English Grammar Essentials: Tenses, Passive Voice, Common Phrases

English Grammar Practice: Translations, Tenses, and Passive Voice

Spanish to English Translations

Practice translating common Spanish phrases into correct English sentences. Pay attention to prepositions, articles, and verb forms.

• Hay muchos cines en el centro de la ciudad. There are many cinemas in the city center.
• ¿A qué hora llegaste a Madrid? What time did you arrive in Madrid?
• Andrés se fue a Francia ayer. Yesterday, Andres went to France.
• Normalmente no nos acostamos muy tarde. We usually don't go to bed very late.
• No están en casa. Se han ido al cine. They aren't at home. They have gone to the cinema.
• Era muy tarde cuando llegué a casa. It was very late when I got home.
• Normalmente llego a la oficina a las 8.15. I usually arrive at the office at quarter past eight.
• Vimos a Laura en la fiesta. We saw Laura at the party.
• Rafa no está en el trabajo. Está en el médico. Ralph isn't at work. He is at the doctor's.
• Ayer estuvimos en una fiesta de cumpleaños. Yesterday, we were at a birthday party.
• Luis no estaba en el aeropuerto. Estaba en casa de Carmen. Luis wasn't at the airport. He was at Carmen's home.
• En 2002 Sandra estaba en la Universidad. In 2002, Sandra was at university.
• Conocí a Susan en un avión. I met Susan on a plane.
• Vi a David en el concierto. I saw David at the concert.
• Nos quedamos en casa el sábado. We will stay at home on Saturday.
• El río Nilo es el más largo del mundo. The River Nile is the longest in the world.
• Bruce está muy cansado. Ahora está en la cama. Bruce is very tired. Now he is in bed.
• Melanie tuvo un accidente de camión al trabajo. Melanie had a truck accident on the way to work.
• Mi hermana estará aquí el martes. My sister will be here on Tuesday.
• Bebo café por la mañana. I drink coffee in the morning.

Present Simple and Past Simple Practice

Review and apply the correct forms of verbs in the present and past simple tenses.

Text: My Aunt Nancy

1. lives
2. went
3. died
4. works
5. paints
6. loves
7. has
8. started
9. painted
10. liked
11. bought
12. finished
13. starts
14. goes
15. visited
16. stayed
17. had

Text: David and Sara

1. went
2. Did you get
3. Caught
4. did stay
5. wasn't
6. camped
7. didn't spend
8. Didn't rain
9. shined
10. Did you have
11. Felt
12. forgot
13. didn't have
14. did you do
15. Found
16. went
17. Cooked
18. ate
19. drank
20. Was
21. Did you get back
22. Flew
23. came
24. Didn't want

Understanding and Using the Passive Voice

Explore examples and common constructions of the passive voice in English.

Passive Voice Examples - Set 1

• Glass is made from sand.
• Stamps are sold in a post office.
• This room isn't used very often.
• Are we allowed to park here?
• How is this word pronounced?
• The house was painted last month.
• Three people were injured in the accident.
• My bicycle was stolen a few days ago.
• When was this bridge built?
• Were you invited to the party last week?
• How were these windows broken?
• I wasn't woken up by the noise.

Passive Voice Examples - Set 2

• Football is played in most countries in the world.
• Why was the letter sent to the wrong address?
• A garage is a place where cars are repaired.
• Where were you born?
• How many languages are spoken in Switzerland?
• Somebody broke into our house, but nothing was stolen.
• When was the bicycle invented?

Passive Voice Examples - Set 3

• Paper is made from wood.
• There was a fire at the hotel last week. Two of the rooms were damaged.
• Where did you get this picture? It was given to me by a friend of mine.
• Many American programs are shown on British television.
• Did Jim and Sue go to the wedding? No, they were invited, but they didn't go.
• How old is this film? It was made in 1965.
• My car was stolen last week, but the next day it was found by the police.

Direct English Translations: Passive Voice

Translate these sentences directly into English, focusing on correct passive voice construction.

1. These windows were broken yesterday.
2. How is beer made?
3. Brian wasn't invited to the wedding.
4. When was this bridge built?
5. My parents were born in Madrid, but I was born in Seville.
6. These sonnets were written by Shakespeare.
7. Where was Bruce born?
8. That house was sold last year.