Form 1 General English Exercise

 

Form 1 Immersion Bridging Programme Programme - English En glish Assignment Assignment Myself and My family

Fill in the blanks and answer the questions in complete sentences se ntences using the words given in brackets. 1.  How old __________ you? (am)  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________  ___________   ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ___________ 2.  Where __________ you born? (in)  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________  ___________   ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ___________ 3.  When __________ you born? (on)  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________  ___________   ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ___________

4.  Which musical instrument __________ you you play? (I play) pla y)  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________  ___________   ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ___________ 5.  How often __________ __________ you practise it? ( every day/ once a week)  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________  ___________   ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ___________ 6.  When __________ you start playing this musical instrument? (years old)  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________  ___________   ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ___________ 7.  What __________ your hobbies? (I like)  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________  ___________   ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ___________ 8.  Who __________ your favourite singer? Why? W hy?  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________  ___________   ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ___________

 

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TENSES

There are three present forms of a verb. We say: I write write many  many letters every day. I am writing  a  a letter now. I have written the written the letter already. already. EXERCISE

Follow the above examples. Re-write the following follow ing sentences using the correct present form of the verbs in brackets. .

1.  Peter and Jane (go) to the library every day. Peter and Jane (go) ( go) to the supermarket now. Peter and Jane (go) to the Science Museum already.  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ _____________ __  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ _____________ __  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ _____________ __ 2.  Joe (come) to see s ee me every day da y. Joe (come) for the parcel now. Joe (come) home from work w ork already. already.  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ _____________ __  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ _____________ __  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ _____________ __ The Simple Present Tense

Learn how to change a statement into a question. a/

He

is

a clever man.

Is he a clever man?

 b/

c/

You

know

Do

you

She

speaks

his name.

know  

his name?

English.

 

Does  

She

speak

English? 2

 

EXERCISE Change the following statements statements into questions.

1.  Mary knows my telephone te lephone number. number.  _____________________  __________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ _______________________ _______________ ___ 2.  I am tall for my age.  _____________________  __________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ _______________________ _______________ ___ 3.  This shop sells second-hand watches.  _____________________  __________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ _______________ ____ 4.  They are ready for the party party..  _____________________  __________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ _______________ ____ Making negative statements:

Example: 1. 

Change ‘am’ into ‘am not’. I am a bus driver. driver. I am not a bus driver.

2. 

Change ‘are’ into ‘are not’. They are good swimmers. They are not good swimmers.

3. 

Change ‘knows’ into ‘does not know’. He knows my telephone tel ephone number. number. He does not know my telephone number.

EXERCISE

Re-write the following follow ing sentences, changing them into negative statements.

1.  Mr. Lo lives with his sons.  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________ ___ 2.  Mrs. Wong Wong is fluent in English.  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________ ___ 3.  Tom is my brother ’s best friend.  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________ ___ 4.  They like strong tea.  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________ ___

 

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The Present Continuous Tense

Points to remember: 1. We use this tense to show an action happening at the moment of speaking. 2. We We often use this tense along with: now, still, at present, at the moment, eetc. tc. Examples:

What are you doing? I am writing  a  a letter. What is Tom doing? He is reading  a  a book.

EXERCISE Complete the following sentences with verbs using the SIMPLE PRESENT tense or the PRESENT CONTINUOUS tense.

1.  I __________ (walk) to school s chool every day. 2.  Jane and Betty __________ (play) chess in i n the living-room now. 3.  Look! The plane __________ (take) off. 4.  I __________ (like) Chinese food. 5.  We often __________ (have) lunch together. 6.  We __________ (play) football after a fter school every ever y Friday. Friday. 7.  Close the window! It __________ (rain) outside. 8.  Paul and I __________ (go) to the same school. He often __________ (help) me with my work. 9.  Open the door, Sally. I __________ (want) to talk to you! 10. Are the boys reading in the bedroom?  No, they __________ __________ (play) in the garden. 11. It is late autumn. Leaves __________ (fall) off the trees.

 

12. He never __________ (tell) lies.

 

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The Simple Future Tense

Examples:

Shall I open the door?

