Essential English Grammar Practice: Tenses and Comparative Adjectives

1. Complete the Sentences: Verb "To Be" (Past or Present)

1. Today the weather IS great, but last week it WAS awful.
2. Tony and I WERE so hungry last night.
3. Where WAS she last night?
4. ARE Mike and Tom in town?
5. I don't think so. I called them several times this week, but nobody WAS home.
6. Sonia WAS 23 last year, so now she IS 24.
7. Where ARE your brothers?
8. I don't know. They WERE in the pool fifteen minutes ago.
9. These shirts ARE so expensive. The ones I saw last week WERE cheaper.
10. I don't think so. I called them several times this week, but nobody WAS home.
11. Really? It WAS good yesterday.
12. Tina, Arthur, and Jake ARE in Paris today. Just yesterday they WERE in Belém.
13. Mike WAS at the club this morning. Right now he IS in school.

Verb "To Be" Conjugation Reference

Present Tense

• I = AM
• You / We / They = ARE
• He / She / It = IS

Past Tense

• I / He / She / It = WAS
• You / We / They = WERE

2. Comparative Adjective Forms

Rules for forming comparative adjectives:

1-Syllable Adjectives (CVC Pattern)

If the adjective follows the Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC) pattern, we double the final consonant before adding -ER:

• Hot → HOTTER
• Big → BIGGER
• Fat → FATTER
• Sad → SADDER
• Wet → WETTER

2-Syllable Adjectives Ending in -Y

If the adjective has two syllables and ends in -Y, we change the Y to I and add -ER:

• Busy → BUSIER

3. Simple Past Tense: Affirmative and Interrogative Forms

Example Sentence Transformation

• Affirmative: I watched the soccer game.
• Interrogative: Did I watch the soccer game?

Simple Past Interrogative Structure

Question Form:

DID + Subject (I/You/He/She/It/We/They) + Base Verb (e.g., WORK)?

Short Answers:

• Yes: Yes, I/you/he/she/it/we/they DID.
• No: No, I/you/he/she/it/we/they DIDN'T.

4. Grammar Completion and Correction

1. Next July is their golden anniversary. They HAVE BEEN MARRIED for 50 years. (Correction: The original answer was grammatically adjusted for duration.)
2. Fill in the gap: What ARE YOU READING?
3. What DOES SHE WANT for her wedding?
4. They have been living in NY SINCE I got here. (Correction: Spelling of 'living' was fixed.)
5. Those boys are MUCH NOISIER THAN the others. (Correction: 'Noiser' changed to 'Noisier'.)

5. Future Tense: WILL or GOING TO

1. I WILL work in London. (Correction: 'at London' changed to 'in London'.)
2. They ARE GOING TO graduate. (Correction: Added 'ARE' and removed extra 'TO'.)
3. You aren't GOING TO stay here. (Sentence completed.)
4. She WILL look for a job. (Sentence completed.)
5. It WILL be a good day. (Sentence completed, assuming a common typo.)

Future Tense Conjugation Reference

WILL (Affirmative and Negative)

BE GOING TO (Affirmative and Negative)