Grammar Quiz (Mixed): If you score over 80% on this grammar quiz, you are OUTSTANDING!

Hello and welcome back to English  with Lucy. I'm serious here,  

if you can get 12 or more out of 15,  your English is amazing! This quiz is  

going to be a great way for you to figure out  which areas you might want to work on. So,  

don't worry if you find it challenging—it's meant  to be challenging. Here's the thing, though:

if you really want to get a more complete  picture of your English abilities,  

I've developed a really in-depth online English  Level Test and I've made it free for you. It's  

perfect for helping you understand a bit more  about your current level, so that you can then  

find the perfect study materials that match  where you are right now. The test runs all  

the way from A1 down to the top level C2, and  your results will be delivered to you via email.

If you would like to take my free online English  Level Test, just click on the link in the  

description box or scan the QR code there. Okay,  let's begin the test—we're going to start with  

some lower-level questions and then move towards  higher-level questions. But that doesn't mean that  

the first ones are easy, they contain structures  that can trip up even advanced students,

so don't skip ahead. And remember to keep  track of your score! I'll invite you to  

share your results in the comments. Okay,  number 1: use the correct form of the verbs  

to complete the sentence—'I normally  _ alone, but I _ with my sister at the  

moment.' The first verb is 'live'. The second  is 'stay'. Take a few seconds to consider this.

Ready for the answers? Here we are! So it's:  'I normally live alone…' This is the present  

simple, which we use to talk about a  situation, which we see as permanent.  

And then—...but I am staying with my sister at  the moment.' This is the present continuous,  

which we use to talk about a situation we  think is temporary. Another example—'He  

usually teaches French, but this term,  he's teaching a course in German.'

Okay, number 2: choose the correct  option in this sentence—'When I was  

younger, _ was a school on that corner.'  Is it 'there' or 'it'? Have a think!

It should be 'there'. …'there was a school  on that corner.' So, when we talk about  

something existing or not, we use 'there' and  not 'it'. Number 3: we're looking at word order  

here. Which sentence is correct? Is it—'John was  yesterday there.' or 'John was there yesterday.'?

This one is correct! The second sentence—'John  was there yesterday.' So, when we have place  

and time adverbs next to each other in a  sentence, they usually appear in that order:  

place then time. Here's another example—'They're  coming here later.' 'Here' is the place. 'Later'  

is the time. Okay, number 4: complete the  sentence with 'been' or 'gone'—'Where's Katelyn?

She's _ to the cinema. She'll  be back in a couple of hours.'

The answer is 'gone'. I have 'been' and 'gone'  confused all the time. We use 'gone' when someone  

went somewhere and hasn't returned yet.  Katelyn might be at the cinema or on her  

way back. We use 'been' when someone went  somewhere and returned. And what does the  

apostrophe 's stand for in 'she's'? That  is a contraction of 'has' not 'is'. Okay,

number 5: which word could you remove  from this sentence to avoid repetition?  

'She went to the beach and she built an  epic sandcastle.' Take your time to think!

It should be the second 'she'. It's not necessary  to repeat the pronoun as it's obvious who built  

the sandcastle. We can remove certain words when  we have 2 clauses connected by 'and', 'but',  

and 'or' and the missing information is clear  from the context. This is called textual ellipsis.  

Here's another longer example—'Do you want beans  on toast or do you want bangers and mash tonight?'

We can remove the second 'Do you want…' 'Do you  want beans on toast or bangers and mash tonight?'  

Okay, how are you doing so far? Those were just  getting you started. The questions are about to  

get a bit harder now. And just a quick reminder:  if you're finding these questions tricky,  

don't worry! And also, don't forget about the  free English Level Test that I mentioned earlier.

This will really help you to understand where  you are with your English. Then, you can study  

using appropriate materials. The link is in  the description box for you. Okay, number 6:  

use an article to complete the sentence  so that it refers to tigers in general.  

Ready? '_ tiger is a solitary  animal.' Have a little think.

The article should be 'the'. 'The tiger is  a solitary animal.' Now we can use 'the'  

plus singular noun to make a generalisation  about all things the noun refers to. Now,  

notice how I say /ðə/ tiger. 'The tiger'. It's  common to use /ðə/ before consonant sounds and  

/ðiː/ before vowel sounds. For example—'The  elephant has an incredible memory.' Number 7:

choose the correct preposition to complete  the sentence—'London is really different _ my  

hometown.' Is it 'from', 'than' or 'to'?  I want you to really think about this one.

I'm really curious which one you  chose because they're all correct. So,  

'different from' is pretty standard. 'Different  than' is more common in North American English  

and 'different to' is more common in British  English, especially in speech. Use whichever  

feels the most natural to you. It's a little  hard to score that question, isn't it? So,  

I'll give you this—if you thought that  2 or 3 of the options were both correct,  

you can have the point. Number 8: complete  the second sentence so it means the same  

as the first. And you need to think about  punctuation, too. First sentence—'The sailor  

is 90 years old. She still sails solo across  the sea." That was nearly a tongue twister.

'She still sails solo across the sea.'  And the second sentence—'The _ sailor  

still sails solo across the sea.' Have a think.