What shall we do this afternoon? Shall is used in more formal kind of English , shall is sometimes used instead of

will in statements. e.g. All students shall attend class regularly. regularly. Shall is used mainly in questions with shall I…? Shall I/we …? is used in making an offer. Shall we …? is a way of making a suggestion about the future. Shall I/we …? is a way of asking for advice or making a suggestion.

Examples:

You will know the results very soon. They will come again a gain next Monday. The manager will be here in five minutes.

EXERCISE Complete the following sentences sentences with verbs verbs in the SIMPLE SIMPLE FUTURE FUTURE tense. tense. 1.  We __________ (come) again next Monday.

2.  Mr. Lee __________ __________ (be) back in a moment. 3.  I __________ (give) you an answer in two days, Henry. Henry. 4.  The students __________ (have) a test tomorrow. 5.  John and Betty __________ (call) us this evening. 6.  Susan __________ (go) shopping with her mother this afternoon. afte rnoon.

Going to ‘going to …’ is more commonly used for a planned future action.

Examples:

What are you going to do with these fruits and vegetables? I am going  to  to make a salad. Where are you going this evening? I am going  to  to the cinema with Mary. Mary. When are you going to see the dentist? I am going  to  to see him tomorrow. tomorrow.

 

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EXERCISE Answer the following questions by using ‘going to …’. You may use pronouns.

1.  What are you going to do with these ingredients? (make a cake)  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ___________ 2.  What are you going to do with the paint? (paint the door)  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ___________ 3.  Where are you going to meet her? (at the bus-stop) bus -stop)  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ___________ 4.  Where are you going to park the car? (in a side street)  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ___________ The Simple Past Tense Exercise 1

Complete the following sentences with verbs in the SIMPLE PAST PAST tense. 1. 

We __________ (win) the football match yesterday. yesterday.

2. 

They __________ (build) this bridge three years ago.

3. 

Mother __________(buy) __________(buy) a camera for me last week.

4. 

I __________ (go) to London last summer. summer.

5. 

Many people __________ __________ (lose) their lives in the t he Sichuan earthquake.

Exercise 2

Re-write the following sentences, changing them into negative statements. 1. 

I slept well last night.  _____________________  __________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________ ___

2. 

Miss Lee finished her work on time.  _____________________  __________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________ ___

3. 

Betty invited me to her birthday party. party.

4. 

 ________________________________  _____________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________ ___ It took us a long time to finish the job.  _____________________  __________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________ ___

 

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The Present Perfect Tense

Study the following: DAVE: Have you travelled a lot, Jane? JANE: Yes, I’ve been to lots of places. DAVE: Really? Have you ever been to Canada? JANE: Yes, I’ve been to Canada twice. DAVE: What about India? JANE: No, I haven’t been to India. When we talk about a period of time that continues from the past until now, we use the present  perfect (have been/ have travelled etc.). Here, Dave and Jane are ar e talking about the places Jane has visited in her life (which is a period that continuous until now). We use the present perfect tense to show: 1.  an immediate past action. Examples: I have have just  just studied your plan. The plane has has just  just landed   landed . 2.  a past action whose time is not given. Examples: I have seen him seen him before. Mr. Lee has sold  his  his car already. already. 3.  an action which began in the past and is still continuing. Examples: I have lived  here  here since 1975. We have known Mr. known Mr. Lee for ten years. Exercise Complete the following sentences with verbs in the SIMPLE PRESENT tense or the PRESENT PERFECT tense.

1. 

Mr.. Lee __________ (move) to Shatin. Mr

2. 

I __________ (study) (study) in this school for three years.

3. 

This bus __________ (run) between Shatin Shati n and Tai Po.

4. 

Can I go shopping with you, Mummy? I __________ (finish) my homework already.

Articles ‘a’ and ‘an’ 

It is the pronunciation, not the spelling, that determines the choice between a and an an.. We use an an before  before a word which begins with a vowel sound.  

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Examples:

an apple, an egg, an elephant, an orange, an umbrella

 but we say:

an hour, hour, an honest man  because in these two cases, ‘h’ is not pronounced. We judge by ‘o’.

We use a before a word beginning with a consonant sound. Examples:

a book, a chair, a river, a window

But we say:

a European, a used refrigerator  because in these two cases, the words begin with a consonant sound, sound, that of ‘yu’.

We also say:

a one-sided argument  because in this case, the word begins with the consonant sound sound of ‘w’.

