Basic Grammar
Basic Grammar
SPELLING RULES
V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6
eat eats eating ate eaten to eat
fall falls falling fell fallen to fall
s es y ies
run + .... .... .... runs
fall + .... .... .... falls
go .... + .... .... goes
catch .... + .... .... catches
bus .... + .... .... buses
fly .... .... - + flies
V1 V4 V5 V1 V4 V5
be was/were been deal dealt dealt
EXERCISES ON BE VERB
1. Change the following pairs of words into sentences, using the correct forms of
the Simple Present of the verb to be.
For example:
I, cautious they, friendly
I am cautious. They are friendly.
3. Change the affirmative statements resulting from Exercise 1 into negative state-
ments.
For example:
I am cautious. They are friendly.
I am not cautious. They are not friendly.
4. Change the affirmative statements resulting from Exercise 1 into negative ques-
tions. Except where the subject of the verb is I, write both the form without
contractions and the form with contractions.
For example:
I am cautious. They are friendly.
Am I not cautious? Are they not friendly?
Aren't they friendly?
5. Add negative tag questions to the ends of the affirmative statements resulting
from Exercise 1. Except where the subject of the verb is I, use contractions for
the tag questions.
For example:
I am cautious. They are friendly.
I am cautious, am I not? They are friendly, aren't they?
6. Using the Simple Present of the verb to be, and making sure that the word
order is correct, form the following groups of words into grammatically correct
statements or questions. If the symbol ? is present, form the words into a ques-
tion. If the word not is present, form the words into a negative statement or
negative question. Do not use contractions in this exercise.
For example:
it, brown you, ?, excited
It is brown. Are you excited?
Note:
Practise all the sentences in the past and the future tenses
1. Using the Simple Present tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the
verbs shown in brackets. For example:
I ______ to the radio. (to listen) He _______ to the radio. (to listen)
I listen to the radio. He listens to the radio.
2. Using the Simple Present tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the
verb to have. For example:
I ____ a pen. He ___ two pencils.
I have a pen. He has two pencils.
3. Paying attention to which verbs change their spelling before adding s in the
third person singular, fill in the blanks with the Simple Present of the verbs shown
in brackets. For example:
He always _______ promptly. (to reply) She _____ little. (to say)
He always replies promptly. She says little.
5. For each of the following verbs, underline the letter or letters representing the
sound preceding the es ending, and then indicate the number of syllables in the
verb. For example:
wishes __
wishes 2
1. watches __ 2. teases __ 3. likes __
laces __ 4. rushes __ 5. faces __ 6. dines __
laces 2 7. misses __ 8. tames __ 9. scares __
takes __
takes 1
1. Using the Simple Past tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the
verb to be. For example:
I ___ calm. You ____ right.
I was calm. You were right.
3. Paying attention to the correct spelling, fill in the blanks with the Simple Past
of the regular verbs shown in brackets. For example:
It _______ raining. (to stop) I _________ myself. (to disguise)
It stopped raining. I disguised myself.
1. She _____________ through the book. (to flip)
2. We _____________ the traffic. (to watch)
3. You _____________ the flowers carefully. (to arrange)
4. He _____________ about his success. (to brag)
5. They _____________ sightseeing. (to enjoy)
6. He _____________ us with pencils. (to supply)
7. I _____________ the child. (to reassure)
8. We _____________ for them. (to wait)
9. They _____________ the books overseas. (to ship)
10. She ____________ too much. (to worry)
4. Referring to the table of English irregular verbs if necessary, fill in the blanks
with the Simple Past tense of the irregular verbs shown in brackets. For example:
They _____ a song. (to write) We _____ the floor. (to sweep)
They wrote a song. We swept the floor.
1. She ____________ the dishes. (to do)
2. They ___________ for a walk. (to go)
3. He __________ his time. (to take)
4. I ___________ the beds. (to make)
5. They ___________ to catch the bus. (to run)
6. She ___________ up quickly. (to get)
7. You ___________ the coffee. (to drink)
8. We ___________ soundly. (to sleep)
9. He ___________ his books. (to forget)
10. I ___________ the house. (to leave)
5. Paying attention to the correct forms of the bare infinitives, change the fol-
lowing affirmative statements into questions. For example:
7. Paying attention to the correct forms of the bare infinitives, change the follow-
ing affirmative statements into negative questions. Give both the forms without
contractions and the forms with contractions. For example:
You walked quickly. He burst the balloon.
