B1 · Adjectives & Adverbs

Vocabulary: Describing People, Places & Things

B1 Focus: These adjectives and adverbs appear throughout the Grammar Lab. Pay attention to which words take negative prefixes, which are commonly confused with their -ly forms, and which appear as both adjective and adverb.

Personality & Character (Личностни черти)

Ambitious/æmˈbɪʃ.əs/Амбициозен

Generous/ˈdʒen.ər.əs/Щедър

Selfish/ˈsel.fɪʃ/Егоистичен

Stubborn/ˈstʌb.ən/Упорит, инат

Reliable/rɪˈlaɪ.ə.bl/Надежден

Impatient/ɪmˈpeɪ.ʃənt/Нетърпелив

Irresponsible/ˌɪr.ɪˈspɒn.sɪ.bl/Безотговорен

Dishonest/dɪsˈɒn.ɪst/Нечестен

Feelings & Reactions (Чувства и реакции)

Bored / Boring/bɔːd/ /ˈbɔː.rɪŋ/Отегчен / Отегчителен

Excited / Exciting/ɪkˈsaɪ.tɪd/ /ɪkˈsaɪ.tɪŋ/Развълнуван / Вълнуващ

Confused / Confusing/kənˈfjuːzd/ /kənˈfjuː.zɪŋ/Объркан / Объркващ

Exhausted / Exhausting/ɪɡˈzɔː.stɪd/ /ɪɡˈzɔː.stɪŋ/Изтощен / Изтощителен

Surprised / Surprising/səˈpraɪzd/ /səˈpraɪ.zɪŋ/Изненадан / Изненадващ

Terrified / Terrifying/ˈter.ɪ.faɪd/ /ˈter.ɪ.faɪ.ɪŋ/Ужасен / Ужасяващ

Fascinated / Fascinating/ˈfæs.ɪ.neɪ.tɪd/ /ˈfæs.ɪ.neɪ.tɪŋ/Очарован / Очарователен

Description Words (Описателни думи)

Rectangular/rekˈtæŋ.kjʊ.lər/Правоъгълен

Circular/ˈsɜː.kjʊ.lər/Кръгъл

Oval/ˈəʊ.vəl/Овален

Enormous/ɪˈnɔː.məs/Огромен

Tiny/ˈtaɪ.ni/Миниатюрен, дребен

Elegant/ˈel.ɪ.ɡənt/Елегантен

Delicate/ˈdel.ɪ.kət/Деликатен, крехък

Magnificent/mæɡˈnɪf.ɪ.sənt/Великолепен

Key Adverbs (Ключови наречия)

Barely/ˈbeə.li/Едва, почти не

Nearly/ˈnɪə.li/Почти (= almost)

Hardly/ˈhɑːd.li/Едва, почти не

Lately/ˈleɪt.li/Напоследък

Gently/ˈdʒent.li/Нежно, внимателно

Thoroughly/ˈθʌr.ə.li/Обстойно, изцяло

Incredibly/ɪnˈkred.ɪ.bli/Невероятно

Occasionally/əˈkeɪ.ʒən.ə.li/От време на време

Grammar Lab: Adjectives & Adverbs

Key concept: Adjectives describe nouns — what kind of thing it is. Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs — how, when, where, or to what degree. Both have strict rules in English that differ significantly from Bulgarian, where word order and form are more flexible.

PART 1 — Adjectives: The Grammar of Description

1. Adjective Word Order — OSASCOMP

When you use more than one adjective before a noun in English, they must follow a specific natural sequence. Native speakers feel this instinctively; learners need to memorise the pattern. The mnemonic is OSASCOMP:

Opinion → Size → Age → Shape → Colour → Origin → Material → Purpose

The most important rule to remember: Opinion always comes first, and Purpose always comes last (because it behaves almost like a second noun — e.g., a swimming pool, a racing car).

