Please complete the following sentences with an “ was / were ”.
Please point out the errors if you come across any. (There are
some really special gifts reserved for you)
Please send us your answers incase you’ve completed the entire
exercise; there’s a gift for you too.
Always remember – “practice makes perfect; thus, we are what we
repeatedly do”
1.
The
unfavorable reviews of his first novel _______ a great discouragement to him.
2.
Their
consignment of bananas _______ bad.
3.
This _______
a clear contravention of the rules.
4.
A gang of
youths _______ loitering outside the cinema.
5.
If it _______
not for hope, the heart would break.
6.
He called the
minister of the interior and, lo and behold, within about an hour,the prisoners
_______ released.
7.
Man _______
made at the end of the week's work when God _______ tired.
8.
I _______
furious when he crashed my car.
9.
For want of a
nail the shoe _______ lost; for want of a shoe the horse _______ lost; and for
want of a horse the man _______ lost.
10.Several firms _______ united to form one company.
11.His eyeballs _______ an unhealthy yellow.
12.He _______ given a wild card for the tournament.
13.He _______ getting excited just thinking about the trip.
14.She _______ treated with scorn and ridicule by her colleagues when
she applied for the job.
15.It _______ quite some time before they break through the enemy's
blockade.
16.Thousands of pounds worth of drugs _______ seized in dawn raids
yesterday.
17.The pipeline _______ constructed to transport oil across Alaska to
ports on the coast.
18.Her second husband _______ the exact opposite of her first .
19.The rumours of an attack _______ later confirmed.
20.I _______ becoming increasingly suspicious of his motives.
21.A man is not a horse because he _______ born in a stable.
22.Money would be gotten if there _______ money to get it with.
23.A government official disclosed that they _______ on a secret
blacklist.
24.Steve _______ in a particularly bad mood when he got back.
25.The waters _______ heaving up in great swells.
26.A great part to the information I have _______ acquired by looking
up something and finding something else on the way.
27.The doctor _______ able to treat the disease although he could not
lay his finger on the exact cause.
28.He who never _______ sick dics the first.
29.If wishes _______ horses, beggars might ride.
30.There _______ strong smell of cheap perfume in the car.
31.The windows _______ covered in wire mesh to keep out flies.
32.She _______ undernourished, an observation that prompted yet
another unasked question.
33.They _______ brought up against unexpected delays.
34.Nothing comes out of the sack but what _______ in it.
35.I completely forgot that it _______ his birthday yesterday.
36.The terrorists _______ killed when their bomb detonated
unexpectedly.
37.They _______ digging up worms to use for bait.
38.Officials _______ keen to discern how much public support there
was.
39.There _______ large patches of rust on the car.
40.She _______ awake during the operation on her leg.
41.That which _______ bitter to endure may be sweet to remember.
42.If the beard _______ all, the goat might preach.
43.It _______ considered a sin to work or play on the Sabbath.
44.I couldn't concentrate on my work - my mind _______ on other
things.
45.It _______ the first show to use the F-word and show nudity on
stage.
46.The army _______ still fighting in spite of heavy casualties.
47.I don'nt know who my grandfather was. I' m much more concerned to
know what his grandson will be.
48.Every wall in her bedroom _______ covered with pin-ups of her
favourite pop star.
49.A book is the same today as it always _______ and it will never
change.
50.Imagine Robert Redford when he _______ young - that's what John
looks like.
51.Not all of the violence in Miami _______ spillover from the trial.
52.After a few laps of the track, the sweat _______ pouring off the
runners.
53.Turkey and Greece _______ buffer states against the former Soviet
Union.
54.He who never _______ sick dies the first (fit).
55.She _______ murmuring in his ear.
56.Viewed from the top of Mount Tai , the sunrise _______ indeed a
spectacle.
57.During the disturbance which followedthree Englishmen _______
hurt.
58.He _______ only five feet nine, the minimum height for a
policeman.
59.The police _______ baffled, and Sherlock Holmes was called in to
investigate.
