Practice

Exercise 1

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the infinitive or -ing form.

Steam trains were replaced by electric ones years ago, so when the newspaper I work for heard that the "Black Admiral" steam engine had been restored, they decided 1) ...to send... (send) me on its first trip. I didn't object to 2) (go) even though I generally dislike 3) (travel) by train. In fact I was looking

forward to 4)............. (see) something I had never seen before.

When I arrived at the station I saw lots of people 5).......................

(celebrate) the rebirth of the Admiral, and I was glad 6).................

(be) part of the party. At 2 o'clock everyone was ready 7).............

(board) the train. I settled myself into a compartment where I was

soon joined by an old man who claimed 8)................. (be) one of the original workers on the Admiral. He claimed 9) (work) for a penny a day, and told me how much he had hated 10) (be/covered) in coal dust all the time. His family had been too poor 11)................................................................... (buy) more than the basic necessities. It was a sad story, but it was a pleasure 12).............................................................. (listen) to him. At every station people were

waiting 13)................. (greet) the train, and it was exciting 14)................. (see) the spectators' faces as the past seemed 15)................................ (come) alive again. If all trains were as appealing as the Black Admiral, I would

choose 16) (travel) by train all the time.

Exercise 2

Complete the sentences using the words in bold. Use two to five words.

We are allowed to take a one-hour lunch break.

allowThey ...allow us to take... a one-hour lunch break.

They require employees to work on Saturdays.

requiredEmployees ........................................................................................... on Saturdays.

You need to improve your handwriting considerably.

needsYour handwriting .................................................................................... considerably.

She has been learning German since last year.

beganShe............................................................................................................... last year.

They advised not drinking the water.

wereWe............................................................................................................... the water.

Exercise 3

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the infinitive or -ing form.

For Thomas 1) ...to agree…. (agree) to go on a walking holiday was very surprising.He usually hated 2)

............... (do) outdoor activities of any kind. We thought we'd have difficulty in 3)……………(persuade)

him but it was his idea 4)................. (set off) the very next day. We suggested 5).................. (go) to the

Lake District as it would be the best place 6)................. (find) hotel rooms each night. Though we'd have

preferred 7)............. (take) the coach, Thomas encouraged us 8).................. (travel) by train. We decided 9) (meet) at the station early the next morning as we wanted 10)........................................... (be) in Carlisle by

midday. Imagine the look on our faces when Thomas arrived on a huge, brand-new motorbike. "Do you

think I'll be allowed 11)................. (take) it on the train?" he said ‘It needs 12)................... (run in) and this holiday's the ideal time 13)...................................... (do) it!’