EXERCISE

Put ‘a’ or ‘an’ before the following words w ords or expressions. expressions.

 ___ clarinet

___ peach

___ actress

___ comedy

___used car

 ___ engineer  ___ Eurasian

___ earring ___ answer

___ orchestra ___ onion

___ ticket ___ square

___ huge dog ___ old man

 ___ building

___ stick

___ hour

___ axe

___ early riser

 ___ university

___ helmet

___ rock band

___ salesman

___ exciting match

Articles Definite Article ‘the’ (1)

We use a/an a/an the  the first time we mention a person or an object. We use the when we talk about him / her or it again. Examples:

I found a man in my garden last night. The man was carrying a briefcase. The man Jane has a dog and a cat. She takes the the dog  dog out for a walk every day, and she sleeps with the the cat.  cat. I bought a tennis racquet and a rucksack yesterday. yesterday. The tennis The  tennis racquet is for Joe and the the rucksack  rucksack is for f or Peter.

EXERCISE Use ‘a/an’ or ‘the’ in the following sentences.

1. 

I have just found ____ rucksack.  ____ rucksack is brown in colour. colour.

 

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There is ____ book in ____ rucksack. It is ____ English dictionary. dictionary. 2. 

There is ____ young man outside the office. He is carrying ____ parcel. I think ____ parcel is for the manger.

Articles Definite Article ‘the’ (2)

The is The  is used before musical instruments which go with ‘ play’. Examples:

John plays the the guitar.  guitar. Jane plays the the piano.  piano. the flute the  flute

the drums the  drums

the violin the  violin

the trumpet the  trumpet

We use the the before  before names of mountain ranges, seas, rivers, riv ers, certain countries which start wit with h UNITED / UNION or end in ‘s’, and groups of islands. Examples:

the Himalayas the  Himalayas

the Andes the  Andes

the Pacific the  Pacific Ocean

the Nile the  Nile

the Mediterranean the  Mediterranean Sea

the Yellow the  Yellow River

the USA the  USA

the USSR the  USSR

the West the  West Indies

the Bahamas the  Bahamas

We don’t use the the::

watch football

play badminton

watch tennis

play table-tennis

 play basketball We don’t use the the in  in the following expressions: go to school

have breakfast

travel by plane

go to bed

have lunch

travel by boat

go to church

have dinner

travel by train

go home

have supper

travel by bus

 

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EXERCISE Fill in the blanks with ‘the’ where necessary. Put a cross (x) if no article is needed.

1. 

George has just returned from _____ States.

2.   _____ Nile flows north to _____ _____ Mediterranean Sea. 3. 

We play _____ football every Sunday.

4. 

It’s fun travelling by _____ train.

5. 

Few people have been to _____ Himalayas.

6. 

We are spending s pending our holiday in _____ Philippines Phil ippines this summer s ummer..

EXERCISE Fill in the blanks with ‘the’ where necessary. Put a cross (x) if no article is needed.

1. 

I found a book in _____ room. _____ book bears your name.

2.   _____ teachers of our school are planning a trip to _____ Lond London. on. 3.   _____ Manila is _____ capital of _____ Philippines. 4. 

We went to Joe’s wedding banquet. _____ food was delicious.

5.  6. 

Eva and I often go to _____ Shenzhen for the week-end. Open _____ windows, John. _____ air-conditioner is not working.

Prepositions of PLACE

at

-

for a small or particular place e.g. Meet me at the bus-stop The fashion show was held at the Park Hotel

in

-

for a large land area, or for a place when the reference is general. e.g. Most people speak English English in Australia. ’

Tom s father works in a bank. on

-

on the top/surface of e.g. There is a cat on the roof. Put the bag on the floor

EXERCISE Complete the following sentences sentences with ‘at’, ‘in’ or ‘on’.

1. 

Mr.. Lee lives Mr l ives _____ No.2, Shanghai Street.

2. 

My sister is studying medicine _____ HKU.

3. 

Mr.. Lee is giving a party _____ the Conrad Hotel this Sunday. Mr Sunday.

4. 

Please write your name _____ the cover of your exercise book.

 

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Prepositions of TIME (1)   1. 

time according to the clock:

e.g. at 2 o’clock at 7 p.m. 2. 

