USE OF ENGLISH

1. TENSES
Present tenses

1.1. Match the people in the picture (A-E) with the sentences (1-5).

1. She lives in a small house with her husband and children.

2. His children are growing up fast.
3. She’s always making long calls on the phone.
4. He’s staying with the family.
5. She usually goes out in the evening.
6. He’s watching TV at the moment.

1.2 Match the uses (a-f) with the sentences (1-6) in the previous exercise.
a. a routine or habit.
b. an annoying or surprising habit.
c. a permanent situation.
d. a changing situation.
e. a temporary situation.
f. something happening right now.

1.3 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs between brackets (present
simple or present continuous).
1. A: _____________________(you/live) in a house or a flat?
B: We _____________________(live) in a flat for now but we ________________ (look for) a house.
2. A: Who __________________ (you/get on) best with in your family?
B: My father. He ____________________(always tell) us endless funny stories.
3. A: ___________________(anyone/annoy) you in your family?
B: Yes, my brother. He ______________________(always/take) my CDs without asking me!
4. A: How often _____________________ (you/go out)?
B: I usually_____________________ (go out) but I___________________ (study) a lot at the
moment, so I_____________________ (only/go out) at weekends until my exams are finished.
5. A: ________________________(you/like) learning English?
B: Yes! It was difficult at first but it ___________________ (get) easier now.

1.4 Look at these sentences. Why is the present perfect simple or continuous used in each
case? What’s the difference?
· I've been reading this book for two months but I've only read half of it. It's very difficult to
read.
· She's been trying to convince him for 20 minutes but she hasn't managed to do it yet.
· They've been talking about this for months and they still haven't found a solution.

1.5 Choose the present perfect simple or continuous in these sentences. Justify your answers.
1. Have you lived/ been living in Vienna all your life?
2. I’m exhausted. I’ve studied/ been studying for my accounting exam all day.
3. Oh dear! We’ve missed/ been missing the train!
4. Stephen’s tried/ been trying to contact you all day. Where have you been?
5. My boss is away at the moment, so I’ve worked/ been working overtime.
1.6 Choose the correct answer 5. That’s the first time _________ an
1. Ian ________ a shower at the answer right today!
moment, so could you call back in about
half an hour? a. I get
b. I am getting
a. takes c. I have got
b. is taking d. I have been getting
c. has taken
d. has been taking
6. Jessica has _________ left, I’m afraid.

2. ________ to Ipswich before? a. already

b. yet
a. Do you ever go c. still
b. Are you ever going d. so far
c. Have you ever been
d. Have you ever been going
7. Dan ________ in the living room while
we redecorate his bedroom.
3. I ________ to all the local newspapers
and TV stations to complain. a. sleeps
b. is sleeping
a. already write c. has slept
b. already writing d. has been sleeping
c. have already written
d. have already been writing
8. I usually ________ a cup of tea first
thing every morning but then I switch to
4. _________ TV for the last four hours? coffee.
Turn it off and get some exercise!
a. drink
a. Do you watch b. am drinking
b. Are you watching c. have drunk
c. Have you watched d. have been drinking
d. Have you been watching
Past tenses
1.7 Read the following text and match the highlighted past tenses with the correct uses.
My nephews 1) had been asking me for days to take them somewhere and eventually I 2) agreed to
go to the park where I 3) used to go with my sister. While they 4) were playing football, I fell asleep in
the sun. Later, we headed to the shopping centre, where I 5) would meet my boyfriend, Paul. My
nephews kept telling me how beautiful I looked. But, as soon as Paul saw me, he burst out laughing.
‘Have you looked in a mirror?’ he said. Catching my reflection in a shop window, I discovered, to my
horror, that my nephews 6) had drawn a huge beard and moustache on my face with crayons. I nearly
died of embarrassment.

a. To express past habits or states.

b. to express the future as seen from a specific point in the past.
c. To narrate past events in chronological order.
d. To express an action at a particular moment in the past. The action started before that moment but
has not finished at that moment.
e. To express an action that happened before a definite time in the past. A writer can use it to re-order
the events of a narrative for dramatic effect.
f. To express a continued or ongoing action that started in the past and continued until sometime in
past.

