ENGLISH I

RAPID COURSE
EXERCISES To be ( +, -, ?): Pronouns: I, you, etc.
1. Put in am, is or are.
Fill the gaps with the correct form of the verb to be.

AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

I _____ always in the classroom on Friday.

We _____ Colombians.
They _____ University students.
He ____ a Professor at the University.
Adolfo and Alejandro ____ intelligent and good-looking.
NEGATIVE SENTENCES

6. You ________ Mexicans.

7. Gloria ________ a researcher.
8. Lucia and I ________ pleased about the lesson.
9. I ________ a psychologist.
10. It ________ a good instrument for collecting data.

QUESTIONS
11. ______ Ricardo from Medellin?
12. ______ we behaviorists?
13. ______ you from Manizales?
14. ______ your classmates happy in the class?
15. ______ your professor from Bogot?

2. COMPLETE THE CONVERSATION WITH THE CORRECT WORDS IN PARENTHESES.

David: Hello, Jeniffer. How_______ ( is / are) you?
Jennifer: ___________ (She`s / I`m) fine, thanks.
____________ (He`s / I`m) sorry what`s your name again?
David: ____________ (He`s / It`s) David David Medina.
Jennifer: Thats right! David, this _____________ (is / am) Sarah Conner. _________ (She`s / He`s) in our
math class.
David: Hi, Sarah. ____________ (I`m / It`s) nice to meet you.
Sarah: Hi, David. I think _________ (you`re / Im) in my English class, too.
David: Oh, right! Yes, I __________ (are / am).

EXERCISES To be: Reading.

THE STUDENTS IN MY ENGLISH CLASS

The students in my English class are very interesting. Henry is Chinese. Hes from Shanghai. Linda
is Puerto Rican. Shes from San Juan. Mr. and Mrs. Kim are Korean. Theyre from Seoul.
George is Greek. Hes from Athens. Carla is Italian. Shes from Rome. Mr. and Mrs. Sato are
Japanese. Theyre from Tokyo. My friend Maria and I are Colombian. Were from Manizales.
Yes, the students in my English class are very interesting. We`re from many different countries
and were friends.

READING CHECK-UP
TRUE OR FALSE?
_____ 1. Linda is Korean.
_____ 2. George is Greek.
_____ 3. Henry is from Manizales.
_____ 4. Mr. Kim is from Seoul.
_____ 5. Carla is Chinese.
_____ 6. The students in the class are from many countries.

ALL THE STUDENTS IN MY ENGLISH

CLASS ARE ABSENT TODAY
All the students in my English class are absent today. George is absent. Hes in the hospital. Maria
is absent. Shes at the dentist. Mr. and Mrs. Sato are absent. Theyre at the social security office.
Even our English teacher is absent. Hes home in bed!
What a shame! Everybody in my English class is absent today. Everybody except me.

READING CHECK-UP
WHATS THE ANSWER?
1.
2.
3.
4.

Wheres George?
Wheres Maria?
Where are Mr. and Mrs. Sato?
Wheres the English teacher?

EXERCISES Simple Present Tense:

Vocabulary Preview

11

1. Call
2. Cook
3. Drive
4. Eat
5. Listen to music

6. Paint
7. Play
8. Read
9. Sell
10. Shop

11. Sing
12. Speak
13. Visit
14. Watch TV
15. work

EXERCISES Simple Present Tense:

A. Write these verbs + -s or es.
a. (read) She _______________
d. (think) he ________________

b. (fly) It __________________ c. (Have) she _____________

e. (dance) he ____________ f. (finish) it ______________

B. Paul Carter is talking about his family. Complete the sentences with the correct verb
forms.
1. My family and I ________________ (live / lives) in the suburbs. My wife and I ____________ (work /
works) near here, so we _____________ (walk / walks) to work. Our daughter Emily
________________ (work / works) downtown, so she _____________ (drive / drives) to work. Our
son _______________ (dont / doesnt) drive. He ____________ (ride / rides) his bike to school.
2. My parents _______________ (live / lives) in the city. My mother _________________ (take / takes) a
train to work. My father is retired, so he ______________ (dont / doesnt) work now. He also
____________ (use / uses) public transportation, so they ___________ (dont / doesnt) need a car.
C. Ashley is talking about her family and her friend Jason.
1. My parents ______________ (have / has) a house in the suburbs. My mom and dad
______________ (go / goes) downtown to work. My parents are very busy, so I ______________
(do / does) a lot of work at home.
2. My brother doesn`t live with us. He ___________ (have / has) an apartment in the city. He
____________ (go / goes) to school all day, and he ____________ (do / does) office work at night.
3. I ______________ (have / has) a new friend. His name is Jason. We _____________ (go/goes) to
the same school, and sometimes we ______________ (do / does) our homework together.
D. Complete the questions with do or does. Then write four more questions.
1. __________ you get up early on weekdays?
2. What time __________ you go home?
3. __________ your mother work?
4. How __________ your father get to work?
5. __________ your parents read in the evening?
6. When _____________ your parents shop?
7. Does _______________________________________________________________ ?
8. What time _________________________________________________________ ?
9. Do _________________________________________________________________ ?
10. When ______________________________________________________________ ?

