Film and Literature Exercises: Vocabulary & Grammar

Posted on Mar 10, 2025 in English

Exercise 3: Adjectives and Nouns

Complete the sentences with adjectives or nouns.

  1. The protagonist of a film or novel: Main character
  2. Boring: Dull
  3. Not interesting because you don’t… (Incomplete sentence. Possible answers include: care, understand, connect.)
  4. To happen: (Missing word. Possible answers: Occur, take place)
  5. Someone who directs films: (Missing word. Answer: Director)
  6. The story of a film or novel: Plot

Exercise 4: Vocabulary

Complete the sentences.

  1. Leonardo DiCaprio is a very talented actor.
  2. I saw a (Missing word. Possible answers: fantastic, great, live) performance by Rita Ora last month.
  3. I learned a lot from that documentary. It was very informative.
  4. The main character in The Hunger Games is Katniss Everdeen.
  5. Most novelists don’t make a lot of money from their work unless they write bestsellers.

Exercise 5: Vocabulary

Complete the sentences.

  1. Ana thinks she saw the ghost of the woman who lived in her house many years ago.
  2. Peter played a joke on me last night…
  3. In the past, people told amazing legends…
  4. The audience clapped and shouted for more when the performance/show finished. (“Plot” is incorrect here.)
  5. All the critics gave my novel a great review.
  6. I thought Ice Age 4 was very funny.
  7. My favorite scene in The Hunger Games is when Rue helps Katniss.
  8. I thought the film was very disappointing. (“Dramatic” can be positive or negative; “disappointing” clarifies the meaning.)
  9. My favorite novelist… (Incomplete sentence)
  10. Downton Abbey is a British TV series… It’s very dramatic.

Exercise 6: Too, Too Many, Too Much, Enough

Complete the sentences with: too, too many, too much, or enough.

  1. There are too many people in the lift.
  2. This dress is too tight for me.
  3. We haven’t got enough rice to make paella.
  4. My tea isn’t sweet enough. (“Too” is incorrect here. It needs to be “enough” or “too sweet”, depending on the intended meaning.)
  5. I can’t go to the cinema because I’ve got too much work.

Exercise 7: Past Simple

Rewrite the sentences using the past simple. Include the word in parentheses.

  1. I / not have / money / to buy / a new mobile phone. (enough)
    I didn’t have enough money to buy a new mobile phone.
  2. The / ending of / the story / be / predictable. (much)
    The ending of the story was very predictable. (“Much” is not typically used in this way with “predictable.”)
  3. The / beginning of / the film / not be / dramatic. (enough)
    The beginning of the film wasn’t dramatic enough.
  4. There / be / salt / in the sauce. (too much)
    There was too much salt in the sauce.
  5. There / be / rules / at my school. (too many)
    There were too many rules at my school. (Past tense to be consistent)

Exercise 8: Past Simple or Continuous

Complete the sentences with the correct past simple or past continuous form of the verbs in parentheses.

  1. I fell asleep last night while I was listening to music.
  2. When I arrived at the party, they were eating cake.
  3. We were watching TV when we heard a strange sound upstairs.
  4. I saw David while I was walking to school.
  5. While I was riding my bike in the park, I had an accident.

Exercise 9: Gerunds (-ing) and Infinitives (to)

Complete with forms of the verbs in ‘-ing’ or ‘to + infinitive’.

  1. My brother loves to watch action films.
  2. You promised to help me with my homework. (“To help” is more natural after “promised.”)
  3. I recommended taking the train. It’s quicker.
  4. Lucy can’t stand losing at tennis. She’s so competitive.
  5. We decided to go out for a pizza in the end.

Exercise 10: Dialogue Completion

Complete the dialogue with the words. There are two words that you do not need.

Heard – Like – Likes – Much – Prefer – Prefer not – Sounds

  1. I don’t really like rock music.
  2. I’d prefer not to. I hate horror films. (“Heard to” is incorrect.)
  3. I’d prefer to see a comedy film.
  4. That sounds much better than Mama!
  5. Yes, I’ve heard. It’s hilarious. (Assuming this refers to hearing *about* a film. “Likes” is grammatically incorrect here.)

Exercise 11: Sentence Equivalence

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

  1. It’s necessary to wear a life jacket when you go in a boat.
    You must/should/have to wear a life jacket when you go in a boat. (“Would” is incorrect.)
  2. Sheila spends a lot of her time studying.
    Sheila studies a lot. (Saying she is a “good student” is an interpretation, not a direct equivalent.)
  3. There are only a few tomatoes in the fridge. – I need more for the lasagna recipe.
    There aren’t enough tomatoes for the lasagna recipe.
  4. I think her novels are very different and unusual.
    She writes very different and unusual novels. (Being a “good novelist” is subjective.)
  5. The Hunger Games was fun and exciting to watch.
    The Hunger Games is an exciting/entertaining film. (“Amazing” is subjective.)