1) Intermediate English Grammar Exercises

A. Exercise instructions: Use the words in brackets to complete each of the following. All the sentences are in the past simple. 1. (you/see) ____________________ Martin yesterday? 2. I (last/see) ____________________ him two days ago. 3. He (not/be) ___________________ at the meeting on Monday because he was away on business. 4. Where (she/go) _____________________ for her holidays? 5. How long (it/take/you) _____________________ to drive from Amsterdam to Paris? 6. (you/enjoy) _______________________ your holiday in Italy? 7. I (see) _______________________ a great film on TV last night. 8. I (not/eat) _______________________ the food because I wasn't hungry. 9. Why (you/not/get) _______________________ up earlier? You're going to be late. 10. Why (you/not/be) _________________________ at work yesterday? Were you ill?

B. Exercise instructions: Use the words in brackets to complete each of the following. All the sentences are in the present perfect simple tense. 1. (I/be) _______________________ to New York several times. I love it. 2. (I/never/be) _______________________ to Tokyo, but I'd love to go there someday. 3. (She/be) _______________________ to Australia three times. 4. (you/ever/be) _______________________ to China? 5. How many countries (you/be) _______________________ to? 6. There's a new cinema in town. (you/be) _______________________ there yet? 7. I'm ready to go. (you/finish) _______________________ getting ready yet? 8. Susie isn't here. (she/go) _______________________ to the shops for some bread. 9. You have a great suntan, Sally. (you/be) _______________________ on holiday? 10. How many countries has he been ___________?

C. Exercise instructions: Use the words in brackets to put each of the following into either the past simple or present perfect: 1. When (you/go) ________________ to San Francisco? 2. How many times (you/be) ________________ to London? 3. (he/be) ________________ in the office yesterday? 4. I (not/see) ________________ Peter last week because he was ill. 5. The President (visit) ________________ our country five years ago. 6. I (meet) ________________ Prince Charles twice - once five years ago and once this year. 7. How often (you/go) ________________ on holiday when you were a child? 8. (you/have) ________________ lunch yet? 9. What time (you/have) ________________ lunch today? 10. Welcome back, John. (you/have) ________________ a good holiday?

D. Instructions: Complete the sentences below by putting the verb in brackets into the present perfect simple or present perfect continuous. 1. Paul, (you/be) ______________ to Egypt? 2. How long (you/have) ______________ that car, David? 3. I (know) ______________ Jana for ten years. We're best friends. 4. Sorry I'm late, Peter. (you/wait) ______________ long? 5. How long (you/play) ______________ the guitar? – Five years. 6. She's in the kitchen preparing the food for the party. So far she (make) ______________ about 20 sandwiches. 7. I (like) ______________ football ever since I first watched Liverpool play when I was eight years old. 8. Our neighbours (make) ______________ a noise all day. 9. The price of petrol (go down)______________ by about 1%. 10. The price of petrol (go down) ______________ since last April.

E. Exercise instructions: Complete the sentences below by putting the verb in brackets into the past perfect simple or past perfect continuous: 1. It was a relief to find the documents. I (look) _______________ for them all afternoon. 2. He was dismissed, even though, in his opinion, he (not/do) _______________ anything wrong. 3. It was not the first time I'd met him. We (meet) _______________ many times before. 4. He called me at eleven in the evening to tell me that he (find/finally) _______________ a solution. 5. When he (finish) _______________ his speech, he waited for the reaction of the audience. But no one said a word. 6. By the time I came back from my business trip, a lot of things (changed) _______________. 7. The doctor asked me how long I (have) _______________ the symptoms. 8. It was more than a month before we realised what (happen) _______________ to him. 9. We (work/already) _______________ on this project for a month before we found a fundamental flaw. 10. The invoice (not/arrive/still) _______________ by the end of the week so we sent them a strong reminder.

F. Exercise instructions: Look at the following short dialogues. Fill in the gaps in the questions using the verb in brackets. Example: A: My father is a teacher. B: How long (be) ____________ has he been a teacher? A: Twenty-five years. 1. A: I work for a company of solicitors in London. B: How long (work) ____________ for them? A: Six years. 2. A: I used to have a beautiful old Volkswagen camper van. B: How long (have) ____________ it? A: More than twenty years. I finally sold it about five years ago. 3. A: I drove to Manchester yesterday. B: How long (take) ____________ you to get there? A: About three hours - there was a lot of traffic on the roads. 4. A: We spent our holiday in Japan holiday last year. B: How long (spend) ____________ there? A: Only two weeks. It wasn't really long enough to see everything. 5. A: I went to Japan on holiday last year. B: How long (be) ____________ there? A: Only two weeks. It wasn't really long enough to see everything. 6. A: I can't send any emails - my computer's broken. B: How long (be) ____________ broken? A: About a week. I'm going to take it back to the shop when I get time. 7. A: The train journey to Budapest was exhausting. We should have flown. B: How long (be) ____________ on the train? A: More than ten hours. 8. A: I've got two alsatians and a labrador. B: Wow! I love dogs. How long (have) ____________ them? A: The alsatians for three years and the labrador about two.

G. Exercise instructions: Decide whether the following sentences should be in the first or second conditional, and put the verb in brackets into the appropriate form. 1. He's coming to our offices tomorrow. If I (see) _________________ him, I'll give him the message. 2. We (move) __________________ if we had the money. Unfortunately new houses are very expensive in this area. 3. If I (be) _________________ a millionaire, I'd still work so that I didn't get bored. 4. If I (tell) _________________ you a secret, will you promise not to tell anyone? 5. Do you think it would be better if I (wait) _________________ another week, or shall I sell my shares in the company now? 6. If he causes any more problems, I (fire) _________________ him. 7. Would you mind if I (open) _________________ the window? It's really hot in here. 8. If I (lose) _________________ my job, I'd apply to join the police. 9. Where would you go if you (can) _________________ go anywhere in the world? 10. If you (see) __________________ her, say hello.