Articles
Task: Insert articles where necessary.
Few visitors realise that ___ Vatican City is entirely surrounded by ___ Rome and attracts millions of tourists every year, many of whom later continue towards ___ Mediterranean coast.
Answer:
— Vatican City
— Rome
the Mediterranean coast
Explanation:
Cities and most countries/states → no article; seas/coastal regions → “the”.
Task: Complete the paragraph.
The lights are still on in Jacob’s office. He ______________ (finish) the report yet, although he promised to leave hours ago.
Answer:
can’t have finished
Explanation:
Negative deduction about the past.
Task: Rewrite using an impersonal passive structure.
People expect that inflation will continue rising over the next few months.
It…
Answer:
It is expected that inflation will continue rising over the next few months.
Explanation:
Impersonal passive with reporting verbs.
Task: Complete the sentence.
Unless governments ______________ (invest) more heavily in renewable energy over the next decade, many environmental targets will remain impossible to achieve.
Answer:
invest
Explanation:
Real future conditional after “unless”.
Task: Report the statement.
“We may have underestimated how quickly public opinion could change,” admitted the spokesperson.
Answer:
The spokesperson admitted that they might have underestimated how quickly public opinion could change.
Explanation:
“May” often becomes “might” in reported speech.
Task: Insert articles where necessary.
Historians often compare ___ decline of ___ Roman Empire to the gradual weakening of modern political institutions, although some argue that ___ history should never be interpreted through overly simplistic parallels.
Answer:
the decline
the Roman Empire
— history
Explanation:
Specific historical processes/entities take “the”; abstract nouns often zero article.
Task: Complete the paragraph.
The researchers ______________ (work) on this project for years before the breakthrough finally happened. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so emotionally invested in the results now.
Answer:
must have been working
Explanation:
Strong deduction about a long-duration past activity.
Task: Complete the report.
Several important documents ______________ (remove) from the archive before the police arrived, although nobody seems to know who was responsible.
Answer:
had been removed
Explanation:
Past Perfect Passive for an earlier completed action.
Task: Complete the sentence.
Had the engineers ______________ (identify) the structural weakness earlier, the bridge would never have collapsed.
Answer:
identified
Explanation:
Inverted third conditional.
Task: Report the conversation.
“Why had you already left by the time I arrived, and why didn’t you tell anyone you might not be coming back?” she asked.
Answer:
She asked why he had already left by the time she had arrived and why he hadn’t told anyone he might not be coming back.
Explanation:
Multiple backshifts inside one reported question.
Task: Insert articles where necessary.
During our stay in ___ Czech Republic, we visited ___ Prague Castle before taking a train through ___ Carpathians and eventually reaching ___ Lake Balaton.
Answer:
the Czech Republic
Prague Castle
the Carpathians
Lake Balaton
Explanation:
Countries with “Republic” take “the”; castles often no article in names; mountain ranges take “the”; lakes usually no article.
Task: Complete the paragraph.
Maria looked completely shocked when she saw the final results. She clearly ______________ (expect) such a dramatic change in the company’s strategy.
Answer:
couldn’t have expected
Explanation:
Past impossibility/deduction.
Task: Complete the paragraph.
The new environmental policy __________________ (introduce) by the government by the end of the year, although several details still need __________________ (clarify).
Answer: will have been introduced; clarifying / to be clarified
Explanation: Future Perfect Passive + passive meaning after 'need'.
Task: Complete the paragraph.
Provided the committee __________________ (approve) the proposal next week, construction can begin immediately; otherwise, this time next year we __________________ (still / discuss) the same issue.
Answer:
approves
will still be discussing
Explanation:
Real future conditional with future continuous consequence.
Task: Report this statement.
“If I’d realised how serious the consequences could be, I certainly wouldn’t have agreed to what seemed, at the time, to be such a harmless suggestion.”
Answer:
He said that if he had realised how serious the consequences could be, he certainly wouldn’t have agreed to what had seemed, at the time, to be such a harmless suggestion.
Explanation:
Nested past reference inside third conditional.
Task: Insert articles where necessary.
After spending a week exploring ___ British Museum and walking along ___ Thames, we decided to take ___ overnight train to Scotland, where we hoped to climb ___ Ben Nevis before heading towards ___ Isle of Skye.
Answer:
the British Museum
the Thames
an overnight train
— Ben Nevis
the Isle of Skye
Explanation:
Tests institutional names, rivers, transport reference, mountains, islands with “Isle of”.
Task: Complete the paragraph.
When Daniel arrived, everyone was already halfway through dinner. He __________________ (forget) about the earlier start time. He __________________ (check) the invitation more carefully.
Answer:
must have forgotten
should have checked
Explanation:
deduction about past cause
criticism/regret about a past action
Task: Use personal passive construction to rephrase the sentence.
People believe that the missing painting was destroyed during the war.
Answer: The missing painting is believed to have been destroyed during the war.
Explanation: Personal passive: subject + be + V3 + perfect infinitive.
Task: Complete the paragraph.
If governments __________________ (act) more decisively twenty years ago, many coastal cities __________________ (not / face) such serious flooding risks today.
Answer:
had acted
would not be facing
Explanation:
Mixed conditional: past unreal cause → present consequence
Task: Report the question.
“Why were the safety measures not implemented before the incident occurred?” the journalist asked.
Answer:
The journalist asked why the safety measures had not been implemented before the incident had occurred.
Explanation:
Backshift inside reported questions.
Task: Insert articles where necessary.
Few tourists realise that ___ Amazon is not only ___ longest river system in South America but also home to communities whose traditions predate ___ arrival of Europeans by centuries. Some historians compare its cultural significance to that of ___ Silk Road.
Answer:
the Amazon
the
the
the
Explanation:
Complex article use with superlatives, historical reference, named routes.
Task: Complete the dialogue.
A: Emma isn’t answering her phone.
B: She __________________ (leave) it at home. She often does that.
A: True, but she also looks upset in that photo she posted earlier.
B: Something __________________ (happen).
Answer:
may/might have left
must have happened
Explanation:
possibility about the past → may/might have + V3
logical deduction → must have + V3
Task: Complete the paragraph.
It __________________ (expect) that several major companies __________________ (affect) by the new law, which __________________ (introduce) next month after it __________________ (approve) by Parliament.
Answer: is expected; will be affected; will be introduced; has been approved
Explanation: Impersonal passive + sequence of future passive forms.
Task: Complete the paragraph.
If the company ______________ (not / expand) so aggressively several years ago, it ______________ (not / struggle) with such severe financial difficulties now.
Answer:
had not expanded
would not be struggling
Explanation:
Mixed conditional: past decision → present consequence.
Task: Report the statement.
“If the negotiations fail again tomorrow, we will have wasted nearly six months trying to reach an agreement,” one of the diplomats warned.
Answer:
One of the diplomats warned that if the negotiations failed again the following day, they would have wasted nearly six months trying to reach an agreement.
Explanation:
Complex future-in-the-past structure.