It should be—'The 90-year-old sailor still sails  solo across the sea.' Now, be really careful here:  

'90-year-old' with hyphens. If you  thought it should be '90-years-old',  

with or without the hyphens, don't worry.  This structure is so tricky for lots of  

English learners. It's a mistake I hear all the  time. It should be '90-year-old' no 's' and here  

'90-year-old' is a compound adjective,  so we don't pluralise any of the words.

We use hyphens because they make it easier to  understand. And the adjective comes before the  

noun. And please note: hyphens are a pain! This  isn't a universal rule. Correctly hyphenating  

compound adjectives is challenging! It's  something I discuss with my teachers a lot  

when we're creating our courses. Okay, did  you notice how hard it was for me to say,  

I'd like you to pause the video and  try saying that sentence out loud.

It is a bit of a tongue twister. 'The  

90-year-old sailor still sails  solo across the sea.' Your turn.

I'm gonna say 'good effort', but I can't  hear you. Okay, number 9, complete the  

sentence with the correct preposition—'My  dog knocked the glass over _ accident while  

he was wagging his tail.' I'm not giving  you any clues here. Take a few seconds.

Okay, the correct answer is 'by accident'. 'By  accident.' You could also say 'accidentally'  

and you might have heard some people say 'on  accident'. This is somewhat commonly spoken  

English in North America, especially among younger  people, but it's generally not considered correct  

in a more formal context. But language changes,  so in a few years it might be considered correct.

In general, 'by accident' is widely  accepted. 'On accident', uhm, it's used,  

but not officially correct. Okay,  number 10: is this sentence correct  

or incorrect? 'Those letters are really  important. Please don't throw out them.'

It is not correct! Personal pronouns like  'them' go between the verb and the particle  

in a separable phrasal verb. So, it should  be—'Please don't throw them out.' Another  

example—'Can you pick me up later?' Not 'pick  up me'. 'Pick me up'. Okay, we're two-thirds of  

the way through now. How are you doing? This  quiz is about to get even more challenging!

Are you ready for number 11? Choose  the correct option to complete the  

gap—'I _ living in a big city,  so moving to the countryside was  

a shock to me.' Is it 'used to' or  'was used to' take a few seconds.

It should be 'was used to'. We use 'to  be used to' to say that something is,  

was or will be normal for us. It's  followed by a gerund 'living' or a noun,  

noun phrase or pronoun. For example—'I  am used to the bad traffic.' 'Used to'  

without 'be' refers to a past situation that is  no longer true and it's followed by a base verb.

'I used to live in London, but now  I live in the countryside.' These  

are such tricky structures for learners to  use naturally. Let's move on to number 12:  

complete the sentence using 'should'—'Where's  Eloise? She _ _ _ here hours ago.' Have a think.

Okay, we definitely need 'should have' and then  a past participle. I'd probably use 'been',  

but you could say 'got' or 'arrived'. 'She should  have arrived here hours ago.' Okay, number 13:  

report this statement using a form of the verb  'accuse'. You will need to use 4 words. 'Paul,  

you lied!' said Peter. Peter _ _ _ _.  (4 words) Okay, take your time here.

Use the pause button if you need to.

Ready for the answer? 'Peter accused  Paul of lying.' So the verb pattern is  

'accuse' + object + the preposition 'of' + -ing  verb. Other verbs that can follow this pattern  

include 'blame somebody for' and 'prevent  somebody from'. Can you think of any more?  

Let's move on to number 14: which option can we  not use to complete the sentence—'It might not be  

the best day to have a picnic. The sky's _ at  the moment.' Option 1. 'more grey than blue',  

2. 'greyer than bluer' and 3. 'more grey than  it is blue'. Take your moment here to think.

Okay, we can't use the second option.  Even though the comparative form of 'grey'  

is usually 'greyer' and 'blue' is usually  'bluer'. When comparing 2 similar qualities,  

like colors, we often use more adjective  than adjective. We can also use the longer  

form with 'it is' repeated before 'blue'.  Okay, number 15, your last grammar question:  

complete the second sentence so  that it means the same as the first.

Use only a form of the verb 'suit'. You need  2 words—'Do whatever you want — I can't be  

bothered to argue with you.'—and then—'_ _  — I can't be bothered to argue with you.'

The answer should be 'suit yourself'. Did  you get that one? 'Suit yourself' is often  

used to say do what you want. Especially  when you don't agree or something annoys  

you. For example—'I'm not coming to the beach.  Suit yourself but we're going to have a great  

time!' 'Suit' is a verb that changes meaning  slightly when used reflexively. Other verbs  

like this include 'help yourself' as in take  whatever you want and 'apply yourself' as in

put effort into something. Okay, that one was  tricky. Did you manage to get 80%? 80% is a score  

of 12 out of 15. Let me know in the comments. And  don't worry if you didn't get 80%, or even close  

to that—some of those questions were seriously  challenging. And now, if you're feeling motivated  

or demotivated, it might be the perfect time to  get a more complete picture of your English level.

Scan that QR code or click the link in the  description box to get started on my free  

online English Level Test. It only takes  a few minutes, and before you know it,  

you'll be on your way to becoming the English  speaker you've always dreamt of being. I really  

hope you enjoyed this lesson. I hope you learnt  something and I'll see you in the next one. Muah!