Opinionlovely

→

Sizesmall

→

Ageold

→

Shaperound

→

Colourgreen

→

OriginFrench

→

Materialsilver

→

Purposecooking

In practice, you rarely use more than 2–3 adjectives. Here are common real examples:

a beautifulOpinion oldAge ItalianOrigin racingPurpose car

a lovelyOpinion littleSize woodenMaterial box

an expensiveOpinion largeSize squareShape blackColour leatherMaterial bag

📝 Easy: Put the adjectives in the correct OSASCOMP order before the noun.

1. [red / small / round] → a ___ ball

2. [French / beautiful / silk] → a ___ scarf

3. [modern / large / glass] → a ___ building

4. [narrow / old / stone / charming] → a ___ bridge

5. [Italian / young / talented / sports] → a ___ player

🎯 Hard: Each sentence has the adjectives in the wrong order. Write the corrected full sentence.

1. "She wore a silk blue long elegant dress." →

2. "He bought a wooden old small beautiful box." →

3. "They drove a German sports new expensive car." →

4. "It was a stone circular ancient remarkable table." →

5. "He gave her a red large oval Italian leather bag." →

2. Sentence Position — Attributive vs Predicative

An adjective can sit in two places in a sentence. The position changes the structure but not the meaning — except for a special group of adjectives that can only appear predicatively.

Attributive = the adjective is placed directly before the noun it describes:
It was a difficult decision. → difficult sits before decision

Predicative = the adjective comes after a linking verb (be, look, seem, feel, smell, taste, become, appear):
The decision was difficult. → difficult comes after was

📌 Attributive — before the noun

a tired child
the beautiful landscape
a long, boring meeting

🔗 Predicative — after linking verb

The child was tired.
The landscape looks beautiful.
The meeting seemed boring.

⚠️ The "A-" Exception — predicative only:
A special group of adjectives starting with a- can only be used predicatively — after a verb. You cannot place them before a noun.

afraid asleep alone alive awake aware ashamed alike

✘ The asleep baby looked peaceful.
Cannot put "asleep" before a noun.

✔ The baby was asleep.
✔ The sleeping baby looked peaceful.
Use the participle form before nouns.

✘ An afraid child ran from the room.

✔ The child was afraid.
✔ A frightened child ran from the room.

📝 Easy: Choose the correct option — the adjective, or the participle/alternative form that works before the noun.

1. The ___ dog sat at the gate all night. (alone / solitary)

2. She was completely ___ by the time she got home. (asleep / exhausted) — She arrived home and was ___

3. He was ___ of the consequences. (aware / knowing) — predicative position

4. The ___ patient was moved to another ward. (alive / living) — before the noun

5. She felt ___ after everyone left. (alone / lonely) — after linking verb

🎯 Hard: Each sentence uses an "a-" adjective incorrectly before a noun. Rewrite using the correct alternative.

1. "The afraid children hid behind the sofa." →

2. "An awake patient needs attention immediately." →

3. "The alone wolf was tracking the herd." →

4. "They found an alive fish in the dry riverbed." →

5. "She is an alike twin to her sister." →

3. Participial Adjectives — -ed vs -ing

This is the most common adjective error at B1 level. The two forms describe two different things — and confusing them produces sentences that are grammatically wrong or accidentally funny.

The key question to always ask is: "Who is causing the feeling, and who is experiencing it?"

-ING form → the cause

The -ing adjective describes the thing, person, or situation that produces the feeling. It is active — it acts on others.

-ing = active / causes feeling

The film was boring.
→ The film is the cause.

The news was shocking.
→ The news caused the shock.

It was an exhausting day.
→ The day caused the exhaustion.

vs

-ED form → the experiencer

The -ed adjective describes the person who receives or feels the effect. It is passive — it is acted upon.

-ed = passive / feels the effect

I was bored by the film.
→ I experienced the boredom.

We were shocked by the news.
→ We felt the shock.

She was completely exhausted.
→ She felt the exhaustion.