EXERCISES Simple Present Tense:

E. UNSCRAMBLE THE QUESTIONS AND WRITE TRUE ANSWERS.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

(you / every day / exercise / do)

________________________________________________?
(you / what time / lunch /do / eat)
________________________________________________?
(at / start / does / eight oclock / this class) _________________________________________?
(study / you / English / do / when) ________________________________________________?
(you / do / where / live)
________________________________________________________?
(TV / when / do / watch / you) _______________________________________________________?
(live / who / with / do / you) ________________________________________________________________?
(weekends / you / what / do / do / on ________________________________________________?
(English / do / you / study / where) _________________________________________________?

F. MATCH THE QUESTIONS (1-8) AND ANSWERS (a h).

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Do you have a dog? _____

Is Ms. Chao your teacher?_____
Are James and Nancy funny?_____
Does Francisco live in Miami?_____
Do Mr. and Mrs. Suarez have a new baby?_____
Is Makoto your brother?_____
Does Lisa drive a car?_____
Are you from Canada?_____

a. No she isnt.
b. No, she doesnt.
c. Yes, they do.
d. No, Im not.
e. Yes, he is.
f. Yes, they are.
g. Yes, he does.
h. Yes, we do.

G. COMPLETE THIS CONVERSATION WITH THE CORRECT FORM OF

AFFIRMATIVE OR NEGATIVE OF THE SIMPLE PRESENT.
Waiter:
Tim:
Ben:

WANT.

USE THE

Can I help you?

Yes, thanks. The children _____________ ice cream. My son _________________ chocolate.

1.

2.

No, Dad. I ____________________ chocolate. I ___________________ vanilla. Annie

3(not)

4.

_______________ chocolate.
5.

Tim:

OK. My son _________________ vanilla. My daughter __________________ chocolate.

Waiter:

And you, sir?

Tim:

I ___________________ ice cream. I just __________________ a soda.

Waiter:
Tim:

Is that all?
Yes, thanks.

6.

7.

8(not)

9.

EXERCISES Simple Present Tense:

Reading.

EDITING
Correct this letter. There are eight mistakes. The first mistake is already corrected.
Dear Mary,
speak
Spain is great. The Spanish people are very friendly, but they speaks so fast.
Jim speak Spanish very well. He dont understand everything, but he
understand a lot. I speak a little Spanish. I dont understand much yet.
Its rainy here! People say it dont usually rain much in the summer here.
Were at my cousins house. He and his wife lives in a beautiful apartment in
Madrid. Juan work in an office downtown. His wife Alicia not works. She stays
at home with the children.
See you soon.
Rose

EVERY WEEKEND IS IMPORTANT TO THE GARCIA FAMILY

Every weekend is important to the Garcia family. During the week they dont have very much
time together, but they spend a lot of time together on the weekend.
Mr. Garcia works at the post office during the week, but he doesnt work there on the weekend.
Mrs. Garcia works at the bank during the week, but she doesnt work there on the weekend.
Jennifer and Jonathan Garcia go to school during the week, but they dont go to school on the
weekend. And the Garcias dog, Max, stays home alone during the week, but he doesnt stay home
alone on the weekend.
On Saturday and Sunday the Garcias spend time together. On Saturday morning they clean the
house together. On Saturday afternoon they work in the garden together. And on Saturday
evening they watch videos together. On Sunday morning they go to church together. On Sunday
afternoon they have a big dinner together. And on Sunday evening they play their musical
instruments together.
As you can see, every weekend is special to the Garcias. Its their only time together as a family.

EXERCISES Simple Present Tense:

READING CHECK-UP
WHATS THE ANSWER?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Does Mr. Garcia work at the post office?

