A1 Basic test

A1 Basic knowledge test

Time limit: 60min

Complete sentences:

1) What is …… name? a) you b) your c) yours

2) How …… are you? a) old b) age c) years

3) Where ….. you come from? a) do b) does c) is

4) …… you married? a) is b) are c) do

5) ….. she got any children a) have b) has c) does

6) He ….. work in a bank. a) don’t b) doesn’t c) isn’t

Days of the week:

Sunday …………………. ………………… Wednesday ………………..

…………………….. ……………………….

Numbers:

1…….. 2………. 3……….4………. 5………… 6……… 7……….. 8………. 9………. 10……..

11…………. 12…………. 13………… 14………….. 15………… 16…………. 17………… 18……………. 19…………… 20……………. 21…………….. 30………….

Nationalities:

Britain …………….. Czech Republic ……………… France ……………. Italy………………

Germany…………… Russia…………… Spain…………… Poland…………. Greece ………….

Complete job names:

an en_ _ n _ er   a d_ c_ _ r    a n_ _ _ e    an ac_ _ _ _t _ _ t

a w_ _t _ _ _ s    a t _ _ ch_ r    an ac_ _r    a dr_ _ _r

Complete with this, that, these, those

…….. keys over here are mine. ……… car outside is my father’s.

Who are ……. people over there? Whose is …… book I’m holding in my hand?

Choose the correct answer:

What’s the time, please?

a) It’s 3 o’clock. b) Sorry, I’m busy. c) Yes, I have.

Has he got a car?

a) He’s got a blue car. b) Yes, he does. c) Yes, he has.

Are they married?

a) Yes, they are. b) Yes, they do. c) They are married.

Where do you come from?

a) I’m from Birmingham b) I live abroad. c) Yes, I do.

Telling the time

Re-write the times:

3.15 ………………….. 6.25………………….. 13.10…………………… 21.35………………..

1pm…………………… 7.30………………….. 5.45……………………. 17.50………………..

Months of the year

Ja………….. Fe………….. M……… A…….. M…….. J……… J…………

Au………. Se……………. O……………… No……………… De……………….

RESULTS:

Complete sentences:

1) What is …… name? a) you b) your c) yours

2) How …… are you? a) old b) age c) years

3) Where ….. you come from? a) do b) does c) is

4) …… you married? a) is b) are c) do

5) ….. she got any children a) have b) has c) does

6) He ….. work in a bank. a) don’t b) doesn’t c) isn’t

Days of the week:

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday

Friday Saturday

Numbers:

1one 2 two 3 three 4 four 5 five 6 six 7 seven 8 eight 9 nine 10 ten

11 eleven 12 twelve 13 thirteen 14 fourteen 15 fifteen 16 sixteen 17 seventeen 18 eighteen 19 nineteen 20 twenty 21 twenty one 30 thirty

Nationalities:

Britain British Czech Republic Czech France French Italy Italian

Germany German Russia Russian Spain Spanish Poland Polish Greece Greek

Complete job names:

an engineer a doctor a nurse an accountant

a waitress a teacher an actor a driver

Complete with this, that, these, those

These keys over here are mine. That car outside is my father’s.

Who are those people over there? Whose is this book I’m holding in my hand?

Choose the correct answer:

What’s the time, please?

a) It’s 3 o’clock. b) Sorry, I’m busy. c) Yes, I have.

Has he got a car?

a) He’s got a blue car. b) Yes, he does. c) Yes, he has.

Are they married?

a) Yes, they are. b) Yes, they do. c) They are married.

Where do you come from?

a) I’m from Birmingham b) I live abroad. c) Yes, I do.

Telling the time

Re-write the times:

3.15 quarter past three 6.25 twenty-five past six 13.10 ten past one 21.35 twenty-five to ten 1pm one o’clock 7.30 half past seven 5.45 quarter to six 17.50 ten to six

Months of the year

January February March April May June July

August September October November December

© www.swotting.eu

Past perfect continuous

Past perfect continuous

Usage:

We use it when we want to say that something had been going on until a certain moment in the past.

Both actions happened in the past and no connection to present.

Examples:

He had been living in the UK for 6 years when he enrolled on a teacher training course. ( He had lived there for some time and THEN he went on a course.)

