Name: ______________________ Class: _________________ Date: _________
Great Writing 1: great Sentences for Great Paragraphs
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the paragraph and answer the questions that follow.
Walter Elias Disney (1901–1966)
(1) Walt Disney was an incredibly creative and successful person. (2) When he was young, he
enjoyed drawing, painting, and photography. (3) Walt took art classes at the Chicago Art Institute,
but he never finished school there. (4) He had enough talent to find work without a college degree.
(5) Before he moved to Hollywood, he worked in advertising and also opened an animation business.
(6) In Hollywood, Walt founded Walt Disney Studios in 1923. (7) Five years later, he created
Mickey Mouse. (8) From that point on, he made one movie after another, including Snow White,
Bambi, and Mary Poppins. (9) Today, people still enjoy Walt Disney’s talent. (10) Families love to
watch the classic movies and visit Disney parks all over the world.
____ 1. How is the simple past used in the paragraph?
a. to write about a recent event
b. to describe the events in a person’s life
c. to report on the result of an experiment
____ 2. What is the simple past verb in sentence 4?
a. had
b. find
c. work
____ 3. How many simple past verbs are in sentence 5?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
____ 4. What is a past time word or phrase in the paragraph?
a. In Hollywood
b. Five years later
c. Today
____ 5. Why is the simple present used in the two concluding sentences?
a. to describe a habit
b. to describe a fact
c. to describe a process
INSTRUCTIONS: Fill in each blank with the correct simple past form of the verb in
parentheses.
6. I ________________ in Peru for ten years. (live)
7. Serena and Erin ________________ at the mall yesterday. (be)
8. We ________________ him a new sweatshirt. (buy)
Name: ______________________
INSTRUCTIONS: Change the underlined verb in each sentence to the negative simple past.
9. The candidate spoke about the economy. ________________
10. Minjun was very tired last night. ________________
11. They left for the theater an hour ago. ________________
12. Bea made three cakes for the bake sale. ________________
INSTRUCTIONS: Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.
____ 13. Elena ________________ two movies on Friday night.
a. was watched
b. watched
c. did watched
____ 14. We ________________ a new dishwasher.
a. didn’t bought
b. didn’t buy
c. don’t bought
____ 15. They ________________ fish and potatoes for dinner yesterday.
a. had
b. have
c. did had
INSTRUCTIONS: Fill in each blank with an adverb that describes the underlined verb or verb
phrase.
easily happily hard quietly suddenly
16. It __________________ started to rain when I went outside. Fortunately, I had my umbrella.
17. Yassin and I worked ________________ at the table in the library.
18. Aya found my house ________________ with the GPS.
19. My grandparents were __________________ married for sixty years.
20. The science exam was really ________________. Many students had to take it again.
Name: ______________________
INSTRUCTIONS: Match the word to the correct definition. You will not use all the
definitions.
a. to go away
b. unusual
c. extremely good
d. to make better
e. difficult; complex
f. to pay someone to do a job
g. very bad; extremely unpleasant
____ 21. complicated
____ 22. disappear
____ 23. extraordinary
____ 24. hire
____ 25. horrible
INSTRUCTIONS: Complete the sentences with the best word in parentheses.
26. After Seoyeon ________________ (achieved / achievement) her goal, she made another one.
27. The new and ________________ (improve / improved) model of the car was very popular.
28. The company ________________ (suffered / suffering) several financial losses last year.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Rewrite the complex sentences. Change the order of the clauses. If the independent clause is
at the beginning of the sentence, rewrite it so the dependent clause comes first. If the
dependent clause is at the beginning of the sentence, rewrite it so the independent clause
comes first.
Examples:
I ordered my food as soon as I sat down.
As soon as I sat down, I ordered my food.
When Sandra went to Montreal, she stayed with her aunt.
Sandra stayed with her aunt when she went to Montreal.
29. When I was on vacation, I slept late every day.
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30. After we got the good news, we went out to celebrate.
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Name: ______________________
31. My parents weren’t happy when the flight was canceled.
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32. Before she started painting, she prepared her materials.
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INSTRUCTIONS: Combine the two simple sentences into a complex sentence using the
connector in parentheses. Use pronouns when appropriate and the correct punctuation.
33. (after)
First: I wrote a letter to my uncle.
Second: I mailed the letter at the post office.
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34. (before)
First: Jack bought some snacks.
Second: Jack went to the party.
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35. (when)
First: Julia moved out of her parents’ home.
Second: Julia learned how to cook.
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Name: ______________________
36. INSTRUCTIONS: Write a paragraph with 8–10 sentences about a favorite teacher from your
past. In the first sentence, write the name of your teacher and what subject this teacher
taught you. Then describe the teacher’s personality and why you liked him/her. In the last
sentence, summarize why this teacher is memorable for you. Use the simple past, at least
one complex sentence with a time clause, and at least two vocabulary words or phrases
presented in Unit 4.
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Name: ______________________ Class: _________________ Date: _________
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the paragraph. Identify whether each sentence is describing a habit, a
fact, or a process.
