Shule Poa: English Grammar Exercises

1. EXERCISES ON NOUNS

EXERCISE 1. A

Distinguish the Common and Proper nouns in the list below.

	NOUN	COMMON	PROPER
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10 11 12	Kenya Boy Humour Britain English Booklet Atlas Philips atlas Smoke Onyango Smoke Mary

EXERCISE 1.B

Below is a list of both concrete and abstract (non – concrete) nouns. Distinguish them.

	NOUN	CONCRETE	ABSTRACT
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10 11 12	Smoke Love Air Humour Book Immorality Britain Star Headmaster Dean Naivety Sound

EXERCISE 1.C

Distinguish the countable and uncountable nouns from the list below.

	NOUN		COUNTABLE	UNCOUNTABLE
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10 11 12		Water Book Smoke Headmaster Country Sand Sugar Egg Star Programme Boy Virus

EXERCISE 1. D

The words below can be countable or uncountable depending on the contexts of their usage. Briefly state the contexts.

e.g.

1. dress - Countable - a frock

- Uncountable - clothing

2. fire - countable -

- uncountable -

3. glass - countable -

- uncountable -

4. work - countable -

- uncountable -

5. youth - countable -

- uncountable -

6. room - countable -

- uncountable -

7. iron - countable -

- uncountable -

8. paper - countable -

- uncountable -

9. fag - countable -

- uncountable -

10. hair - countable -

uncountable -

11. enterprise - countable -

- uncountable -

EXERCISE 1. E

Place the most suitable countable nouns before the uncountable nouns below.

e.g.

1. a crate of eggs.

2. a______________________ of furniture.

3. a______________________ of dust.

4. a_______________ of sand.

5. a_______________ of advice.

6. a_______________ of jewelry.

7. a_______________ of land.

8. a________________ of soap.

9. a________________ of bread.

10. a________________ of salt.

11. an________________ of news.

EXERCISE 1. F

Provide the singular or plural forms of the nouns below.

	SINGULAR	PLURAL
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21	e.g. child radius mob terminus sheep brother-in-law dynamo spouse loaf louse woman agent fish tooth calf	Children Oxen Pliers Trousers Potatoes Mice Husbands-in waiting women

EXERCISE 1.G

Fill in the blank spaces in the following sentences using either ‘a’ ‘an’ or ‘the’ where necessary.

1. It was on ___________ third of ___________ month that he died.

2. ___________ Sahara is ____________ biggest desert in the world.

3. He bought __________ pair of trousers and pressed _________ pair of trousers every day.

4. ___________ skirt she is wearing is made of ________ nylon, but she prefers__________ cotton ones.

5. He takes four glasses of water __________ day.

6. Mikuini School is one of _________ best schools in Machakos.

7. Indiscipline is ____________ problem, which is compounded by _________ use of drugs in schools.

8. It would be __________ honour to be invited to stay with such __________ distinguished person.

9. They were overwhelmed by __________ poor results that year.

10. Jane was ___________ only girl I saw.

11. Simba, ___________ dog, barked.

12. This room is very nice. Has it got ___________ fan.

13. Can you recommend _________ good restaurant?

14. How often do you go to _________ dentist?

15. She visits her parents three times __________ year.

16. I haven’t been to ___________ cinema for weeks.

17. ___________ sun is a star.

18. Norah is __________ hospital chaplain of Kenyatta National hospital.

19. She says she is ___________ Canadian but _________ Canadians living in Kenya have visas.

20. __________ Computer has changed the way we live.

EXERCISE 1.H

Write the collective nouns of the following words.

e.g.

A pride of lions.

1. A___________of dogs.

2. A___________of goats.

3. A___________of locusts.

4. A____________of fish.

5. A____________of chicken.

6. A____________of ants.

7. A_____________of birds.

8. A_____________of bees.

9. A____________of cattle.

10. A____________of players.

EXERCISE 1. I

Provide the compound nouns for the following statements.

e.g.

A ticket for a concert: Concert ticket.

1. A chocolate made with milk: _______________________

2. Somebody whose job is to inspect factories: __________________________

3. The carpet in the dining room: _____________________________

4. A question that has two parts:______________________________

5. A scandal involving a football club: ____________________________

6. An accident on the road: ________________________________

7. A race on a horse: _________________________________

8. A card used to telephone someone: _____________________________

9. A paper issued on Sundays: ___________________________________

10. Results of examination: _______________________________________

EXERCISE 1. J

Distinguish the difference in meaning in the following compound words

1. (a) bedroom.

