English Grammar Drills: Verb Forms and Transformations

Verb Form Completion Exercises

1. Complete the sentences with the correct forms of the verbs below: (buy, clean, have, not finish, study, visit)

• 1. Alex is visiting his grandparents this weekend because it's their anniversary.
• 2. We haven't finished lunch yet. Can you wait a little longer?
• 3. She has studied English for three years but still finds it difficult to write essays.
• 4. I knew the answer in class yesterday, so I could help my friend.
• 5. Maria was reading a magazine while her brother was cleaning the living room.
• 6. Ask the teacher. She has studied all the rules.

Verb Tense Consistency and Context

2. Complete the sentences with the correct forms of the verbs in bold:

• 1. He couldn't play football because he had been ill the day before.
• 2. I don't want to eat pizza. I have already eaten it twice this week.
• 3. Mr. Brown lived in London when he was a teenager.
• 4. My cousin has worked at a bank for several months now.
• 5. Laura was having a bath when the phone rang.
• 6. That's a beautiful picture! Where did you take it?

Sentence Transformation and Rewriting

3. Complete the second sentence so that it has the same meaning as the first:

• 1. I started cooking dinner, then my friend phoned. My friend phoned while I was cooking dinner.
• 2. John arrived just after Emma had left the café. Emma had left the café when John arrived.
• 3. I washed the dishes and immediately sat down to read. I sat down as soon as I had washed the dishes.
• 4. Without their phones, they couldn't call for help. They couldn't call for help because they didn't have their phones.
• 5. He travelled abroad. He finished university. He travelled abroad after he had finished university.
• 6. When did you first begin to drive a car? How long have you been driving a car?

Future Tense Intentions and Predictions

4. Add three words to complete the sentences:

• 1. She's going to visit five different museums this summer. By the end of the summer, she will have visited five different museums.
• 2. There is a flight to Rome tomorrow at nine. The Rome flight leaves at nine tomorrow.
• 3. My plan is to work in the library tomorrow afternoon. I am going to work in the library tomorrow afternoon.
• 4. David is wearing a suit and he is walking into the office. David is going to start his new job.
• 5. If you really want to, we can go to the amusement park on Sunday. I promise we will go to the amusement park on Sunday.

English to Catalan Translation Practice

5. Translation (10 marks):

• 1. Ningú va entendre el que estava dient. Nobody understood what he was saying.
• 2. Quant temps fa que vius en aquesta ciutat? How long have you lived in this city?
• 3. No vinguis abans de les 6 perquè encara estaràs estudiant. Don't come before six because I will still be studying.
• 4. Què estaràs fent demà a les onze del matí? What will you be doing tomorrow at eleven in the morning?
• 5. Quan vas viatjar a l'estranger per última vegada? When did you last travel abroad?