Do Jennifer and Jonathan go to school during the week?
Does Mrs. Garcia work at the post office?
Do Mr. and Mrs. Garcia have much time together during the week?
Does Jennifer watch videos on Saturday evening?
Do Jennifer and her brother clean the house on Saturday morning?
Does Mr. Garcia work in the garden on Saturday evening?

THE RAINFOREST CHILDREN

John Allen is 43 years old, and he has four children: two daughters and two sons. John is a plant
scientist, and he lives with three of his children in the South American rainforest. Their house
is a group of tents near the River Orinoco in Venezuela. Johns wife and one of his daughters
prefer to live in London.
Johns children dont go to school because John is their teacher. He teaches them everything he
knows, including how to survive in South America.
The children dont know how to use a PlayStation, but they can all drive, even his 9-year-old son,
Simon. At night they drive their car 50 yards from the kitchen tent to the bedroom tent because
there are a lot of wild animals in the area. They spend their free time playing and reading books,
and in the evening they listen to the news on the radio. They dont have a TV or a CD player. In
the summer the childrens friends come from London to visit. When they go home, they tell their
parents incredible stories of their vacation in the Venezuelan rainforest.
a. Write T (True) or F (False)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

John is a biology teacher.

Johns four children live in Venezuela.
They live in a house.
John teaches the children in a school.
The children dont play computer games.
Simon doesnt drive.

___
___
___
___
___
___

7. They dont watch TV.

8. The childrens friends visit with their parents.

___
___

EXERCISES Present Continuous Tense:

A. COMPLETE THESE SENTENCES. USE THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS.

1. I __________________________________ for the number 4 bus. It`s late.

(wait)
2. Ben _________________________________ TV. He _________________________________ homework.
(watch)
(not, do)
3. They ________________________________ . They ________________________________ games.
(work)
(not, play)
4. We ________________________________ chicken. We ______________________________ lasagna.
(make)
(not, make)
5. I __________________________ from school. I ____________________________________ from home
(call)
(not, call)
6. She _________________________________ . She ______________________________________ the bus.
(drive)
(not, take)
7. It __________________________________ . It _________________________________________ .
(rain)
(not, snow)
B. COMPLETE THE DIALOGUE.
G.M.
G.C.
G.M.
G.C.
G.M.
G.C.

What _____________________________________ (you / do), Grandma?

I ____________________________________ (look) at the neighbors.
What ___________________________ (they / do)?
__________________________________ (Mrs. Jackson / watch) TV?
No, she ________________________________ (move) the furniture.
And ____________________________________ (Mr. Jackson / play) the violin?
Yes, he is. Oh, look! Some people _____________________________ (arrive). I think they
want to have a party. Mr. Jackson _____________________________ (open) the door

Based on the pictures write sentences in Simple Present and Present Continuous using the
verbs.
Example:

Cry
Crying

A. Why are you crying?

B. Im crying because I`m sad.
I always cry when I`m sad.
Shout
Shouting

1. A. Why are you shouting?

B. _________________ angry.
I always __________________.

Drink
Drinking

A. Why is the bird drinking?

B. ______________________ thirsty.
It always _______________________.
Go
Going

A. Why are they going to Stanley`s

Restaurant?
B. _______________________hungry.
They always _____________________.

Perspire
Perspiring

Why are you perspiring?

______________________________hot.
I always _________________________.

Smile
Smiling

A. Why is she smiling?

B. Shes smiling because she`s happy.
She always smiles when she`s happy.
Bite
Biting

2. A. Why is he biting his nails?

B. _________________________ nervous.
He always ________________________.

Shiver
Shivering

A. Why are they shivering?

B. _____________________________ cold.
They always ______________________.
Go
Going

A. Why is she going to the doctor?

B. ______________________________sick.
She always ________________________.

Blush
Blushing

A. Why is he blushing?
B. _______________________embarrassed.
He always _________________________.

EXERCISES. Going to, (Describing Future Plans

and Intentions, Expressing Wants, Making Predictions).

Write sentences about Susan`s vacation plans.

She`s going to go to Rome. (go)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

____________________________________________________________ Italian. (speak)

____________________________________________________________ a hotel. (stay in)
____________________________________________________________ photos. (take)
____________________________________________________________ spaghetti. (eat)
____________________________________________________________ the Colosseum. (see)

Complete the sentences with (be) going to

Buy

cook

do

not have

+ a verb
study

not fly

Our car is ten years old. We`re going to buy a new one.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

My mother`s at work, so my father _______________________________________________ the lunch.