(b) bed room

2. (a) horse race

(b) race horse

3. (a) card phone

(b) phone card

4. (a) garden vegetables

(b) vegetable garden

5. (a) table tennis

(b) tennis table

EXERCISE 1.K

Use the appropriate possessive forms to join the nouns below.

e.g.

The jacket / that man – than man’s jacket.

1. The new principal / the school –

2. The child / the toy –

3. Jesus / cross

4. James / books

5. Mike / car

6. The newspaper / yesterday

7. boys / dormitory

8. teachers / quarters

9. the girls / room

10. the girl/room

11. sisters – in – law / houses

12. brothers – in – law / house

13. form ones / dormitory

14. two hours / drive

15. tomorrow / meeting

16. women / dress

17. the birds / nest

18. a stone / throw

19. a young man / trousers

20. a teacher / desk

EXERCISE 1.K

Use the appropriate possessive forms to join the nouns below.

e.g.

The jacket / that man – than man’s jacket.

1. The new principal / the school –

2. The child / the toy –

3. Jesus / cross

4. James / books

5. Mike / car

6. The newspaper / yesterday

7. boys / dormitory

8. teachers / quarters

9. the girls / room

10. the girl/room

11. sisters – in – law / houses

12. brothers – in – law / house

13. form ones / dormitory

14. two hours / drive

15. tomorrow / meeting

16. women / dress

17. the birds / nest

18. a stone / throw

19. a young man / trousers

20. a teacher / desk

EXERCISE 1.M

Use appropriate suffixes to derive nouns from the words below.

Words Noun

Demonstrate demonstration

1. liable

2. valid

3. humid

4. amaze

5. steal

6. wide

7. strong

8. good

9. trivial

10. gullible

11. honest

12. easy

13. keen

14. kind

15. laze

16. active

17. humble

18. productive

19. determine

20. realize

EXERCISE 1. N.

Identify gender sensitive terms, which can be used to replace the words below

1. Chairman - Chairperson

2. animal husbandry -

3 house girl

4. mankind

3. men

4. man made

EXERCISE 1. 1

Underline the nouns, noun phrases or clauses in the sentences below and indicate their functions.

e.g. The man was a con.

Subject (s) Compliment (c)

1. The form ones saw all sorts of animals.

2. H.I.V is a threat to humanity.

3. Amina gave a dress to the street girl.

4. The thief got what he deserved.

5. Mikuini students are very hard working.

6. The boys ate all sorts of wild fruits.

7. Girls do not like tee shirts.

8. A mischievous brat must have started the fire.

9. The new government encourages private investors.

10. The selfish politicians awarded themselves a pay rise.

2. EXERCISES ON PRONOUNS

2.a. Use the most appropriate pronouns from the choices given to fill in the gaps below.

1. Onyago and ________ were late. (I / me)

2. The essay was written by ________. (me /I)

3. __________ all wrote essays. (us / we)

4. __________ went on strike. (they / them)

5. The house is __________ . (theres / theirs / they’s)

6. No one told ___________. ( them / they)

7. __________ told no one. (they / them)

8. Give it to ___________ . (they / them)

9. They told ___________ to lie down. (she / her)

10. _________ are advised to maintain silence. (you / your)

11. _________ is a very tiring exercise. (it’s / it’s/ it)

12. No one saw ___________. (him / his)

13. _________ very bright in class. (he’s / his)

14. _________ are always late for preps. (they / there)

15. Nothing scares ___________more than terror movies. (I / me)

16. ___________ was embarrassed by his remarks. (me / I)

17. His remarks embarrassed _____________. (me / I)

18. No one distrusts ____________ . (I / me)

19. ______________ and ___________ are late. (you / I)

20. Ten of _____________ qualified. (they / them)

2 b. Use the possessive forms of the pronouns below to fill the gaps in the following

sentences.

e.g.

1. The book is mine (me), yours (you) is in the library.

2. ___________ (it) tail was cut off.

3. That was ___________ (they) duty.

4. I have all my texts, ____________(they) are all lost.

5. ____________ (us) is a very demanding task.

6. ____________(me) is an interesting career.

7. I found my wallet. __________(she) was never found.

8. "I love staying at home. Do you love staying at ___________ (you)?”

9. This book is well read. All ___________ (it) pages are underlined.

10. My results were encouraging. How about _________ (you)?

11. __________ (you) is a very enjoyable job.

EXERCISE 2.C

Tick the correct sentences below.

1. (a) Me myself I like watching movies.

(b) Myself I like watching movies.

(b) I myself likes watching movies.

2. (a) The president himself attended the function.

(b) Himself the president attended the function.

