Do these Grammar for IELTS exercises. They are specially designed for IELTS. You can also use other IELTS resources in this website.

Verb Tenses Review

This section reviews the basic active verb tenses.

Present Simple – Active Voice

Example: I walk to work every morning.

Present simple tense is used for actions in the present time.

It is also used for habitual actions or facts.

Past Simple – Active Voice

Example: I walked in the park yesterday.

The past simple tense describes actions that were completed in the past.

Future – Active Voice

Example: I will walk in the park tomorrow.

The future simple tense is for actions that will take place in the future.

Present Perfect – Active Voice

Example: I have walked three miles since I left home this morning.

The present perfect verb form is for past actions that are relevant to the present time.

The present perfect is often used with these words:

already, just, never, since

Past Perfect – Active Voice

Example: I had just walked onto the dance floor when the music began to play.

The past perfect tense describes a past action that has relevance to another past event.

The past perfect can also be used with the words “just” and “never”.

Future Perfect – Active Voice

Example: If I go out every day, I will have walked 15 miles by the end of the week.

The future perfect tense can be used to express plans or predictions.

Verb Tenses Exercises

Our verb tenses exercises below review the use of tenses in the English language.

Instructions: Study the basic verb tenses examples in the last section. Then attempt the exercises in this section. The answers are provided at the end of the exercise.

(1) We __________ (meet) at the entrance of the mall before going shopping yesterday.

(2) I __________ (try) to finish the project by the end of the week.

(3) At the end of this month, we __________ (finish) the job.

(4) When my Grandpa was alive, he always __________ (tell) the most interesting stories.

(5) We __________ (just arrive) when she announced that she was getting engaged.

(6) He __________ (buy) a boat last week for $3000.

(7) I __________ (pass) the exam next week if I study hard.

(8) Mary __________ (run) 3 miles every afternoon in order to keep fit.

(9) I __________ (never eat) such a delicious meal in all my life!

(10) Her parents __________ (disapprove) of her decision, but she did it anyway.

(11) She __________ (speak) English very well.

(12) I __________ (play) with my friend tennis yesterday.

(13) I __________ (get) a taxi to work tomorrow.

(14) He __________ (just buy) a new car.

(15) When we arrived home, we saw that someone __________ (break) into the house.

Answers to the Verb Tenses Exercises

(1) met

(2) will try

(3) will have finished

(4) told

(5) had just arrived

(6) bought

(7) will pass

(8) runs

(9) have never eaten

(10) disapproved

(11) speaks

(12) played

(13) will get

(14) has just bought

(15) had broken

Most Common Irregular Verbs

Most Common Irregular Verbs – Part 1

This page has three sets of exercises with the most common irregular verbs.

Remember that regular verbs take the -ed suffix for the past simple tense.

However, irregular verbs forms do not take the -ed suffix.

Irregular verbs are formed with a vowel change or with a non -ed suffix form.

Most Common Irregular Verbs – Exercise 1

Instructions: Look at the verbs in the list below. Identify them as regular or irregular. Then use each one in the sentences that follow. The answers are given after the exercise.

• allow
• calculate
• catch
• feel
• forgive
• earn
• injure
• spend
• obtain
• wear

Now place the past simple tense of the verbs into each gap.

allow / calculate / catch / feel / forgive / earn / injure / spend / obtain / wear

(1) They __________ a great deal of money refurbishing that old house.

(2) The accountant __________ the profit and loss for his client.

(3) The mother and her child __________ themselves badly in a car accident.

(4) They __________ the support of the management of the company, which made their business plan successful.

(5) She __________ him after he apologized, although she probably shouldn’t have.

(6) I __________ a good salary when I worked in London, but it was very expensive to live there.

(7) He __________ a new suit and tie to his son’s wedding.

(8) The player __________ the basketball and went on to score the point that won the game.

(9) Her parents __________ her to travel around the world alone, even though she was only 17 years old.

(10) I __________ just awful yesterday because I was suffering from a bad cold.

Most Common Irregular Verbs – Answers to Exercise 1

• (1) spent (irregular)
• (2) calculated (regular)
• (3) injured (regular)
• (4) obtained (regular)
• (5) forgave (irregular)
• (6) earned (regular)
• (7) wore (irregular)
• (8) caught (irregular)
• (9) allowed (regular)
• (10) felt (irregular)

Most Common Irregular Verbs – Part 2

Instructions: Have a look at the list of verbs below. Decide whether each verb in the list is regular or irregular. Then use each one in the sentences that follow.