1.8. Complete the following story with the correct form of the verbs between brackets
I 1)...................... (unlock) my front door when I 2)............................ (hear) a noise inside the flat. I
3)......................... (close) the door again quickly and 4)........................ (run out) into the street. Then I
5)...................... (try) to call the police but my mobile phone 6)................. (work) because I
7)...................... (talk) to people all day and the battery 8)...................... (run down). I 9)...................
(run) down the street to a payphone, but someone 10)............................ (talk) on the phone. I think
she 11)............................... (argue). After I 12)............................ (wait) for about ten minutes, she
13)...................... (come) out. I could see from her eyes that she 14).................. (cry).
I 15)............................ (tell) the police officer what 16)......................... (happen). But then, while I 17)
......................... (talk) to him, a friend of mine 18)............................ (come) out of my house. He
19)................... (carry) balloons. Then I realized what 20)...................... (go) on. Of course! It
21)...................... (be) my birthday, and my friends 22)............................ (wait) in the house to give me
a surprise birthday party!
I 23)...................... (explain) everything to the officer. When I 24)............................ (go) into the house,
everyone 25)................................. (laugh), and they 26)............................ (start) to sing happy
birthday. I 27)................... (feel) very stupid about the way I 28)............................ (react).

1.9 Look at the following sentences and answer these questions.

· In which of the sentences below does used to
a. mean ‘accustomed to’?
b. refer to a past state/habit which has now finished?
· What is the difference between be used to and get used to?
1. Her unconventional yet practical clothing shocked spectators, who were used to seeing women
play in long, heavy dresses which were typical of that period.
2. And he used to live in France, which means he probably wouldn’t mind changing countries if we
needed him to.
3. …he will have to get used to wearing something a little more formal.
4. When I was a child I used to ride my bike in grandma’s garden.

1.10 Read the following text about Juan, who moved from Spain to live in England. In the first
gap write either be, is, get or leave it blank. In the second gap write the correct form of the
verb in brackets.
Now that Juan has been living in England for five years he 0)__is___ used to __doing___ things
differently, but it hasn’t always been the case. When he first moved there he couldn’t 1)_______ used
to ________ (have) lunch at 1 p.m., so he often 2)_______ used to _________ (cook) for himself in
his flat and eat at 3 p.m., as his family does in Spain. Even now I don’t think he 3)______ used to
________ (eat) English food, because when he comes home to Madrid, he buys Spanish ‘delicacies’
to take back with him.
I remember how he 4)_______ used to ________ (write) to me and complain about the shop closing
times. It took him a long time to 5)________ used to not ________ (be) able to buy anything after
about five o’clock. Most shops in Spain close at eight or nine in the evening.
He bought an English car a year ago, so he should 6)_______ used to ________ (drive) on the left by
now. I wonder if he’ll ever be able to 7)_______ used to ________ (drive) on the right again when, or
if, he comes back to live in Spain!

2. FUTURE FORMS
2.1. Look at the statements below and match them to the correct descriptions.
A. I’m sure we won’t colonise Mars as it is far less hospitable than Earth. _____
B. I’m going to close my facebook account. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. _____
C. By the time he retires, he will have been working with computers for nearly forty years. _____
D. Is that the new Iphone 7? I will buy it. _____
E. By the end of this century we will have landed a spaceship on Mars. _____
F. In a hundred years’ time we will be producing babies outside the womb. _____
G. Our science class starts at ten. _____
H. Have you heard the news? A group of astronauts is travelling to space next week. _____

1. Emphasis on duration of action up to a certain future time.

2. Future arrangement.
3. Action which will be finished before a stated future time.
4. Future event that is part of a timetable.
5. On-the-spot decision.
6. Action in progress at a stated future time.
7. Future action which has already been decided/planned.
8. Making a prediction about the future.
 2.2. Complete these predictions for the year 2100. Put the verbs in brackets in the
future continuous or the future perfect.