(d) The president attended the function he himself.

3. (a) I hurt myself on the leg.

(b) I hurt me on the leg.

(d) I hurt me myself on the leg.

4. (a) You spoil yourselves when you smoke cigarettes.

(b) You yourselves you spoil when you smoke cigarettes.

(d) You spoil yourselves when you smoke cigarettes yourselves.

5. (a) They themselves witnessed the accident.

(b) Them themselves witnessed the accident.

(d) They witnessed the accident themselves.

EXERCISE 2 D

Distinguish the difference in meaning in the following pairs of sentences.

1. (a) The boys, who sneaked from school, were punished.

(b) The boys who sneaked from school were punished.

2. (a) My brother who is a lawyer is coming today.

(b) my brother, who is a lawyer, is coming today.

3. (a) The girls, who jeered at the new teacher, were reprimanded.

(b) The girls who jeered at the new teacher were reprimanded.

4. (a) The boy, whom I saw yesterday, is unwell.

(b) The boy whom I saw yesterday is unwell.

5. (a) The Isuzu which had an extra large engine won the race.

(b) The Isuzu, which had an extra large engine, won the race.

EXERCISE 2 E

Use the most appropriate relative pronoun to join the sentences below.

1. I bought a car last month. It has a breakdown.

2. Jane is my sister. She is pursuing further studies in Britain.

3. The cook came late. He was drunk.

4. The two girls disagreed over the correct answer. They were doing an English exercise.

5. Many people voted. They cast their ballots for president Kibaki.

6. We ate all the fruits. They were kept in the cupboard.

7. The water tank was bought last year. It is leaking.

8. I was using a dictionary yesterday. It is lost.

9. The policemen searched the building. They were looking for stolen property.

10. The girls swept the dormitory. They also swept the classroom.

EXERCISE 2. F

Distinguish the difference in meaning in the following pairs of sentence.

1. (a) These were bought by my parents.

(b) Those were bought by my parents.

2. (a) This is mine.

(b) That is mine.

3. (a) The boy that wrote this (essay) is very creative.

(b) The boy that wrote that (essay) is very creative.

4. (a) None of these is correct.

(b) None of those is correct.

5. (a) These are the men who shouted at me.

(b) Those are the men who shouted at me.

EXERCISE 2.G

Use the correct form of interrogative pronoun to fill in the blanks below.

1. _________________ came here?

2. ________________ did you give the Atlas?

3. ________________ did you bring?

4. ________________ was bought?

5. _______________ did they appoint as head girl?

UNIT 3: VERBS

EXERCISE 3. A

Use the correct form of the verb in brackets to fill in the gaps in the sentences below.

1. He ______________ (begin) writing his exams yesterday.

2. We had _____________ (begin) the exercise.

3. They have ______________(choose) their subjects.

4. The news ______________ (be) very disturbing.

5. The police ______________ (have) ___________(arrest) the suspects.

6. We _______________ (go) to the hostel and found that all the clothes had _________

(steal)

7. Have you ever___________ (go) to the Kenya National Theatre?

8. The patient had ____________ (lie) on the bed.

9. Would you mind to ___________ (lend) me a thousand shillings?

10. The news was ________________ (broadcast) all over the country.

11. The warders _________________ (shoot) the jumbo this morning.

12. The students _________________ (shout) at the teacher yesterday.

13. No one has ________________ (write) a good article.

14. They _________________ (lead) the police where they had hidden the stolen goods.

15. River Athi is not know to ________________ (burst) it’s banks.

16. They _____________ (sing) the song which they had just ___________(sang) when the minister arrived.

17. I bought a new dress and it _____________(shrunk) after one week.

18. We _____________ (seek) the answer in books.

19. You have ____________ (grow) very fast.

20. No one ______________ (know) where it was hidden.

EXERCISE 3.B

Change the sentences below in the tenses as directed.

1. They saw the man everyday.

(a) Simple present:_________________________________________

(b) Future perfect continuous: _________________________________

2. He cries like a small baby.

(a) Present continuous: ______________________________________

(b) Present perfect: __________________________________________

(d) Past perfect continuous: ____________________________________

(e) Past continuous tense: _____________________________________

(f) Past perfect tense: ________________________________________

3. Hard working students performed well.

(a) Simple present.____________________________________________

(b) Simple future._____________________________________________

4. No one knows him.

(a) Past perfect. _______________________________________________

(b) Future perfect.______________________________________________

(c) Simple past. _______________________________________________

5. The prisoners were spanked.

(a) Future perfect continuous. _____________________________________

(b) Past perfect continuous. _______________________________________

(d) Present continuous.___________________________________________

6. I don’t entertain nonsense.

(a) Simple past. ________________________________________________

(b) Future perfect._______________________________________________

(d) Future perfect continuous.______________________________________

EXERCISE 3.C

Re-write the following sentences according to the instructions given in brackets.

