Adjectives -ED or -ING Exercise at Auto-English

-ING the cause

-ED the effect

Fill the gaps with the adjectives in brackets.
1 He's such a monotonous speaker. I was ________________ stiff. (bored / boring)
2 Most sequels are ________________. (disappointed / disappointing)
3 I had such a ________________ day I went straight to bed. (tired / tiring)
4 Everyone's very ________________ about the news. (excited / exciting)
5 That lamp produces a very ________________ effect. (pleased / pleasing)
6 The whole school was ________________ by the tragic event. (saddened / saddening)
7 I don't like watching ________________ films on my own. (depressed / depressing)
8 I was ________________ when she told me she'd got divorced. (amazed / amazing)
9 He's such a ________________ guy. He only ever talks about himself. (bored / boring)
10 I'm very ________________ in films and theatre. (interested / interesting)
11 No one knew what would happen next. We were all ________________ . (intrigued /
intriguing)
12 It was a very ________________ situation. (interested / interesting)
13 There's been some very ________________ news. (surprised / surprising)
14 His mother was ________________ by what she found under his bed. (disgusted /
disgusting)
15 Their hamburgers are ________________ . (disgusted / disgusting)
16 Dad always arrives home from work thoroughly ________________ . (exhausted /
exhausting)
17 He's always showing off. It's really ________________ . (annoyed / annoying)
18 I think Alex is one of the most ________________ people I've ever met. He can't keep still
for a second. (annoyed / annoying)
19 I walked into this restaurant and there was Andy with a strange woman. He seemed really
________________ . (embarrassed / embarrassing)
20 She kept talking about her boyfriend problems all night. It was rather ________________ .
(embarrassed / embarrassing)

ADJECTIVE FORMATION WITH –ABLE, -IBLE.

-ible -able
If the root is not a complete word, If the root is a complete word, add -able.
add -ible.
accept + able = acceptable
aud + ible = audible
Examples:
Examples: • fashionable
• laughable
• visible • suitable
• horrible • dependable
• terrible • comfortable
• possible
• edible If the root is a complete word ending in -e, drop the
• eligible final -e and add -able.
• incredible
excuse - e+ able = excusable
• permissible
Examples:

• advisable
• desirable
• valuable

• debatable

Some exceptions:

• contemptible
• digestible
• flexible
• responsible
• irritable
• inevitable

In the following sentences, the final four letters are omitted from each -ible or -able
word. Complete each word with the appropriate ending.

1. Last night's movie about the invis____ man was so incred____ that it was laugh____.

2. My irrespons____ little brother is usually kept away from anything break____.

3. Are these new clothes really comfort____, or do people only wear them because they
are fashion____?

4. I think I would be less irrit____ if my professors were more flex____.

5. I don't think voting twice in national elections is permiss____.

Adjective Suffixes

These are common word endings for adjectives. If you see these ending at the
end of a word, you can be certain it is an adjective.

-ive at the end of a word means doing or tending toward doing some action
 extend+ive means doing something large in range or amount
extensive(adj) select+ive means tending to select.
selective(adj)
-en at the end of a word means made of __________.

wooden (adj) wood+en means made of wood.

Note: When the word is an adjective, the -en means made of
__________. We have seen -en at the end of a verb. There it means to
make __________.
-ic at the end of a word means characteristic of__________; like
__________.

heroic (adj) hero+ic means characteristic of a hero.

poetic (adj) poet+ic means characteristic of (or like) poets or poetry.

-al sometimes makes an adjective; when it makes an adjective it means

relating to __________.

financial (adj) finance+al means relating to finance. (Finance means money.)

manual (adj) manu+al means relating to the hand. (Manus means hand in Latin.)

-able at the end of a word means able __________; can __________; or giving
__________.

portable (adj) port+able means can be carried; able to be carried.

pleasurable (adj) pleasure+able means giving pleasure.

-y at the end of a word means having __________.

hairy (adj) hair+y means having hair (a lot of hair).

rainy (adj) rain+y means having rain.
-ous at the end of a word means full of __________; having __________.

mystery+ous means full of mystery.

mysterious (adj)
-ful at the end of a word means full of __________; having __________.

hope+ful means full of hope.

hopeful (adj) beauty+ful means full of beauty.
beautiful (adj) Note: The suffix -ful is always spelled with one l; the word full has two.

-less at the end of a word means without __________.

powerless (adj) power+less means without power.

homeless(adj) home+less means without a home.

Base word Adjectives

Translation Positive meaning Negative meaning

beauty ................................. (1) _______________ X

brain ................................. X brainless

 care ................................. careful (2) _______________

charm ................................. X charmless

end ................................. X endless*

event ................................. (3) _______________ X

faith ................................. (4) _______________ faithless

harm ................................. harmless (5) _______________

help ................................. helpful helpless

(6)
home ................................. X
_______________

(8)
hope ................................. (7) _______________
_______________

pain ................................. (9) _______________ (10) _______________

peace ................................. peaceful X

penny .................................

