B1 Grammar Practice - ESL Lesson

Grammar Reference

Subject Rules Example
Present Perfect vs. Past Simple Use present perfect (have/has + past participle) for actions that started in the past and continue to the present, or for past actions with present results. Use past simple for completed actions at a specific time in the past. She has lived here for five years. / She lived in London last year.
First Conditional Use present simple in the if-clause and will + base verb in the main clause to talk about real and possible future situations. If it rains tomorrow, we will stay at home.
Modal Verbs (must, might, could, can't) Use must for strong obligation, might for possibility, could for past ability or polite requests, and can't for impossibility. You must stop at red lights. It might rain later.
Comparatives and Superlatives Use -er/more for comparatives (two items) and -est/most for superlatives (three or more items). For adjectives with 2+ syllables, use more/most. This book is more interesting than that one. / This is the most exciting movie I've seen.
Passive Voice Use passive voice when the focus is on the action, not who performed it. Form: object + be + past participle (+ by subject). The cake was eaten by the children. / The report will be finished tomorrow.
Reported Speech When reporting speech, change pronouns, tense, and time expressions. Say → told, present → past, today → that day. She said, "I am tired." → She said she was tired.
Time Prepositions Use at for specific times, in for months/years/centuries, on for days and dates. at 5 o'clock, in July, on Monday, on May 5th
Question Tags Use opposite polarity: positive statement → negative tag, negative statement → positive tag. Use auxiliary verb from statement. She is coming, isn't she? / They weren't late, were they?
Relative Clauses Use who/that for people, which/that for things, whose for possession. Use commas for non-defining clauses. The woman who lives next door is a doctor. / The book, which I bought yesterday, is fascinating.
Future Forms Use will for spontaneous decisions, going to for plans, present continuous for arranged future events. I'll call you later. / I'm going to visit Paris. / We're meeting at 6 PM.

Answer Key

1. since

2. rains

3. have

4. must

5. more expensive

6. was written

7. said

8. in

9. isn't

10. which

11. will

1. She has lived in London ___ 2010. (for/since)
2. If it ___ tomorrow, we will cancel the picnic. (rain/rained)
3. I ___ never seen such a beautiful sunset before. (have/has)
4. You ___ wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle. (must/might)
5. This car is ___ than that one. (expensive/more expensive)
6. The novel ___ by a famous author in 2020. (was written/wrote)
7. He said he ___ hungry. (is/was)
8. We usually go swimming ___ summer. (in/on)
9. The weather is nice today, ___ it? (is/isn't)
10. The painting ___ I saw in the museum was very impressive. (who/which)
11. I think it ___ rain later today. (will/won't)