1. I am unable to speak in French. (use a modal auxiliary)

2. Jim can come tomorrow. (write two possible meaning of this sentence)

3. I looked everywhere for the book but I _______________ find it. (use suitable modal)

4. That restaurant _________________ be very good. It’s always empty.

(Use either must or can’t)

5. That restaurant _________________ be very good. It’s always full of people.

(Use must or can’t)

6. Perhaps Jane is in her office. (Begin, Jane………..)

7. (a) Do you think she saw you?

8. We’ve got a lot of money. We _____________________ worry about what to eat.

(Use an appropriate modal)

9. They could walk for ten kilometers.

They had to walk for ten kilometers.

(Distinguish the difference in meaning)

10. We can fish. (Identify two possible meanings of this sentence)

EXERCISE 3. D

Supply the statements below with appropriate question tag.

1. No one came,_______________________________________

2. They have been praying, ______________________________

3. We must wait for them, _______________________________

4. Let’s go home, _________________________________

5. Any one is allowed, _____________________________

6. Edward saw her, ________________________________

7. No one saw her, ________________________________

8. We needn’t shout, ______________________________

9. They ought to be quite, __________________________

10. Someone helped her, ____________________________

11. Someone hadn’t recognized him, __________________

12. They tell all sorts of lies, ________________________

13. Nothing was seen, ______________________________

14. Let them in, ____________________________________

15. Tim hasn’t been well for weeks, ______________________________

16. We needn’t shout, _______________________________

17. No one was seen, _______________________________

18. I am here, ______________________________

19. They must abide by school rules, __________________________

20. She hardly ever goes to church, ___________________________

EXERCISE 3. E

Identify the transitive on intransitive verbs in the list below.

	VERB	TRANSITIVE	INTRANSITIVE
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.	Walk Kill Intervene Look See Hit Oppose Write Smile Smile at Walk Recognize

EXERCISE 3 F

Use the verbs in brackets to form appropriate phrasal verbs to replace the underlined words.

1. The bomb exploded on the 7^th August. (go)

2. He accepted the job offer enthusiastically. (jump)

3. One of the questions has been omitted. (left)

4. It is unlikely that Tyson will be hit so hard to become unconscious. (knock)

5. The escaped prisoner traveled towards the forest. (make)

6. He was able to recover from the illness. (pull)

7. I will telephone her this evening. (ring)

8. The principal was very annoyed with the late comers. (put)

9. Many job seekers have applied for this job. (put)

10. The staff is discussing the issue. (talk)

11. He abandoned the job the job suddenly. (throw)

12. We must find by calculation the answer to this sum. (work)

13. The minister has not paid all the money owed. (settle)

14. I have to examine the list carefully. (go)

15. The government abolished corporal punishment. (do)

16. When I re-decorate this house, I’ll live here. (do)

17. This new evidence confirms my statement. (bear)

18. When the robber took out the gun, the police retreated. (back)

19. She gave birth to a son. (bring)

20. My name is not in the list. (leave)

EXERCISE 3.G

Explain briefly the meaning of the idiomatic explanations in the sentences below.

1. He was recently given his cards by the management.

2. I have a lot of work. I am at all sixes and sevens about what to do first.

3. He threatened to skin him alive.

4. The children are full of beans this morning

5. All her talk was aimed at throwing mud on him.

6. She was pouring oil on the flames when she reported the case.

7. Abolition of caning in schools puts a premium on guidance and counseling.

8. They caught him red handed.

9. Are you going to sit on your hands as Maria washes the clothes?

10. He is no stranger to illness.

11. The workers have to strike a bargain with their employers.

12. We’ll have to dismiss him, he never does a stroke of work.

13. Judith was tickled pink by his remark.

14. He doesn’t care for his family and goes out painting the town red.

15. Abortion may soon be legalized, perish the thought!

16. A few students have been playing truant.

17. He may not be the right man for the job. He has a yellow streak.

18. I don’t want to sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. Let the issue of relationships wait.

19. She was a devout Christian and has now reverted to type.

20. The girl won’t cry, she has a hide like a rhinoceros.

EXERCISE 3. H

Re-write the following sentences according to the instructions given in brackets.

