⏱ 5 Minutes · A2/B1

“I need an information.” I said this. In a job interview. The interviewer smiled kindly and said nothing. Information is uncountable in English — a fact that ruins sentences for speakers of almost every other language, including Bengali and French.

Correct the errors:

1. Can I have an advice?
2. I have many homeworks tonight.
3. She bought a new furniture.
4. Do you have any informations about the job?

⏱ 5 Minutes · B1

When I managed a team of fifteen at the Ivy, I learned more phrasal verbs in two months than in two years of study. “Hand in the stock report.” “Don’t put off the complaint.” “We’re taking on two new staff.” Phrasal verbs are how English actually works at work.

Replace the underlined words with a phrasal verb:

1. Please submit the form by noon.
2. We decided to postpone the meeting until Thursday.
3. She refused the job offer — she wanted more money.
4. We need to handle this complaint immediately.

⏱ 5 Minutes · B1/B2

My first year in Sydney, 2005: I had been walking for three hours when I finally found a café that was hiring. I walked in. The manager looked up. That was my start in hospitality. Good stories need all three past tenses working together.

• The sun was setting [background] when she arrived [event].
• He had already left [before] when I called [main event].
• While I was working the night shift, I discovered I loved the pressure.

Fill in with correct past tense:

1. I ___ (wait) for the bus when it suddenly ___ (start) to rain.
2. By the time they ___ (arrive), we ___ (eat) everything.
3. She ___ (never / see) snow before she ___ (move) to France.

⏱ 5 Minutes · A2/B1

When my daughter was born, I thought: I will teach her everything I know. But Vanessa, more practical, said: I’m going to book her first check-up tomorrow. And our neighbour texted: We’re coming round on Saturday. Three futures. Three meanings.

Choose the best future form:

1. A: The phone is ringing. B: I ___ (get) it.
2. She ___ (start) a new job next Monday. She’s signed the contract.
3. Look at that child — she ___ (fall) off the chair!
4. We ___ (have) dinner with friends on Saturday evening.

⏱ 5 Minutes · B2

After the incident at work that cost me a role I had trained for, I spent weeks thinking in the third conditional: If I had known, I would have done it differently. If they had been honest, things would have turned out better. It is the language of hindsight — useful for processing, dangerous if you live in it.

• If I had studied harder, I would have passed.
• She wouldn’t have left if she had known the truth.
• If we had arrived earlier, we would have got seats.

Correct the errors:

1. If I would have known, I had told you.
2. She wouldn’t left if she had knew.
3. If he studied more, he would have passed.

⏱ 5 Minutes · B1

People ask me: if you hadn’t left Bangladesh, what would your life look like? I always pause. The second conditional is the grammar of that pause — imagining a different present by changing a past choice.

• If I had a Nikon, I would take better photos.
• What would you do if you won the lottery?
• I would move to the island if the weather were warmer.

Complete with second conditional:

1. If I ___ (know) the answer, I ___ (tell) you.
2. She ___ (travel) more if she ___ (have) the time.
3. What ___ you ___ (do) if you ___ (be) the teacher?

⏱ 5 Minutes · B1/B2

At CDG airport, it was snowing. Vanessa had been waiting for four hours. She said: “I knew you would make it.” Years later I still replay that sentence. In English, to tell someone else what she said, I have to shift the tense back: she said she knew I would make it.

• “I live in France.” → She said she lived in France.
• “I will call you.” → He said he would call me.
• “We have finished.” → They said they had finished.

Report these sentences:

1. “I am tired,” she said.
2. “We can help you,” they told me.
3. “I have never been to Asia,” he said.
4. “It will snow tomorrow,” the forecast said.

⏱ 5 Minutes · B1/B2 · Cambridge

Réunion is the island where my daughter was born. The hospital where she arrived was small, clean, and impossibly calm. The nurse who handled the C-section had been working since 4 a.m. Relative clauses pack a whole story into one sentence.

Defining (no commas): The book that I read changed my life. [which book?]
Non-defining (commas): Réunion, which is a French island, is stunning. [extra info — use which, never that]

Join the sentences with a relative clause:

1. That is the restaurant. I worked there for three years.
2. She is the manager. Her patience I admired most.
3. The book changed my life. I found it at the airport.

⏱ 5 Minutes · A2/B1 · Cambridge

“I want a water.” I said this on my first week in Sydney. The waiter stared. Water is uncountable — you don’t say a water unless you mean a bottle or a glass. Articles were the hardest thing about English for me as a Bengali speaker. Bengali has none.

• a before consonant sound: a university [/j/ sound]
• an before vowel sound: an hour [silent h]
• Countries: the UK, the USA — but France, Australia

Fill in: a / an / the / — (nothing)

1. I need ___ advice.
2. She is ___ honest woman.
3. ___ sun rises in the east.
4. He ordered ___ coffee and ___ orange juice.
5. I love ___ music.

⏱ 5 Minutes · B1/B2 · Cambridge

At Star Casino, every movement was monitored. The wine was chilled before service. Tables were cleared within sixty seconds. Mistakes were not tolerated. I never heard anyone say who did these things — the passive voice is the language of professional kitchens.

be (correct tense) + past participle

• Present: The room is cleaned every morning.
• Past: The order was placed at noon.
• Present Perfect: The bill has been sent.
• Modal: Guests must be greeted immediately.

• The agent (doer) is unknown, obvious, or unimportant.
• Formal and professional writing.
• Scientific and news contexts.

Turn active → passive:

1. They clean the kitchen every night.
2. Someone stole his bag.
3. The chef has prepared your table.
4. You must return the key by noon.