English Grammar Exercises: 12 Questions with Answers
Practise English grammar with 12 short questions and explained answers. Start with questions and negatives, then try articles, prepositions, tenses, modals, passive voice, conditionals and reported speech. Each answer explains the choice and points out alternatives where the context allows them.
Everything here is free to read without an account. Write your answers on paper, then open each explanation. Use your browser's Print command for the learner questions and the final writing task with answer space; the keys and teacher notes are hidden in print.
12 mixed English grammar exercises
Read the situation before answering. Some items ask for a particular form; others allow more than one answer. Choose a few relevant items or work through the whole set. This is a practice resource, not a placement test or a CEFR assessment.
1. Present simple of be
Complete with am, is or are: Ben and I _____ neighbours.
Show answer and explanation for question 1
Ben and I are neighbours. Ben and I means we, so the present form is are. Compare I am and Ben is.
2. Present simple questions
You want to know the library's usual opening time. Make a present simple question using what time / the library / open. Add the auxiliary you need.
Show answer and explanation for question 2
What time does the library open? Use does with the singular subject the library, then the base form open. Do not add another -s to the main verb after does.
3. Past simple negatives
The ticket seller asks whether Leo bought a ticket yesterday. He did not. Complete: Leo _____ (not buy) a ticket yesterday.
Show answer and explanation for question 3
Leo did not buy a ticket yesterday. Didn't buy is also correct. Did carries the past tense, so use buy, not bought, after it.
4. A, an and the
Introduce an umbrella your listener does not know about, then refer to that same umbrella. Use a or an in the first gap and the in the second: I bought _____ umbrella yesterday. _____ umbrella is blue.
Show answer and explanation for question 4
I bought an umbrella yesterday. The umbrella is blue. Umbrella begins with a vowel sound, so use an on first mention. The identifies the object already introduced. Choose a/an by sound, not just spelling: compare a university.
5. Prepositions of time
Complete each gap with in, on or at: The workshop starts _____ 9:15 _____ Thursday.
Show answer and explanation for question 5
The workshop starts at 9:15 on Thursday. Use at with this clock time and on with this day. These are the answers among the supplied options. In other wording, next Thursday normally needs no preposition, and informal speech can omit on before a day.
6. Past continuous and past simple
Nora was halfway through her book when the room suddenly became dark. Show the activity already in progress and the event that interrupted it: Nora _____ (read) when the lights _____ (go out).
Show answer and explanation for question 6
Nora was reading when the lights went out. Was reading presents the ongoing activity; went out presents the event during it. The context establishes this relationship. The word when alone does not automatically require these two tenses.
7. A situation continuing now
Amira moved to Bristol in June and still lives there. Complete with a present perfect form of live: Amira _____ in Bristol since June.
Show answer and explanation for question 7
Amira has lived in Bristol since June. Has been living is also correct here. Both connect the earlier start with her present situation; the continuous gives more attention to the ongoing situation and can suggest it is temporary. Since June identifies a starting point. Do not turn that phrase into a rule that only one present perfect form is possible.
8. A verb after a modal
The laboratory's rule requires an identification badge. Complete with the correct form of wear: Visitors must _____ their ID badges.
Show answer and explanation for question 8
Visitors must wear their ID badges. The core modal must is followed by the base form wear, without to or -s. Here must expresses the stated requirement; in other contexts it can express a conclusion, as in That must be the delivery driver.
9. Past simple passive
Mechanics repaired the lifts yesterday. Rewrite the sentence beginning The lifts. Use the past simple passive and keep yesterday.
Show answer and explanation for question 9
The lifts were repaired yesterday. The lifts were repaired by mechanics yesterday is also correct. The plural subject takes were, followed by the past participle repaired. The by phrase is optional when the sentence does not need to name who did the work.
10. A possible future condition
The organisers plan to move tomorrow's picnic indoors if there is rain. Complete this first-conditional pattern with the present simple and will + base verb: If it _____ (rain) tomorrow, we _____ (move) the picnic indoors.
