The One English Grammar Handbook: Part 1 - A1 to B1

By Daniel B. Smith

The main objective of The One English Grammar Handbook: Part 1 - A1 to B1 is to provide you a valuable tool for enhancing your English Grammar. 
This book contains all the necessary theory to take you from A1 English level to B1, clearly explained and with examples included. Furthermore, each chapter has unique exercises which are organized based on topic and difficulty: A1, A2 and B1. Obviously, at the end of the book you will find the answer keys.
Within this book you can find theory and exercises for all difficulty levels regarding a multitude of topics like: singular and plural nouns, definite and indefinite articles, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, verb tenses, modal verbs, the passive, prepositions, gerunds, infinitives, reported speech, sentence structure, conditionals, phrasal verbs and many more…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daniel B. Smith
• Release date: Mar 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224779437

Book preview

Introduction

The main objective of The One English Grammar Handbook: Part 1 – A1 to B1 is to provide you a valuable tool for enhancing your English Grammar.

This book contains all the necessary theory to take you from A1 English level to B1, clearly explained and with examples included. Furthermore, each chapter has unique exercises which are organized based on topic and difficulty: A1, A2 and B1. Obviously, at the end of the book you will find the answer keys.

Within this book you can find theory and exercises for all difficulty levels regarding a multitude of topics like: singular and plural nouns, definite and indefinite articles, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, verb tenses, modal verbs, the passive, prepositions, gerunds, infinitives, reported speech, sentence structure, conditionals, phrasal verbs and many more...

1. Nouns, pronouns, adjectives and adverbs

1.1. Singular and plural nouns

Theory:

To make a singular noun plural, add s. E.g. one apple – two apples, one boy – two boys

Words ending in consonant + y change y into i + es. E.g. one baby – two babies

Words ending in ch, x, sh, ss, s add es. E.g. match – matches, box – boxes, brush – brushes etc.

We also add es to a few words ending in o. E.g. potato – potatoes, tomato – tomatoes

Some animals have the same form in singular and plural. E.g. deer – deer; sheep – sheep; fish - fish

Mind the irregular plurals: man – men, woman – women, child – children, foot – feet, tooth - teeth etc.

Pay attention to these words: half, leaf, thief, self, shelf, wife, wolf, knife – change the f/fe into ves for plural. E.g. half – halves; leaf – leaves; thief – thieves; wolf – wolves; knife - knives etc.

Practice:

Exercise 1 (Level A1):

Write the plural forms of the following nouns: foot, dress, beach, dish, glass, boy, day, apple, egg, church, person, orange, man, bus, fly, animal, watch, hotel, city, lunch, school, box, bag, eye, dictionary, family, vegetable, flower, match, child, sandwich, secretary, waitress, lorry, mountain, address.

Exercise 2 (Level B1):

Write the plurals of the words given in brackets to complete the next sentences.

1. Would you bring the whisky bottle and some ... please? (glass)

2. She cut the cake into ... (half)

3. I bought some ... to eat with our ... (tomato/sandwich)

4. We caught several ... that day. (fish)

5. It was a little store selling ... and ... (stereo/video)

6. Would you like to buy some of these ...? (potato)

7. The children saw a cartoon about ... and ... (cat/mouse)

8. All the ... had different coloured ... (house/roof)

9. It was late autumn and the ... were falling. (leaf)

10. Did your grandmother make these ... ? (handkerchief)

11. Our factory uses several ... for painting the ... (process/car)

12. They have some ... and a few ... (chicken/sheep)

13. The teenagers visited several ... that night. (disco)

14. I’ve read her ... but I haven’t seen any of her ... (book/play)

15. I bought some ... for the ... (shelf/book)

16. There were ... of ... in the building. (thousand/box)

17. The ... went in one door and the ... went in the other. (man/woman)

18. She has a lot of ... at the moment. (worry)

19. Would you bring the ... and ...? (knife/fork)

20. The ... chased the ... for several meters. (wolf/deer)

1.2. Definite and Indefinite articles

Theory:

Formula: a/an + singular noun – the first time we say the noun. A/An means one and is not particular. E.g. That’s a nice car. – this statement implies that there are other nice cars and we are talking about one of them.

Formula: the + singular/plural noun – the second time we say the noun. The is particular. When using "the" we are talking about a known object, person or animal. The speaker and listener know which one it is. It is not one of many, it is one in particular.

Examples: Jessica has got a girl and a boy. The girl is twelve and the boy is seven. Mr. Brown gave me a book and a pen. I liked the book but I didn’t like the pen.

Usage:

We use a before consonants and an before vowels. E.g. Are you a medical doctor? Jessica is an English professor.

