Category: Grammar

Idioms – Part 3

An idiom is a word or phrase that is not meant to be taken literally. For example, if you say someone has “cold feet”, it doesn’t mean their feet are actually cold. Rather, it means that they are nervous or …

An idiom is a word or phrase that is not meant to be taken literally. For example, if you say someone has “cold feet”, it doesn’t mean their feet are actually cold. Rather, it means that they are nervous or …

‘Can’, ‘could’, and ‘be able to’ are modal verbs in English. A modal verb is a type of verb that indicates modeor manner. Modal verbs are not main verbs. They are ‘helping verbs’. The modal verbs ‘can’, ‘could’, and ‘be able …

‘Can’ and ‘Could’ are modal verbs.  A modal verb is a type of verb that indicates MODE or MANNER.  They are NOT main verbs. They are ‘helping verbs.’ The modal verbs ‘can’ and ‘could’ show possibility and impossibility, ability, permission, …

  Vocabulary wheel of emotions created by English teacher Kaitlin Robbs.

HAVE is generally used with I/You/We/ They and PLURAL NOUNS. HAS is used with He/She/ It and Who and SINGULAR NOUNS. Examples: Nurses have a difficult job. (Nurses- plural) The washing machine has a leak in it. (Washing machine- singular) Exercise: Fill …

Complete these 16 sentences to test your knowledge of comparatives and superlatives. Russia is __ country in the world. big the biggest the bigger Manav __ student in our class. is the tallest the most tall the tallest Nazim’s grandfather …

The comparative expresses a comparison between two objects. We use comparative adjectives to show change or make comparisons: Examples: This phone is certainly better, but it’s much more expensive. I’m feeling happier now. We use than when we compare one thing with another: Examples: …

Complete the sentences given below with the correct form of the words in brackets. Maya has an ___ memory and can remember things we all have long forgotten. (ordinary) I interpreted her silence as a ___. (refuse) Ten people have …

Complete the sentences given below with the correct form of the words in brackets. Neha learned a ___ lesson from her uncle. (value) Rakesh looked at the tall man ____. (suspicion) It was such a ___ day that we went …

An antonym is a word that has an opposite or reverse meaning. For example, the antonym for “tall” is “short,” the antonym for “sharp” is “blunt,” the antonym for “sweet” is “bitter.”  worse, disagree, night, allies, broadest, crooked, foolish, artificial, …

Kangaroo words are words that have a smaller word inside them, just like a mother kangaroo has a baby kangaroo (called a joey) in her pouch. Examples: The word seven contains two words: eve(s-eve-n) and even(s-even). The word another contains a (a-nother), an (an-other), …

A kangaroo word is a word that has a smaller word inside it, just like a mother kangaroo has a baby kangaroo (called a joey) in her pouch. A kangaroo word is one that carries within itself a smaller word …

Example: As a child I was very afraid of the dark. As a child I was terrified of the dark. Here are some words that avoid the use of “very.” Very afraid- Terrified                                      Very clever- brilliant Very angry- Furious                                        Very cold- freezing …

The simple past tense is formed by adding – ed to the word. Example: work, worked. Irregular verbs change completely in the past tense. Examples: take, took. Speak, spoke. You just have to learn them! Fill in the correct form of …

In the sentences below, fill in the correct form of the given word to make an adjective. These adjectives can be formed by adding the following suffixes (-ful, -ive, -able, -y, -al, -ly, -ous, -less, -ic, – ative, -ed) to the …

There are many ways in which we can ask people for help or information. You can practise by reading the examples below. Remember: Practice makes perfect. Make sentences of your own substituting the underlined word / words in the sentence …

Question tags are short questions that we put at the end of sentences. If the main part of the sentence is positive, the question tag is negative. Example: He’s a doctor, isn’t he? If the main part of the sentence …

Fill in the blanks with was or were. Examples: A duck was crossing the road. (A duck- singular)                  playing cricket. (The children- plural) I ___ crossing the road when an accident took place. …

(Art Print by Jeanne Stevenson) https://www.art.com/products/p48286871569-sa-i10882494/jeanne-stevenson-punctuation-grammar-and-writing-poster.htm

Where can a man buy a cap for his knee, Or the key to a lock of his hair? Can his eyes be called an academy? Because there are pupils there? In the crown of your head can jewels be …

Where do you live? Describe your house. Describe your dream home. Here are some words that are associated with homes. How many do you know? bedroom, bathroom, basement, terrace, veranda, roof, drawing room, dining room, living room, kitchen, garage, driveway, …

