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Great news for all our users! We have turned all our free worksheets into online activities, so now you don't need to print them off and use a pen if you don't want to. You can find the ones in this section listed below. Check our Latest developments page for the full list! Don't miss out!

Click on the links below to look at the free sample sheets.


 Articles and determiners

These practise the use of words denoting common places to indicate either the function of the place or the place itself, and the uses of various quantifiers.

Function or place 1 at college, at the college; at home, at the home
Function or place 1 gapfill at college, at the college; at home, at the home
Function or place 2 in prison, in the prison; at university, at the university (subscription only)
Function or place 2 gapfill in prison, in the prison; at university, at the university (subscription only)
Indefinite article 1 Inclusion or exclusion of the indefinite article
Indefinite article 1 gapfill Inclusion or exclusion of the indefinite article
Indefinite article 2 Inclusion or exclusion of the indefinite article (subscription only)
Indefinite article 2 gapfill Inclusion or exclusion of the indefinite article (subscription only)
Quantifiers 1
aany, few, fewer, less, little, lot
Quantifiers 1 gapfill
aany, few, fewer, less, little, lot
Quantifiers 2
avery little, very few, quite a little, quite a few (subscription only)
Quantifiers 2 gapfill
avery little, very few, quite a little, quite a few (subscription only)



  Stative and dynamic verbs

Verbs in English can be stative or dynamic. Stative verbs describe an unchanging state, while dynamic verbs describe changes of state. For example, I'm getting married is dynamic because it indicates a change of state, while I'm married is stative because it indicates the unchanging state of marriage. Generally, stative verbs are not used in continuous tenses, though there are exceptions.

Stative and dynamic verbs 1 Verbs referring to the five senses
Stative and dynamic verbs 1 gapfill Verbs referring to the five senses
Stative and dynamic verbs 2 Verbs of perception (subscription only)
Stative and dynamic verbs 2 gapfill Verbs of perception (subscription only)



Verbs and prepositions

Many verbs can be followed by more than one preposition, usually with different meanings. Some verbs can also be used either with or without a preposition. These exercises practise these types of verbs.

Verbs and prepositions 1 The verbs speak and swear
Verbs and prepositions 1 gapfill The verbs speak and swear
Verbs and prepositions 2 The verbs talk and look 
Verbs and prepositions 2 gapfill The verbs talk and look 
Verbs and prepositions 3 Verbs with or without prepositions (subscription only)
Verbs and prepositions 3 gapfill Verbs with or without prepositions (subscription only)
Verbs and prepositions 4 Verbs followed by to and at (subscription only)
Verbs and prepositions 4 gapfill Verbs followed by to and at (subscription only)
Verbs and prepositions 5 Verbs followed by to and at (subscription only)
Verbs and prepositions 5 gapfill Verbs followed by to and at (subscription only)



Middle verbs

Middle verbs are not generally taught as such in standard textbooks. Most verbs are transitive; in other words they can be used in both the active and passive voices. However, there are some verbs which can also be used in another way which refers back to the subject like a reflexive verb. These are active in form, but passive in meaning, as the subject of the verb is affected in a similar way to a passive subject. We have chosen to call these verbs middle verbs as they are between active and passive. Students need to recognise when these verbs are used as middle verbs as there is no object in these cases and the reference if different to that of active verbs. Here are examples using burn:

Active: Fire burns wood.  Passive: Wood is burned by fire.  Middle: Wood burns.

Teacher's notes Detailed explanations of this area of grammar. 
Middle verbs 1 change, drive, feel, increase, return 
Middle verbs 1 gapfill change, drive, feel, increase, return 
Middle verbs 2break, close, develop, end, give
Middle verbs 2 gapfillbreak, close, develop, end, give
Middle verbs 3 continue, create, move, open, part
Middle verbs 3 gapfill continue, create, move, open, part
Middle verbs 4 count, drop, extend, sell, turn (subscription only)
Middle verbs 4 gapfill count, drop, extend, sell, turn (subscription only)
Middle verbs 5 charge, clear, fly, grow, meet (subscription only)
Middle verbs 5 gapfill charge, clear, fly, grow, meet (subscription only)
Middle verbs 6 form, smell, sound, start, taste (subscription only)
Middle verbs 6 gapfill form, smell, sound, start, taste (subscription only)
Middle verbs 7 bite, build, carry, hold, run (subscription only)
Middle verbs 7 gapfill bite, build, carry, hold, run (subscription only)



Conditionals

There is a lot taught in textbooks about conditional sentences, and some of it is simplistic and even inaccurate. The worksheets in this section explore aspects of conditionals which are not often explored in detail elsewhere and the aim is to throw light on unusual and different conditional types.

