Adjectives vs.
manner adverbs Verbs let, make, help, have, get, want, ask, tell
Choose the correct words to complete the sentences.
1. I know this sounds bad, but I love to drive really fast. I think I drive really well, though. I
don't get reckless when I get behind the wheel or anything.
2. I try hard to be neat and tidy. Like, I always put my keys on the shelf automatically when I
get home. You can lose your keys so easily.
3. I think it's important to take work seriously. I mean, it only seems right. If you do a job well
you feel good about yourself, too.
4. I guess I can get impatient sometimes. Like, I want instant replies to my texts and emails. I
just don't like to wait when I need an answer quickly.
5. I love sports, but I don't really play for fun. I feel pretty strongly that you should play to win.
I feel terrible if I lose. My friends see things differently and say that I'm too serious about
sports and that I should relax.
6. I hate it when people don't write texts properly and don't use correct grammar and
punctuation. It's not because they're writing quickly – they just don't care about it. I always
check over my texts very carefully before I send them.
Adverbs before adjectives and adverbs
Read the information about a common error. Then complete the statements about people's
personalities with words from the box. Do you know people like these?
1. My sister's extremely talented. She's just good at everything she does.
2. My brother's absolutely crazy. He does that extreme biking thing, jumping upside down on
his bike and everything.
3. My parents are incredibly generous. They bought me a new car when my old one broke
down.
4. My best friend is really reliable. I can count on her for absolutely anything.
5. I'm pretty laid-back. I don't get stressed very o-ften.
6. My brother isn't arrogant at all. He doesn't think he's better than everyone else.
Present perfect statements
Use the underlined words to complete the sentences about travel experiences. Use the present
perfect.
1. I / always / do a lot of traveling. I guess it / always / be my main interest in life.
I've always done a lot of traveling. I guess it has always been my main interest in life.
2. I travel with an old school friend and she / be to lots of places.
I travel with an old school friend, and she has been to lots of places.
3. She and I / travel around Asia three or four times. We / always / enjoy traveling together.
She and I have traveled around Asia three or four times. We have always enjoyed
traveling together.
4. We / walk on the Great Wall of China twice. It's so amazing.
We have walked on the Great Wall of China twice. It's so amazing.
5. We / be so lucky. We / visit some amazing places and I / try all kinds of food.
We have been so lucky. We have visited some amazing places and I have tried all kinds of
food.
6. We're always talking about places we would like to go. We / think about going to Australia
or India.
We're always talking about places we would like to go. We have thought about going to
Australia or India.
7. My friend / not be to India because she / not have the chance, and I / never be to Australia.
My friend has not been to India because she has not had the chance, and I have never
been to Australia.
8. We / not make a decision about where to go next, but I'd really like to go to Sydney.
We have not made a decision about where to go next, but I'd really like to go to Sydney.
Present perfect vs. simple past
Complete the conversations about unusual experiences. Use the present perfect or simple past of the
verbs in parentheses.
1 A Have you ever done (you / ever / do) anything scary?
B Yes, I have. I played (play) the piano in a big concert last year.
A Really? Did you play (you / play) a solo?
B No, I did not. Thank goodness! There was (be) an orchestra, too.
2 A Have you ever done (you / ever / see) the Northern Lights?
B No, I have not, but I have always wanted (always / want) to see them. We went (go) to Alaska
last year, but we did not see (not / see) them.
3 A Have you ever tried (you / ever / try) kickboxing?
B Yes, I have. I took (take) a class last semester. But I did not like (not / like) it.
4 A Have you ever cooked (you / ever / cook) a meal for a big group of people?
B Yes, I have. It was (be) my sister's birthday last weekend. She invited (invite) 25 of her friends,
and we made (make) Moroccan food.
A Really? I have never eaten (never / eat) Moroccan food before. Was it (it / be) good?
B Oh, yeah. Everybody loved (love) it!
Superlatives
Read the information about a common error. Then complete the facts and tips about different places
in the world. Use the superlative forms of the adjectives or the most / the least with the nouns.
1. The biggest (big) national park in the world is in Greenland.
2. The fastest (fast) roller coaster in Europe is in Spain.
3. Canada has the longest (long) coastline in the world. It's great for sightseeing.
4. The most expensive (expensive) hotel in the world is in Dubai. The rooms cost over
$10,000 a night.
5. The best (good) time to visit Thailand is from November to February. These are the months
with the best (good) weather because there is the least rain (rain).
6. Summer is the worst (bad) time to visit Venice because that's when there are the most
tourists (tourists).
7. The city that has the most people (people) in the United States is New York City.
8. The city with the largest (large) population in the world is Shanghai.
9. The deepest (deep) lake in the world is Lake Baikal in Siberia.
10. The smallest (small) country in the world is Vatican City in Rome. It's also the least
populated country with only 500 inhabitants.
