Complete the survivor's urgent note by dragging the correct verbs into the town's survival rules.
When you see a zombie, always run in the opposite direction! At night, strictly lock all the doors and windows. Whatever you do, absolutely never feed the zombies!
When you see a zombie, always run in the opposite direction!
Instructions and commands use the base form of the verb (run). There is no need to add "-s" or "-ing".
At night, strictly lock all the doors and windows.
Even with an adverb like "strictly" in front, the imperative verb stays in its base form.
Whatever you do, absolutely never feed the zombies!
Negative commands using "never" still require the base form of the verb (feed).
Imperative mood
- ✅ Sit down. — command (bare verb, no subject)
- ✅ Don't touch that. — negative imperative
- ✅ Let's go. — first-person inclusive imperative
- ❌ You sit down. — adding you sounds aggressive (only for emphasis/anger)
The imperative mood uses the bare verb form with no stated subject for commands, instructions, requests, and invitations. Negated with don't. Softened with please or replaced by questions (Could you…?) for politeness.
Rule: imperative = base form of verb, no subject, no tense marking. If there's a subject or tense → it's not imperative.
Imperative sentence or clause
- ✅ Look at me. — command
- ✅ Don't touch that. — negative imperative
- ✅ Have a great trip! — good wishes (imperative form)
- ✅ Preheat the oven to 180°C. — instruction (recipe)
An imperative sentence uses a bare verb with no stated subject to deliver commands, instructions, requests, or invitations. It's one of the four English sentence types alongside declarative, interrogative, and exclamative.
Pattern: no subject + base verb + period or exclamation mark. If you see a subject, it's not a true imperative (unless you is added for emphasis/anger).
Directions
- ✅ Turn left at the traffic lights. — preposition of place
- ✅ Go past the bank and it's on your right. — movement preposition
- ✅ Excuse me, how do I get to the station? — standard asking phrase
- ✅ Take the second turning on the left. — imperative for instructions
Directions covers the language of asking for and giving location instructions: prepositions of place/movement, imperative verbs (turn, go, take, cross), and set phrases.
Pattern: directions use imperatives (no subject) + prepositions of movement (along, past, through, across) + landmarks as reference points.
Humor
- "I before E, except after C" — weird, right? — playful self-contradiction
- Grammar joke: A panda eats, shoots, and leaves. — comma changes everything
- Silly contexts make rules memorable: the sillier the sentence, the harder it is to forget
- Entertainment is a learning strategy, not a distraction
Humor marks practice material that's deliberately entertaining. The grammar is real; the packaging is playful. Designed to boost engagement and make rules stick through association.
Why it works: memory anchors to emotion. A funny example of comma misuse is remembered longer than a dry rule statement.
A2 | Elementary | Pre-intermediate
- ✅ I went to the cinema yesterday. — past simple
- ✅ I have visited Paris twice. — present perfect (life experience)
- ✅ If it rains, I'll take an umbrella. — first conditional
- ✅ You should see a doctor. — modal for advice
These patterns are A2 — the second CEFR level. At A2 you move past survival phrases into real grammar: past tenses, the present perfect, basic conditionals, and modals for advice/obligation.
Marker: if you can describe yesterday and give simple advice, but struggle with abstractions or nuance, you're at A2.
Easy
- She is a teacher. — one verb form, one rule
- I have two cats. — basic possession, short sentence
- He doesn't like coffee. — simple negation with do-support
- Only one answer is clearly correct; distractors are obviously wrong.
Easy marks beginner-level challenges: A1–early A2, one rule at a time, everyday vocabulary, no trick questions.
Use "Easy" when you want to build confidence on a specific rule without interference from other grammar or tricky contexts.