A Chicago Chef
(1) Lamia is a well-known chef at a restaurant in Chicago. (2) It is a popular Italian restaurant in a
busy neighborhood. (3) Lamia arrives at the restaurant at 9:00 every morning. (4) First, she plans the
dinner menu with two other chefs. (5) Next, she goes to the market to buy the ingredients. (6) Lamia is
very particular, and she wants to select fresh meat and vegetables. (7) She takes a break each afternoon
for one hour. (8) The restaurant opens every evening for dinner at 5:00. (9) It is important for guests to
make a reservation in advance. (10) They can make reservations online, or they can call the restaurant.
(11) Lamia likes to meet the dinner guests, and they also like to meet her!
____ 1. In sentences 1 and 2, we use the simple present to describe .
a. habits
b. facts
c. processes
____ 2. In sentence 3, we use the simple present to describe _______________ _.
a. a habit
b. a fact
c. a process
____ 3. In sentences 4 and 5, we use the simple present to describe .
a. habits
b. facts
c. processes
____ 4. In sentence 7, we use the simple present to describe _______________ _.
a. a habit
b. a fact
c. a process
____ 5. In sentence 10, we use the simple present to describe _______________ _.
a. a habit
b. a fact
c. a process
INSTRUCTIONS: Fill in each blank with the simple present form of the verb in parentheses.
If you see “negative” after a sentence, fill in the blank with the simple present negative form
of the verb. Do not use contractions.
Examples:
Anders ________________ (be) from Sweden. Anders is from Sweden.
They ________________ (feel) tired. (negative) They do not feel tired.
6. New York City ________________ (be) the capital of the United States. (negative)
7. The students ________________ (like) the food in the university cafeteria.
© 2020 National Geographic Learning, a Cengage Learning company 1
Great Writing 1: Great Sentences for Great Paragraphs, Fifth Edition Unit 3 Test
Name: ______________________
8. Ivan ________________ (have) twenty cousins!
9. There ________________ (be) a lot of lakes in the state of Minnesota.
10. Paula and her parents ________________ (live) in Mexico. (negative)
INSTRUCTIONS: Complete each noun or noun phrase with a, an, or Ø.
____ 11. ____ ounce of chocolate
a. a
b. an
c. Ø
____ 12. _____information
a. a
b. an
c. Ø
____ 13. ____ good book
a. a
b. an
c. Ø
____ 14. ____ money
a. a
b. an
c. Ø
INSTRUCTIONS: Read each sentence and choose the sentence that is grammatically correct.
____ 15. Which sentence is correct?
a. There are two beautiful parks in my town.
b. There is two beautiful park in my town.
c. They are two beautiful parks in my town.
____ 16. Which sentence is correct?
a. White House is in Washington, DC.
b. A White House is in Washington, DC.
c. The White House is in Washington, DC.
____ 17. Which sentence is correct?
a. Mustafa has older brother and a younger sister.
b. Mustafa have a older brother and a younger sister.
c. Mustafa has an older brother and a younger sister.
© 2020 National Geographic Learning, a Cengage Learning company 2
Great Writing 1: Great Sentences for Great Paragraphs, Fifth Edition Unit 3 Test
Name: ______________________
____ 18. Which sentence is correct?
a. Professor Sarno is a interesting teacher.
b. Professor Sarno is an interesting teacher.
c. Professor Sarno is interesting teacher.
INSTRUCTIONS: Match each phrase to the word that best completes the collocation.
a. gym
b. individual
c. miss
d. national
e. temporary
____ 19. attention
____ 20. work out at the ________________
____ 21. a deadline
____ 22. parks and monuments
____ 23. a _________________ arrangement
INSTRUCTIONS: Complete the sentences with the best word in parentheses.
24. Driving in traffic is often very ________________ (stress / stressful).
25. I (admire / admiring) my uncle. He works all day and goes to school at night.
26. Malika feels (hurried / hurry) if she wakes up late in the morning.
27. The company wants to ________________ (create / creation) more jobs for young people.
INSTRUCTIONS: Choose the word or phrase that is most closely related to the underlined
vocabulary word.
____ 28. Cold and snow is not typical weather for Florida. It is usually warm and sunny there.
a. normal
b. rare
c. really
____ 29. Mei-ju is certainly friendly. She talks easily with strangers.
a. never
b. rarely
c. surely
____ 30. Australia is well-known for its beautiful beaches and interesting animals.
a. patient
b. famous
c. unpopular
© 2020 National Geographic Learning, a Cengage Learning company 3
Great Writing 1: Great Sentences for Great Paragraphs, Fifth Edition Unit 3 Test
Name: ______________________
INSTRUCTIONS: Combine each pair of simple sentences into one compound sentence. Use
the connector in parentheses.
31. My father lives in Kuwait. I live in Dallas. (but)
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32. He likes to read before going to sleep. She likes to listen to music. (and)
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33. I do not want to see the movie. He wants to see it. (but)
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INSTRUCTIONS: Rewrite these sentences, correcting one error in each.
34. There is many nice shops on Main Street.
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35. Tony and Julia does not eat meat or fish.
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36. They are some eggs in the refrigerator.
_____________________________________________________________________
© 2020 National Geographic Learning, a Cengage Learning company 4
ID: A
37. INSTRUCTIONS: Write a paragraph with 8–10 sentences about your typical morning. Think
of three activities you do every morning. Describe them in the order that you do them. After
each activity, give an example or a detail. Include a topic sentence and a concluding sentence.
Use at least one compound sentence and two of the vocabulary words and phrases presented
in Unit 3.
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