The music had been playing loudly for 2 hours when the neighbours started to complain. (First the music was playing for some time and THEN the complaining has started.)

Form:

had been + verb + ing

Examples:

The debate had been going on for some time when the last delegates arrived.

When I got home I saw that she had been crying.

They hadn’t been playing computer games any more when I came home.

He was sweaty and out of breath when I met him. Had he been running?

She had been working hard ‚till the day she had a cardiac arrest.

We had been doing homework before we went out to play.

© www.swotting.eu

If + would (second conditional)

2nd conditional

Usage:

We talk about an imaginary situation. It doesn’t relate to any specific time period.

Form:

If + past simple , would + present simple

In British English, it is possible to use ‚If I was‘ .

In American English only ‚If I were‘ is considered a correct form.

Examples:

If I was/were a manager here, I would make many changes.

(=BUT I am not a manager here)

If I won a lottery, I wouldn’t bother going to work and I would travel all over the world.

(=it’s not very likely I am going to win a lottery)

If they got a house to live in, they wouldn’t stay with her parents.

(= but they haven’t got a house to live in nor money to buy it)

If she married me, I would be the luckiest man alive!

( =I think she will not marry me, it’s just a wish!)

If the Humankind made contact with an extra-terrestrial life form, it would change our view on our place in the universe.

(= it is not probable that we ever make contact with any life forms on other planets)

We can also use this structure:

Was/Were I any very good with computers, I would work as a hacker.

Was she nicer to me, we still would be friends today.

© www.swotting.eu

If + will (first conditional)

1st conditional (for present and future)

Usage:

We use 1st conditional to say that something is possible after something else happens.

When a condition in the first part of the sentence ( ‚if‘ part ) happens, next thing follows ( will +…..).

You can’t use 1st conditional for past possibilities, we use 3rd conditional for that (see B2 section).

Form:

If + present simple, will……

Examples:

If I learn English well, I will go to study in England.

If you study hard, you will get good grades.

If you get good grades at school, your parents will buy you a new computer.

If he leaves work at 6pm, he won’t come home before 7pm.

If she starts saving money now, she’ll have enough for a decent car next year.

If they don’t stop shouting, I’ll call the police!

 

We never use ‚if + will‘ in the same part of the sentence.

© www.swotting.eu

Conditionals summary

Conditionals summary

1st conditional

Usage:

We use the 1st conditional to say something can happen when the condition is fulfilled. It relates to present and future.

Form:

If + present simple , future simple

Examples:

If you want to buy a car, you’ll have to save some money.

If we keep polluting the Earth, we will destroy our civilisation.

If I have got some time this week, I will go to the theatre.

If he doesn’t study hard, he will fail his exams at school.

If it doesn’t rain soon, the harvest won’t be much.

2nd conditional

Usage:

We talk about an imaginary situation. It doesn’t relate to any specific time period.

Form:

If + past simple , would + present simple

In British English, it is possible to use ‚If I was‘ .

In American English only ‚If I were‘ is considered a correct form.

Examples:

If I was/were a manager here, I would make many changes.

(=BUT I am not a manager here)

If I won a lottery, I wouldn’t bother going to work and I would travel all over the world.

(=it’s not very likely I am going to win a lottery)

If they got a house to live in, they wouldn’t stay with her parents.

(= but they haven’t got a house to live in nor money to buy it)

If she married me, I would be the luckiest man alive!

( =I think she will not marry me, it’s just a wish!)

If the Humankind made contact with an extra-terrestrial life form, it would change our view on our place in the universe.

(= it is not probable that we ever make contact with any life forms on other planets)

We can also use this structure:

Was/Were I any very good with computers, I would work as a hacker.

Was she nicer to me, I wouldn’t split up with her.

3rd conditional

Usage:

We talk about situations that didn’t happen in the past.

Form:

If + past perfect , would have + past participle

Examples:

If I had known about you coming over, I would have thrown a welcome party.

( = but I didn’t know)

If they had found him earlier, they could have saved his life.

(= But the found him too late)

If she hadn’t worn a seatbelt, she would have sustained serious injuries.

(= But she wore a seatbelt, fortunately)

If you had told me about you losing a job, I would have set up an interview with my boss.