Second conditional - real past Conditionals that actually happened
Second conditional - real past gapfill Conditionals that actually happened




Common mistakes

Students often make relatively predictable mistakes which are often uncorrected and can become ingrained. This section looks at some typical, common mistakes that students make and aims to correct them.

The things we don't say 1 Typical student mistakes
The things we don't say 1 gapfill Typical student mistakes




Strange grammar

Most grammar in grammar books has clear and straightforward explanations, but there are are some areas of grammar which are poorly covered or which are very strange in appearance or formation, but which are actually relatively common. This section aims to highlight and explore these areas. The two worksheets in this section so far deal with passives and possessives. Some verbs like give and offer can take two objects and have two passive forms. In spoken English, the noun possessive form can also be attached to a phrase or sentence which acts as a noun phrase or part of a noun phrase.

Double passives 1 Verbs which have two passive forms
Double passives 1 gapfill Verbs which have two passive forms
Possessive phrases 1 Whole noun phrases with 's 
Possessive phrases 1 gapfill Whole noun phrases with 's 



Countability

This aspect of nouns is taught widely in textbooks with all nouns labelled either count or non-count. However, this division is not always accurate, as many nouns can be used as both count and non-count nouns usually with different meanings and uses. There differences are crucial for students to understand if they are to recognise and use them correctly. These exercises explore the uses of nouns as both count and non-count nouns.

Count and non-count 1 experience, light, pain, paper, reason  
Count and non-count 1 gapfill experience, light, pain, paper, reason  
Count and non-count 2 dress, egg, interest lamb, work
Count and non-count 2 gapfill dress, egg, interest lamb, work
Count and non-count 3 business, competition, difficulty, heart, life
Count and non-count 3 gapfill business, competition, difficulty, heart, life



Nouns and verbs

Very often in English the same word can be used as either a noun or a verb with no change in its form. This can present students with problems of interpretation. For example, if the work book appears in a sentence, it is usually a noun, but it can also be a verb, in this case with very specialised meanings. However, many words may equally occur as a noun or a verb, like work or talk. Students have to look at the role that the word plays in a sentence to see if it is a noun or a verb.

The exercises in this section practise these words, showing how a lot of nouns can be used as verbs very easily, sometimes with similar meanings, sometimes with rather different meanings. The pronunciation may change, but not the spelling, or the stress may change to form a verb from a noun or vice versa. Not all words of this type can be covered here, but these exercises should give students a good grounding in the idea of noun-verb formation and use, so that they can extend their own knowledge of the area.

Noun or verb 1 These practise the difference between the uses of certain common words as nouns or verbs.
Noun or verb 1 gapfill These practise the difference between the uses of certain common words as nouns or verbs.
Animal verbs 1 Words for animals used as verbs
Animal verbs 1 gapfill Words for animals used as verbs
People verbs 1 Words for people used as verbs
People verbs 1 gapfill Words for people used as verbs
Verbs to people 1 Verbs used to denote people
Verbs to people 1 gapfill Verbs used to denote people
Noun and verb stress variations 1 Forming words through stress change
Noun and verb stress variations 1 gapfill Forming words through stress change
Noun and verb pronunciation variations 1 Forming nouns through pronunciation changes
Noun and verb pronunciation variations 1 gapfill Forming nouns through pronunciation changes
Unpredictable verbs 1 Verbs with unpredictable meanings formed from nouns 
Unpredictable verbs 1 gapfill Verbs with unpredictable meanings formed from nouns 
Unpredictable verbs 2 Verbs with unpredictable meanings 
Unpredictable verbs 2 gapfill Verbs with unpredictable meanings 
Unpredictable verbs 3 Verbs with unpredictable meanings  
Unpredictable verbs 3 gapfill Verbs with unpredictable meanings  
Slang verbs 1 Verbs with slang meanings 
Slang verbs 1 gapfill Verbs with slang meanings 
Verb-Noun 1
Teacher's notes
These practise the formation of new nouns from phrasal verbs. 
Verb-Noun 1 gapfill
These practise the formation of new nouns from phrasal verbs. 



Answers

Answers Answers to all the exercises (except for subscription-only activities)