Quick memory trick: If you can say "it/he/she makes me feel ___" → use -ing. If you are the one feeling it → use -ed.
✔ "The lesson interests me" → "an interesting lesson" / "I am interested"

📝 Easy: Choose the correct form (-ed or -ing).

1. The documentary was absolutely ___ — I couldn't look away. (fascinate)

2. She was ___ when she received the letter — it came completely out of nowhere. (surprise)

3. The climb was ___ — we were on our feet for nine hours straight. (exhaust)

4. I am ___ in ancient history — I read about it in my spare time. (interest)

5. The instructions were so ___ that nobody knew what to do. (confuse)

🎯 Hard: Both gaps need a participial adjective from the same root verb. Fill in both forms.

1. "The speech was ___." / "The audience was ___ by the speech." (bore)

2. "It was a ___ experience." / "We were absolutely ___ by what we saw." (shock)

3. "The result was completely ___." / "He was ___ by the result." (amaze)

4. "The film is ___ for young children." / "Many parents were ___ by the content." (disturb)

5. "It was a deeply ___ film about loss." / "I was deeply ___ by the ending." (move)

4. Word Formation — Negative Prefixes

English uses prefixes to make adjectives (and some nouns/verbs) negative. The prefix is not random — it is fixed for each word and determined mainly by the word's origin and its first letter. There is one general-purpose prefix (un-) and four specialist prefixes. Mixing them up produces errors that a native speaker would immediately notice.

⚠️ You cannot freely swap these — unpolite, inresponsible, dislogical are all wrong. Each word has one correct prefix only.

Prefix	Meaning	When to use it	Bulgarian equivalent
un-	not / reverse of	Default — use for most adjectives; Germanic-origin words	не-, без-
im-	not	Roots starting with p or m	не-
il-	not	Roots starting with l	не-
ir-	not	Roots starting with r	не-
dis-	not / opposite action	Latin-origin roots; also used with verbs and nouns	не-, раз-

un-

Default prefix — covers the widest range

unhappy — нещастен
uncomfortable — неудобен
unreliable — ненадежден
unnecessary — ненужен
unfair — несправедлив
unexpected — неочакван
unpleasant — неприятен
uncertain — несигурен

im-

Before roots starting with p or m

impolite — невъзпитан
impossible — невъзможен
impatient — нетърпелив
immature — незрял
immoral — неморален
imperfect — несъвършен
improbable — малко вероятен

il-

Before roots starting with l

illegal — незаконен
illogical — нелогичен
illiterate — неграмотен
illegible — нечетлив
illegitimate — незаконен, нелегитимен
illiberal — нелиберален

ir-

Before roots starting with r

irresponsible — безотговорен
irrelevant — неуместен
irregular — нередовен
irrational — нерационален
irreplaceable — незаменим
irreversible — необратим

dis-

Latin-origin roots; works with verbs & nouns too

dishonest — нечестен
disloyal — нелоялен
disobedient — непослушен
disorganised — неорганизиран
disagree (verb) — не съм съгласен
disappear (verb) — изчезвам
discomfort (noun) — дискомфорт

Common Opposite Pairs — Positive → Negative

Positive	Negative (prefix)	Bulgarian	Example sentence
happy	unhappy	нещастен	She looked unhappy after the news.
comfortable	uncomfortable	неудобен	The chair was uncomfortable.
reliable	unreliable	ненадежден	He is completely unreliable.
fair	unfair	несправедлив	That rule is unfair.
polite	impolite	невъзпитан	It was impolite to interrupt.
possible	impossible	невъзможен	It seemed impossible to finish in time.
patient	impatient	нетърпелив	He became impatient waiting in the queue.
mature	immature	незрял	That reaction was immature.
legal	illegal	незаконен	Parking here is illegal.
logical	illogical	нелогичен	His argument was completely illogical.
legible	illegible	нечетлив	The handwriting was illegible.
responsible	irresponsible	безотговорен	Leaving the door open was irresponsible.
relevant	irrelevant	неуместен	That comment is irrelevant to the topic.
regular	irregular	нередовен	"Go" has an irregular past tense.
honest	dishonest	нечестен	It was dishonest to hide the truth.
organised	disorganised	неорганизиран	The event was completely disorganised.
obedient	disobedient	непослушен	The disobedient student was sent out.