We use the when there is only one: the moon, the sun, the sky, the sea, the weather, the earth, the world, the President of France, the capital of Great Britain, the River Thames etc. The is also used before names of seas, rivers, groups of islands or mountains, kingdoms, republics, deserts, plural names of countries. E.g. the Atlantic Ocean, the Netherlands, the Alps, the United Kingdom, the Nile, the Gobi Desert etc.

The indefinite article (a/an) is not used before a plural noun or before uncountable nouns.

The indefinite article or the definite article is not usually used before names of villages, towns, streets, cities, countries or continents. E.g. Daniel lives in France. They went to Germany.

There is usually no a/an or the before: school, college, university, home, work, church, bed, hospital, prison, town. We only use a/an or the before these words when the building is important and not its use. E.g. John is going to school. The school in quite old.

We usually say the before the places we visit in a town: the cinema, the theatre, the disco, the opera, the post office, the park, the bank, the baker’s, the grocer’s, the supermarket, the chemist, the butcher’s, the dentist’s, the doctor’s etc.

We use a/an when talking about cost, speed or how often we do something. E.g. The oranges are 2 euros a kilo. I always drive more than 50 kilometers an hour. I smoke about 5 cigarettes a day. We also use a/an with countable nouns to indicate one (I’ve got a dog) and for certain numbers (a hundred; a dozen etc.).

We use the with musical instruments when we talk about playing them or listening to them. But pay attention: The young woman would like to buy a guitar.

Usually no article is used: (1) with abstract noun (life, beauty, love etc.) languages and academic subject (2) with materials (coal, sugar, wood etc.) when they are considered in a general sense (3) before countries and towns (London, Manchester etc.) (4) before names of sports, meals.

Practice:

Exercise 1 (Level A1):

Complete the following sentences using a or an.

1. It’s ... new car.       6. Jonny is ... waiter.

2. Sarah is ... English professor.    7. It’s ... ugly place.

3. Are you ... student?      8. Here’s ... bonus for you.

4. Madeira is ... island.     9. Steve is not ... good employee.

5. We are at ... restaurant.     10. It’s not ... easy exam.

Exercise 2 (Level A1):

Complete the following sentences using a, an or the.

1. I’ve got ... laptop and ... box of accessories but ... laptop doesn’t work very well.

2. There’s ... doctor and ... nurse in ... small village but ... nurse’s getting old now.

3. I bought ... pizza and ... piece of carrot cake. ... pizza was all right but ... cake was horrible.

4. ... man and two women were here a few moments ago. I think ... man wanted to talk to you.

5. They’ve got ... dog and ... cat, ... rabbit and some fish but the kids like ... dog best.

6. Steve sent me two e-mails and ... postcard while he was on holiday. ... postcard didn’t say much but ... e-mails were interesting.

7. You can have ... apple or ... orange. ... apples are sweet.

8. There’s ... plum tree and ... peach tree in my garden. ... peach tree doesn’t produce any peaches but ... plum tree produces lots of plums.

9. There’s ... club and three cinemas in my town but one of ... cinemas is closing down.

10. There’s ... train at 4 pm and one at 5:30 pm. ... 4 pm train takes two hours and ... 5:30 pm train takes ... hour and ... half.

11. This is ... beautiful painting. Does ... artist live in this city?

12. I bought ... new toothpaste yesterday and I can’t find it. I’m sure I put it in ... bathroom.

13. Can you get ... caramel cake when you’re out? ... shop on ... corner usually sells them.

14. It’s ... nice high school and ... teachers are all hard-working.

15. Look! There’s ... cat in ... garden. Yes, it’s ... cat from next door.

Exercise 3 (Level A2):

Complete the following sentences using the indefinite article, the definite article or no article.

1. John is ... journalist.

2. ... moon moves round ... earth.

3. ... sun is shining today.

4. I’d like ... cup of black coffee, please.

5. Have you got ... single room?

6. My colleague gave me a lighter and a cigarette but ... lighter didn’t work.

7. There was ... medical doctor and ... nurse in the hospital. ... nurse was sleeping.

8. She took ... pizza and ... piece of cake, but didn’t eat ... cake.

9. Yes, I work at this university. I’m ... professor.

10. Two men and a woman were sitting in the car. I believe ... men were Russians.

11. Did you see ... Pope when he came to Spain?

12. She offered me ... cigarette, but I refused.

13. Did you send me ... postcard when you were in Spain?

14. The Browns had three cats and ... dog. I liked ... dog.

15. Have you got ... pen, please?

16. The company sent me ... letter and ... business card. ... card didn’t arrive.

17. I had ... cup of coffee and ... ice cream. ... coffee was terrible.

18. Have you met Adrian? He’s ... friend of mine.

Exercise 4 (Level B1):

Complete the following sentences using the indefinite article, the definite article or no article.