60.The President was unable to act because the Democrats _______
boxing him in.
61.We _______ awoken by a pounding at the door.
62.Unfortunately the report _______ prepared in haste and contained
several inaccuracies.
63.The bullets and cannon - balls _______ flying in all directions.
64.Who had taken the book? It _______ a mystery.
65.The guards _______ originally hired to watch over the houses as
they _______ being built.
66.The desk lamp _______ turned over by someone.
67.She _______ charged with credit card fraud.
68.That _______ the best ice-cresm soda I ever tasted.
69.Tottenham's gritty fightback _______ rewarded by a goal in the
closing minutes.
70.Some leaves _______ floating about on the still lake.
71.He _______ singing softly to the baby.
72.They _______ interrupted by a knock at the door.
73.It _______ so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow.
74.I admit I _______ foxed for some time.
75.The once - green fields _______ now uniformly brown.
76.It _______ the perfect ending to the perfect day.
77.The silhouette of the bare tree on the hill _______ clear against
the winter sky.
78.The coastal areas _______ occupied by the descendants of Greek
colonists.
79.The child _______ bewildered by the noise and the crowds.
80.She _______ confronted with severe money problems.
81.There _______ several kids lolling around outside the club.
82.There I was writhing in agony on the floor and you lot _______
pissing yourselves laughing!
83.There _______ four of us, so we divided the orange into quarters
and each ate a piece.
84.The pigs _______ grunting contentedly as they ate their food.
85.They _______ unable to pay the rent,and _______ evicted from their
home.
86.refer to sb/sth to mention or speak about sb/sth: The victims
_______ not referredto by name.
87.Pigs _______ grunting and squealing in the yard.
88.The two fighters _______ driven off by a barrage of anti-aircraft
fire.
89.As we _______ on the point of giving up hopea letter arrived.
90.I _______ somewhat surprised to see him.
91.The animals _______ allowed to roam free.
92.They _______ unable to gain admittance to the hall.
93.The soldiers _______ diagnosed as having flu.
94.Napolean himself _______ once a crying baby.
95.I _______ amazed by the sheer bulk of the creature.
96.The Hollywood film idols of the 1940s _______ glamorous figures,
adored by millions.
97.Famous mainly for his wonderful voice, Cole _______ also a
virtuoso on the piano.
98.Fate _______ strongly biased against him.
99.Workers _______ subjected to intimidation as they crossed the
picket line.
100.
I _______
born anAmerican; I live an American; I shall die an American.
101.
Apothecaries
would not sugar their pills unless they _______ bitter.
102.
The walkers
_______ making slow progress up the rocky path.
103.
The future of
society is in the hands of mothers; if the world _______ lost through woman she
alone can save it.
104.
Their
resolute opposition to new working methods _______ difficult to overcome.
105.
Soldiers
_______ marching up and down outside the government buildings.
106.
The village
had been hurriedly deserted, perhaps because terrorists _______ in the area.
107.
I slept, and
dreamt that life _______ Beauty, I woke, and found that life _______ Duty.
108.
They _______
virtually impotent against the power of the large companies.
109.
The lights of
the village _______ glimmering in the distance.
110.
Firefighters
_______ on the scene immediately.
111.
If wishes
_______ horses, beggars would ride.
112.
She _______
made a baroness in 1992.
113.
The whole
family _______ crammed into two poky little rooms.
114.
It _______
ten degrees below zero last night .
115.
Instructions
_______ relayed to him by phone.
116.
How old
_______ the baby when she started to walk?
117.
The survivors
_______ lifted off by two helicopters, one from the Coastguard and one from the
RAF.
118.
He _______
ordered to appear the following day, but absconded.
119.
There _______
an accident here yesterday. A car hit a tree and the driver _______ killed.
120.
He _______ a
tall, stout man with gray hair.
121.
Live as
though you intend to live forever, and work as though your strength werelimit
less.
122.
A friend is,
as it were, a second self.
123.