CONNECTORS

Translate the connectors into your language where possible.

 above all from my point of view such as

............................. .............................
...........................................
. .
because of this furthermore then

............................. .............................
..............................
. .
even so however therefore

............................. .............................
..............................
. .
firstly instead whereas

............................. .............................
..............................
. .

B Use the connectors in the box once only to fill the gaps.

1 _________________, I'd like to say that I agree and, secondly, explain why.
2 Camels live in the desert, _________________ dolphins live in the sea.
3 In the end, we didn't go to the cinema. We went to the theatre _________________.
4 I think, _________________ I am.*
5 Spain produces oranges, _________________ in Valencia.
6 ________________________, the continued use of fossil fuels is now the biggest threat to
humanity.
7 I don't like strawberry ice cream. _________________, I love chocolate flavour.
8 The government is having problems with illegal immigration. _________________, their
economic policies are failing.
9 The weather was bad. _________________, the fishermen still went to sea.
10 It started raining. _________________, we decided not to go.*
11 Firstly, we have to think about our budget and _________________ about how much time
we have.
12 I love those soft French cheeses, _________________ Camembert.

GERUND OR INFINITIVE

1 Fill the gaps with the verb in brackets in the appropriate form.
 1 I can't stand ________________ in queues. ( to wait )
2 I wouldn't like ________________ in his shoes. ( to be )
3 Jim loves ________________ in Thailand. ( to work )
4 I hate ________________ the shopping on Saturday. ( to do )
5 Blast! I forgot ________________ milk. ( to buy )
6 In the end we decided ________________ in. ( to stay )
7 I need ________________ some information about Portugal. ( to find )
8 My parents like ________________ for long walks at the weekend. ( to go )
9 Tony gave up ________________ years ago. ( to smoke )
10 I wanted ________________ and see Troy but no one else was interested. ( to go )
11 Mrs Leith offered ________________ us to the airport. ( to take )
12 Clare refused ________________ clean up after the party. ( to help )
13 I tried ________________ him to come but it was no use. ( to persuade )
14 Do you mind not ________________ ? ( to smoke )
15 Everybody really enjoyed ________________ the cha-cha-cha. ( to dance )
16 Lionel admitted ________________ my chocolate mousse. ( to eat )

2 Check your answers and put the verbs in bold into the right columns. Translate the verbs.

VERB + GERUND VERB + TO + INFINITIVE

Translation Translation
.........................
admit .......................... decide
.
.........................
___________ .......................... forget
.
.........................
enjoy .......................... ___________
.
.........................
give up .......................... offer
.
.........................
___________ .......................... refuse
.
.........................
___________ .......................... try
.
.........................
love .......................... want
.
.........................
___________ .......................... would like
.

1 Use the verbs in brackets to fill the gaps.

 1 We arranged _____________ under the station clock at half nine. ( to meet )
2 I always try to avoid _____________ him whenever I can. ( to see )
3 I long _____________ in Scotland again. ( to be )
4 My Mum demanded _____________ the manager. ( to see )
5 My brother denied _____________ my chocolate mousse. Maybe his hamster ate it. ( to
eat )
6 I tried _____________ but I just couldn't. ( to understand )
7 In the end I gave up _____________ to persuade her. ( to try )
8 Charlie was pretending _____________ a chicken. ( to be )
9 They chose _____________ in a cheap hotel but spend more money on meals. ( to stay )
10 We like Galicia so much that we keep _____________ back there. ( to go )
11 He deserves _____________ severely punished. ( to be )
12 When we visit my aunt, they expect me _____________ on my best behaviour. ( to be )
13 I didn't mean _____________ her feelings. I'm really sorry. ( to hurt )
14 I always put off _____________ my homework until the last possible moment. ( to do )
15 He goes on _____________ me the same thing over and over again. ( to tell )
16 I can't stand _____________ in the queue at the baker's. ( to wait )
17 The firemen managed _____________ the fire pretty quickly. ( to put out )
18 I never risk _____________ through that part of town. ( to go )
19 Clare offered _____________ me to the airport, which was very kind of her. ( to take )
20 Dad threatened _____________ my pocket money if I didn't do my homework. ( to stop )

2 Check your answers and put the verbs in bold into the right columns. Translate the verbs.

VERB + GERUND VERB + TO + INFINITIVE

Translation Translation
1 _____________ .......................... 1 _____________ ..........................
2 _____________ .......................... 2 _____________ ..........................
3 _____________ .......................... 3 _____________ ..........................
4 _____________ .......................... 4 _____________ ..........................
5 _____________ .......................... 5 _____________ ..........................