• avoid
• become
• drink
• fight
• freeze
• introduce
• lighten
• mean
• swim
• tumble

Most Common Irregular Verbs – Exercise 2

Place the verbs into the sentences that follow. Use the past simple form.

avoid / become / drink / fight / freeze / introduce / lighten / mean / swim / tumble

(1) The professor __________ annoyed and angry after he learned that some of the students had cheated on the exam.

(2) My uncle __________ me to the man that I later married.

(3) He __________ all the wine, so there was none left when the guests arrived at the party.

(4) She __________ her hair last week. She is much more blonde now.

(5) I can’t believe that he __________ to do something as mean and spiteful as that! Surely, his actions must have been unintentional.

(6) The two business partners __________ over every single decision, until they finally decided to dissolve their company.

(7) He __________ the entire length of the pool ten times yesterday.

(8) The child __________ down the stairs, but was not hurt in the accident.

(9) I __________ the person I didn’t want to talk to by hiding behind the newspaper I was reading at the time.

(10) The water in the lake __________ due to the low temperatures last night.

Most Common Irregular Verbs – Answers to Exercise 2

• (1) became (irregular)
• (2) introduced (regular)
• (3) drank (irregular)
• (4) lightened (regular)
• (5) meant (irregular)
• (6) fought (irregular)
• (7) swam (irregular)
• (8) tumbled (regular)
• (9) avoided (regular)
• (10) froze (irregular)

Most Common Irregular Verbs – Part 3

Instructions: Look at the verbs that follow and indicate whether they are regular or irregular. Then change the verbs to the past tense and put them in the sentences below. The answers are given after the exercise.

• bend
• borrow
• communicate
• damage
• knock
• pay
• permit
• stand
• teach
• wake

Most Common Irregular Verbs – Exercise 3

Put the past simple form of the verbs into the gaps below.

bend / borrow / communicate / damage / knock / pay / permit / stand / teach / wake

(1) She __________ on the door to her friend’s house before going inside.

(2) I __________ up so late today. In fact, I didn’t get out of bed until 10:30 am.

(3) They __________ with me via email since the telephone was out of order.

(4) My mother __________ her favourite plate when she dropped it onto the kitchen floor.

(5) He __________ a book from me, but he hasn’t returned it to me yet.

(6) He __________ $400 for that old broken-down car, and then he really regretted it.

(7) My parents __________ me always to tell the truth, so it is impossible for me to tell a lie.

(8) He __________ the piece of wire by twisting it with his hands.

(9) They __________ the disabled person to enter the building at the designated entrance.

(10) I __________ at the bus stop for 35 minutes waiting for a bus to come.

Most Common Irregular Verbs – Answers to Exercise 3

• (1) knocked (regular)
• (2) woke (irregular)
• (3) communicated (regular)
• (4) damaged (regular)
• (5) borrowed (regular)
• (6) paid (irregular)
• (7) taught (irregular)
• (8) bent (irregular)
• (9) permitted (regular)
• (10) stood (irregular)

Gerund vs Infinitive – Exercise Instructions

Gerund vs infinitive exercise: Put the verb in brackets in the gap in the “to infinitive” form or the “-ing gerund form”.

The answers are given after the exercise.

If you need help, look at the gerund and infinitive examples at the bottom of the page first.

Gerunds vs Infinitive – Exercise

1) I enjoy _______ (swim) in the lake in the summer.

2) He promised _______ (call) us when he got home.

3) He can’t afford _______ (eat) at restaurants very often.

4) I put off _______ (pay) the electric bill for too long.

5) She gave up _______ (look) for work as a nurse.

6) I don’t mind _______ (sit) in the front row.

7) She hopes _______ (attend) university in the autumn.

8) We postponed _______ (go) on vacation until next month.

9) She forgot _______ (lock) the door to her house.

10) He would never consider _______ (tell) a lie.

11) Air travel involves _______ (wait) for a flight.

12) We offered _______ (take) her home.

13) We remember _______ (drive) along the beautiful coast.

14) The gunman threatened _______ (shoot) the hostage.

15) She seems _______ (have) lost weight.

Gerund vs infinitive – Answers

1) swimming

2) to call

3) to eat

4) paying

5) looking

6) sitting

7) to attend

8) going

9) to lock

10) telling

11) waiting

12) to take

13) driving

14) to shoot

15) to have

Gerund and Infinitives List

You need to use the infinitive form after some verbs and the gerund form after other verbs.

Here are some common verbs that are followed by the gerund:

• consider
• delay
• deny
• don’t mind
• enjoy
• finish
• give up
• involve
• miss
• put off
• regret
• remember
• risk
• stop

Here are a few verbs that are followed by the infinitive form:

• afford
• agree
• aim
• arrange
• attempt
• appear
• begin
• claim
• decide
• deserve
• fail
• forget
• hope
• learn
• offer
• promise
• seem
• tend
• threaten

Gerund Form – Examples:

I wish he would stop talking.