⚠️ The "No Prefix" Trap — some adjectives must use a completely different word

Not every adjective has a negative prefix form. Some words cannot take any prefix — you must use a different, unrelated word to express the opposite. This is a common exam mistake.

Word	❌ Wrong attempt	✓ Correct opposite	Bulgarian
generous	~~ungenerous~~	mean / stingy	скъперник
selfish	~~unselfish~~ (rare)	selfless / generous	себеотрицателен
brave	~~unbrave~~	cowardly	страхлив
kind	~~unkind~~ is OK, but also	cruel / unkind	жесток
stubborn	~~unstubbborn~~	flexible / easygoing	гъвкав
rude	~~unrude~~	polite / respectful	учтив

Note: unkind is a real English word, but for most of the words above, a prefix form simply does not exist. When in doubt, look it up.

📝 Easy: Write the correct negative form. Choose the right prefix.

1. polite →

2. logical →

3. honest →

4. responsible →

5. comfortable →

6. patient →

7. legal →

8. relevant →

🎯 Hard: Fill in the gap with the correct negative adjective. Read the context carefully.

1. He keeps interrupting people mid-sentence. It's very ___.

2. She lied about her qualifications on the application. That was completely ___.

3. He left his little brother alone in a dangerous area. It was utterly ___.

4. The handwriting was so small and ___ that nobody could read the letter.

5. The meeting went off topic constantly — the discussion was completely ___.

PART 2 — Adverbs: The Precision of Action

5. Adverb Formation — The -ly Rule and the Rebels

Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the adjective. But several spelling shifts apply, and a small group of important words completely break the rule.

Pattern	Rule	Examples
standard	+ ly	slow → slowly, clear → clearly, quiet → quietly
-y ending	drop y, add -ily	happy → happily, angry → angrily, easy → easily
-le ending	drop e, add -y	gentle → gently, possible → possibly, terrible → terribly
-ic ending	+ ally	basic → basically, automatic → automatically

The Rebels — irregular or zero-change adverbs:

fast → fast (not fastly)

She runs fast.
It was a fast car.
Same form for adj and adv.

hard → hard (not hardly)

He works hard.
⚠️ hardly is a different word — it means "almost not at all" (covered in Rule 6).

good → well

She sings well. (not goodly)
⚠️ well can also be a predicative adjective: She feels well.

late → late (not lately)

He arrived late.
⚠️ lately = recently — again, a different word covered in Rule 6.

Adjective-lookalikes — words that cannot take -ly:
Some adjectives already end in -ly: friendly, lovely, lively, elderly, cowardly, orderly. These cannot become adverbs by adding another -ly. Instead, use "in a … way":

✘ She smiled friendlily.
✘ He spoke lovelily.

✔ She smiled in a friendly way.
✔ He spoke in a lovely way.

📝 Easy: Write the correct adverb form of each word.

1. happy →

2. gentle →

3. good →

4. terrible →

5. basic →

6. angry →

7. fast →

8. possible →

🎯 Hard: Each sentence has an adverb error. Write only the corrected adverb or phrase.

1. "She played the piano goodly at the concert." →

2. "He greeted everyone friendlily." →

3. "The car moved fastly along the motorway." →

4. "She answered the question basicly correctly." →

5. "The teacher explained it in a lovelily way." →

6. "False Friend" Adverbs — When Adding -ly Changes the Meaning Entirely

These three pairs are the most important adverb distinction at B1 level. In each case, the base form and the -ly form look related but have completely different meanings. Confusing them is one of the most common errors in B1 writing and speaking.

hard / hardly Same root — completely different meanings

hard (adverb)

Describes effort or force. How much energy or intensity someone or something uses.