I ________________________________________________ tonight. I have an exam tomorrow.
____________ you ________________________________ a present for Bill?
We _____________________________________________ to Chicago. Its to expensive.
What _______________ your brother _________________________________ after school?
It`s her birthday next week, but she ______________________________________ a party.

Write predictions for the pictures.

1.
2.
3.
4.

It`s going to ___________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

EXERCISES. Going to.

LOOK AT THE PICTURE AND WRITE SENTENCES USING THESE VERBS AND BE GOING TO.

BUY

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

EAT

TAKE

FALL

GET

DRINK

MAKE

____________________________________________________________________ her ice cream.

____________________________________________________________________ off his bike.
____________________________________________________________________ a taxi.
____________________________________________________________________ some water.
____________________________________________________________________ a movie.
____________________________________________________________________ a photo.
____________________________________________________________________ a newspaper.
____________________________________________________________________ a sandwich.

WRITE A LETTER IN THE BOX:

A= PLAN
B= PREDICTION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

SEE

I`m going to buy some souvenirs in the gift shop.

Youre going to be hot in that jacket.
My cousin is going to get married in the spring.
We`re going to be late if we dont hurry.
Theres going to be a beautiful sunset tonight.

_____

_____
_____
_____
_____

6. Theyre going to buy a new car.

7. I think the factory is going to close.
8. Im going to book a flight tomorrow.

EXERCISES. Future Tense: Will.

_____
_____
_____

Reading.
I CAN`T WAIT FOR SPRING TO COME

Im tired of winter. I`m tired of snow. Im tired of cold weather, and Im sick and tired of winter
coats and boots! Just think! In a few more weeks it won`t be winter any more. It`ll be spring. The
weather wont be cold. Itll be warm. It wont snow any more. Itll be sunny. I wont have to stay
indoors any more. Ill go outside and play with my friends. Well ride bicycles and play baseball
again.
In a few more weeks our neighborhood wont look sad and gray any more. The flowers will
bloom, and the trees will become green again. My family will spend more time outdoors. My
father will work in the yard. Hell cut the grass and paint the fence. My mother will work in the
yard, too. Shell buy new flowers and plant them in the garden. On weekends we wont just sit in
the living room and watch TV. Well go for walks in the park, and well have picnics on Sunday
afternoons.
I cant wait for spring to come! Hurry, spring.

READING CHECK-UP
TRUE, FALSE, OR MAYBE?
Answer True, False, or Maybe (if the answer isnt in the story)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Its spring
The boy in the story likes to go outside during the spring.
The boy has a cold.
The trees are green now.
The park is near their house.
The boy plays basketball with his friends all year.
The family has a TV in their living room.
The boys family doesnt like winter.

EXERCISES. Regular and Irregular Verbs

(Past Actions and Activities).

REWRITE THE SENTENCES IN THE SIMPLE PAST WITH YESTERDAY.

PRESENT

PAST

I use internet.
I watch TV
Do you listen to the radio?
We study English
He doesnt work
The movie ends at 7:00
I dont like the movie
Does she smoke?
They play tennis

__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________

COMPLETE THE SENTENCES WITH A VERB, FIRST IN THE AFFIRMATIVE AND THEN
IN THE NEGATIVE.

Book

show

help

walk

play

paint

study

work

1. Yesterday Sam walked to work, but he didnt walk home.

2. I __________________________ Chinese at school, but I _____________________ German and Spanish.
3. The teacher ____________________ me with the exercise, but She _____________________my friend.
4. Bill ___________________________ basketball when he was young, but he __________________ soccer.
5. They _________________________ the tickets but they ________________________ a hotel.
6. We ____________________________ the living room, but we __________________________ the bedroom.
7. The salesperson _________________________ last Saturday, but she ___________________ on Sunday.
8. I __________________ the phone to my sister, but I _____________________ them to my brother.
COMPLETE THE QUESTIONS IN THE SIMPLE PAST.
Did you go out last night?
1. What _________________________________ ?
2. Where ________________________________ ?
3. What __________________________________ ?
4. _____________________________ with you ?
5. What ___________________________ to eat ?
6. What time ____________________________ ?
7. What time ____________________________ ?
8. ___________________________ a good time ?

(you / go out)

(you / wear)
(you / go)
(you / do)
(your sister / go)
(you / have )
(the party / end)
(you / get home)
(you / have)

EXERCISES. Regular and Irregular Verbs

(Past Actions and Activities).

COMPLETE THE CONVERSATIONS.