He denied cheating on the test.

I regret arguing with my parents.

She misses walking on the beach.

Infinitive Form – Examples:

He agreed to start work on the project.

We decided to go to a movie.

She tends to exaggerate things.

You deserve to live in a nice house.

Definitions and Examples of Basic Sentence Element

Independent clause: An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It contains a subject and a verb and is a complete idea.

• I like spaghetti.
• He reads many books.

Dependent clause: A dependent clause is not a complete sentence. It must be attached to an independent clause to become complete. This is also known as a subordinate clause.

• Although I like spaghetti,…
• Because he reads many books,…

Subject: A person, animal, place, thing, or concept that does an action. Determine the subject in a sentence by asking the question “Who or what?”

• I like spaghetti.
• He reads many books.

Verb: Expresses what the person, animal, place, thing, or concept does. Determine the verb in a sentence by asking the question “What was the action or what happened?”

• I like spaghetti.
• He reads many books.
• The movie is good. (The be verb is also sometimes referred to as a copula or a linking verb. It links the subject, in this case the movie, to the complement or the predicate of the sentence, in this case, good.)

Object: A person, animal, place, thing, or concept that receives the action. Determine the object in a sentence by asking the question “The subject did what?” or “To whom?/For whom?”

• I like spaghetti.
• He reads many books.

Prepositional Phrase: A phrase that begins with a preposition (i.e., in, at for, behind, until, after, of, during) and modifies a word in the sentence. A prepositional phrase answers one of many questions. Here are a few examples: “Where? When? In what way?”

• I like spaghetti for dinner.
• He reads many books in the library.

English Sentence Structure

The following statements are true about sentences in English:

• A new sentence begins with a capital letter.
  • He obtained his degree.
• A sentence ends with punctuation (a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point).
  • He obtained his degree.
• A sentence contains a subject that is only given once.
  • Smith he obtained his degree.
• A sentence contains a verb or a verb phrase.
  • He obtained his degree.
• A sentence follows Subject + Verb + Object word order.
  • He (subject) obtained (verb) his degree (object).
• A sentence must have a complete idea that stands alone. This is also called an independent clause.
  • He obtained his degree.

Simple Sentences

A simple sentence contains a subject and a verb, and it may also have an object and modifiers. However, it contains only one independent clause.

Key: Yellow, bold = subject; green underline = verb, blue, italics = object, pink, regular font =prepositional phrase

Here are a few examples:

• She read.
• She completed her literature review.
• He organized his sources by theme.
• They studied APA rules for many hours.

Compound Sentences

A compound sentence contains at least two independent clauses. These two independent clauses can be combined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction or with a semicolon.

Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma or semicolon = pink, regular font; coordinating conjunction = green, underlined

Here are a few examples:

• She completed her literature review, and she created her reference list.
• He organized his sources by theme; then, he updated his reference list.
• They studied APA rules for many hours, but they realized there was still much to learn.

Using some compound sentences in writing allows for more sentence variety.

Complex Sentences

A complex sentence contains at least one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. Dependent clauses can refer to the subject (who, which) the sequence/time (since, while), or the causal elements (because, if) of the independent clause.

If a sentence begins with a dependent clause, note the comma after this clause. If, on the other hand, the sentence begins with an independent clause, there is not a comma separating the two clauses.

Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma = pink, regular font; dependent clause = blue, italics

Here are a few examples:

• Although she completed her literature review, she still needed to work on her methods section.
  • Note the comma in this sentence because it begins with a dependent clause.
• Because he organized his sources by theme, it was easier for his readers to follow.
  • Note the comma in this sentence because it begins with a dependent clause.
• They studied APA rules for many hours as they were so interesting.
  • Note that there is no comma in this sentence because it begins with an independent clause.
• Using some complex sentences in writing allows for more sentence variety.

Compound-Complex Sentences

Sentence types can also be combined. A compound-complex sentence contains at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.

Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma or semicolon = pink, regular font; coordinating conjunction = green, underlined; dependent clause = blue, italics

• She completed her literature review, but she still needs to work on her methods section even though she finished her methods course last semester.
• Although he organized his sources by theme, he decided to arrange them chronologically, and he carefully followed the MEAL plan for organization.
• With pizza and soda at hand, they studied APA rules for many hours, and they decided that writing in APA made sense because it was clear, concise, and objective.
• Using some complex-compound sentences in writing allows for more sentence variety.
• Pay close attention to comma usage in complex-compound sentences so that the reader is easily able to follow the intended meaning.