The smaller
of its hands occasionally slipped round on the pivotand thusthough the minutes
_______ told with precision, nobody could be quite certain of the hour they
belonged to.
124.
He _______
led away to jail in handcuffs.
125.
A drunk in
the station _______ haranguing passers-by.
126.
While the
train _______ passing, a roaring sound greeted our ears.
127.
All the
windows _______ open, giving the house an airy feeling.
128.
He _______
mad with me for losing his watch.
129.
Her sunglasses
_______ perched on her head.
130.
The bulbs
_______ over. All that remained of them _______ clumps of brown leaves.
131.
He _______
fool enough to agree.
132.
The ship was
identified, and its name and position _______ reported to the coastguard.
133.
The jury
_______ divided in opinion.
134.
The plot
_______ discovered before it _______ carried out.
135.
Most
scientists of the time _______ prepared to accept Darwin's case.
136.
Most of the
staff who responded to the questionnaire _______ supportive.
137.
Police
attempts to infiltrate neo-Nazi groups _______ largely unsuccessful.
138.
Many
celebrities _______ assembled in the garden.
139.
Swearing
_______ invented as a compromise between running away and fighting.
140.
Familiar
scenes _______ imaged on the screen.
141.
When I
_______ young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind
people.
142.
_______ you
stopped at the border?
143.
There _______
pools of water in the holes in the road.
144.
Hundreds of
slaves _______ corralled for sale.
145.
The children
_______ out playing in the sunshine.
146.
The days that
preceded _______ filled with activity.
147.
Such
attitudes _______ not at all uncommon thirty years ago.
148.
I thought you
_______ mocking me.
149.
If things
_______ to be done twice all would be wise.
150.
The land
_______ enclosed in the seventeenth century .
151.
The gala
evening _______ attended by royalty and politicians.
152.
Her father
_______ a quiet self-contained man.
153.
My fingers
_______ numb and my whole body ached.
154.
Those days when
we _______ together appear in my mind time after time, because they _______ so
joyful, happy, blest, disappointing, sad and painful. I miss you,and miss you
so much. Do you know there is someone thinking of you and caring you all the
time ? Your smiling eyes are just like the sparkling stars hanging on the
curtain of my heart.
155.
She said
she'd seen him last week and he _______ alive and kicking.
156.
It _______
going on midnight when we left the party.
157.
He _______
getting a crick in his neck from leaning out of the window for so long.
158.
There _______
a/one hundred in the room.
159.
A new kind of
car _______ on display in the shop.
160.
The labourers
_______ at work in the fields.
161.
I _______
almost tempted to strip off and plunge straight into the pool.
162.
Her hair
_______ tied up with a yellow ribbon.
163.
He _______
granted a pardon after new evidence had proved his innocence.
164.
The people
may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false, and to form a correct
judgment, _______ it fall to me to decide whether we should have a government
without newspapers of newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a
moment to prefer the latter.
165.
The skirt
_______ too big around the waist.
166.
The dog
_______ worrying away at its bone.
167.
At lunchtime
the streets _______ choked with traffic.
168.
He _______
elected by a unanimous vote.
169.
Cars and
buses _______ set ablaze during the riot.
170.
The company
said that it _______ constrained to raise prices.
171.
Her arm
_______ bandaged from the elbow to the fingers.
172.
Avoid the
ford on which your friend _______ drowned.
173.
It _______
the policy of the good old gentlemen to make his chileren feel that home _______
the happiest place in the world; and I value this delicious home---feeling as
one of the choicest gifts a parent can bestow.
174.
He _______
never actually unkind to them.
175.
We _______
all too polite to object.
176.
The cause of
the accident _______ still in dispute .
177.
Her mother
_______ away and couldn't advise her.
178.
The
administration has no vested interest in proving whether public schools
weregood or bad.
179.
I hope at
least my daughter _______ able to offer you some useful pointers.
180.
The entire
family _______ demeaned by his behaviour.
181.
It is
reported that twenty men _______ killed in the clash.
182.