She works hard every day.

→ She puts in a lot of effort.

It rained hard all night.

→ It rained heavily and intensely.

hardly (adverb)

Means almost not / barely. It is a negative adverb — use with positive verbs (not with negatives).

She hardly works anymore.

→ She almost never works. (near zero effort)

I hardly know him.

→ I barely know him at all.

late / lately Time reference vs recency

late (adverb)

Refers to a specific point in time — arriving or happening after the expected or correct time.

He arrived late to the meeting.

→ He came after the scheduled time.

The train was running late.

→ The train was behind schedule.

lately (adverb)

Means recently — over a recent period of time, not a specific moment. Always used with perfect tenses.

I haven't seen her lately.

→ I haven't seen her recently / in a while.

Have you been sleeping well lately?

→ Over the recent period of time.

near / nearly Physical proximity vs approximation

near (adverb / preposition)

Refers to physical or metaphorical closeness in distance. Answers the question "how far away?"

They live quite near.

→ They are close in distance.

Is there a pharmacy near here?

→ Close by, in this area.

nearly (adverb)

Means almost / not quite. It describes how close you are to completing an action or reaching a number.

She nearly fell off the ladder.

→ She almost fell — but didn't.

It cost nearly £500.

→ Close to £500, but not quite.

📝 Easy: Choose the correct adverb.

1. He ___ ever calls — maybe once a year. (hard / hardly)

2. She ___ missed the plane by two minutes. (near / nearly)

3. He has been working very ___ on his project — twelve hours a day. (hard / hardly)

4. Have you been to any concerts ___? (late / lately)

5. The bus was ___ again — we waited twenty extra minutes. (late / lately)

6. The station is ___ — you can walk there in five minutes. (near / nearly)

🎯 Hard: Write the correct adverb. Read the meaning context carefully.

1. The project is ___ finished — just one section left. (almost — not quite complete)

2. I ___ recognised her — she looked completely different. (barely / almost not)

3. She has been feeling unwell ___. (over recent days / period)

4. They pushed very ___ to win the championship — they trained every day. (with effort and intensity)

5. Don't go too ___ the edge of the cliff — it's dangerous. (physical proximity)

6. He stayed out very ___ and missed his alarm in the morning. (after expected time)

Passive to Active Voice

B1 Practice: Each sentence is in the passive voice. Rewrite it as a full active sentence using the agent in brackets as the subject. Keep the same tense. Type the full active sentence.

📝 Exercise 1 — Present & Past Simple

1. "The painting was admired by all the visitors." → [All the visitors]

2. "The building is described by locals as an eyesore." → [Locals]

3. "The new road was built by a French engineering firm." → [A French engineering firm]

4. "The rules are explained by the teacher at the start of every lesson." → [The teacher]

5. "The prize was awarded by the judges to the youngest finalist." → [The judges]

6. "The handwriting was described as illegible by the examiner." → [The examiner]

7. "The old wooden bridge was repaired by volunteers last spring." → [Volunteers]

8. "The magnificent circular fountain is cleaned by the council every month." → [The council]

9. "The letter was written in an incredibly formal style by an elderly lawyer." → [An elderly lawyer]

10. "The results are published by the university each January." → [The university]

📝 Exercise 2 — Present Perfect & Past Perfect

1. "The gallery has been visited by thousands of tourists this year." → [Thousands of tourists]

2. "The report had been completed by a reliable team of researchers." → [A reliable team]

3. "The difficult decision had been made by the committee before we arrived." → [The committee]

4. "The old Italian castle has been restored by heritage experts." → [Heritage experts]

5. "The elegant white dress had been designed by a famous French fashion house." → [A famous French fashion house]

6. "The instructions have been described as confusing by most users." → [Most users]

7. "The new law had been introduced by the government without warning." → [The government]

