Starter unit Grammar
Present simple, present continuous
& present perfect simple
1 Complete the dialogue with the correct form of
the verbs and words in brackets.
Kya Hi Ali, what (1) ________________ (you do)?
Ali Nothing much, I (2) ________________
(just read) my book. I’m half-way through it.
Kya What (3) ________________ (be) it called?
Ali Murder on the Orient Express. It’s by Agatha
Christie. I (4) ________________ (read) it in
English.
Kya (5) ________________ (you see) the film?
Ali No, actually I (6) ________________ (not). I
(7) ________________ (prefer) to read the
original books, rather than see films of books.
Kya (8) ________________ a lot? (you read)
Ali Yes, loads. I read most evenings.
Present perfect simple & continuous
2 Correct the errors in the sentences. Two
sentences are correct.
1 Javi has been teaching his son to play the piano.
______________________________________
2 His son has learned the piano for six months.
______________________________________
3 He has played the piano all morning.
______________________________________
4 Javi has played in lots of concerts.
______________________________________
Past tenses
3 Complete the introduction of the book review
with the verbs in the box in the correct past
form.
finish never hear read receive buy write
Last week, I (1) ________________ a
recommendation for this book from an old friend of
mine who had just finished reading it.
So, as soon as I (2) ________________ the novel
I (3) ________________ , I (4) ________________
this one online. Before I read this book, I (5) ______
______________ of the author – which is a shame,
because he’s really funny. Apparently he
(6) ________________ a whole series of books
about these characters.
4 PHOTOCOPIABLE © OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Future forms
4 Complete the sentences with the correct future
form of the verbs in brackets.
1 Paula isn’t coming out tonight as she ________
______________ (work) in her dad’s café.
2 I’m bored. I think I ______________________
(go) for a short walk.
3 I’ve just met our new English teacher and I think
she ______________________ (make) us work
really hard.
4 Do you think you ______________________
(pass) the English test?
5 James ______________________ (never learn)
his tenses properly if he doesn't study more.
6 I’ve decided that I ______________________
(not take) French at university.
Relative clauses
5 Insert commas in the correct places in the text.
,
In 1887, Dr L.L. Zamenhof who grew up in Poland
created a new language which he called Esperanto.
He wanted to enable people who spoke different
languages to be able to communicate with each
other without losing their own original languages.
Unlike many other languages which do not follow
grammatical or phonetic rules all the time Esperanto
has 16 grammar rules and spelling is phonetic.
People who speak Esperanto who are known as
Esperantists often find they can learn a third
language easily and quickly, so learning Esperanto
seems to aid language learning in general. There
are many national Esperanto organizations that can
help you to learn in the country where you live.
used to, be used to & would
6 Complete these sentences in your own words
about learning English.
1 I didn’t use to understand _________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
2 I’m used to _____________________________
______________________________________
______________________________________
3 When I first started learning English, I would
______________________________________
______________________________________