How many people are there in your family? husband, wife, mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin, grandfather, grandmother, nephew, niece, granddaughter, grandson Talk about the words given above. Then, complete the 21 sentences below with these words. …

Below is a list of verbs related to sports. Verbs are action words. Walk, run, jump, skip, swim, race, jog, ski, throw, march, kick, dribble, toss, sprint, and catch. Most of these verbs are regular verbs. Pay attention to how they …

With adjectives and their opposites old, dangerous, long, interesting, slow, dark, well, easy, expensive, large, noisy, cool, near, heavy, dirty Fill in the blanks to complete the sentences below. Use the words give above. We can’t have a picnic. It’s …

An agent noun is a noun denoting someone or something that performs the action of a verb. For example, “driver” is an agent noun formed from the verb “drive.” run, drive, listen, swim, paint, bake, explore, blog, manage, garden, own, …

Choose the adjective or adverb (given in the brackets) to complete the sentence. An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. “Big,” “boring” and “purple” are adjectives.  Examples: I admired the big flower. It was purple. He walked quickly. …

Complete the sixteen sentences given below to test your knowledge of the words do, go, and play. I joined a cricket team last month, so now I ___ cricket every Saturday. a) do b) go c) play Do you want …

Complete the sentences below to test your knowledge of the phrase have to. I ___ get up very early every morning at six o’clock. a) have to b) has to c) have Imran and Raza ___ go to work every …

Complete the sentences below to test your knowledge of the words some and any. These words are called quantifiers because they tell us about the quantity or amount of something. Some of these sentences require you to insert an ‘a.’ I …

Complete the sentences below to test your knowledge of grammar connected to the word will. ‘ Won’t’ is a contraction of ‘will not.’ Let’s go for a picnic tomorrow. I think it ___ sunny. a) will be b) won’t be …

Complete the sentences below to test your knowledge of count and non-count nouns. Count nouns can be counted as one or more. For example, pen, computer, bottle, spoon, desk, cup, television, chair, shoe, finger, flower, camera, stick, balloon, book, table, …

Complete these sentences to test your knowledge of the words and, so, but, and because. I was late for class this morning ___ the bus was late. a) so b) because c) but I usually go home at four o’clock, …

Complete the following sentences to test your knowledge of the words this, that, these, and those. Look at ___ birds up there in the trees. a) this b) these c) those Are ___ your books over there on the table? …

Grammar Quiz Past Tense Answer these questions to test your knowledge of the simple past tense. My family and I ___ in Lucknow when I was young. a) lived b) live c) was live We ___ sandwiches and fresh fruit …

Some time expressions are: now, today, every day, last Monday, next week Some prepositions of time are: at, during, in, on Please make complete sentences. Keep the same word order. Many young people / go to a movie / Saturday …

Some prepositions of place are: above, between, from, near, under, behind, close to, in back of, next to, below, far from, in front of, over Fill in the blanks in the sentences below. Choose the correct preposition from the choices given …

Please put the words in order. Example: tall / Sanjay / is Sanjay is tall. lives / in a flat / Saira strong / lions / animals / are is / sweet / sugar brown / eyes / Shakeel / …

Please make grammatically correct sentences using the words given. Add your own ideas. There are no right or wrong answers. Use your imagination. Have fun! Example: my brother / have My brother has two children. My brother lives in Ahmedabad. …

Add and change words as necessary. You might have to change the order of the words given. Example: Russia / big country Russia is a big country. our teacher / always / bring / book / class Many / school / have a …

Some time expressions are: now, today, every day, last Monday, next week Some prepositions of time are: at, during, in, on Match the time expression with the correct preposition of time. Example: afternoon in the afternoon 3:00 p.m. Saturday Diwali January 1996 …

These are the grammar rules you are probable breaking without realising it.  Proper grammar and usage are important for clear communication. There are a number of English language nuances that are often overlooked. For example, many words or phrases sound …

For most adverbs of manner, add ‘ly’ to the adjective. Example: Rohit is a ‘careful’ worker, becomes Rohit works ‘carefully.’ A few adverbs of manner are irregular: Example: good = well; hard = hard; fast = fast. Rohit is a …

A) HIS or HER? Example:  What’s your wife’s name?  Her name is Mira. What’s your brother’s name? ______name is Ravi. What’s your mother’s name? ______name is Maya. What’s your husband’s name? ______name is Amit. What’s your grandfather’s name? ______name is Kalyan. …

I am not (I’m not) He is not (he’s not or he isn’t) She is not (she’s not or she isn’t) It is not (it’s not or it isn’t) We are not (we’re not or we aren’t) You are not …