8. "The fascinating documentary has been watched by millions of people." → [Millions of people]

9. "The problem had been identified by a reliable engineer months before the accident." → [A reliable engineer]

10. "The generous donation has been acknowledged by the charity." → [The charity]

🎯 Exercise 3 — Continuous Tenses

1. "The enormous mural is currently being painted by a local artist." → [A local artist]

2. "The delicate vase was being examined by a specialist when it slipped." → [A specialist]

3. "The tiny square apartment is being renovated by an ambitious young designer." → [An ambitious young designer]

4. "The beautiful old cathedral was being photographed by tourists when the fire started." → [Tourists]

5. "The incredibly confusing manual is being rewritten by a technical writer." → [A technical writer]

6. "The handmade rectangular rug is being woven by an elderly craftsperson." → [An elderly craftsperson]

7. "The exhausting project was being managed by a reliable but stubborn team leader." → [A reliable but stubborn team leader]

8. "The magnificent stone bridge is being restored by a team of specialists." → [A team of specialists]

9. "The surprising results are currently being analysed by researchers." → [Researchers]

10. "The exciting new exhibition was being set up by staff when the mayor arrived." → [Staff]

🎯 Exercise 4 — Modal Passive to Active

1. "The confusing instructions should be rewritten by the designer." → [The designer]

2. "The illegible sign must be replaced by the council." → [The council]

3. "The fascinating discovery could be presented by the scientist at the conference." → [The scientist]

4. "The reliable data may be used by other researchers." → [Other researchers]

5. "The enormous circular arena might be demolished by the developers." → [The developers]

6. "The impatient customer should be helped by a member of staff immediately." → [A member of staff]

7. "The uncomfortable question must be answered by the minister." → [The minister]

8. "The tiny wooden sculpture could be damaged by sunlight." → [Sunlight]

9. "The terrifying documentary should be watched by everyone." → [Everyone]

10. "The irresponsible decision might be reversed by the new committee." → [The new committee]

🎯 Exercise 5 — Mixed Tenses (Passive to Active)

1. "The remarkably well-preserved fresco has been studied by art historians for decades." → [Art historians]

2. "The genuinely interesting lecture was delivered by an elderly professor." → [An elderly professor]

3. "The completely unnecessary report is being compiled by the team." → [The team]

4. "The old circular table had been moved by the cleaners before we arrived." → [The cleaners]

5. "The beautifully illustrated book is published by a small Italian press." → [A small Italian press]

6. "The exhausted team was being cheered on by thousands of fans." → [Thousands of fans]

7. "The hardly readable manuscript has been digitised by a team of archivists." → [A team of archivists]

8. "The terrifying new regulations were announced by the government last week." → [The government]

9. "The surprisingly generous offer had been made by an anonymous donor." → [An anonymous donor]

10. "The disorganised event was being managed by an impatient coordinator." → [An impatient coordinator]

Cloze Text: A Summer Trip to Italy

Task: Read the text and select the correct word in each gap. Think about adjective order, -ed/-ing forms, adverb formation, and the false-friend adverbs.

Key Word Transformation (KWT)

B1 Writing Skill: Read the 1–2 source sentences, then finish the sentence starter in your own words. You must write at least 3–4 words to complete each sentence.

Exercises

Practice: These exercises consolidate all adjective and adverb rules from this lesson.

Tense Writing: Descriptions in Context

Task: Put the verb in brackets into the correct tense. All tenses are mixed across each exercise. Where more than one answer is grammatically correct, both are accepted. Future Perfect Simple and Continuous are not tested.