A. We _______________________________(find) life on other planets before then.

B. We _______________________________(travel) around in aerial vehicles, like flying saucers.
C. Long before then, scientists _______________________________ (discover) how to make fresh
food last for years.
D. Many people _______________________________ (live) in space, which will help with the
overpopulation problem.
E. The internet _______________________________ (take over) most teachers’ jobs and
_______________________________ (provide) most of our entertainment.

2.3. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first
sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given.

A. I don’t suppose you have heard the news.

WON’T
You ___________________________________________________________the news.
B. The Prime Minister expects an easy victory for his party in the election.
BELIEVES
The Prime Minister ______________________________________________ the election easily.
C. I’ve been in this company for almost three years.
WILL
By the end of the month __________________________________________in this company for
three years.
D. This book will take me two years to write.
HAVE
In two years’ __________________________________________________this book.
E. Scientists are on the point of making a vital breakthrough.
ABOUT
Scientists are __________________________________________________ a vital breakthrough.
F. Maria is pregnant again.
HAVE
Maria is ______________________________________________________baby.
G. I’ll be home late.
UNTIL
I ____________________________________________________________ late.
H. No one knows what the result of the match is going to be.
WHO
No one knows _________________________________________________ the match.
I. Don’t worry; David won’t be late.
HERE
Don’t worry; David ______________________________________________time.
J. Mary and Alan’s wedding is next weekend.
GETTING
Mary and Alan __________________________________________________next weekend.
3. RELATIVE CLAUSES
3.1. Read about the history of popular music and answer the questions.

The bands which dominated Western popular music in the 1960s were the Beatles
and the Rolling Stones, although the one singer who had the most influence was
probably the ‘protest’ singer Bob Dylan. In the 1970s and 80s popular music moved in
different directions.
There were singers like Elton John, whose piano-based pop songs were hugely
popular, the reggae artist, Bob Marley, who had a huge hit with ‘No woman, no cry’,
and there was highly polished disco music. In reaction, punk bands and the records
they made were crude and aggressively anti-establishment. In the 1990s and the
2000s, decades in which ‘boy bands’ and ‘girl bands’ became popular, music fashion
was heavily influenced by hip hop, which was an Afro-American musical movement
from New York that first emerged in the 1970s.

A. When were these genres popular: reggae, punk, hip hop?

B. Where did hip hop develop?

3.2. Read the text again, look at the clauses in italics in the text and add examples for each
point in the box.
Defining relative clauses add essential information.
1______________________________________________________________________

2_____________________________________________________________________

3______________________________________________________________________

Use who or that for people, which or that for objects, whose for possession and where for places.
In defining relative clauses, the relative pronoun can be omitted when the clause defines the object of
the clause.
4______________________________________________________________________

Non defining relative clauses add extra, non-essential information and are separated by commas.
1______________________________________________________________________

2______________________________________________________________________

3______________________________________________________________________

4______________________________________________________________________

Use who for people, which for objects, whose for possession and where for places. Do not use that in
non-defining relative clauses.
 3.3. Complete the sentences with relative pronouns and add commas where necessary.
Show where two different pronouns could be used and where the pronoun could be
omitted.

A. The singer Katy Perry ________ real name is Katheryn Hudson grew up in a strict religious family.
Katy ________ heard very little pop music as a child started her career in gospel music.

B. The X Factor is a British television programme ________ members of the public ________ are
would-be singers are given the opportunity to present their talents. It is the programme in ________
the popular British girl band Little Mix first appeared.

C. The rock band Snow Patrol was formed in 1994 in Scotland ________ two of its original members
were studying at the time. Both of them were born in Ireland so it’s not surprising that the band
________ they admire the most is the Irish rock band U2.

