A selection of English ESL contrast printables

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

The objective of this worksheet is to practice the comparative and superlative in a Christmas context. There are 3 pictures (Santa and two elves) and they have to create sentences about them using the comparative and superlative. This is a fun practice that can be made into a competition: divide your class into teams or pairs (depends on the size), give the teams a time limit and ask them to write as many comparative and superlative sentences about the pictures as they can. The team with the most gramatically correct sentences win. 

Compare and contrast Santa Claus and his elves 

Three tasks to practise Past Simple and Present Perfect. 1) Students match times expressions, 2) they choose the correct option and 3) they write Past Simple and Past Participle forms of irregular verbs. Hope you find it useful. 

Grammar Contrast - Past Simple vs. Present Perfect - Time Words

This worksheet compares Finland’s "Housing First" approach to homelessness with the Czech Republic’s conditional support model, highlighting key differences in strategy and values. Finland has nearly eradicated homelessness by prioritizing immediate housing without requiring individuals to meet conditions like employment or sobriety, believing that stable housing is essential for personal improvement. In contrast, the Czech Republic typically provides temporary shelters or transitional programs, where individuals are expected to show progress in areas such as job readiness or addiction recovery before gaining long-term housing support. This approach reflects a cultural emphasis on self-reliance and limited welfare funding. The worksheet includes conversation questions designed to encourage students to think critically about each country’s method, the cultural values behind them, and their own opinions on housing as a human right. By exploring these contrasting approaches, students can reflect on the impact of stable housing and discuss how societal values shape policies. This activity is intended to promote thoughtful dialogue on homelessness, social responsibility, and the balance between government support and individual responsibility.

Finland and the Czech Republic: Contrasting Approaches to Homelessness

Summary of the use of the most frequent contrast linkers with examples. I used it as a revision with my FCE students but it can also serve as an introduction to linkers with lower levels.



Hope you find it useful!

Contrast linkers (but, however, although, though, even though, whereas, while, despite, in spite of)

Simple Past and Present Perfect contrasted. When we use each, what are the keywords that accompany each tense, how to tell the difference. Suggested for intro of the tenses or consolidation.

Simple Past and Present Perfect

This is a worksheet to help students realize the contrast between the use of present continuous and simple present. 

present simple and present continuous

A worksheet contrasting the present perfect and the past simple, with grammar rules, examples and exercises to practice and understand. The keys are included on the last page. The worksheet is completely editable / correctable. Hope it’s useful. Thanks for downloading and have a nice day!

Present Perfect vs. Past Simple – grammar rules, examples & exercises ((2 pages)) KEYS INCLUDED ***editable

Activities to practice and evaluate Present Continuous structures.
Also to evaluate the contrast in using Present Conntinuous or Present Simple

Present Continuous / Present Simple vs Present Continuous

With this board game you can practise 'there is, there are' sentences in your classroom. It is also possible to use it to practise expressions with 'like' and 'don't like'. 

There is/are game

This ESL worksheet helps students to learn verbs and expressions related to daily routines.



Besides that, this activity lends them the opportunity to have more contact and learn those verbs in better while coloring, cutting and paste them in their notebooks.



Then they will write for every image at what time they do the particular activity.



They can contrast their daily routines with their classmates.



They can do the activity forming groups to share colors, scissors and glue for the activity.



As an extra for the activity, the can read aloud and listen to their classmates to tell at what time they do their daily routine activities, practicing telling the time.



They can practice BEFORE and AFTER prepositions.



(For more advanced level students) They can talk about how, where, why, when, who with they do the activities... (etc)

Daily routines - Color, cut and paste

Exercise to practise verb tenses (present perfect and simple past)

present perfect vs simple past

This sheet is an easy grammar exercise to practise the Present Simple and the present Continuous. the aim is to contrast both tenses. It can also be used like a test. 

243 Contrast English ESL worksheets pdf & doc