📝 Exercise 1

1. She ___ (study) Italian for three years and she speaks it extremely well now.

2. The old wooden bridge ___ (repair) by volunteers last spring after the flood.

3. He ___ (work) incredibly hard on his paintings — he produces one a week.

4. By the time we arrived, the beautiful old fountain ___ (already / clean) by the council.

5. The tiny circular room ___ (currently / renovate) — it should be finished next month.

6. She ___ (hardly / speak) to anyone since the argument — she keeps to herself.

7. The fascinating documentary ___ (release) last year and it won three international awards.

8. When I looked out of the window, it ___ (rain) hard — the streets were completely flooded.

9. He ___ (feel) thoroughly exhausted by the time the long meeting finally ended.

10. The magnificent Italian opera house ___ (build) in 1876 and has been admired ever since.

📝 Exercise 2

1. She nearly ___ (fall) off the ladder — she managed to grab the top rung just in time.

2. The confusing map ___ (not / help) us at all — we got completely lost.

3. The elegant silver jewellery ___ (design) by a young Spanish artist who is now very famous.

4. I ___ (not / see) him lately — he might have moved away.

5. The students ___ (look) genuinely interested while the professor was explaining the concept.

6. The disorganised event ___ (run) poorly from start to finish — nobody seemed in charge.

7. She ___ (work) happily in her studio when the unexpected phone call arrived.

8. The incredibly detailed mural ___ (paint) by a famous artist over a period of two years.

9. He ___ (not / finish) the report by Friday, so his manager was very disappointed.

10. I ___ (study) this author's work since I was at university — her writing is genuinely fascinating.

🎯 Exercise 3

1. By the time the exhausted climbers reached the summit, they ___ (walk) for fourteen hours.

2. She ___ (hardly / sleep) for three days — she looked absolutely terrible.

3. The beautiful hand-painted tiles ___ (import) from Morocco — they are genuinely irreplaceable.

4. He ___ (feel) incredibly motivated lately — something seems to have changed for him.

5. The magnificent oval stained-glass window ___ (restore) for three years when the scaffolding finally came down.

6. The surprisingly impatient crowd ___ (wait) for nearly two hours by the time the show started.

7. Both the large wooden sculpture and the tiny silver ring ___ (sell) at the same auction in 1988.

8. She ___ (nearly / complete) the course when she had to stop due to illness.

9. The genuinely fascinating exhibition ___ (attract) over 50,000 visitors since it opened last month.

10. Neither the confusing layout nor the illegible font ___ (change) in the new edition — it is still a nightmare to read.

🎯 Exercise 4

1. The irresponsible decision ___ (make) without consulting anyone — the team was furious.

2. She ___ (describe) her travels so vividly that the whole class felt genuinely inspired.

3. How long ___ (the artist / work) on this enormous circular mural when the gallery opened?

4. The terrifying storm ___ (approach) rapidly and everyone hurried to find shelter.

5. Neither the difficult grammar exercises nor the incredibly long reading text ___ (complete) by half the group.

6. He ___ (work) so hard lately that he didn't notice how much weight he had lost.

7. The awkward silence ___ (break) gently by the teacher, who asked an easy question.

8. Each of the remarkable old portraits ___ (clean) individually by a specialist conservator.

9. The comfortable new leather chairs ___ (deliver) while we were redecorating the office.

10. She ___ (hardly / speak) any English when she first arrived, but now she is remarkably fluent.

🎯 Exercise 5

1. By the time the exhausted student finishes all five exercises, she ___ (write) over 500 sentences.

2. The genuinely interesting new exhibition ___ (open) last week and has already been visited by thousands.

3. She ___ (teach) English for nearly thirty years and she still finds it incredibly rewarding.

4. The magnificent old church ___ (slowly / restore) since 2019 — the work is nearly complete.

5. The remarkably patient volunteers ___ (help) local families throughout the exhausting summer of floods.

6. By next year, the incredibly ambitious project ___ (run) for a full decade without stopping.

7. He ___ (hardly / produce) any work lately — something must be wrong.

8. The terribly confusing diagram ___ (never / explain) properly to the students — no wonder they were confused.

9. She ___ (nearly / finish) the elegant oval mosaic when she dropped her tools and cracked several tiles.

10. How many genuinely original paintings ___ (the artist / complete) by the time of her first major exhibition?