Practical English – Grammar
Tomasz Czerniak, MA.
The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
Summer Term 2015
1. Put the active voice into passive.
1. People shan’t talk to me as if I was a child.
2. He spoke at great length; people asked him many questions at the end, and answered them all satisfactorily.
3. Did the noise frighten you?
4. Don’t let the others see you.
5. Didn’t anybody ever teach you how to behave?
6. A sudden increase in water pressure would brake the dam.
7. The police are sure to ask you this question.
8. They should not make the celebration an excuse for bad behaviour.
9. Poverty drove him to desperation.
10. I should love someone to take me out to dinner.
11. It surprised me to hear someone had robbed you.
12. Ladies usually go to a tea-party more to speak to other people than for other people to speak to them.
2. Choose the word or phrase (A, B, C or D) which best completes each sentence.
1 ............. been banned from driving, I was unable to rent a car on holiday.
A Getting B Having C Being D To
2 John enjoys being ............. around.
A bossing B boss C to boss D bossed
3 They hated not having ............. selected for the shortlist.
A been B be C being D get
4 I ............. my secretary re-type the memo.
A got B get C had D having
5 She ............. her husband to put up some shelves in the kitchen.
A got B had C have D is having
6 They are getting their uncle ............. them his cottage in the country.
A lend B lending C to be lending D to lend
7 The minister will have his press officer ............. the news tomorrow.
A announce B announced C to announce D being announced
8 Michael deeply regretted not ............. selected for the Olympic squad.
A to be B having been C to get D been
9 The Opposition have asked for fuel taxes .............
A be reduced B to get reduced C being reduced D to be reduced
10 We'll ............. the builders to move the skip tomorrow morning.
A get B have C be having D getting
11 No problem. I'll ............. the figures printed out and on your desk by lunchtime.
A having B be having C have D to get
12 I really didn't expect this project ............. completed on schedule.
A having been B to be C being D have
13 The cats love ............. cuddled and stroked.
A have B having C to have been D to be
14 Theirs was probably the most glamorous wedding ............. featured in the pages of 'Hello' magazine to
date.
A getting B to have been C having D have
3. Supply the required passive forms of the verbs in brackets:
1.Aunt Dinah (not to like) by my father's family; she (to consider) vulgar.
2. After his brother's departure Paul sat for a long time thinking about what (to say).
3. "I'm not prepared," my father said, "to listen to your suggestions that you never (to treat) fairly at school."
4. In the drawing-room the music of Mozart (to play) by an orchestra seen on the screen.
5. "Remember I (to pay) by the hour," grumbled the driver.
6. But there were signs that order (to restore) in the town.
7.I (to receive) by one of the chiefs and (to take) for lunch to the canteen.
8. Well, what (to do) about it, Ted?
9. He went into the bedroom. The bed (to turn) down for the night by the maid many hours before.
Passive voice: Revision
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10.I said we yet (not to teach) anything.
11. Please find out if your father (to see) to leave.
12.She could have gone to Cambridge if she had wanted, she (to offer) a scholarship.
13. He arrived just after the electricity (to cut), and Joseph was lighting the oil-lamps.
14. On Friday she (to give) two weeks notice at the Works.
15. Then the voice announced that the passengers (to beg) to pass through the Customs.
16.1 wondered to what extent she (to influence) by his name to accept the offer.
17. Meg (to look) upon as the perfect wife for a clergyman.
18. Such are the matters that (to deal) with in Mr Gimson's book.
19. He (to see) entering the school building just when the first student (to call) upon to read aloud from
Beowulf.
20. Ahead of us the port lay in a flood of lights. Two cargo-ships (to unload).
21.I found the idea of going to Hereford very upsetting because I (to promise) a very nice job a couple of
weeks
before.
22. Not far away she noticed the film manager in whose office she once (to make) to feel so ridiculous.
23. "You must be very prosperous, Eustace, to own a car like that." "This car (to lend) me by an American
woman." 24.I felt I (to catch) out boasting.
4. Put the one missing word in each sentence.
1. I'm ……………………….. my hair cut tomorrow.
2. The pilot is thought ……………………….. have lost control of the aircraft.
3. These boxes are to ……………………….. moved away from the door.
4. Last week we ……………………….. a man come and dig the garden for us.
5. I can't wear my red sweater. It's ……………………….. washed at the moment.
6. It's a great film. The main character is played ……………………….. Tom Hanks.
7. Matthew is furious about ……………………….. been tricked out of this money.
8. On the bank's security video, the man was v waving a gun around.
9. The picture isn't in the shop's window now. It might have ……………………….. sold.
10.People shouldn't smoke because ……………………….. is known that smoking causes cancer.
11.James had forgotten his electric razor, so he couldn't ……………………….. shaved.
12.How many times ……………………….. you get burgled at your last house.
5. Choose the correct item.
1 "How was your dinner?"
"A great success! Our guests ate the appetizers, the two main courses and the dessert. There was literally
nothing ....."
A to be left B have left C left D has been left
2. "Is there any news about the ex-President?"
"Well, he's reported ......... the country last night."
A to be leaving B to have left C that he left D to leave
3. "What do you think of Uberto Eco's novel The name of the rose'?"
"Well, it ......... widely regarded as his best, but to tell you the truth I'm not crazy about it."
A has been B is being C was D is
4. "Did you enjoy your graduation ceremony?"
"Oh yes; I didn't like ......... photographed all the time, though."
A being B to have been C having been D it to be
5. "How was your first day in your new job?"
"Extremely embarrassing! We were ......... present; ourselves and talk about our previous work
experience."
A been asked to B being asked C asked D asked to
Practical English – Grammar
Tomasz Czerniak, MA.
The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
Summer Term 2015
6. Change the verbs in the following sentences into Active Voice. Changes in word order will have to be
made and the new subject may have to be suggested. Use the corresponding tense in each case.
1.A message has been broadcast by the BBC in which a certain Mr Green, who, it is thought, is on holiday
in Scotland, has been asked to go to the Overhill Hospital where his wife is being treated after a severe
stroke.
2. If sufficient time and attention have been given by the students to their work, passages can be taken down
in shorthand at 60 words a minute and letters can be typed quickly, neatly and accurately. Some knowledge
of book- keeping and office practice will have been acquired and the students’ command of English should
have been increased considerably.
3. Christmas was being celebrated in every town. Christmas trees, which had been decorated earlier by busy
mothers, were being admired by delighted children. The branches were adorned with tinsel while parcels had
been placed by each member of the family beneath the tree. Outside, the roofs were festooned with icicles
and the ground was covered thickly by the snow while flurries of whirling flakes were still being tossed by
the wind.