1. Your daughter is a good musician: she plays ... violin beautifully.

2. I don’t see her often – only twice ... month.

3. Monique is not at ... desk. I think she’s gone ... home.

4. Do you want to see Brian? He’s in ... garden.

5. I’m studying ... English and ... German.

6. I like Sarah – she has a lot of ... warmth.

7. Shall we sit in the garden? ... sun is really warm.

8. Where’s ... dog? We want to go our for ... walk.

9. I don’t use ... sugar when I drink coffee.

10. Do your parents live in ... Australia?

11. Would you mind waiting for ... couple of seconds?

12. I think ... piano is one of the hardest instruments to play.

13. It’s ... fast motorbike. Its top speed is 250 kilometers ... hour.

14. I saw Michael when he was going to ... work.

15. There’s someone at ... front gate.

16. Do you like ... beer? No, I don’t drink ... alcohol.

17. I need ... dozen eggs and ... loaf, please.

18. Ore is eighty euros ... ton at the moment.

19. Sarah have you done ... washing-up?

20. I think it’s made of ... wood.

1.3. There is, there are

Theory:

We use There is/There’s in combination with a singular noun. E.g. There is a door.

We use There are/There’re in combination with a plural noun. E.g. There are two camels.

Pay attention to question forms: Is there...? Are there...?

Practice:

Exercise 1 (Level A1):

Complete the next sentences using there is, there are or the question forms.

1. ... a cat down here.       6. ... three hospitals in town.

2. ... two girls and one boys in that family.   7. ... a lot of bees in the room?

3. ... a train to Munchen?     8. ... two families in that flat.

4. ... a new pub near the stadium.    9. ... a laptop in the house?

5. ... a good fast-food in this area?    10. ... a big black dog over there.

1.4. Subject pronouns, object pronouns and reflexive pronouns

Theory:

A subject pronoun (I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who) refers to the person or thing that performs an action. It normally appears at the start of a sentence, before the verb. E.g. She knows David.

Object pronouns (me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom) are those pronouns that receive the action in a sentence. Any noun receiving an action in the sentence, like these pronouns, is an object one. E.g. Daniel saw them.

We use object pronouns after prepositions. E.g. Melania works with him. Will you fly with them?

Reflexive pronouns: I – myself, you – yourself, he – himself, she – herself, it – itself, we – ourselves, you – yourselves, they – themselves. We use reflexive pronouns when the object is the same person or thing as the subject. E.g. She cut herself when she was cooking.

Practice:

Exercise 1 (Level A1):

Choose the correct pronouns:

1. Can you help we/us with these glasses?

2. We/Us rarely see they/them during the week.

3. How did you teach he/him to write?

4. I/Me write to she/her twice a week.

5. David loved her but she/her didn’t love he/him.

6. Why did you call they/them to come? I/Me don’t like they/them.

7. I/Me don’t believe she/her understands I/me.

8. You shouldn’t wait for we/us.

9. Did they/them tell she/her the information?

10. Would you like to be there with I/me?

Exercise 2 (Level A2):

Write the correct pronouns for the next sentences.

1. ... called me two days ago. (she)   7. This is Alice: ... have known ... for years. (we/she)

2. She watched ... for minutes. (he)   8. Nobody told ... the car was leaving. (they)

3. Hasn’t ... arrived yet? (she)   9. Why didn’t ... ask ... to come? (she/they)

4. ... don’t understand. (I)    10. Don’t ask ... Ask ... (I/he)

5. Are they talking to ... ? (I)    11. ... think ... doesn’t like ... (I/he/I)

6. Don’t ask ... ... doesn’t know. (she/she)  12. ... asked ... to invite ... (they/he/we)

Exercise 3 (Level A2):

Write the correct reflexive pronouns for these sentences.

1. I hurt ... when I tried to cut that tree.

2. Thanks for the party – we enjoyed ...

3. I hate watching ... on video.

4. I haven’t got enough money to pay for you. Can you pay for ...?

5. After his minor accident, Steven drove ... to the hospital.

6. We don’t need a babysitter – our kids can look after ...

7. Students, please give ... enough time to answer all the exam questions.

8. Should I apply for this open position? she asked ...

9. We’re planning to buy ... a new car.

10. He hurt ... when he was playing table tennis.

1.5. Adjectives and possessive adjectives

Theory:

An adjective is a word that describes or defines a noun or noun phrase. Adjectives usually come before nouns, but they can also come after the verb to be: It’s an expensive car. My wife is very young.