D. Shakira ________ means ‘grateful’ in Arabic was born in Colombia ________ she grew up among
the Lebanese and Italian communities. Her song Hips Don’t Lie reached number one in almost every
country in ________ it was sold.
E. Justin Timberlake was one of several singers ________ were first discovered on the popular TV
show The Mickey Mouse Club ________ first began in the 1950s. Other club singers ________ went
on to become famous were Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.

F. Oasis ________ major musical influence was the Beatles was one of several bands in the 1990s to
________ the media gave the label ‘Britpop’. One drummer they had was Zak Starkey ________
father, Ringo Starr, was drummer for the Beatles.

3.4. Join the sentences with relative clauses. Add commas where necessary.

A. I saw a poster. It was advertising a gig for a new rock band.

B. I phoned the box office. It was in London.
C. There was an answering machine. It was telling me to call another number.
D. I spoke to a man on the other number. He told me there were only expensive seats left.
E. I booked two tickets. They cost 100 euros each.
F. I paid by credit card. This is a very convenient way to pay.
G. On the day, we went to the theatre. It overlooks the River Thames in London.
H. We couldn’t get into the theatre. It had been closed because of technical problems.
I. I went home with my friend. She was very disappointed.
J. Next day I phoned the theatre. They were very helpful and offered replacement tickets.
 3.5. Expand the sentences about the Latin American dance music salsa by adding the extra
information in brackets. Use relative clauses and add commas where necessary.

A. Salsa is a mixture of Spanish Caribbean rhythms and styles. (Salsa means ‘sauce’ in Spanish.)
B. The salsa band La Sonora Carruseles was formed in Colombia in 1995. (Their songs are played in
salsa dance clubs everywhere.)
C. The singer Gloria Estefan uses salsa rhythms in many of her songs. (She was born in Cuba but
now lives in the USA.)
D. The Puerto Rican American Victor Manuelle is often thought of as a romantic salsa singer. (His
career began when he was discovered by salsa superstar Gilberto Santa Rosa.)
E. The album Travesía was a huge success with Manuelle’s fans. (On it, he improvises vocals and
lyrics within a salsa tune.)

3.6. Open close. Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap (1-8).
Use only one word in each gap. There is an example at the beginning (0).

THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

If you are interested (0)_in_ the arts, Edinburgh in August is the place to be. Apart from
the main International Festival, (1) ________ is what is called ‘The Fringe’, offering 2700
different shows in over 270 venues throughout the city, many of (2) ________ are free.
Visitors are often surprised (3) ________ the range of shows on offer. This includes
comedy, cutting-edge theatre, dance, children’s shows and music. As there is no selection
committee, (4) ________ kind of event is possible and quality varies.
While many high-profile performers take part, the vast majority (5) ________ a mixture of
unknown professionals, actors and students, who use the festival as a way of bringing their
talents (6) ________ an audience for the first time. Indeed, many well-known comics first
appeared there (7) ________ student productions.
In recent years many new audiences have been drawn almost exclusively to stand-up
comics and some regular visitors are disappointed (8) ________ this trend. However, as
comedy is very much in fashion, they will have to get used to it.
4. COMPARATIVES AND
SUPERLATIVES
4.1 Read the text below and answer these questions.

- How similar or different are secondary schools in your country?

- What changes have there been in the last fifty years?

Classrooms have changed considerably in the last hundred years. In the early 1900s, the average
class in England was twice as big as the average in the 1960s- sixty pupils per class compared with
thirty. Nowadays, the average class size in a secondary school is twenty-three, which is still higher
than in many other countries. A hundred years ago, teachers were stricter than today. Punishment
was also more severe: pupils were often hit for bad behaviour - a practice not allowed in schools
today. The curriculum in the past was also less extensive and concentrated on the three R's –
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic - whereas today's curriculum includes everything from business
studies to philosophy. Some people think that the teaching methods used in schools today are not as
effective as those used in the past but, given the wide range of interactive tools available today, the
21st century is definitely the most interesting time to be in the classroom for teachers and pupils alike.