Did you not walk quickly? Did he not burst the balloon?
Didn't you walk quickly? Didn't he burst the balloon?
8. Rewrite the following sentences, changing the underlined verbs from the Simple
Past to the form with used followed by the infinitive. For example:
They took the bus. She traveled every year.
They used to take the bus. She used to travel every year.
1. It snowed heavily. .................................................
2. I came often. .................................................
3. We were neighbors. .................................................
4. He wrote many letters. .................................................
5. They walked to work. .................................................
English Grammar for Beginners By: M.L.Kulabdeen 18
Barking dogs dont bite
1. Using either the auxiliary shall or the auxiliary will for the first person, fill in
the blanks with the Simple Future of the verbs shown in brackets. For example:
____ they _____ France? (to visit) It ____ not ____ long. (to take)
Will they visit France? It will not take long.
1. Use the verb to go: On our next business trip we............ to Chicago.
2. Use the verb to travel: Next month my boss............................ to Russia.
3. Use the verb to stay: Next week we................... at the Sheraton hotel.
4. Use the verb to fly: Tomorrow my colleague.................. toNew York.
5. Use the verb to visit: Tom our headquarters.......................... next week.
6. Use the verb to drive: On our next business trip we............. to our
destination.
7. Use the verb to take: Next Tuesday I...................... the train to Boston.
8. Use the verb to reserve: In the morning I.............. a hotel room in Seattle.
9. Use the verb to return: My colleague and I............. from our business trip
on Tuesday.
10. Use the verb to depart: Our team.................................for Tokyo next week
8. Using either the auxiliary shall or the auxiliary will for the first person, fill in
the blanks with the Future Continuous of the verbs shown in brackets. For ex-
ample:
I ________________ soon. (to leave)
I shall be leaving soon. or I will be leaving soon.
9. Using either the auxiliary shall or the auxiliary will for the first person, fill in
the blanks with the Future Perfect of the verbs shown in brackets. For example:
She _________________ by then. (to arrive)
She will have arrived by then.
1. Using the Present Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct
forms of the verbs shown in brackets. For example:
He _________ hard. (to work)
He is working hard.
2. Using the Present Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct
forms of the verbs shown in brackets. For example:
They _____________ the lemons. (to squeeze)
They are squeezing the lemons.
4. Each of the following sentences is preceded by a bare infinitive, the most heavily
stressed syllable of which is underlined. Paying attention to whether or not the
final consonant should be doubled before ing is added, fill in the blanks with the
present participles corresponding to the bare infinitives. Use the American spell-
ing for verbs ending in l. For example:
1. Using the Past Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the
verbs shown in brackets. For example:
I __________ a salad. (to make) They ___________ to find some boots. (to try)
I was making a salad. They were trying to find some boots.
3. Using the Past Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the
verbs shown in brackets. For example:
____ you _______ last night? (to work) It ___ not _______. (to rain)
Were you working last night? It was not raining.
1. Using the Present Perfect tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the
verbs shown in brackets. For example:
We ____________ the contest. (to enter) He ____________ the work. (to finish)
We have entered the contest. He has finished the work.
1. They _______________ a pizza. (to order)
2. It _______________ to rain. (to start)
3. You _______________ the question. (to answer)
4. I _______________ the eggs. (to cook)
5. We _______________ the sauce. (to heat)
6. He _______________ the room. (to clean)
7. She _______________ the car. (to start)
8. They _______________ on the door. (to knock)
9. You _______________ on the lights. (to turn)
10. She _______________ them to come. (to ask)
2. Rewrite the following sentences, using the contracted form of the auxiliary to
have. For example:
It has started. We have telephoned.
Its started. Weve telephoned.
3. Paying attention to the spelling of the past participles, fill in the blanks using the
Present Perfect tense of the regular verbs shown in brackets. For example:
She _________ hard. (to try)
She has tried hard.
4. Paying attention to the spelling of the past participles, fill in the blanks using
the Present Perfect tense of the regular verbs shown in brackets. For example:
He __________ the child. (to scare) They ____________ the hillside. (to scar)
He has scared the child. They have scarred the hillside.
5. Keeping in mind that the ending ed forms a separate syllable only when it
follows the letter d or t, indicate the number of syllables in each of the following
past participles. Read each of the the past participles aloud. For example:
__ pained
1 pained
__ painted
2 painted
6. Referring to the table of irregular verbs if necessary, fill in the blanks with the
Present Perfect tense of the irregular verbs shown in brackets. For example:
1. Using the Past Perfect tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the
verbs shown in brackets. For example:
I _________ the parcel. (to open) They ________ to the opera. (to be)
I had opened the parcel. They had been to the opera.
