Grammar-Quizzes.comis an open educational resource for understanding, learning and practicing English grammar through the use of current event stories, pictures and self-quizzes.
Although it is originally written for intermediate students, Grammar-Quizzes now includes practices for native speakers.
Grammar points are listed both by grammar term and by word on this index page.
Remember that this blog features other grammar sites:
Self-study activity:
Watch this History Channel video clip, where we can gain an insight into the origins of Easter and some of the traditions around this celebration, and answer the questions below.
1. What do we celebrate at Easter?
2. What is Passover?
3. Who celebrated Easter first?
4. Who established our modern Easter calendar?
5. What does the Paschal candle symbolize?
6. Where does the word Easter come from?
7. What did the eggs traditionally symbolise?
8. What is the origin of the White House Easter roll?
9. When did the Easter rabbit appear?
10. Apart from the religious festivity, what do we celebrate at Easter?
You can self-correct the activity by reading the transcript here.
About one year ago we published a post with the title Online TPR exercises, from Henny Jellema, which was more than suitable to practise commands (the imperative) in English through listening and reading for lower level students (Básico 1 and Básico 2).
Henny Jellema is also the mastermind behind Four Stories,where lower level students (Básico 1 and Básico 2) are given the chance to continue practising listening and reading in situational contexts.
In Four Stories students have to listen and identify a number of sentences which belong in one of the stories.
Self study activity:
Watch this short BBC video clip about how the economic crisis is forcing people to change their saving habits.
Fill in the blanks in the transcript below with the missing words.
For depositers the past four years have been tumultuous. Back in 2008 British savers could choose from (1) ... of banks and financial institutions from all over the world, but the financial crisis changed that. But many foreign banks (2) ... , especially from Ireland, America and Iceland. At the same time, the money earned for your savings crashed, as interest rates fell from almost 6% to their current (3) ... per cent. It led to millions of British savers out of pockets and worrying for the first time in generations about whether their money would be safe in a bank. And it looks as if that fear hasn’t disappeared. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme reckons that there is around 5.6 billion pounds under the proverbial (4) ... at home.
It’s only five years since we saw the first bankrupt in 150 years. The Bank of England is printing more money all the time, (5) ... billion pounds, which is abound to be to inflation. Maybe we could answer that. I’ve met some quite sane people who just don’t trust money any more, they think if the banks are going to keep printing it, we’ve got to find something else to store our (6) ... from.
Savers are also reminded that in the current high inflation environment, keeping our money in a (7) ... ... instead of a bank makes even less sense. And this, though, the number of people doing that was down on the same time last year.
Joe Lynam, BBC News.
Key: 1 dozens 2 folded 3 half of one 4 mattress 5 325 6 assets 7 assets
What kind of behaviour in public places gets on your nerves?
Give a recent example of when you experienced good or bad manners.
Do you think our attitude to behaviour changes as we get older?
Public behaviour is today's topic in a new installment of the Speakout video podcasts, Longman. Watch the video and note down the answers the people interviewed give.
Now it's over to you. If possible, get together with someone who also speaks English and answer the questions above about you. Try and use some of the expressions you heard on the video podcast.
For many British school pupils, the events of WWI and WWII have not been only learned through studying history textbooks. Many fiction books - often based on true wartime events - have also helped children to understand what happened.
At Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, a new exhibition - Once Upon a Wartime - celebrates novels that have helped youngsters engage with the battlefield horrors and domestic hardships at times of conflict.
Watch this BBC audio slideshow which tells us a little bit about three of the books in the exhibition - The Machine Gunners, Carrie's War and War Horse andanswer the questions below.
1 Why do Charles McGill and his friends build a fortress in The Machine Gunners?
2 How does their relationship with the German parachuter end up?
3 What anecdote does the narrator tell about his life as a child in Manchester living near an RAF Ringway?
4 Were Carrie and her brother in Carrie's War happy in the countryside?
5 Why were children sent away from London in WWII?
6 When was War Horse written?
7 Who was interested in the British horses? Why?
8 Who tells the story in War Horse?
You can check your answers by reading the transcript here.
Have you ever played practical jokes?
Have you ever been the victim of practical jokes?
Can you tell any stories?
Do you know about any pranks that went too far?
Today is April Fools' Day and our post lends itself to a reading and speaking activity you can do with the members of your talking group. In preparation for your conversation lesson, you can read this The New York Times articleabout the cultural purpose of pranks. These questions may help you focus on specific aspects of the article and help you trigger off the debate in your talking group:
a. Why do people play practical jokes on each other?
b. What functions, from an anthropological point of view, do pranks serve among social groups around the world?
c. What are the characteristics of each of the three categories of pranks described by Abbie Hoffman?
d. Based on your own prior knowledge, what “human fears and failings” might be humorous fodder for a good prank?
e. What psychological benefits can arise from being duped?
f. According to the article, what are the necessary requirements to design and carry out a “good” practical joke?
g. What is counterfactual thinking and how does it facilitate personal growth and improvement?
h. In your opinion, does the article provide a justification for bullying and/or hazing? Why or why not?
If you wish to have a visual element to add to your discussion you can drop by Pranksite, where you will have the opportunity to watch funny prank videos. Perhaps you can watch one of the videos at home and explain the practical jokes to the people in your conversation group in as much detail as possible.