4.2. Read the text again and underline seven comparatives and superlatives.
4.3. What are the comparative and superlative forms of these adjectives and adverbs?

a. long / short
b. large / late
c. flat / thin
d. heavy / funny
e. important / independent
f. narrow / clever
g. good/ bad
h. well / badly
i. quickly / carefully

4.4. What form does the adjective and adverb take when used in the structure as….as?

4.5. Complete these sentences with the correct form of the adjective in brackets.
a. The test was ____________________ (hard) as I expected it to be.
b. This product is a little ____________________(cheap) than that one.
c. I admit that my ______________________(young) brother is _______________(clever) than
me.
d. Helena is by far ______________________ (unlucky) person I’ve ever met.
 e. I’m feeling a bit _______________________(good) today, thank you.
f. The weather is much ________________(hot) today than anyone expected.
g. Today’s exam was no __________________(difficult) than yesterday’s.
h. Sara writes slightly _____________________(legibly) than me.
i. It’s considerably ____________________ (easy) to contact people nowadays than it was
twenty years ago.
j. The _______________________ (fast) you work, the ________________(soon) you’ll finish.

4.6. Look at this list of modifiers used in 2.5. and answer the questions below.
Which modifiers show….. a) no difference? B) a small difference? C) a big difference?

A bit a little a lot considerably far/by far

just (as….as) much no not nearly (as….as)
slightly

4.7. SENTENCE TRANSFORMATION – Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar
meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must
use between two and five words, including the word given.
1. My brother isn’t quite as tall as me.
SLIGHTLY
My brother is _______________________________________________me.
2. Pedro didn’t used to be so thin.
THAN
Pedro is ____________________________________________________be.
3. There are more boys than girls in our class.
AS
There are _________________________________________________as boys in our class.
4. I’ve never known anyone as clever as Hilary.
THE
Hilary is ___________________________________________________ ever known.
 KEYS
TENSES
1.1
1. B 2. C 3. D 4.A 5. E 6. C
1.2
1. C 2. D 3. B 4. E 5. A 6. F
1.3
1. Do you live/ ‘re living/ ‘re looking for
2. Do you get on/ always tells
3. Does anyone annoy/ ‘s always taking
4. Do you go out/ go out/ ‘m studying/ ‘m only going out
5. Do you like/ ‘s getting
1.5
1. lived 2. Been studying 3. Missed 4. Been trying 5. Been working
1.6
1. B 2. C 3. C 4. D 5. C 6. A 7. B 8. A
1.7
1. F 2.C 3.A 4.D 5.B 6. E
1.8
1) Was unlocking 2) Heard 3) Closed 4) Ran out 5) Tried 6) Wasn’t working 7) Had been talking 8)
Had run down 9) Ran 10) Was talking 11) Was arguing 12) Had waited 13) Came 14) Had been
crying 15) Told 16) Had happened 17) Was talking 18) Came 19) Was carrying 20) Was going 21)
Was 22) Had been waiting 23) Explained 24) Went 25) Was laughing 26) Started 27) Felt 28) Had
reacted
1.9
1. A 2.B 3.A 4. B
1.10
1. get/having 2. ---/ cook 3. Is/ eating 4. ---/ write 5.Get/ being 6. Be/ driving 7. Get/ driving

FUTURE FORMS
2.1
A.8 B.7 C.1 D. 5 E.3 F. 6 G.4 H.2
2.2
A. will have found
B. will be travelling
C. will have discovered
D. will be living
E. will have taken over/ will be providing

2.3
A. won’t have heard
B. believes his party will win
C. I will have been
D. I will have written/ finished
E. about to make
F. going to have another
G. won’t be home until
H. who is going to win
I. will be (here) on
J. are getting married

RELATIVE CLAUSES
3.1
A. Reggae 1970s and 1980s - Punk 1990s and 2000s - Hip Hop 1970s
B. New York

3.2
Defining relative clauses
1. The bands which dominated Western popular music
2. The one singer who had the most influence
3. That first emerged in the 1970s
4. The records they made

Non-defining relative clauses

1. Elton John, whose piano based songs were hugely popular,
2. Bob Marley, who had a huge hit with ‘No woman, no cry’,
3. Decades in which ‘boy bands’ and ‘girl bands’ became popular,
4. Hip hop, which was an Afro-American musical movement.