Questions with How + adjective...?
Complete the questions and answers about Spain. Use the words from the box. If you don't need a
word to complete the answers, use a dash (–). Some words are used more than once.
1 Q: How high is Mount Teide in Tenerife, Spain?
A: It's 4,964 meters (16,286 feet) high.
2 Q: How long is the coastline?
A: It's 7,517 kilometers (4,671 miles) long.
3 Q: How big is the population of Spain? A: It's almost 47 million people -.
4 Q: What is the largest natural lake in Spain? How deep is it?
A: Lake Sanabria is 51 meters (167 feet) deep.
5 Q: How hot is it in southern Spain in August? A: It is usually around 35°C (90°F) -.
Complete the sentences. Use the correct forms of the verbs in parentheses. Sometimes there is more
than one correct answer.
1. I want my children to make (make) good decisions for themselves.
2. I don't let my kids play (play) computer games before bedtime. It makes them sleep (sleep)
badly.
3. I usually make my teenagers clean up (clean up) the kitchen after meals.
4. I want to get my kids to eat (eat) well. They're always eating junk food.
5. I usually tell my kids to do (do) their homework before dinner, but I don't help them to do
(do) it.
6. I'm always asking them to turn off (turn off) the lights in the house.
7. I have them shut down (shut down) their computers at night.
8. I'm always telling my kids to be (be) careful when they go out.
9. I always have my kids write (write) thank-you letters when they get a gift.
10. We often help our sons to study (study) for exams. We make up games for them.
used to and would
Read this person's memories about her summer vacations. Change the verbs in the sentences below
using used to and would / 'd. Sometimes there is more than one correct answer.
1. We had long school vacations in the summer – about 10 weeks.
We used to have long school vacations in the summer – about 10 weeks.
2. I saw a lot of my extended family in those days.
I used to see a lot of my extended family in those days.
3. My cousins came to stay every summer.
My cousins used to come to stay every summer.
4. We didn't have a big house like we do now, so we always camped in the backyard.
We didn't use to have a big house like we do now, so we always used to camp in the
backyard.
5. There was a stream near our house, and we swam in it.
There was a stream near our house, and we use to swim in it.
6. One of my little cousins didn't like swimming.
One of my little cousins didn't use to like swimming.
7. She was really scared of water, and my brother always teased her about it.
She used to be really scared of water, and my brother always used to tease her about it.
8. He made her go into the water.
He used to make her go into the water.
When I was younger, we had used to have long school vacations in the summer – about 10 weeks. I
saw used to see a lot of my extended family in those days. They lived used to live about 30 miles
away. My cousins came used to come to stay every summer. We didn't have used to have a big
house like we do now, so we always camped used to camp in the backyard. There was a stream near
our house, and we swam used to swam in it. One of my little cousins didn't like swimming. She was
really scared of water, and my brother always teased used to teased her about it. He made used to
make her go into the water. He wasn't very nice to her. Thank goodness he's not like that now!
Talking about quantities of food
Complete the sentences about shopping and eating habits. Use the words in the box.
1. I don't eat many fruits or vegetables. I really should eat more healthy food.
2. We have a small freezer so we buy very few frozen meals.
3. I prefer to go shopping at the local store. I'm trying to buy less food from the big
supermarkets than I used to.
4. My family buys about six loaves of bread a week and eight cartons of fruit juice.
5. I don't fry food anymore. It means I eat fewer calories and less fat. But I have to say, I like a
Little butter on my potatoes.
6. When I go out to eat, I like to try a few different things that I don't normally eat.
too, too much, too many, and enough
Read the information about a common error. Then complete the online forum conversation with too,
too many, too much, and enough.
A few months ago, I completely changed my eating habits. I used to eat too much sugar, too much
processed fat, and too many take-out meals. I also didn't eat my meals slowly enough because I was
always rushing out somewhere. My mother was always saying "You eat too quickly, " or "You're not
eating enough protein, " and as for fast food, I know I definitely ate too much. I really thought my
mom complained too mucho, but actually I guess I didn't pay enough attention to her. I got sick! The
doctor said my diet wasn't healthy enough and said I needed to change it. He also told me that I
needed more vitamins and that I wasn't getting enough. No surprise there! So I changed my diet. In
the end, it was simple enough to do. Now I'm eating a lot of raw vegetables – I guess you can't eat
too many of those! I feel great. And guess what? My mom can't say I don't eat well enough. Not now!
Comments:
Good for you! You should never be too busy to look after your health! Too much junk food and too
many sweets are not good for you.
