B2 Grammar Practice - ESL Lesson 3

Grammar Reference

Subject Rules Example
Advanced Prepositions (Time, Place, Movement) Use specific prepositions for time (at, on, in, for, since, until, by), place (at, on, in, to, from, into, out of), and movement (to, from, through, across, along, towards). Pay attention to collocations and context. at 5 o'clock, on Monday, in July, for two hours, since 2010, by Friday, at the station, on the wall, in the room, go to school, from Paris, into the building, across the street, along the river, towards the city.
Inversion for Emphasis Inversion occurs when the normal subject-verb order is reversed, often for emphasis or in formal contexts. Common patterns: negative adverbials at beginning (Never, Rarely, Seldom, Little, At no time, Under no circumstances) + auxiliary + subject; conditional sentences without 'if' (Should, Were, Had); and after 'so', 'such'. Never have I seen such a beautiful sunset. / Should you need help, call me. / Were I in your position, I would accept. / So beautiful was the view that everyone stopped to admire it.
Mixed Conditionals Mixed conditionals combine different conditional types to express unreal situations across time. Common patterns: past condition + present result (If I had studied harder, I would have a better job now); present condition + past result (If I were more careful, I wouldn't have made that mistake). If I had learned Spanish, I would be working in Madrid now. / If she were more organized, she wouldn't have missed the deadline.
Future Perfect and Future Continuous Future perfect (will have + past participle) expresses an action that will be completed before a specific future time. Future continuous (will be + verb-ing) describes an action that will be in progress at a specific future time or for a duration in the future. By next year, I will have graduated. / This time tomorrow, I will be flying to Tokyo. / In 2030, scientists will have discovered a cure.

Answer Key

1. at

2. into

3. Never have I

4. Should you

5. would be working

6. will have finished

7. will be meeting

8. Had I known

9. across

10. will have been

1. The meeting starts ___ 9:00 AM sharp. (time preposition)
2. She walked ___ the building and asked for directions. (movement preposition)
3. ___ have I encountered such a difficult problem. (inversion)
4. ___ you need assistance, please don't hesitate to ask. (inversion)
5. If I had accepted that job offer, I ___ (work) in New York now. (mixed conditional)
6. By the time you arrive, we ___ (finish) the project. (future perfect)
7. Tomorrow at 3 PM, I ___ (meet) with the client. (future continuous)
8. ___ I known about the traffic, I would have left earlier. (inversion)
9. They walked ___ the bridge to reach the other side. (movement preposition)
10. By 2030, renewable energy sources ___ (provide) most of the world's electricity. (future perfect)