( I couldn’t do anything because you didn’t tell me)

If he had married married her, they wouldn’t have been very happy for long.

(= but he didn’t marry her and that saved him from future problems)

We can also use this structure:

Had I known about your health problems, I wouldn’t have asked you about the loan.

Had she met her husband at university, she would have been married by now.

Had they not missed their plane last night, they would have been in the USA by now.

Mixed conditional

Usage:

We sometimes mix second and third conditional to talk about hypothetical situation in the past with present/future  consequences.

Examples:

If you hadn’t drunk that much last night, you would be fine today.

If you had told me earlier, we wouln’t be in trouble today.

© www.swotting.eu

Present perfect continuous

Present perfect continuous

Form:

have/has been + verb + ing

Examples:

I have been washing up all morning.

You’ve been driving me mad all day.

He’s been running for 2 hours now.

She’s been learning to drive a lorry for the past year.

We’ve been going out for 3 years now.

They’ve been working in the garden all summer.

Usage:

1) We use ‚present perfect continuous to talk about actions which started in the past and still going on (I’ve been reading a book on horticulture)

or having an effect on present (It’s been raining. The ground is still wet).

We usually use present perfect continuous for short-time actions:

The man has been standing on the corner all afternoon. (we assume he’ll eventually go home)

For speaking about long-term or permanent actions it’s better to use present perfect simple:

I’ve moved house recently.

I’ve lived in London for 6 years now.

2) We also prefer to use PP continuous to talk about continuous change or development:

The Universe has been expanding for almost 14 billion years.

The human population has been steadily ageing.

3) We use PP continuous to emphasise the action itself:

I’ve been working really hard recently.

He’s been making a lot of noise since 6am.

When we want to focus on the result of the action, we use PP simple:

I’ve finished the book so now I know who killed the master.

She has completed that report in time. It’s done!

Some verbs are not usually used in progressive form, e.g.:

  • verbs of senses: feel, hear, see, smell, sound, taste
  • verbs of feelings: love, hate, like, want, fear, respect, admire, adore, dislike, wish, prefer, impress, concern
  • verbs of mental activity:agree, believe, expect, know, mean, remember, trust, understand, recognise, realise, suppose, imagine, doubt
  • verbs of possession: belong, own, owe, possess
  • other verbs: astonish, appear, deny, seem, surprise, consist, include, fit, involve    www.swotting.eu

Prefixes with opposite meaning

Prefixes

These prefixes give words an opposite meaning:

de – often used with verbs

Activate – deactivate

Appreciate – depreciate

Promote – demote

dis – used with adjectives, nouns, verbs

Arm – disarm

Appear – disappear

Organised – disorganised

Order (noun) – disorder

il – used with adjectives starting with l

Legal – illeagal

Legitimate – illegitimate

im – used with adjectives starting with p, m

Possible – impossible

Partial – impartial

Mortal – immortal

in – used with adjectives, often starting with e, c

Effective – ineffective

Edible – inedible

Competent – incompetent

Complete – incomplete

ir – used with adjectives, often starting with r

Regular – irregular

Replaceable – irreplaceable

un – used with adjectives and verbs

Dress – undress (verb)

Tidy – untidy

Expected – unexpected

Wise – unwise

© www.swotting.eu

Used to, would

Used To

To be used to

We use this structure to talk about familiar things.

Form:

to be + used to + noun ( I am used to the noise from the street below)

to be + used to + verb + -ing ( I am used to having a cup of coffee in the morning)

Examples:

You are used to living in a busy city centre so you don’t have a problem falling asleep at night at weekends.

He is used to the life in the country where the life is not so hectic.

She is used to the cold weather in winter as she comes from Sweden.

We are used to busy social life as we have many friends in town.

They are used to driving to work every day but the high price of petrol might make them change their habits.

Negative sentences:

I am not use to being told what to do by my boss so I think I’ll look for a new job soon.

You are not used to living in the city centre and that’s why you find it difficult to fall asleep at night with all the traffic in the streets.

He is not used to working without supervision therefore someone should check on him from time to time.

She is not used to all the hustle and bustle of a busy shop on the High street. It will take some time for her to adjust to that environment.

We are not used to the slow and stress-free life in a village but it’s going to be nice to try it for a change.

