www.theieltsworkshop.

com
info@tiw.vn
!

Unit 1: Sentence Structure and Overview of Tenses

Exercise 1. Put verbs in brackets into correct forms. Hints are given at the end of sentences.

a) I usually (have) ____have________________ breakfast at 6.30. (present simple)

b) I (know) ____have known________________ him all my life. (present perfect)

c) They (live) ____have been living________________ in that house for two years. (present
perfect cont.)

d) Jason __is doing____________ (do) his homework at the moment. ( p r e s e n t

continuous)

e) My brother (write) ____has written________________ three books. (present perfect)

f) My kids __is playing__________ (play) in the garden now. ( p r e s e n t

continuous)

g) She (not break) _____ hasn’t broken_______________ the rules. (present

perfect)

h) We (be) ____have been________________ here for hours! (present perfect

cont.)

i) My mother often (teach) __teaches__________________ me English (present simple)


on Saturday evenings.

j) Some people _are waiting_______ (wait) to talk to you. (present

continuous)

k) My vacation in Hue (be) __was__________________ wonderful. (past simple)

l) The lights went off because we (not/pay) ___hadn’t paid______________ the electricity (past perfect)


bill.

m) Last summer I (visit) ___visited_________________ Ngoc Son Temple in Ha Noi. (past simple)

!8
 www.theieltsworkshop.com
info@tiw.vn
!

n) We (stay) __have been staying_____________ there since 1980, you know. ( p a s t

perfect cont.)

o) I (read) ___was reading__________ when the lights went out. ( p a s t

continuous)

p) Tracy (not/meet) ____hadn’t met___________ any geese in Mallorca before she left. (past perfect)

q) My parents (be) ____were________________ very tired after the trip. (past simple)

r) Janet (rehearse) __was rehearsing______________ for the play at 10 a.m. ( p a s t

continuous)

Exercise 2. Choose the verb tense that makes the most sense. Choose the best answer A, B or C.

1. Yesterday, Ralph _____________ a donut.

A. eats

B. ate x

C. will eat

2. Agnes _____________ on the window, but nobody answered.

A. taps

B. will tap

C. tapped x

3. A cat _____________ at Madeleine's face as the sun rose.

A. will lick

B. licked x

C. licks

4. I think he can _____________ me behind this fence.

!9
 www.theieltsworkshop.com
info@tiw.vn
!

A. saw

B. will see

C. see x

5. After they spent all day in the sun, the chocolates in the back of Terrell's car _____________.

A. had melted x

B. will melt

C. melt

6. As the storm rages outside, Willa _____________ under the covers.

A. hides x

B. hid

C. will hide

7. We ate all the onion rings, so I _____________ another basket

A. was ordering

B. order

C. ordered x

!10
 www.theieltsworkshop.com
info@tiw.vn
!

Exercise 3. Choose the best answer A or B.

1. Choose a simple sentence.

A. The sand dunes squeaked, and the vultures squawked.

B. The sand dunes squeaked and squawked. x

2. Is this a simple or a compound sentence?

a. The lake holds more than secrets; it’s good for fishing, too!

A. It’s a simple sentence.

B. It’s a compound sentence. x

3. Choose a simple sentence.

A. Inspector DeRay looked for fingerprints. x

B. Inspector DeRay looked around, but he couldn't find any fingerprints.

4. Is this a simple or a compound sentence?

a. The mosaic tile is so beautiful; it’s made with melted glass.

A. It’s a simple sentence.

B. It’s a compound sentence. x

5. Choose a compound sentence.

A. Humphrey spun the globe and put his finger on a random country.

B. Humphrey spun the globe, and Peggy put her finger on a random country. x

6. Is this a simple or a compound sentence?

a. Ramzi put an extra dash of ginger in the cookie batter.

A. It’s a simple sentence. x

B. It’s a compound sentence.

!11
 www.theieltsworkshop.com
info@tiw.vn
!

Exercise 4. Choose the best answer A or B.

1. Combine these part to make a logical complex sentence.

a. When I go swimming

b. I have to keep my eyes closed underwater

A. When I go swimming, I have to keep my eyes closed underwater. x

B. I have to when I go swimming keep my eyes closed underwater.

2. Which of these options is a complex sentence?

A. Since his pet parakeet flew away, Giovanni didn’t know how he was going to spend his
Saturday. x

B. Since his pet parakeet flew away, Giovanni was at a loss; he didn’t know how he was going to

spend his Saturday.

3. Combine these part to make a logical compound-complex sentence.

a. Although I drank a lot of coffee

b. And I don’t think I’ll make it through the movie

c. I’m getting sleepy

A. Although I drank a lot of coffee, I'm getting sleepy, and I don't think I'll make it
through the movie. x

B. Although I drank a lot of coffee, and I don't think I'll make it through the movie, I'm
getting sleepy.

4. Which of these options is a complex sentence?

A. London’s underground subway system is very efficient and easy to use; the city is large and

bustling but well-connected.

B. London’s underground subway system is very efficient and easy to use, even though the city is
large and bustling. x

!12
 www.theieltsworkshop.com
info@tiw.vn
!

5. Combine these parts to make a logical compound-complex sentence.

a. The nebula could harm the ship

b. We must push through it

c. The alien refugees need our help

A. Because the alien refugees need our help, we must push through the nebula, even
though it could harm our ship!

B. Even though the nebula could harm our ship, the alien refugees need our help so we
must push through it. x

6. Which of these options is a compound-complex sentence?

A. Despite Diane’s repeated explanations, Noah couldn’t figure out what coconut aminos were.

B. Noah peered into the bottle, but, although Diane kept trying to explain it to him, he couldn’t
figure out what coconut aminos were. x

!13
 www.theieltsworkshop.com
info@tiw.vn
!

Exercise 5. Which of the following options is a simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex

sentence?

1. Pauline and Bruno have a big argument every summer over where they should spend their summer
vacation. simple

2. Pauline loves to go to the beach and spends her days sunbathing. simple

3. Bruno, on the other hand, likes the view that he gets from the log cabin up in the mountains, and he

enjoys hiking in the forest. compound

4. Pauline says there is nothing relaxing about chopping wood, swatting mosquitoes, and cooking over a
woodstove. simple

5. Bruno dislikes sitting on the beach; he always gets a nasty sunburn. compound

6. Bruno tends to get bored sitting on the beach, watching the waves, getting sand in his swimsuit, and

reading detective novels for a week. simple

7. This year, after a lengthy, noisy debate, they decided to take separate vacations. simple

8. Bruno went to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and Pauline went to Cape Cod. compound

9. Although they are 250 miles apart, they keep in constant contact on the internet. complex

10. Bruno took the desktop computer that he uses at work, and Pauline sits on the beach with her laptop

computer, which she connects to the internet with a cellular phone. compound


!14