Show answer and explanation for question 10
If it rains tomorrow, we will move the picnic indoors. We'll move is also correct. This pattern uses the present simple for the possible condition and will for the planned result. Other results, such as might move, can be grammatical but change the meaning and do not follow this item's named pattern.
11. Neither ... nor
The café has no tea and no coffee. Choose either ... or or neither ... nor: It has _____ tea _____ coffee.
Show answer and explanation for question 11
It has neither tea nor coffee. This excludes both options. It doesn't have either tea or coffee is a correct alternative sentence, but it requires changing has to the negative form. It has either tea or coffee does not express that both are unavailable.
12. Reporting a question
Yesterday Maya asked Leo, “Where do you live?” Report her question using he for Leo and backshift live to the past simple: Maya asked Leo _____.
Show answer and explanation for question 12
Maya asked Leo where he lived. A reported question uses statement order, he lived, rather than did he live. The complete report ends with a full stop. Where he lives can be appropriate when reporting a still-current situation, but this item explicitly asks you to practise backshift.
Use the grammar in a new situation
Fictional task: you are writing to a friend about your photography club. Use the notes to write four sentences: a direct question, an account of an interrupted activity, a rule with must, and a first conditional.
- Ask what time the next meeting starts.
- You were editing a photo; a message arrived during that activity.
- Members are required to bring their own cameras.
- If the usual room is unavailable tomorrow, the group plans to meet in the library.
Underline the auxiliary or modal verbs you use. Check whether your sentences preserve the notes' meaning before opening the model.
Show a possible response and what to check
One model: What time does the next meeting start? I was editing a photo when the message arrived. Members must bring their own cameras. If our usual room is unavailable tomorrow, we will meet in the library.
Check question order and start after does; distinguish the ongoing activity from the arrival; use bring after must; and keep the condition separate from the future plan. When does the next meeting start?, we'll meet and if our usual room isn't available are valid alternatives. Other clear wording can be correct too; the model is not the only acceptable message.
Choose more grammar practice by topic
Use the question that needed an explanation to choose your next activity. Each destination below has practice or a reference you can read before signing in.
- Questions 1–3 and 8: use the auxiliary-verb diagnostic and printable chart to compare questions, negatives and short answers. For word order, try the WH-question worksheet and answers.
- Question 4: practise first mention and an identified object with the a, an and the exercises.
- Question 5: try the prepositions of time, place and movement questions, then write the arrival message.
- Questions 6–7: explore the past simple and past continuous narrative pack or the ten contextual tense exercises, including valid present perfect alternatives.
- Question 9: use the passive voice practice and explained answers to decide what the sentence should focus on.
- Question 10: compare real, imagined and past situations in the conditional patterns and exercises.
- Question 11: use either/or and neither/nor practice to check meaning, parallel structure and agreement.
- Question 12: try the reported-speech exercises and story-retelling task with explicit speaker, time and place context.
Use the answers to plan a focused follow-up
Ask learners to explain two choices, including one they changed. Separate a form error, such as didn't bought, from a different but grammatical meaning. Item 7 deliberately accepts two present perfect forms; items 10 and 12 request a named pattern so that the expected response is clear.
A total out of 12 is only a record of this short attempt. It does not identify a CEFR level or prove that someone can use every structure independently. Compare the answers with the photography-club task, then choose one relevant resource above. Later, ask for a fresh sentence in a different context with the key closed.
For a brief classroom check after that practice, choose a grammar exit ticket. If you need assignable platform work, the separate online grammar practice guide explains the topic catalogue, marking and teacher workflow. Selecting a library topic does not import these 12 questions or the writing task.
Grammar references and editorial note
British Council explanations support the present simple question pattern, past simple and continuous contrast, present perfect simple and continuous, common conditional patterns and reported-question word order and tense choices. The topic guides linked above give further explanations and sources.
Prepared by The Kingdom of English with AI-assisted drafting and source checks, updated 21 October 2026. These questions, contexts and model responses are original teaching materials; they are not records of learner performance or a certified assessment. See our editorial approach. For a correction, include the question number through the public contact route.