They are not used to travelling to work by public transport but they have no choice for their car was stolen last week.

Questions:

Are you used to drinking tea or coffee in the morning?

Is he used to the quiet life in the country?

Is she used to living alone after moving out from her parents‘ house?

Are we used to the life in London after moving there last month?

Are they used to having a busy social life?

To get used to

We use ‚get used to‘ to say that something new becomes familiar over time.

Examples:

I started working night shifts and it took me some time to get used to it.

You will get used to living above a busy street soon.

He got used to being a boss very quickly.

She got used to her new flatmate after a few weeks.

We will never get used to living in the country, I’m afraid.

New accounting software has been introduced in the office and the people are slowly getting used to the new system.

Over time, people will get used to any novelty.

You can’t go out for a smoke any time you want! Get used to it.

Negative:

I can’t get used to my mother being around every weekend since she moved to a flat across the street.

You couldn’t get used to travelling to work by bus but eventually you did because you had no choice.

He can’t get used to wearing dental braces.

She didn’t get used to her new boss so she left.

We can’t get used to being woken up by our baby son four times a night.

They couldn’t get used to the life in a city so they moved back to the country.

Questions:

I have to get up very early to catch a train to college. Will I ever get used to it?

Can you get used to sharing a house with other people?

Did he get used to the new system quickly?

Her husband works evening shifts in a factory. Can she get used to it?

Will we get used to my mother visiting us every other day?

Can people get used to an oppressive regime?

Used to, would

We can replace ‚used to‘ with ‚would‘ when talking about past routines.Very often there are more actions than one.

Examples:

When I was a child, I used to/would spend my summer break at my grandparents‘. I used to/would get up late and used to/would meet with my fiends and we used to/would spend our days playing outside or swimming in a lake.

She used to run a shop on the High Street where she used to/would greet her customers with a radiant smile and people used to/would call in just to say hello to her.

© www.swotting.eu

Question tags

Question tags

Usage:

They are small questions at the and of affirmative sentences (statements) used in speech (a lot in BrE) and sometimes informal writing (emails, chat rooms, etc.)

Question tags are NOT used in formal writing.

We use question tags to check whether the information we have is correct, ask for an agreement or show interest in what the other person is saying.

Form:

Negative tags after positive statements and vice versa

Present tenses:

I’m late, aren’t I ?

You like ice cream, don’t you ?

He prefers tea over coffee, doesn’t he ?

She doesn’t smoke, does she ?

We don’t eat meat, do we my dear?

They never drive to work, do they ?

You’re my new assistant, aren’t you ?

We are not leaving now, are we ?

She’s very upset about that insult, isn’t she?

You haven’t got a spare pen, have you ?

She has got a new car, hasn’t she ?

They have got some fresh fish, haven’t they ?

He isn’t working late today, is he ?

They are not going to move abroad, are they ?

Past tense:

I wasn’t late for the screening, was I ?

You were there with your wife, weren’t you ?

He wasn’t at home when you called in, was he ?

She moved to Plymouth, didn’t she ?

It was quite cold last weekend, wasn’t it ?

They bought a new pet, didn’t they ?

He didn’t come to the party, did he ?

Future tense:

You will go there with me, won’t you ?

He won’t be fired, will he ?

She’ll call her dad when she wants a lift back home, won’t she ?

It won’t be a very nice Christmas without our parents around, will it ?

We will spend our holiday in Greece this summer, won’t we ?

They won’t send their kids to a public school, will they ?

Can

You can’t get up without help, can you ?

He can drive a lorry, can’t he ?

She can’t play football, can she ?

They can’t catch us, can they ?

Would

You would like to join the club, wouldn’t you ?

He wouldn’t go there on his own free will, would he ?

She would do it if she could, wouldn’t she ?

They wouldn’t like us to play a loud music, would they ?

Could

You could lend me a pound, couldn’t you ?

He couldn’t find the shopping centre his girl was in, could he ?

She could come next weekend, couldn’t she ?

They couldn’t book a flight to Jamaica over Xmas, could they ?

Intonation:

When tag is a real question, the voice goes up (the same as in ‚Yes/No questions‘)

When tag is not a real question, the voice goes down (as in Wh-… questions)

© www.swotting.eu