1. A: Did you have (have) a good summer?
B: Yes, I ____________ . I ________________ (have) a great summer. I just _____________ (relax).
2. A: ___________ you ___________ (go) anywhere last summer?
B: No, I ____________ . I _______________ (stay) here. But my friends ________________ (visit)
me, and on the weekends we ________________ (go out) a lot.
3. A: ___________ you ___________ (take) any classes last summer?
B: Yes, I _____________ . I ______________ (take) tennis lessons, and I ______________ (play)
tennis every day!
4. A: ___________ you ____________ (speak) English last summer?
B: No, I ______________ . But I _____________ (read) English books and I ______________ (watch)
English movies.
COMPLETE THE TEXT WITH THE SIMPLE PAST OF THE VERBS. Be careful! There is
one extra verb.
Get

meet

move

talk

walk write

When I was in year eight, Hannah Barker was my best friend. We ___________________ outside
her house at 8:30 every day and __________________ to school together. We ________________
about pop music and television and people at school. In year nine, her family
________________ to Scotland. We __________________ to each other for a few months, but then
we stopped.
WRITE THE SIMPLE PAST OF THESE VERBS.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.

HAVE / HAS
SEE
TAKE
MAKE
THINK
GIVE
READ
MEET
GET
DRINK
BUY
COME
GO
WRITE
TELL
EAT
LEAVE

________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________

EXERCISES. The Simple Past Tense.

Look at the example and write sentences based on it.
EXAMPLE:
A. Did you go to the bank this afternoon? (Supermarket)
B. No, we didnt. We went to the supermarket.

go
went

1. Did you take the subway this morning? (bus)

_______________________________________________________________________________________
2. Did he have a headache last night? (backache)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3. Did Wanda get up at 9:00 this morning? (7:00)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
4. Did your children make dinner today? (breakfast)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5. Did Michael buy a car yesterday? (bicycle)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
6. Did they do their homework last night? (exercise)
_______________________________________________________________________________________

take
took
have
had
get
got
make
made
buy
bought
went
do
did

7. Did Tommy write to his girlfriend this week? (grandmother)

_______________________________________________________________________________________

write
wrote

8. Did you read the newspaper this afternoon? (book)

_______________________________________________________________________________________

read
read

COMPLETE THE STORY WITH THE CORRECT FORMS OF THE VERBS.

BUY EAT

GET GO MAKE

SEE SIT TAKE

SHIRLEYS DAY OFF

Shirley enjoyed her day off yesterday. She ______________________ up late, ______________________ jogging
in the park, ______________________ a long shower, and _____________________ a big breakfast.
In the afternoon, she _____________________ a movie with her sister. Then she _________________
groceries at the supermarket, and she __________________ a big dinner for her parents. After dinner,
Shirley and her parents ___________________ in the living room and talked. Shirley had a very nice
day off yesterday.

EXERCISES. The Simple Past Tense.

A. COMPLETE THE SENTENCES. USE WAS, WASNT, WERE, OR WERENT.
MAKE TRUE SENTENCES.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Our school ___________________ open yesterday. It _____________ closed.

I ____________ absent yesterday. I _____________ in school.
My friend and my teacher _______________ absent last week. They __________ in school.
Our English homework _______________ easy yesterday. It _______________ hard.
It _____________ sunny yesterday. It _______________ cloudy.
B. COMPLETE THE SENTENCES. CHANGE FROM THE PRESENT TO THE PAST.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

They are busy now. Last month they were busy too.
Today its cold. Yesterday _____________________________ too.
My friend is in Seoul now. _________________________________ last year too.
Its not sunny today. _______________________________________ yesterday.
We are in Lima this week. We _____________________________ yesterday morning.

C. WRITE STATEMENTS OR QUESTIONS. USE THE WORDS AND PUNCTUATION GIVEN.

1. in Toronto / He / . / last week / was
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
2. cold / . / It / in Toronto / yesterday / was/
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. wasnt / It / two days ago / . / cold
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
4. in Toronto / ? / last month / Were / you
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
5. werent / . / there / we / A week ago
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
D. CORRECT THIS MESSAGE. THERE ARE SIX MISTAKES.
Hi Victor,
Right now Bob and I are in a taxi on our way home from the airport. We are in Mexico all last week. It
were great. The weather it was dry and sunny. The people were warm and friendly. Last night we was at the
Ballet Folklorico. The dancers was terrific. There was only one problem. My Spanish no was good. See you soon.
Rina.