REMEMBER AND TRY (change of meaning)

I remembered to phone Granny on her birthday

REMEMBER + TO + INFINITIVE means the opposite of FORGET

I remember taking my watch off in the bathroom but now I can't find it
 REMEMBER + -ING is for recalling events in the past

1 Fill the gaps with TO + INFINITIVE or the -ING form of the verb in brackets.
1 Are you sure you remembered __________________ the iron off before you left? (turn)
2 I distinctly remember __________________ the iron off before I left. (turn)
3 Roger didn't remember __________________ the grill off and so the kitchen caught fire.
(turn)
4 Many witnesses remember __________________ three people inside the building before it
caught fire. (see)
5 Did you remember __________________ the canary yesterday? He looks depressed and
hungry to me. (feed)
6 I remember my Dad __________________ me to ride a bike. (teach)
7 Thankfully I remembered __________________ the cat biscuits. Otherwise Twinkle would
have killed me. (buy)
8 I remember __________________ out of the bank just before I saw the accident. (come)

He tried to explain to me about video file formats

TRY + TO + INFINITIVE means to 'make an effort to'

She tried adding some paprika to her lentils

TRY + -ING is similar to 'trying a new option'

2 Fill the gaps with TO + INFINITIVE or the -ING form of the verb in brackets.
1 She tried __________________ a glass of water to get rid of her hiccups. (drink)
2 Bob tried __________________ .DAT files to mpeg files and then burning to DVD. (convert)
3 Try __________________ some chopped parsley and paprika to your lentils when they're
nearly done. (add)
4 He tried __________________ me change my mind but I stood my ground. (make)
5 Have you tried __________________ politely? That often works. (ask)
6 If your computer's running slowly, you should try __________________ the hard drive.
(defragment)
7 I tried __________________ her to talk about it but she just wouldn't. (get)
8 Bob tried __________________ Darren to come to the party and eventually he agreed.
(convince)

WORD ORDER

Correct the mistakes.

1 It's the place most beautiful I know.

______________________________________________________ .
2 I was all day at home.
______________________________________________________ .
3 Miguel has a life very complicated.
______________________________________________________ .
 4 I don't know where is it.
______________________________________________________ .
5 I have seen her only a few times.
______________________________________________________ .
6 He has always an apple after lunch.
______________________________________________________ .
7 She never is late.
______________________________________________________ .
8 She asked him what was it.
______________________________________________________ .
9 We heard for a long time the same thing.
______________________________________________________ .
10 Yesterday phoned me an Irish man.
______________________________________________________ .

CAN, COULD AND BE ABLE TO

Circle the correct answer. Fill the gaps when you´ve checked your answers.

1 I ______________ remember his name. 6 You'll be able to solve this,

______________?
A am not able to
A can you
B can't
B won't you
C red herring
C will you
2 Diana ______________ the piano. 7 Sorry, Teacher. I ______________do it
yet.
A can play
A wasn't able to
B can to play
B couldn't
C eats
C haven't been able to
3 She ______________ come on holiday 8 He ______________ pass the exam if
next month if her parents give her he studied harder.
permission.
A will be able to
A can't
B can
B could
C would be able to
C will be able to
4 They ______________ go. The weather 9 The fishing boat sank but luckily all the
was too bad. crew ______________ save themselves.
A couldn't A were able to
B can't B could
C wasn't able to C wasn't able to
5 A: Can you lend me some money? 10 We ______________ go to the party.
B: Sorry. I ______________. I haven't got We're going to a wedding.
any either. A couldn't
A can't
B won't be able to
B am not able to
C will can't
C couldn't

DON´T HAVE TO AND MUSTN´T

Fill the gaps with either don't have to or mustn't in the correct form.

1 Sally! You ___________ say rude words like that!

2 Tommy! You ___________ pick your nose in class. It's really disgusting.
3 You ___________ finish the exercise now. You can finish it at home.
4 James ___________ go to church if he doesn't want to.
5 You ___________ drive so aggressively. You'll end up killing someone.
6 Helen ___________ make racist comments. It makes her seem really ignorant.
7 David ___________ answer your emails. There's no law about it.
8 It's OK. You ___________ pay now. You can pay me at the end of the month.
9 You ___________ stay out so late without ringing me. I was worried sick.
10 You ___________ let the cats sleep on my clean shirts. Look. They're covered in hairs.
11 You ___________ have lunch with my parents. I'm not forcing you.
12 I ___________ forget to phone Granny. It's her birthday tomorrow.

HAVE TO, MUST, SHOULD OR OUGHT TO

If you want to lose weight, you _____________ eat pasta, potatoes, white bread or white
rice. NEGATIVE

It's alright. You _____________ come to Muriel's wedding if you don't want to. NEGATIVE

Stupid boy! You _____________ play with matches! NEGATIVE

I haven't heard from Eleonora for ages. Maybe I _____________ give her a ring.

You _____________ remember your passport. Otherwise they won't let you on the plane.

The weather forecast says this weekend will be fine. We _____________ go on a picnic.

You _____________ go there on your own. It's extremely dangerous. NEGATIVE

You _____________ come if you don't feel like it. NEGATIVE

You _____________ take life so seriously. Relax a bit. NEGATIVE

Orange juice in cartons has no goodness in it at all. You _____________ make it yourself.

You _____________ drink and drive. NEGATIVE

These instructions are difficult to follow. They _____________ to explain things better

CONNECTORS

High level positions are stressful at times, and

and
in addition, additionally,
furthermore, moreover, also
not only...but also
in addition to, along with, as
well as
can be harmful to your health.
High level positions are stressful at times;
furthermore, they can be harmful to your health
Not only are high level positions stressful at
times, but they also can be harmful to your
health.
Along with being stressful, high level positions
can also be harmful to your health.