PRELIMINARY ENGLISH TESTGrammar Part 1

Tenses

Tense Usage Adverbs (clues) Form

Simple Present

Habitual Action Permanent

States Likes & dislikes

Always NeverTwice a weekEvery month

I/you/we/they + infinitive

Auxiliaries: do/does

Present Continuous

Action now Temporary

action

Now At this momentCurrently

Am/is/are + verb -ing

Present Continuous (future)

Planned action in the future

TomorrowIn two weeks

Present Perfect

Action up up the present

Finished result Recent event Life event

ForSinceAlreadyYetJustUp to nowSo far

Has/have + 3rd column

Simple Past

Past action YesterdayLast weekIn 1980

Was/were (no auxiliaries)

RegularIrregular verbsAuxiliary: (did)

Past Continuous

Past action in progress

Past action in progress interrupted

YesterdayLast weekIn 1980

Was/were + ing

Past Perfect

A past action done before another past action

Before AfterWhen

Had + 3rd column

Phrasal Verbs

Look at Look at those men. Don't they look suspicious?Look for John is looking for another job. He's not happy where he is.Look after In the afternoon, I have to look after my brother Danny.Look up If you don't understand a word, look it up in the dictionary.Get on with I need to get on with my work. I'm really delayed.Turn down Could you please, turn the volume down? I have a headache.Call back Could you please tell Susan to call me back?Go out with People usually go out with their friends at the weekends.

There is – There are / Have got – Has got

There is There's a modern freezer in the kitchen.There are There are two wardrobes in my bedroom.Has got Our new kitchen has got three bedrooms.Have got I have got two wardrobes in my bedroom.

Have/Get something done

Simple Present I always have my car repaired by the same mechanic.Simple Past Yesterday I had my hair cutPresent Cont. Angela is having her hair done.Simple Future We will get the family photo taken tomorrow.

Reported Speech: Commands and Requests

Affirmative Mum asked me to buy some vegetables for dinner.Negative Mum asked me not to arrive home late today.

Much – Many – Too – Very - Rather

Much How much sugar do you need for the dessert?Many How many oranges do you need for the cake?Too That bookcase is too tall to fit in my flat.Very No, thank you.My new kitchen is very big and well- illuminated.Rather The flat is rather small but I live comfortably.

Requests and Offers

Request something in a polite way:

Can I have a drink? Could I have something to eat? Can you pass me your plate? Could you open that bottle? Will you tell me if you want some more? Would you make me a sandwich?

Make offers:

Would you like some chocolate? Would you like me to get you some water? Will you have some more pizza? Shall I get you some ice for your cola? Can I get you a drink? Could I get you some more fruit?

Invitations

Do you want to come to my party tomorrow?Can you come to my party tomorrow?I would like to invite you to my party tomorrow.

      Thank you, I would like to comeOR      Thank you, but I cannot come.

Suggestions

Why don't we go to the cinema?How about going to the cinema?Shall we go to the cinema?

      Yes, let's goOR      No, how about the pub instead?

Offers

Would you like some tea?Can I pour you some tea?May I offer you some tea?

      Yes, thank you.OR      No, thank you.

Adjectives ending in -ed or -ing

- shocked / shocking- worried / worrying

- surprised / surprising- embarrassed / embarrassing

- annoyed / annoying- interested / interesting

- excited / exciting- thrilled / thrilling

- amused / amusing

Prepositions

Fond of Interested inKeen on Crazy aboutFan of Good at

Patterns

(verb + ing) - (verb + noun)

like I like getting up early when the weather is nice.enjoy We all enjoy going to the movies Saturday night.don't like I don't like driving at night.love I really love chocolate !

prefer + noun + to+ noun

I prefer apples to pears

prefer + -ing + to + -ing

I prefer going to the cinema to going shopping

I'd prefer + to infinitive I'd prefer to go to the beachI'd rather + infinitive I'd rather go to the beach

Suggest

+noun We wanted to go to the movies but Dad finally suggested the theatre.

+ ing We all suggested travelling by plane. It's much faster.

Writing Samples

Note

Write a note to your friend including:

say how you usually get to school. Ask your friend if you can travel to school with him. Ask him what time the bus leaves.

Dear Hugh,

I usually cycle to school but my bike is broken. Can I come to school with you in the morning? You usually take the bus, don't you? What time does it leave? Speak to you later!

You want to ask some friends to come for lunch on Sunday for your birthday. Write a note to an English-speaking friend. In your note you should include:

say what you usually do at the weekend. Tell your friend when your birthday lunch is. tell your friend what time to arrive on Sunday.

Tom,

At the weekend I usually do my homework or visit my grandparents, but this Saturday is my birthday. Can you come to my birthday lunch? It's at my house at one o'clock on Sunday. Please come at 12.30, for drinks before lunch.

E-mail

Write an email to your cousin. Tell your cousin:

what you are doing right now. What another person in your family is doing. What you're doing this week and this evening.

Hi! Right now I'm lying on the sofa listening to my favorite band. Dad's making me a sandwich. We're all relaxing this week because it's Easter and school's closed. This evening I'm going to the cinema with some friends.

Postcard

You are on holiday with some friends in a hotel. An English-speaking relative, Liz, sends you an email asking for a postcard.Write a postcard to Liz. On it you should

say where you are and when you arrived. Describe the hotel and say if you like it. Say what you did yesterday and what your plans are for tomorrow.

Dear Liz, We arrived here in Argentina yesterday afternoon. Our hotel is small but friendly and comfortable, and we're really enjoying it here. Yesterday, we spent some time on the beach. Tomorrow we're hiring a car to drive around the island.Love to all,Mark

Letter

An English speaking friend wants to go out for food. Here is part of Jim's letter:

In your next letter, suggest somewhere for us to eat out – your favourite restaurant.

Why is it so good?

Make notes for the main paragraph of your letter:Where is your favourite restaurant, what is it like and what is your favourite dish

there?

Write a letter to Jim in about 80 words.

Dear Jim,

You asked me about my favourite restaurant. Well, I'm very fond of a place called “Maguire's”, which is near the market. It has a very friendly atmosphere, and a lot of students go there, because you get good value for money.

My favourite dish there is a chicken salad with avocado and mixed leaves. It comes with bread, There are lots of tasty hot dishes on the men. Would you like to try it?

I hope you like my suggestion.Best wishes

Marina

Tips:

Include all the information required. Write simple sentences. Divide your writing in clearly-defined paragraphs. Do not include irrelevant information. Use the grammar learnt. Use the vocabulary seen in class.

Story

Choose one of these titles and write your story in about 100 words.

An Amazing Experience. A Frightening Experience. An Amusing Experience.

An Amazing Experience

The experience I want to write about happened a few years ago at school. It began like a normal day but when it ended my life had change.

One afternoon someone came to talk to my class. He was an old man, dressed in a very old-fashioned suit, and we expected him to be boring. But he was amazing!

He was a doctor and he had travelled all over the world. He had worked in hospitals in Africa, Asia, and in South America. He told us wonderful stories about his experiences. Some of them were sad but many were very happy and he made us laugh a lot too.

From that day on, I knew what I wanted to be. I was, without any doubt, going to become a doctor.

Tips:

Write simple sentences. Divide your writing in clearly-defined paragraphs. Do not include irrelevant information. Use the grammar learnt. Use the vocabulary seen in class. Include connectives. Make your ending attractive.