1. She ________________ a sweater. (to buy)
2. He _______________ to work. (to start)
3. You _________________ the message. (to understand)
4. We ________________ the appointment. (to forget)
5. They ________________ us. (to convince)
6. She ________________ the book. (to find)
7. He ________________ the envelope. (to tear)
8. You ________________ your breakfast. (to finish)
9. We ______________ to school. (to go)
10. They ________________ the beds. (to make)
1. Paying attention to the spelling of the present participles, fill in the blanks
using the correct forms of the verbs shown in brackets. For example:
I ________________ all night. (to work)
I have been working all night.
2. Following the model of the example, rewrite the following two affirmative
statements as questions, negative statements, negative questions without
contractions, negative questions with contractions, and affirmative statements
followed by negative tag questions. For example:
1. Using the Past Perfect Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct
forms of the verbs shown in brackets. For example:
We __________________ for an apartment. (to search)
We had been searching for an apartment.
3. Using the Past Perfect Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct
forms of the verbs shown in brackets. For example:
1. For each of the following sentences, paying attention to whether the under-
lined auxiliary is a form of to be, to do or to have, fill in the blank with the bare
infinitive, present participle, or past participle of the verb given in brackets, as
appropriate. Refer if necessary to the table summarizing the formation of the
English present and past tenses. For example:
CHANGE THE FOLLOWING INTO PASSIVE VOICE CHANGE THE FOLLOWING INTO PASSIVE VOICE
1.We speak English
............................................................................. 1.Sarath shut the door
2.He doest play tennis ..............................................................................
............................................................................. 2.Marconi invented Radio
3.They dont read newspapers .............................................................................
............................................................................. 3.The waiter stole my watch
4.My mother cooks our food. .............................................................................
............................................................................. 4.The principal questioned him.
5.Sri Lanka exports tea and rubber. .............................................................................
............................................................................. 5.The chairman opened the hall.
6.Children eat chocolates. .............................................................................
.............................................................................
7.Carpenters make furniture. 4.Use the VERBS in the following list to fill
............................................................................. the blanksentences below.All the sentences
are PASSIVE.
8.Doctors treat patients.
build,arrest,break,tear,open,discover,polish,
.............................................................................
cut,invent,lose,repair,ask,sweep,brush,give.
9.Does Ajith help Rani.?
.............................................................................
1.This building...........................in 1990.
10.Sri Lanka grows rice. 2.The window ..........................by him.
.............................................................................
3.The shoes ..............................by me.
4.America.............................by Columbus.
2.Use the VERBS in the following list to fill the 5.The room ..........................by Rani.
blanksentences below.All the sentences are 6.The radio .........................by Raja.
PASSIVE. 7.The trees .........................by them.
8.The thieves ......................by the police.
catch,examine,give,write,throw,sell, 9.The door..........................by Geetha.
10.The alms giving.....................by us.
buy,grow,make,kill,drink,eat.
5.SIMPLE FUTURE.
1.Patients ....................the doctors. CHANGE THE FOLLOWING INTO PASSIVE VOICE
2.Cheese ....................in Kotmale farm. 1.I shall buy saree next week
3.Bags ........................by the security officers. ...................................................................
4.Tea...........................in Sri Lanka. 2.He will help you.
5.Coffee.....................by us. ...................................................................
6.Rice .......................by us. 3.They will bring them next Monday.
7Rats .......................by cats? ....................................................................
8.Coconuts ..................by them. 4.She will write a letter.
9.A letter....................by him. ...................................................................
10.Thieves..................by the police. 5.Geetha will make a frock.
8.PAST PERFECT
CHANGE THE FOLLOWING INTO PASSIVE VOICE.
11.FUTURE PERFECT
CHANGE THE FOLLOWING INTO PASSIVE VOICE.
1......................................................................
2......................................................................
3......................................................................
4......................................................................
5......................................................................
6......................................................................
7......................................................................
8.......................................................................
9.......................................................................
10....................................................................
He is respected by everyone.
Is he not respected by everyone?
4. For each of the following sentences, first indicate the tense of the underlined
verb, and then change the verb from the Active Voice to the corresponding tense
in the Passive Voice. Take note of the resulting change in the meaning of the
sentence. For example:
Did he notice?
