Sunday, 26 April 2020

𝛼: Grammar Drill (1)

Form 4 and 5

Shalom and hi!

This week, we'll be doing Grammar drills. You'll be tested mainly on tenses and gerunds.

1. Open your book to the Grammar section, and write today's day and date, as well as the title Grammar Drill (1): Tenses and Gerunds.

2. Copy the essay below and fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Think carefully!

Answers will be provided later in the week. Happy writing!




       “I _________________ (go) to the shop. Do you need anything?” Mum __________ (ask) me. I _______________________ (do, not) even ______________________ (bother) to __________________ (lift) my head from where I ____________________________ (stare) at the television, I just _____________________ (grunt) a ”No” at her. I __________________ (know) Mum __________________________ (scowl) at me because I __________________ (be) quite rude, but I ______________________ (do, not, care) – my favourite drama ______________ (be) on and I couldn’t afford to _______________ (miss) an episode!
          
Mum _____________________ (leave), __________________ (close) the door with a bit of an irritated bang that I hardly ______________________ (notice), because my eyes ______________ (be) ____________________ (glue) to the television screen. It really ______________ (be) a crucial episode – today’s story would _________________ (explain) the twist in the previous one, which I _____________________________ (go) mad _________________ (try) to __________________ (figure) out. I _____________________ (focus) so intently that it actually _____________________ (take) the sound of someone ___________________ (clear) their throat for me to ________________________ (realise) that there ______________ (be) something thin, cold and sharp at my neck.

            I ______________________ (freeze) and my eyes __________________ (go) wide. Someone ______________________ (come) into my house without me _____________________ (be) aware of it! I ___________________________ (focus) on the television so much that I _____________________________ (not, heard) the burglar ____________________ (come) in at all! My heart ____________________ (go) a mile a minute as I _____________________ (try) to __________________________ (think) clearly. I _______________________ (glance) at the burglar from the corner of my eyes.  He ____________________________ (wear) a balaclava, so I __________________________ (can, not, see) any of his facial features other than his eyes. They ______________ (be) cold and unforgiving, and I almost _________________________ (gulp) until I _______________________ (remember) that he _________________ (has) a blade at my neck.

       “Don’t ____________________ (do) anything stupid,” the man ___________________ (warn) in a rough voice. It ___________________ (sound) like he ________________________ (swallowed) a mouthful of sand. A quiet corner of my brain that ______________ (be) not panicking ________________________ (think) that he _______________ (be) probably ________________________ (try) to ____________________ (disguise) his voice. I ______________________ (recall) what I ________________________ (watch) on a documentary on criminals some time ago – if they _________________________ (show) you their face, your chances of ________________________ (get) out of a situation like this ______________ (be) very, very low. I ______________________ (squeeze) my eyes shut and ______________________ (try) not to ___________________________ (cry).

         “I’m going to tie you up,” the burglar __________________________ (continue), “and if you ______________ (be) a good little boy, I won’t _____________________ (harm) you.” He __________________________ (press) the knife closer and I _______________________ (feel) it cut into my skin. I _______________________ (let) out a whimper that he ______________________ (take) for agreement. “Good. Now ______________ (go) __________________ (sit) facing that corner. If I ___________________ (see) you ______________________ (peek), your mum will have a very nasty surprise when she ____________________ (come) home.”

      He ____________________ (give) me a kick in the direction of the corner he ____________________ (want) me to ______________________ (sit) in. I ____________________ (trip) but _______________________ (manage) to __________________ (prevent) myself from falling by ________________________ (clutch) at the sofa on my right. I _______________________ (hobble) my way to the corner and _____________________ (stand) with my nose to the wall. I ___________________ (keep) my eyes closed and _____________________ (try) to _______________________ (tune) out the sounds of drawers being opened and furniture being overturned violently.

           I _______________ (be) so intent on ____________________ (pretend) that nothing ________________________ (happen) behind me that it ________________ (take) me a while to ___________________ (realise) that the sounds ______________________ (cease). I had to ____________________ (take) a few minutes to ____________________ (screw) up the courage to _____________________ (turn) around. When I finally ______________ (do), I ___________________ (see) that the place ________________ (be) in a shambles, and that the burglar ___________________________ (disappear). My knees _______________________ (knock) together and I _________________________ (sink) to the floor, ___________________ (shiver) and almost __________________________ (faint) in relief.

            Mum ______________ (be) horrified when she ________________________ (come) home to ___________________ (find) me sitting pale and shaking amidst the mess that our living room ______________________ (become). She immediately ___________________ (call) the police, who ________________________ (come) and ___________________ (take) my statement. Till this day I cannot quite ______________________ (remember) what I ___________________________ (say), but I ______________________ (recall) very clearly what the policeman ______________________ (say).

           “You’re very lucky, boy,” he _______________________ (told) me. “From what you ___________________ (tell) us, this ____________ (be) definitely the modus operandi of The Slasher Thief. He ________________________ (kill) almost all his victims so far, so you should ______________ (be) very thankful to ___________ (be) alive.”Hearing that, I nearly __________________ (pass) out again.

    Over two years ________________________ (pass), but as much as I _________________ (want) to, I’m not going to ________________________ (forget) this whole experience. It’s definitely the most horrible thing that ________________________ (happen) to me, and I’m never ______________________ (go) to _____________________ (forget) it.





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