Police
_______ reconstructing the movements of the murdered couple.
183.
There _______
a lot of eyebrows raised at the news of the financial minister's dismissal.
184.
The religion
we call false _______ once true.
185.
There _______
three questions. The first two _______ relatively easy but the third onewas
hard.
186.
There _______
dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.
187.
They _______
enticed westward by dreams of gold.
188.
If there _______
less sympathy in the world, there would be less trouble in the world.
189.
Why do you
weep? Did you think I _______ immortal?
190.
He who
pleased everybody died before he _______ born.
191.
It _______ a
building without any adornment or decoration.
192.
Rome _______
not built in a (or one) day.
193.
The story
_______ too grotesque to believe.
194.
Kate's word
_______ law in the Brown household.
195.
Campaign
leaders _______ caught flat-footed when the opinion polls suddenly startedto
swing the other way.
196.
Most of the
top British trainers _______ at the ringside.
197.
The audience
was / _______ enthusiastic on the opening night of the play.
198.
The company
_______ guilty of gross negligence.
199.
If the pills
_______ pleasant, they would not be gilded.
200.
Nothing great
_______ ever achieved without enthusiasm. Ralph Waldo Emerson
201.
They _______
unwilling, or unable, to guarantee safe passage from the city to the aircraft.
202.
If there
_______ no clouds, we should not enjoy the sun.
203.
The two
countries _______ threatening to nuke each other.
204.
If there
_______ no bad people, there would be no good lawyers. Charles Dickens
205.
The family
_______ evicted from their house for failing to pay the rent.
206.
The
spokeswoman said that Nimby attitudes _______ delaying development of the site.
207.
Our troops
_______ beset by enemy fire.
208.
The young
heir's contingent of the estate _______ smaller than he had hoped for.
209.
Her
colleagues _______ green with envy .
210.
All the
hospital staff _______ wonderfully supportive.
211.
The paint
_______ brittle with age.
212.
Men know
where they _______ born, not where they shall die.
213.
Several
people _______ injured by flying debris in the explosion.
214.
The police
blocked off the street where the gunman _______ hiding.
215.
The workmen
_______ cementing the sidewalk.
216.
When I lent I
had a friend; when I asked he _______ unkind.
217.
Bankers
_______ fearful of a world banking crisis.
218.
If ifs and
ands _______ pots and pans there'd be no work for tinkers.
219.
The kids
_______ kept in the small corral.
220.
One
unexpected spin-off of the course _______ the forming of some really close
friendships.
221.
Rome _______
not built in a day.
222.
In those
years they _______ forced to beg for a living.
223.
He who
_______ never sick dies the first fit.
224.
When Greeks
joined Greeks, then _______ the tug of war.
225.
A girl
_______ killed yesterday in a crash involving a stolen car.
226.
It _______
too dark to see properly.
227.
They _______
dragged from their homes, shrieking and weeping.
228.
I wept when I
_______ born, and every day shows why.
229.
The show was
very funny - they _______ sending up sports commentators.
230.
They _______
taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.
231.
After weeks
of frenetic activity, the job _______ finally finished.
232.
Jack assured
himself that they did as they _______ told.
233.
He _______
elected governor of the state of California.
234.
She _______
in a state of shock.
235.
He _______
born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
236.
There _______
birds twittering in the eucalyptus trees.
237.
They _______
intimidated into accepting a pay cut by the threat of losing their jobs.
238.
There _______
over 40 tenants, all occupying one wing of the hospital.
239.
There _______
loud bang and a sudden blinding light.
240.
The old man
_______ carrying a load of sticks.
Great
you’ve come to the end of the activity. Now please email us your answers or
comments to jsenglishggn@gmail.com
John
Smith’s English Centre is dedicated to helping you become a super star English learner
and speaker.
ALWAYS
REMEMBER – “PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT; THUS, WE ARE WHAT WE REPEATEDLY DO”
MAKES PERFECT; THUS, WE ARE WHAT WE REPEATEDLY DO”
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