school).

7. Mr. Jones is coming ..... (right now/ up the street).

8. We are going camping ..... (this summer/ in the mountains).

9. She stays .... (at home/ every day).

10. I saw you ..... (this morning/ at the library).

Exercise 5. Put the sentences in right order.

1. took/ the children/ from the cupboard/ some cakes/ after breakfast.

2. loudly/ in the bath/ sings/ he/ always.

3. The Hunts/ one car/ got/ only/ have/ now.

4. was born/ in the morning/ at 2 o’clock/ 1994/ the baby/ on 3d June.

5. Usually/ come/ the students/ noisely/ out of class/ at four o’clock..

6. sings/ beautifully/ that song/ Jean/ generally.

7. music/ likes/ very much/ classical/ my father.

8. understand/ very well/ they/ French/ but/ don’t speak/ they/ it/ easily/ very.

Exercise 6. Put the verbs into the Present Perfect Continuous form:

A.: B:

I (live) here since 1928. The cat (sit) in front of the fire since tea-time. I (look) at this picture for five minutes, but I can’t see you in it. I’m afraid you (look) at the wrong one. You (wait) long for me? Yes! I (stand) here in the rain for half an hour. He (learn) English for three years, but he can’t even read a newspaper yet. Nobody has come to see us since we (live) in our new house. He (work) in the Post Office for twenty years. Lunch is not quite ready yet, although I (cook) all the morning. They are tired because they (work) in the garden since nine o’clock. Look! That light (burn) all night. I (bathe). That’s why my hair is all wet. You (drive) all day. Let me drive now. I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. I (try) to make a telephone call to Rome. He (overwork). That is why he looks so tired. He (study) Arabic for two years and doesn’t even know the alphabet yet. I (make) cakes. That is why my hands are all covered with flour. How long you (wait) for me? - I (wait) about half an hour. Have you seen my bag anywhere? I (look) for it for ages. Your fingers are very brown. You (smoke) too much. Tom (dig) in the garden all afternoon and I (help) him. I (shop) all day and I haven’t a penny left. We (live) here since 1990.

Exercise 7. Use Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous.

1. I (sit) here waiting for you for nearly an hour. I (already drink) four whiskies.

2. What (you do) all this time? I (not see) you for weeks.

3. They (not work) for several days now. They (be) too ill.

4. It (not rain) for a month now. The grass is very dry.

5. They (go) to this pub every evening for the last 10 years.

6. I (sleep) for the last two hours and I (not wake) up properly yet.

Exercise 8. Use the question words below to complete the questions which

follow:

what when where which who whose why how

1. ..... time do you finish work?

2. ..... is it who lives in that big house?

3. ..... of these coats belong to you?

4. ..... advice would you give to someone about to leave school?

5. ..... old is your daughter now?

6. ..... exactly did you buy that lovely dress? In London?

7. I haven’t seen George for ages. ..... did you last come across him?

8. ..... bag is this? It’s not yours, is it?

9. About ..... long does it take to get to Birmingham?

10. ..... do you get to the post office from here?

11. ..... did you live before you came to London?

12. But ..... can’t you come? Are you busy?

13. ..... day does Dad get home?

14. I don’t know. ..... do you ask?

Exercise 9. Make questions from these sentences by using «who» or «what»

instead of the underlined words.

1. George bought her that necklace. Who .....

2. George bought her a necklace. What .....

3. They have invited Mary and Philip. Who ....

4. I’ve lent that book to Bill. Who .....

5. They gave the keys to Peter. What .....

6. My daughter answered the telephone. Who .....

7. The manager said no. What .....

8. I asked Andrew to help. Who .....

9. We can send a bunch of flowers. What .....

10. The children will be at home. Who .....

Exercise 10. Add a question-word to the following questions:

.... is your name? .... is that pretty girl? .... is your telephone number? .... trees grow in Egypt? .... is yours, the orange or the banana? .... colour is it? .... makes tea sweet? .... wants a piece of bread?

.... understands this exercise? .... is the answer to my question? ....of these books is your favourite? .... is wrong with the clock? .... bus goes to Charing Cross? .... is smoking here? .... is the largest town in the world? .... has happened?

Exercise 11. Tony is being interviewed for a job. Look at the interviewer’s

notes and Tony’s answers, then write the questions she is asking Tony.

age? live locally? address? which school/ go? work/ now? who/ work for? how long? enjoy/ present job? why/ want/ leave?

I’m 18. Yes, I do. 5, Flower Close. Benham School. Yes, I am. Millers Limited. For six months. yes, I do. The pay isn’t good.

Exercise 12. Complete the sentences with the correct question word.

Who Why When What Where Whose How

1. ...’s that man over there with the beard?

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

A: ... can you come and stay for the weekend? B: Next month, possibly. ... long does it take you to get to work in the morning? A: ... can I buy some fresh milk? B: At the shop on the corner. ...’s your new boss like? ... keys are these? I’ve found them on the floor. A: ... do you like living in York? B: Because the people are very friendly here. ... much is that large box of chocolates? ...’s the name of the travel agent’s name here?

Exercise 13. Use the words in brackets to write the correct questions

for each answer.

Example: (start work) At 7.30 in the morning. - What time do you start work?

(get to work) (journey take) (far) (park your car) (finish work) (your wife work) (do after supper) (go to bed)

By car. About three quarters of an hour. Five kilometres. In the factory car park. At 5 p.m. No, she doesn’t. We watch TV. At about 11 o’clock.

Exercise 14. Translate from Russian into English.

1. Мне жарко, потому что я бежал.

2. Дождь идет уже три часа.

3. Наш экскурсовод бегло говорит по-английски.

4. Как долго вы обсуждаете этот вопрос?

5. Почему у тебя пальто мокрое? - Потому что я шел под дождем.

6. Ты все еще работаешь в той же фирме? - Да, я там работаю с тех пор, как закончил школу.

7. Генри все еще ждет Мэгги. - Как долго он ее ждет?

8. Которое пальто твое?

PART II