1. He eats (use a participle to form the present continuous)

2. We saw a ______________(float) wreckage at the sea.

(Use a participle to form an objective)

3. I want a map that shows the rivers of East Africa.

(Re-write without using that)

4. He made me till the farm for a week.

(Begin he had ………..)

5. He told me to work hard. He reminded me that only those who worked hard

Performed well. (Join the two sentences using a participle)

6. She told them to run faster and added that the winner would be rewarded.

(Join the two sentences using a participle)

7. I saw him breaking the door. (Give two possible meanings of this statement)

8. I saw him walk out of class. (Use a present participle.)

9. I am going to shop this afternoon. (Use a participle)

10. He walked away. He whistled as he went.

(Join into one sentence without using ‘and’)

11. He closed the door and lay on the bed. (Begin. Closing….)

12. Eating his lunch, he rushed out of the hall.

(Give two possible meanings of this sentence)

13. Eating his lunch, he rushed out of the hall. (Begin. Having……..)

14. The police fired. They shot a suspect.

(Join into one sentence without using a co-ordinate conjunction)

15. Since she knew she was weak in Mathematics, she did more practice.

(Begin. Knowing……..)

16. He had been a prefect for two years. He felt humiliated after the demotion.

(Join into one sentence using a participle)

17. (a) The bored learners were drowsy.

(a) The boring learners were drowsy.

(Distinguish the difference in meaning)

18. He had been advised to be cautious. He survived the tragedy. (Begin. Having…..)

19. Waiting for my car to be repaired, a street boy came to me. (Correct the sentence)

20. He repairs pipes that leak. (Re-unite to end in……pipes)

UNIT FOUR: ADJECTIVES

EXERCISE 4 A

Fill in the blank spaces with appropriate adjectives.

	Positive	Comparative	Superative
1.	Good		best
2.	Neat
3.			least
4.	Small
5.	Hospitable
6.			luckiest
7.			farthest
8.		Further
9.		Elder
10		Older
11	obscure
12	pretty
13			worst
14	sound
15			laziest
16	amazing
17	holy
18		more productive
19			least productive
20	quick

EXERCISE 4. B

Study the information given below and answer the questions that follow.

1. Onyango is 1.3 meters in height.

Mutua is 2 meters in height.

Jane is 1.5 meters in height.

(a) Jane is __________________ than Onyango.

(b) Jane is not _______________ as Onyango.

(d) Mutua is _______________ of them all.

(e) Between Mutua and Jane, Mutua is ______________

(f) Onyango is the ________________ them all.

2. Jane is 1.5 meters in height.

Judith is 1.5 meters in height.

Onyango is 1.3 meters in height.

(a) Judith is _____________ Jane.

(b) None of the two girls is _______________

(d) Onyango is not _____________ as the two girls.

3. Monday’s temperature 40 ⁰C

Tuesday’s temperature 16 ⁰C

Today’s (Wednesday’s) temperature 20 ⁰C

(a) The temperature is getting _______________ and over the days.

(b) Monday was _____________ than today.

(d) The more we stay, _____________ the temperature get.

4. Juma drove at 100 km/hour.

Alex drove at 120 Km/hour.

Alex drove _______________ than Juma.

EXERCISE 4.C

Re-write the sentences below according to the instructions given in brackets.

1. (a) She found the farmer was small.

(a) She found he was a small farmer.

(Give the difference in meaning)

2. He brought a plastic yellow old big barrel. (Re-write the sentence correctly)

3. It was a yellow, Kenyan made, large bucket. (Re-write the sentence correctly)

4. (a) She’s is a pretty, decent girl.

(b) She’s a pretty decent girl.

(Give the difference in meaning)

Choose the correct sentence from the choices provided in questions 5 – 10 below.

5. (a) We ate round big yellow Mombasa mangoes.

(b) We ate yellow big round Mombasa mangoes.

(d) We ate big yellow round Mombasa mangoes.

6. (a) Odera is a tall inquisitive brown man.

(b) Odera is a tall brown inquisitive man.

(d) Odera is a tall inquisitive brown man.

7. (a) She held a China made long sharp knife.

(b) She held a sharp China made long knife.

(d) She held a China made sharp long knife.

8. (a) She brought an elegant French golden yellow clock.

(b) She brought an elegant golden yellow French clock.

(d) She brought a French golden yellow elegant clock.

9. (a) They are required to bring big wooden brown boxes.

(b) They are required to bring big brown wooden boxes.

(d) They are required to bring brown big wooden boxes.

10. (a) Whoever saw a little black washing machine!

(b) Whoever saw a washing little black machine!

(d) Whoever saw a black little washing machine!

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English Grammar Exercises

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