12 noon 12 midnight

part of the day:

e.g. at dawn / daybreak

on Monday morning

in the morning

on Sunday afternoon

in the afternoon

on the afternoon of March 27

at sunset in the evening 3. 

the seven days of the week:

e.g. on Wednesday 4. 

at night

at / on weekends

dates:

on 27th March, 2007 on April 13, 2008 on July 10 (but on the tenth of July) 5. 

months

e.g. in January 6. 

seasons:

e.g. in spring 7. 

in July

during the winter

years

e.g. in 1997 in the year 2009 8. 

festivals:

e.g. at Christmas at Easter 9. 

on New Year ’s Day

general:

e.g. in future at present

 

on Christmas Day / Eve

at the moment in the past

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EXERCISE Complete each of the following sentences with:

at / in / on / of

1. 

This shop closes __________ 10 o’clock.

2. 

We often have visitors __________ weekends.

3. 

Christmas is __________ 25th December.

4. 

I always go to church __________ Sunday. Sunday.

5. 

People exchange gifts __________ Christmas.

6. 

Mary’s book is __________ the desk.

7. 

The next train will leave __________ 6:15 p.m.

8. 

John was born __________ 21 May, 2000.

Preposition of TIME (2) 

Study the following: a/

for

-

for a length of time

e.g. We have lived here for ten years.  b/

since

-

for a continuation of time

e.g. We have not seen him him since last month. month. c/

during

-

throughout the course of

e.g. Life was hard hard during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. d/

till

-

up to the time of

e.g. He will stay here till Sunday. Sunday. e/

before/after

-

for general use

e.g. Say your your prayers before you you go to bed. e.g. Please call again after 3 o’clock.

 

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EXERCISE Complete the following sentences sentences with:

for / since / during / till / before / after

1. 

What happened here _________ my absence?

2. 

Peter has been absent from school _________ almost a week.

3. 

We have been waiting for him _________ two hours.

4.

Mr. Lee has been ill _________ Tuesday.

5.

Tom works from morning _________ night.

6.

I never allow Susan to go out alone _________ dark.

7.

Let’s put off the meeting _________ next Monday. Monday.

Can

We use ‘can’ to: 1.  Ask for permission e.g. Can I use your ruler? 2.  Make requests e.g. Can you close the door please? ‘Can’ is

an informal way of asking for permission or making requests.

We use ‘can’ to ask for permission. Can

I borrow your pen?

Yes, you can.

I switch on the fan?

No, you cannot/ can’t.

We use ‘can’ to make requests. Can

I have some water?

Here you are.

you pass the salt please? Exercise

(a)  Make questions using ‘can’ and the words given. (b)  Give a suitable answer to each question. Example: your/ look at/ notes/ I Can I look at your notes?

Yes, you can or Sure/ No problem.

1.   borrow / car / we / your  ______________________  ___________ ______________ ___

No, __________________ _________________________ _______

2.   phone / answer / the / you  ______________________  ___________ ______________ ___  

______________________ _________________________ ___ 13

 

3.  have / hot dog / a / I  ______________________  ___________ ______________, ___, please? Yes, Yes, _____________________ _________________________ ____

May

We also use ‘may’ to: 1.  Ask for permission e.g. May I be excused? 2.  Make requests e.g. May I see Mrs. Chan please? ‘May’ is

a formal way of asking for permission permiss ion or making request.

We use ’may’ to ask for permission like this: May I / we

 be excused ?

Yes, you may. may.

go to the toilet?

No, you may not.

We use ‘may’ to make requests like this. May I

have your telephone number?

Sure.

have some water please?

Of course. / Here you are.

Exercise

Writing questions and answers. Use ‘may’ and the words given. Example: I / computer / use / the May I use the computer? compute r? 1. 

2. 

3. 

Yes, you may.

off / the / T.V. / switch / I  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ____________ _

No, _________________ _________________

close / the / curtains / I  _________________________________  ______________________ ____________ _

Yes, _________________ _________________

your / borrow / I / pen.  ______________________  ___________ ______________________ ____________ _

________________ ________________

More examples: 1. 

Please may I be excused?

2. 

May I be excused please?

 

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