3) Intermediate English Grammar Exercises

A. Read the news report, choose the correct verb form and write it in the box. 1. Millions of dollars' worth of damage has been caused by a storm which ______________ (swept/was swept) across the north of the United States last night. 2. The River Reiner ______________ (burst/was burst) its banks after heavy rain. 3. Many people ______________ (rescued/were rescued) from the floods by fire-fighters. 4. Firefighters ______________ (received/were received) hundreds of calls for help. 5. Wind speeds ______________ (reached/were reached) ninety miles an hour in some places. 6. Roads ______________ (blocked/were blocked) by fallen trees. 7. Electricity lines ______________ (brought/were brought) down, leaving thousands of homes without electricity. 8. "Everything possible ______________ (is doing/is being done) to get things back to normal," a spokesman said. 9. One young girl ______________ (took/was taken) to hospital after she broke her leg. 10. She has now ______________ (sent/been sent) home.

B. Look at these sentences written by a student from South America. She has made some mistakes using the passive and active verb forms. Which sentences are correct? 1. The most important part of my country is the north. Correct Not Correct 2. This is where coal is mined and we earn a lot of money from this. Correct Not Correct 3. There are also some beautiful beaches in the north. Correct Not Correct 4. Tourists spend a lot of money, especially in the casinos that is found there. Correct Not Correct 5. In the center of the country, agriculture is considered the most important thing. Correct Not Correct 6. Apples are grown in the Santa Ana valley and nearby, spring water are bottled; Correct Not Correct 7. The famous Santa Ana Mineral Water, which is tastes wonderful and is sold all over the world. Correct Not Correct 8. In the south, my family and I are lived. Correct Not Correct 9. It is the coldest part of the country. Correct Not Correct 10. In winter, it is possible to ski. Correct Not Correct 11. Thousands of people are visited every year and, if the snow is good, even people from other countries come to ski here. Correct Not Correct 12. There is also a lot of industry in this region. Correct Not Correct 13. Cars are made in big factories and our largest export, huge tractors for working in the fields, produced. Correct Not Correct 14. I love my country. Everyone is loved it! Correct Not Correct

C. Make passive sentences from the following information. You will often have to change the word order to make the most natural sentence. For example: BMW \ Germany \ make : BMW cars are made in Germany. 1. Fiat cars \ Italy \ make __________________________________ 2. Spaghetti \ boiling water \ cook __________________________________ 3. Children \ schools \ educate __________________________________ 4. Football \ every country \ play __________________________________ 5. Racehorses \ jockeys \ ride __________________________________ 6. Rolls Royce cars \ make \ Great Britain __________________________________ 7. We \ teach \ our teacher __________________________________ 8. spaghetti \ make \ flour __________________________________ 9. Switzerland \ speak \ German __________________________________ 10. Grapes \ wine \ make __________________________________

D. Choose the correct spelling of the past participles for each question. 1. These letters must be... written writen 2. Dogs are not... permitten permitted 3. Not many criminals are.... caught catched 4. In this magic trick, one card is... chosen chosed 5. A big hole is... dig dug 6. The pictures will be... drawn drew 7. No fruit was... ate eaten 8. Many people are... forgave forgiven

E. Look at these sentences which use present perfect continuous and past perfect continuous. There are four correct sentences and four errors. Which ones are correct? 1. I'd been working for a very bad company when I met my present boss, who offered me this job. Correct Not Correct 2. Don, sit down and relax! You've been working like crazy for eight hours. Correct Not Correct 3. Mary has been visiting Russia six times already. She has a real affinity for the country. Correct Not Correct 4. In 1975, after seven years in prison, Carson had been leaving and started a new life. Correct Not Correct 5. Why do your eyes look so tired? Have you been watching TV without your glasses again? Correct Not Correct 6. Diana is a nurse at the local children's hospital. She's been looking after sick kids. Correct Not Correct 7. I've been saying it for years - young criminals should go back to school and get a proper education! Correct Not Correct 8. We ran like crazy for five blocks, but when we got to the train station, the express to New York had already been leaving. Correct Not Correct

F. Think about whether you should use the adverb or the adjective in each of these sentences. Use the prompt at the end of each question to help you. 1. Think _______________ about whether you want to quit this job. (calm) 2. I'm _______________ he didn't mean to frighten you. It was an accident. (sure) 3. Her hair looks so _______________ always. I'd love to know what she uses on it. (soft) 4. My wife felt rather _______________ about the play she was in, but she performed wonderfully. (nervous) 5. Look in the fridge - something smells very _______________. (bad) 6. The grass grew _______________ because of the dry weather. (slow) 7. The new couple next door seem very _______________, don't they? (nice) 8. The company performed _______________ for a few years, then got into difficulty. (strong)