English Grammar Exercises: Conditionals, Passive Voice, Reported Structures and Vocabulary Practice

Unit 1: Conditionals

Exercise 1: Inversion

1 Inversion 1 Had they not partied all night 2 Had I known it was a secret 3 Should I ever have a child 4 Had you followed my directions 5 Were my favourite player to leave

Exercise 2: Conditionals with inversion

2 Inversion 1 Were you getting married tomorrow, how would you feel about it? 2 Had her uncle not given her the money, how would she pay off her debt? 3 Should you need my help, will you contact me? 4 Were you in charge here, would you run the department any differently?

Exercise 3: Mixed conditionals

3 1 was/were; would (’d) sign up 2 had (’d) started; would be 3 had (’d) got down; would (’d) be finishing 4 had (’d) been paying; would (’d) know 5 wasn’t/weren’t; wouldn’t have bought

Exercise 4: Prompts

4 1 would have gone to the show if I was/were interested in fashion. 2 I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t have married you. 3 wouldn’t have adopted three dogs if she wasn’t/weren’t a huge dog lover. 4 It hadn’t been airbrushed, she wouldn’t be looking so great in this photo. 5 would be talking about it now if a paparazzi hadn’t taken an embarrassing photo.

Unit 2: The Passive Voice

Exercise 1

1 1 have been avoided 2 being taken 3 have been trusted 4 to be given 5 are (constantly) being manipulated 6 being treated

Exercise 2

2 1 being laughed at 2 have (’ve) just been offered 3 be protected 4 have been informed 5 being lied to 6 were made

Exercise 3

3 1 might be offered a job 2 should have been told the truth 3 don’t like being paid fake compliments 4 needs to be paid off as soon as possible 5 would (’d) prefer not to be contacted via email

Exercise 4

4 1 a) 2 a) 3 b) 4 b) 5 b)

Exercise 5: Impersonal passive

5 1 It is known that algebra was more advanced in Babylonia than in Egypt. Algebra is known to have been more advanced in Babylonia than in Egypt. 2 It could be argued that the universe is nothing more than a mathematical model. The universe could be argued to be nothing more than a mathematical model. 3 It is estimated that there are around three billion users of the Internet. There are estimated to be around three billion users of the Internet. 4 It is known that Pythagoras discovered this theorem. Pythagoras is known to have discovered this theorem. 5 It was considered that such behaviour was bad manners in the past. Such behaviour was considered to be bad manners in the past.

Unit 3: Deception and the Media

Exercise 2: Vocabulary

2 1 deceive 2 manipulate 3 genuine 4 misleading 5 doctored 6 sensationalise 7 illusion 8 distort

Exercise 3

3 1 the truth 2 doctored 3 a fake 4 the public 5 manipulating 6 genuine

Exercise 4

4 1 face 2 pinch 3 responsibility 4 granted 5 context 6 pride

Exercise 5

5 1 e) 2 c) 3 a) 4 d) 5 b) 6 f)

Unit 4: Technology and Health

Exercise 2: Vocabulary

2 1 browse 2 bookmark 3 uploaded 4 share 5 update 6 post

Exercise 3

3 1 diabetes 2 insomnia 3 obesity 4 pressure 5 strain 6 joints 7 repetitive; injury 8 addiction

Exercise 4: Collocations and expressions

4 1 withdrawal symptoms 2 having constant 3 sedentary lifestyle 4 play a crucial role 5 at our fingertips 6 at the expense of 7 lose track of 8 address the issue

Exercise 1: Reading

1 1 a) 2 c) 3 c)

Exercise 2: Reading comprehension

2 1 Because it means they can create the illusion that they are using the same products as the famous people they look up to. 2 By only shopping at shops and on websites which have a good reputation. 3 It is legal, good quality and you can claim a refund if it doesn’t work.

Exercise 3: Definitions

3 1 An illegal copy of something that is worth a lot of money. 2 Money that a business or organisation receives over a period of time, especially from selling goods or services. 3 Without knowing or realising. 4 Having a reputation for being honest and trustworthy.

Exercise 4

4 1 genuine, Nigeria 2 knowingly

Unit 5: Automation and the Future of Work

Exercise 1: Reading

1 1 In the past, the majority of jobs that were replaced by machinery were unskilled. In the future, automation will also destroy skilled, professional jobs.

2 In the catering industry, a restaurant in San Francisco where the food is served automatically. In the transport sector, taxis and lorries that can function without drivers.

3 Creative, empathetic people who are flexible and open to new situations and who are able to learn new skills quickly.

Exercise 3: True or False

3 1 True (And there were other surges of technological innovation during the twentieth century that left many people without work.) 2 False (…computerised automation will eventually affect up to 60 percent of all current jobs around the world including so-called white collar jobs in professions such as finance, accountancy…) 3 False (We can and must embrace new technologies and learn to live with them.) 4 False (Or perhaps they will!)

Exercise 4: Possible answers

4 1 will destroy ten million jobs in the UK in the next two decades. 2 to accept them and be open to them. 3 qualities that technology may have less impact on. 4 retrain and learn new skills.