EXERCISES
I. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence.
1. “ I think you should look for a better job” Jill said to Alison.
-> Jill advised Alison to look for a better job.
2. “ Is your little son good at computer?” said the teacher to Mrs. Johnson.
-> The teacher asked Mrs. Johnson if her little son was good at computer.
3. “ I hate to be criticized by non- professionals” the film star said.
-> The film star objected to being criticized by non- professionals.
4. “ Why don’t you put your luggage under the seat?” he asked
-> He suggested that I should put my luggage under the seat.
5. “ Do come again next weekend” the host said to us.
-> The host invited us to come again the next weekend.
6. “Is the train on time?" asked Susan.
-> Susan wanted to know whether the train was on time.
7. “What’s your job?” Mary asked Tom.
-> Mary wanted to know what Tom’s job was.
8. Peter said to Paul, “I didn’t use your mobile phone! Someone else did, not me”.
-> Peter denied using / having used Paul’s mobile phone (and said that someone else had done)
9. “ You shouldn’t hand in your exam-paper until the bell rings” the teacher said to me.
-> The teacher advised me to hand in my exam-paper until the bell rang.
10. “ Did anyone see the thief running out of this house? The policeman said.
-> The policeman asked if/ whether anyone had seen the thief running out of that house.
11. “When is the first day of your holiday, Peter? John asked
-> John asked Peter when the first day of his holiday was.
12. “ Have you done this sort of work before?” she asked me.
-> She asked me if I had done that sort of work before.
13. “You can leave early” Mr. Benson said to Alison.
-> Mr. Benson let Alison leave early.
14. He said, “I must be at the school at 7a.m. tomorrow”
-> He said (that) he had to/ must be …..the following day.
15. “Let’s check everything once more” said the man in chief.

31. The man was too tired to say a word.
-> The man was so tired that he couldn’t say a word.
32. It’s 2 months since my sister started working in this company.
-> My sister has worked in this company for 2 months.
33. It’s 2 hours since I started doing my homework.
-> I have done my homework for 2 hours.
34. It’s 5 weeks since she last wrote to me.
-> She has not written to me for 5 months.
35. It’s 3 days since I last met Hoa.
-> The last time I met Hoa was 3 days ago.
36. The cupboard was so expensive that I didn’t buy it.
-> The cupboard was too expensive for me to buy.
37. We started cooking for the party 4 hours ago.
-> We have cooked for the party for 4 hours.
38. The last time it rained was a fortnight ago.
-> It hasn’t rained for a fortnight.
39.He has been collecting stamps for five years.
-> He started collecting five years ago.
40. Reading books is very interesting.
-> It is very interesting to read books.
41. I don’t think he is tall enough to join the police force.
-> I think he is too short to join the police force.
42. He spent two hours writing that letter.
-> It took him two hours to write that letter.
43.We should invest more money in education.
-> More money should be invested in education.
44. Lan couldn’t apply for that job because she didn’t speak English well.
-> If Lan had spoken English well, she could have applied for that job.
45. Mrs. Ken has to do a lot of housework every day; and she hates it.
-> Mrs. Ken is fed up with doing a lot of housework every day.

-> Because the weather was bad, our trip was postponed.
59. I didn’t meet the film star yesterday.
-> I wish I had met the film star yesterday.
60. I didn’t invite him to my party last night.
-> I wish I had invited him to my party last night.
61.He left school because his life was hard.
 Because of his hard life, he left school
62. We didn’t want to go out because of the heavy rain.
-> Because it rained heavily, we didn’t want to go out.
63. We postponed our trip because the driving conditions were bad
-> Because of the bad driving condition, we postponed our trip.
64. The play we saw yesterday was so difficult that we couldn’t finish it an hour.
-> We saw such a difficult play that we couldn’t finish it an hour.
65. Although the traffic was bad, I arrived on time.
- >In spite of the bad traffic, I arrived on time.
66. Although he made great efforts, he failed to win the race.
-> In spite of his great efforts, he failed to win the race.
67. Although she is old, she often works hard.
-> In spite of her old age, she often works hard.
68. We couldn’t go out because of the rain.
-> The rain prevented us from going out.
69. I prefer Vietnamese food to English food.
-> I’d rather eat Vietnamese food than English food.
70. The man was too tired to say a word.
-> The man was so tired that he couldn’t say a word.
71. The door was so heavy that the child couldn’t push it open.
-> The door was too heavy for the child to push open.
72. Peter missed the train because he woke up too late.
-> If Peter hadn’t woken up too late, he wouldn’t have missed the train.
73. She can’t get into the habit of studying every evening.

5.An is very good at English. I think he can do these exercises (easy) ……………-> easily
6.This film isn’t as (interest) ……………as the one we saw on TV last night.-> interesting
7.Few people know the (important) …………… of saving the environment.-> importance
8.The traffic was so heavy that I had to move (slow) ……………-> slowly
9.The driver of the car was (bad) ……………injured in the accident.-> badly
10. Look! Your new dress makes you more (beauty) …………… .-> beautiful
11. Verbal or non-verbal forms of communication is a way to (attraction) …………… someone’s
attention.-> attract
12. One or two mistakes are(accept) …………… but no more than that. -> acceptable
13. There are certain (formal) …………… to attend before we can give you a visa.-> formalities
14. All (apply) …………… must be received before September 15
th
.-> applicants
15. We often go shopping here because the prices are(reason) …………… . -> reasonable
16. It is (cheap) …………… . to go by train than by car.-> cheaper
17. It is (easy) …………… . to do this task than that one. -> easier
III. Give the correct tense or form of the verbs in brackets :
1. By the time next week, she (work) in this company for 5 years.
2. Sam (already/ leave) when we got there.
3. This machine is used to (wash) clothes.
4. As soon as I (hear) from Tom, I’ll give you a call.
5. When we (get) there last night, the tickets(sell) out, so we (have to) go back home.
6. By the time you come back here , we (finish) the work.
7. She (wear) her new jacket when I saw her.
8. Mr. Brown (have) a shower when I knocked on his door.
9. Please stay in your seats until the bell (ring)
10. If he had obeyed his mother, he (not make) a terrible mistake like that.
11. I remember (take) to that place once.
4
12. I heard that Mr. Pike (buy) a big house before he got his promotion.