Grammar: Test

Here is a useful link to a grammar test. Every time you take the test, the computer generates a different one.

Oxford Living Grammar is published by Oxford University. You can buy the book to practise. I like the book because there is always a context, a story where you can see how the grammar works in every day situations. However, I think that the grammar explanations are not always very clear.

Anyway, here is the link: https://elt.oup.com/student/livinggrammar/pre/a_test?cc=gb&selLanguage=en You can also test at other levels (elementary, intermediate). There is no explanation here of the grammar: you will need to write down or print your wrong answers and then try and find out more in the Study Centre. Good luck!

Song: Yesterday

Here is a very famous song by The Beatles. Notice how the song begins with "Yesterday": the time comes at the beginning of the sentence.

http://www.lyricstraining.com/game1680.htm

Grammar: Present simple

Welcome to Manchester! What do you know about the city?

    Manchester is nearly 2000 years old, so has a very long and complex history. It is probably best-known for its music and its two world-famous football teams. Manchester United play at Old Trafford and most students want to visit the stadium when they are here. Manchester City's home is the Etihad Stadium which is in east Manchester. Old Trafford is the larger stadium, and holds 10,000 more spectators.
    There are many music venues in the city. The area behind Piccadilly Gardens is The Northern Quarter and there are lots of places where you can listen to local bands.
    A very popular area in Manchester is Rusholme, where there are many Arabic and Indian restaurants. People go there with their friends and eat different kinds of food. Many buses go to Rusholme. During Eid celebrations, the area gets extremely busy: buses use different routes and lots of people walk along the streets and make a lot of noise.
    Most students think that the people in Manchester are friendly, so you don't need to worry about asking people questions. A lot of people think that it rains all the time in Manchester, but it really doesn't rain every day. I hope that you have a great time while you are here!


Look at the verbs in the text. What tense are the verbs?

Writing: The Great Detective

Many students find writing extremely difficult. One problem that many students have is cohesion: all the ideas need to be connected. I can often read a paragraph by a student and I think "oh, this is a nice paragraph about food", then suddenly WHAM!! The student writes a sentence about their weekend! Food and the weekend are not connected. There is no cohesion here.

a magnifying glass

Here is a short story about a great detective. However, the sentences are in the wrong order. Can you put the sentences in the correct order? (To make things a little easier, the first sentence is number 1.)

1.  The great detective was smoking his pipe at the end of a long day.

2.  There was no answer.

3.  Nothing happened.
4.  Suddenly, there was a quiet knock on the door.
5.  "Come in", called the great detective.
6.  He put down his pipe and walked over to the door.
7.  "Come in", he shouted again.
8.  The telephone rang.
9.  The man was still breathing.
10.When he opened it, the body of a man fell into the room.
11. He fell to the ground and listened carefully.

There is one sentence here that is not necessary. Which is it?
Copy the sentences and try and write the story in the correct order. The answers are after the jump.