Simple Past: Was he noticed?
I will pay.
Simple Future: I will be paid.
5. For each of the following sentences, first indicate the tense of the underlined
verb, and then change the verb from the Passive Voice to the corresponding tense
in the Active Voice. Take note of the resulting change in the meaning of the sentence.
For example:
The teenager rowed the boat. The girl is riding the horse..
The boat was rowed by the teenager. The horse is being ridden by the girl.
The student has prepared the lunch. The president will thank the members.
The lunch has been prepared by the student. The members will be thanked by the president.
7. Change the underlined verbs in the following sentences from the Passive Voice
to the corresponding tenses in the Active Voice. Preserve the meaning of the
sentences by omitting the preposition by and making the necessary changes in
word order. For example:
The news was heard by everyone. The orders were followed by the officials.
Everyone heard the news. The officials followed the orders.
The money is being counted by the cashier. The ducks have been fed by the tourists.
The cashier is counting the money. The tourists have fed the ducks.
8. Complete the following sentences using the Simple Present Subjunctive of the
Passive Voice of the verbs shown in brackets. For example:
She ordered that the most important details _______ known. (to make)
She ordered that the most important details be made known.
1. They demand that the change of plans _____________ at nine oclock. (to announce)
2. We ask that permission to compete ____________ to everyone. (to grant)
3. It is important that their accomplishments ____________. (to recognize)
4. It is crucial that we _____________ of any change. (to advise)
5. He asks that his affairs ____________ in order. (to put)
6. They requested that their qualifications ______________. (to accept)
7. We insist that he not _____________ his rights. (to deny)
8. It is necessary that the requirements _____________. (to meet)
9. She requests that the most experienced candidate ___________. (to choose)
10. It is recommended that care __________ in making the repairs. (to take)
11. He insists that smoking ______________. (to forbid)
12. It is essential that supplies _____________ well in advance. (to
Simple Present Simple Past "We enjoy fishing" - They said tthat hey enjoyed fishing
Simple Past Past Perfect "He saw it" - She said that he had seen it
Present Perfect Past Perfect "She's gone" - You said that she had gone
Present Continuous Past Continuous "I'm leaving" - You said that you were leaving
Past Continuous Past Perfect
Continuous" He was reading" - He said that he had been reading
can could "I can sing" - She said that she could sing
may might "We may stay" - They said that they might stay
must had to "I must go" - He said that he had to go
will would "I'll buy them" - You said that you would buy them
Reported Statements
Change this direct speech into reported speech:
1. He works in a bank
She said ___________________________________________________________
2. We went out last night
She told me ________________________________________________________
3. Im coming!
She said ___________________________________________________________
4. I was waiting for the bus when he arrived
She told me ________________________________________________________
5. Id never been there before
She said ___________________________________________________________
6. I didnt go to the party
She told me ________________________________________________________
7. Lucyll come later
She said ___________________________________________________________
8. He hasnt eaten breakfast
She told me________________________________________________________
1. Is John at home?
She asked me if __________________________________________________
2. Am I late?
She asked me if __________________________________________________
3. Is it cold outside?
She asked me if __________________________________________________
4. Are they in Paris?
She asked me if __________________________________________________
5. Is the bus stop near the shopping centre?
She asked me if __________________________________________________
6. Is the milk fresh?
She asked me if __________________________________________________
7. Are you a doctor?
She asked me if __________________________________________________
8. Are James and Lucy from France?
She asked me if __________________________________________________
9. Is my brother in the garden?
She asked me if__________________________________________________
1. Where is he?
She asked me ______________________________________________________
2. What are you doing?
She asked me ______________________________________________________
3. Why did you go out last night?
She asked me ______________________________________________________
4. Who was that beautiful woman?
She asked me ______________________________________________________
5. How is your mother?
She asked me ______________________________________________________
6. What are you going to do at the weekend?
She asked me ______________________________________________________
7. Where will you live after graduation?
She asked me ______________________________________________________
8. What were you doing when I saw you?
She asked me _____________________________________________
now then
today that day
here there
this that
this week that week
tomorrow the following day
the next day
the day after
next week the following week
the next week
the week after
yesterday the previous day
the day before
last week the previous week
the week before
ago previously
before
2 weeks ago 2 weeks previously
2 weeks before
tonight that night
last Saturday the previous Saturday
the Saturday before
next Saturday the following Saturday
the next Saturday
the Saturday after
that Saturday