3.3
A. The singer Katy Perry, whose real name is Katheryn Hudson, grew up in a strict religious family.
Katy, who heard very little pop music as a child, started her career in gospel music.
B. The X Factor is a British television programme where members of the public who are would-be
singers are given the opportunity to present their talents. It is the programme in which the popular
British girl band Little Mix first appeared.

C. The rock band Snow Patrol was formed in 1994 in Scotland where two of its original members
were studying at the time. Both of them were born in Ireland so it’s not surprising that the band
which/that they admire the most is the Irish rock band U2.

D. Shakira, which means ‘grateful’ in Arabic, was born in Colombia, where she grew up among the
Lebanese and Italian communities. Her song Hips Don’t Lie reached number one in almost very
country in which it was sold.

E. Justin Timberlake was one of several singers who/that were first discovered on the popular TV
show The Mickey Mouse Club, which first began in the 1950s. Other club singers who/that went on to
become famous were Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.

F. Oasis, whose major musical influence was the Beatles, was one of several bands in the 1990s to
which the media gave the label ‘Britpop’. One drummer they had was Zak Starkey, whose father,
Ringo Starr, was drummer for the Beatles.

3.4
A. I saw a poster which/that was advertising a gig for a new rock band.
B. I phoned the box office, which was in London.
C. There was an answering machine which/that was telling me to call another number.
D. I spoke to a man on the other number who/that told me there were only expensive seats left.
E. I booked two tickets which/that cost 100 euros each.
F. I paid by credit card, which is a very convenient way to pay.
G. On the day, we went to the theatre, which overlooks the River Thames in London.
H. We couldn’t get into the theatre, which had been closed because of technical problems.
I. I went home with my friend, who was very disappointed.
J. Next day I phoned the theatre., which was very helpful and offered replacement tickets.

3.5
A. Salsa, which means ‘sauce’ in Spanish, is a mixture of Spanish Caribbean rhythms and styles.
B. The salsa band Sonora Carruseles, whose songs are played in salsa dance clubs everywhere, was
formed in Colombia in 1995.
C. The singer Gloria Estefan, who was born in Cuba but now lives in the USA, uses salsa rhythms in
many of her songs.
D. The Puerto Rican American Victor Manuelle, whose career began when he was discovered by
salsa superstar Gilberto Santa Rosa, is often thought of as a romantic salsa singer.
E. The album Travesia, on which Manuelle improvises vocals and lyrics within a salsa tune, was a
huge success with fans.

3.6
(1) there (2) which (3) at/by/about (4) any
(5) are/is (6) to/before (7) in (8) at/by/with

COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

4.2
as big as / higher than / stricter than / more severe / less extensive / not as effective as / the most
interesting

4.3
a. Longer, the longest/shorter, the shortest
b. Larger, the largest/later, the latest
c. Flatter, the flattest/thinner, the thinnest
d. Heavier, the heaviest/funnier, the funniest
e. More important, the most important/more independent, the most independent
f. Cleverer, the cleverest/ narrower, the narrowest
g. Better, the best/worse, the worst
h. Better, the best/worse, the worst
i. More quickly, the most quickly/more carefully, the most carefully

4.4
The adjective or adverb takes its basic form – e.g. as quick as, as quickly as/as beautiful as, as
beautifully as

4.5
a. as hard
b. cheaper
c. younger / cleverer
d. the unluckiest
e. better
f. hotter
g. more difficult
h. less/more legibly
i. easier
j. faster / sooner

4.6
A) no difference: just (as…as); no
B) a small difference: a bit; a little; slightly
C) a big difference: far; by far; much;a lot; not nearly (as…as); considerably

4.7
1. Slightly shorter than
2. Thinner than he used to
3. Not as many girls
4. The cleverest person I have