I am (I’m) He is (he’s) She is (she’s) It is (it’s) We are (we’re) You are (you’re) They are (they’re) A) Fill in the blanks with am, is, or are. Example: The weather is pleasant today. I ___ not rich. This bag …

It’s is always short for ‘it is’ or ‘it has.’ It is raining. OR It’s raining. It has been a long time. OR It’s been a long time. Its (without an apostrophe) means ‘belonging to it.’ The cat looks after …

Please pay attention to spelling, capitalisation, punctuation and the order of words in a sentence. Remember to use the correct form of the verb: (I play, she plays) Read about Lata. Then write about yourself. Example: Lata reads a book. …

Please pay attention to spelling, capitalisation, punctuation and the order of words in a sentence. Remember to use the correct form of the verb: (I write, he writes) Read about Ayesha. Then talk/write about yourself. Example: Ayesha wears a jacket. …

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in brackets: Example: She ___ butter on the bread and ___ sugar on it.  (spread, sprinkle) She spreads butter on the bread and sprinkles sugar on it. The airplane___high in the …

Don’t and doesn’t are contractions. Don’t is a contraction of do not, while doesn’t is a contraction of does not. I don’t want to go to school. Don’t you like ice cream? Don’t touch the stove! In a command the subject (you) is left out. …

In the simple present tense add an ‘es’ to verb roots that end in sh, ch, x, z, or ss  to form the third person singular (he, she, it). Example: I wash He washes A) Fill in the blanks with …

 For verbs that end in –y (cry, fly) you have to change the –‘y’ to an ‘ies’ in the third person singular( he, she, it). Example: The baby _ all the time. (cry) The baby cries all the time. What is …

We use the present tense to talk about things that always happen, or habits. I go to school at 7:00 am. Lizards climb on the walls. We also use the present tense to talk about things that are always true, or facts. …

Adjectives are words that describe nouns. ‘Colour’ is a noun. You could say, ‘I love colours.’ The sentence would be correct. But think about how much more your sentence would convey if you were to add an adjective:  I love bright and bold colours. …

Choose the correct preposition from the list below and fill in the blanks. in, on, at, to, from, with, by, since, of My brother always drinks a glass ___ milk ___ bedtime. During the holidays I play ___ my cousins. Most …

‘With’ and ‘by’ A preposition is a word that links all the words in the sentence together. They are relationship words. ‘With’ is used to show being together. I like to drink a glass of milk with my breakfast. ‘With’ is …

‘To’ and ‘from’ A preposition is a word that links all the words in the sentence together. They are relationship words. ‘To’ shows direction or result of movement. I go to school. ‘To’ shows time or period. I work from …

‘In,’ ‘on,’ ‘at’  for Time and Place ‘In’ is a preposition used in front of GENERAL information indicating time and place. In winter, In January, In the morning, In Begumpur, In Allahabad, In India, In North America, In the Himalayas …

Please fill in the blanks with ‘a’ ‘an’ ‘the’ or nothing. If no article is needed, do NOT fill in the blank. Remember: Use ‘the’ when you are talking about one particular thing. Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ when there are …

Please fill in the blanks with the definite article (the), the indefinite article (‘a’) or (‘an’ before a vowel). Some nouns do not need an article placed before them. Examples: His office is on ______ third floor. His office is …

Please go over the last 6 grammar exercises on personal pronouns. We hope you’ve mastered them and do really well on this final exercise. Please fill in the blanks with ‘ I, me, mine, you, your, yours, he, him, his, she, …

Please fill in the blanks with the following words: they, them, their or theirs. Examples: Where are the children? ______ are in school. They are in school. The toys belong to the children. The toys belong to ______ . The …

Please fill in the blanks with you, your or yours. Examples: Do ____ have a pencil? Do you have a pencil? My pencil is blue. What colour is ____ pencil ? My pencil is blue. What colour is your pencil? …

Please fill in the blanks with we, us, our or ours. Examples: ___ are going to the park. We are going to the park. Let___ take our badminton racquets along. Let us take our badminton racquets along. Are these ___ …

Please fill in the blanks with he, him or his. Examples: This is Varun. ___ has a schoolbag. This is Varun. He has a schoolbag. The schoolbag belongs to ___. The schoolbag belongs to him. This is ___ schoolbag This …

Please fill in the blanks with she, her or hers. Examples: This is Ayesha. ____ has a camera. This is Ayesha. She has a camera. The camera belongs to ___. The camera belongs to her. This is ___ camera. This …

Please fill in the blanks with I, me, my or mine. Examples: ___have a pencil. I have a pencil. This is ___ pencil. This is my pencil. This pencil is ___. This pencil is mine. Please give ___ your pencil. …