STATE & ACTION VERBS

Verbs in English are either state/stative or action/active verbs.  An action verb means something is happening: John is cleaning the room; Sarah put the books on the shelf.  A state verb means something staying the same, or not an action: Joe owns the house.  The shelf contained books.  It is usually action verbs that can be used in a continuous form: kick, eat, play, swim, talk, etc.

State verbs generally fall into 4 groups:

Emotion: love, hate, want, need
Possession: have, own, want, belong
Sense: see, hear, seem, smell
Thought: know, believe, remember, recall

But English is a crafty language, and some verbs can be both state and action verbs:

Example:
"I have a car." or "I am having a bath."
"I think that movie was fantastic." or "I am thinking of going to the movies."

So you want to do some state and action verb practice?  Excellent - you've come to the right place!  Below are some links to exercises you can do at home, on the bus, or even down at the beach - as long as you have an Internet connection you can do them wherever you please :)

State and Action Verbs 01

State and Action Verbs 02

State and Action Verbs 03

CONDITIONALS PRACTICE

Here are some more exercises you can do to ensure you have a good understanding of conditionals.  Coming to grips with conditionals will help you do well in Part 4 of the Use of English paper.  Hope you had a fantastic weekend! :)

Conditionals 01

Conditionals 02

Unreal Past Tenses

(This last link includes wish, if only, and hope)

PAST SIMPLE OR PRESENT PERFECT?

Here are some exercises for you to enjoy over the weekend! :)

Past Simple or Present Perfect 01

Past Simple or Present Perfect 02

Past Simple or Present Perfect 03

Past Simple or Present Perfect 04

THE "-ING" FORM

The "-ing" form is extremely versatile in English and can be used in a variety of ways.  Let's check some of them out:

It can be used as a noun, an adjective, or a verb:
* Smoking is forbidden
* I had a long working day
* I don't like dancing

It is used after prepositions:
* Before leaving, you need to hand in your essay
* After discussing it with her, I thought she was right
* Instead of feeling sorry for myself, I went out with my friends

When "to" is used as a preposition it can be followed by the "-ing" form:
* I don't object to working on a Saturday
* I'm looking forward to seeing that movie again
* I'm used to getting up very early

There are numerous verb + -ing combinations:
* I admit telling him
* I avoid working on the weekends
* He denied telling her
* I enjoy dancing
* I've given up working on Saturdays
* I don't mind playing golf
* I can't stand drinking beer

Here's some links to a number of "-ing" form exercises (be careful, some of the answers don't require an "-ing" form.  Instead, they need an infinitive):

Number 01

Number 02

Number 03 

MIXED TENSES - EXERCISES

As we get closer to the exam, it's always good to do some further grammar revision - and what better way to do that than with a series of exercises that enable you to put your knowledge of tenses to the test!

So, without anything further, here are the links :)

Mixed Tenses 01

Mixed Tenses 02

Mixed Tenses 03

Mixed Tense 04

Verb Patterns

What Tense Is It?

PREFIX/SUFFIX EXERCISES

During the Use of English part of the exam you will sometimes have to change the form of a given word by adding a prefix or a suffix.

It is extremely important that you read the whole text first, because then you will understand the context, and it will make it easier for you to understand what form of the word you will need to put into the gaps.

Focus on the word that comes before or after the gap.  Is it a noun?  Is it a verb?  If the word is a noun, then there's a pretty good chance you'll need an adjective.  If the word is a verb, then it's likely you'll need an adverb.

And when you have some free time read as much as you can.  Read something online, read a magazine, read a newspaper, read a novel - just read.  And make sure it's in English ;)

Now it's practice time! :)

Prefixes

Prefixes & Suffixes

Suffixes

ARTICLES - AGAIN! :)

Here's some more links to exercises about articles (a, an, the), because they're a super important part of the English language.  If used correctly they provide extra detail when you're trying to express or explain something.

Remember, an article is basically an adjective.  Like adjectives, they modify nouns.

Articles are the, a, and an.  The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns.  A/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns.

For example:

If I say "let's see the movie" I am talking about a specific movie, one that you and I have already discussed.

If I say "let's see a movie" I am talking about any movie rather than a specific one. There are many movies, and I don't care which one I see.

And, as promised, here are the links:

Articles 01

Articles 02

Articles 03

Articles 04