Families
VERBO VERBO SIMPLE PAST PRESENT PERFECT
Complete the sentences using the words in the box. Can you figure out the meaning of the words? ser/estar be was/were been
ganarle (a alguien) beat beat beaten
empezar begin began begun
1 My parents got divorced when I was six. I lived with my mom during the week, and with my dad
doblar bend bent bent
and his new wife on weekends. It was hard. Morder bite bit bitten
2 I'm an only child. I don't have any brothers or sisters. But I don't mind. soplar blow blew blown
3 My nephew is only three. He's my sister's son. He's really cute. romper break broke broken
4 My husband and I got married when we were 21. It was kind of young to settle down, I guess, but llevar/traer bring brought brought
we wanted to have children, so . . . construir build built built
5 My brother's new wife is really fun. I'm lucky to have such a nice sister-in-law. comprar buy bought bought
coger catch caught caught
6 My grandfather's dad – my great-grandfather – used to work in a factory. He started work when
Elegir chosse chose chosen
he was 13! venir come came come
7 My mom remarried, and she and my stepfather had two daughters – they're my half sisters. costar cost cost cost
8 We have a big blended family. There's my dad, my sister, and me. And there's my dad's new wife hacer do did done
and her four children. dibujar draw drew drawn
soñar dream dreamed/dreamt dreamed/dreamt
conducir drive drove driven
MALE FEMALE
beber drink drank drunk
father mother comer eat ate eaten
brother sister caer fall fell fallen
Immediate family sentir feel felt felt
husband wife
son daughter luchar fight fought fought
encontrar find found found
stepfather stepmother volar fly flew flown
stepbrother stepsister olvidar forget forgot forgotten
Blended family
stepson stepdaughter perdonar forgive forgave forgiven
half brother half sister conseguir get got gotten
dar give gave given
Great-grandfather great-grandmother ir go went gone
grandfather grandmother crecer grow grew grown
uncle aunt tener have had had
Extended family oir hear heard heard
cousin cousin
esconder hide hid heard
nephew niece
golpear hit hit hit
brother-in-law Sister-in-law sujetar hold held held
only child children doler/hacer daño hurt hurt hurt
Other expressions guardar keep kept kept
fiancé fiancée
saber know knew known
aprender learn learned/learnt learned/learnt
ganarle (a alguien) beat beat beaten
marcharse leave left left
prestar lend lent lent
Summary of too, too much, too many, and enough permitir let let let
perder lose lost lost
Complete the sentences using the words in the box. hacer make made made
significar/querer decir meand meant meant
conocer por primera vez meet met met
1 I eat too much fast food and not enough fruit and vegetables. pagar pay paid paid
2 There's never enough time to shop or cook during the week, so I eat out a lot. poner put put put
3 During my exams, I study too much and I don't sleep enough. leer read read read
4 I don't like fried foods–there's too much fat in them. It's better to grill or steam food. sonar/llamar por teléfono ring rang rung
5 If I don't eat enough for breakfast, or if breakfast isn't filling enough, I'm usually too levantar rise rose risen
hungry to wait for lunch. correr run ran run
6 Sometimes, I eat too fast and I get a stomachache. Or I eat too much. decir say said said
7 I don't like ice cream. I find most desserts are too sweet for me. ver see saw seen
vender sell sold sold
8 I'm probably too careful about what I eat, but I get sick if I eat too many enviar send sent sent
fatty things. demostrar show showed showed/shown
cerrar shut shut shut
cantar sing sang sung
make - made want - wanted sentarse sit sat sat
dormir sleep slept slept
have – had ask – asked
MAHAL WAT G hablar speak spoke spoken
let – let tell - told gastar spend spent spent
get - got estar de pie stand stood stood
nadar swim swam swum
tomar take took taken
enseñar teach taught taught
Verbs let, make, help, have, get, want, ask, tell
contar, decirle a alguien tell told told
Complete the sentences. Use the correct forms of the verbs in parentheses. Sometimes there is more pensar think thought thought
than one correct answer. lanzar, arrojar throw therew thrown
1. I want my children to make (make) good decisions for themselves. entender understand understood understood
2. I don't let my kids play (play) computer games before bedtime. It makes them sleep (sleep) despertar wake woke woken
badly. llevar puesto ponerse wear wore worn
3. I usually make my teenagers clean up (clean up) the kitchen after meals. ganar win won won
escribir write wrote written
4. I want to get my kids to eat (eat) well. They're always eating junk food.
5. I usually tell my kids to do (do) their homework before dinner, but I don't help them to do
(do) it.
6. I'm always asking them to turn off (turn off) the lights in the house.
7. I have them shut down (shut down) their computers at night.
8. I'm always telling my kids to be (be) careful when they go out.
9. I always have my kids write (write) thank-you letters when they get a gift.
10. We often help our sons to study (study) for exams. We make up games for them.