An adjective doesn’t change. It is always the same for singular, plural, masculine and feminine nouns. E.g. a smart woman; smart women; a smart man; smart men.

Possessive adjectives are the following: my (I), your (you), her (she), his (he), its (it), our (we) and their (they). Possessive adjectives occur before a noun (e.g. my laptop) or an adjective + noun (my new laptop). Possessive adjectives have no singular or plural.

Practice:

Exercise 1 (Level A1):

Write simple sentences with an adjective and a noun using the following:

1. small/rooms; 2. not/long/story; 3. happy/children; 4. dirty/restaurant; 5. heavy/books; 6. cold/house; 7. quiet/village; 8. not/cheap/clothes; 9. pretty/garden; 10. difficult/language.

Exercise 2 (Level A1):

Complete the following sentences with possessive adjectives.

1. Sarah is doing ... project.

2. Do you live with ... mother?

3. We like ... new office.

4. Daniel is in ... private office.

5. The kids are with ... grandfather.

6. I like ... new role in this company.

7. Are you and your cousin enjoying ... German classes?

8. This city is famous for ... narrow canals.

9. Jessica is with ... boyfriend.

10. They haven’t got ... smartphones.

11. The little girl is in ... bedroom.

12. Steve is looking for ... shoes.

13. I like visiting ... close friends from time to time.

14. Are the professors having ... meeting now?

15. Have you got ... driver’s license?

1.6. The possessive with ‘s and other possessives

Theory:

We use the possessive with ‘s for people and sometimes animals.

After a singular name or noun, the possessive is always ‘s. E.g. This is Sarah’s laptop.

If the name is plural and ends in s, we just add ‘. E.g. My parents’ house is big. The boys’ bedroom is downstairs.

If the name is plural but doesn’t end in s, add ‘s. E.g. The women’s toilets are closed. Sarah and Daniel’s car is outside.

In English, we also use ‘s with time words: a week’s holiday; today’s weather; yesterday’s newspaper etc. We also use ‘s with life. E.g. life’s pressures; life’s challenges; life’s pleasures etc. But we use s’ with plural time words: three weeks’ holiday; two months’ vacation etc.

For possession for things we use the formula: noun + of + noun. E.g. different parts of the world; lifestyles of other cultures; the demands of life etc.

After certain prepositions like the front, back, side, top, bottom, end, beginning we always use of + noun. E.g. The ball is in the front of the car. The paragraph is at the beginning of chapter 3.

With common nouns (e.g. car, school, town, garden, kitchen, bedroom, sea, country, hotel etc.) of is not required and the word position changes. We usually say the kitchen door and not the door of the kitchen.

Possessive pronouns: mine (I), yours (You), hers (She), his (He), ours (We), theirs (They). Pay attention: a possessive adjective has a noun after it – a possessive pronoun doesn’t have a noun after it. E.g. Is that your cat? (possessive adjective) I think that cat is yours. (possessive pronoun)

Practice:

Exercise 1 (Level A1):

Rewrite these sentences with the apostrophe (‘) in the correct place.

1.These are Sarahs rings.

2. I like your husbands watch.

3. Those are Steve and Jessicas children.

4. There is a professors meeting on Friday.

5. Are the childrens toys in the car?

6. The womens clothes are upstairs.

7. Alices father is extremely ill.

8. We have a weeks holiday in the summer.

9. The students exams start next month.

10. This is my fathers suit.

Exercise 2 (Level A1):

Complete the following sentences.

1. Has Brian got my ...? (keys/car)

2. There’s a table at the ... (garden/top).

3. Can you open the ...? (window/bedroom)  

4. The laptop is in my ... (room/hotel)

5. I met Alice at the ... (gates/school)

6. They live at the ... (hill/bottom)

7. There’s an old tree at the ... (house/side)

8. Where’s the ... (light/kitchen)

9. We always meet at the ... (clock/town)

10. The ... (air/sea) is bad for your condition.

Exercise 3 (Level A1):

Complete the following sentences with the right possessive pronouns or adjectives.

1. I like ... flat but ... is nicer. (we/you)

2. I don’t like ... new professor. What’s ... like? (I/you)

3. I can see ... children at the school gates but where are ...? (you/I)

4. All ... friends came to the event and ... two sisters were there too. (they/she)

5. Is this ... money? No, you put ... in ... bag. (I/you/you)

6. Sarah enjoys ... job but Daniel doesn’t. He wants to change ... (she/he)

7. I want to change ... laptop. I’d like to buy one like ... (I/you)

8. This car isn’t ... My