Grade 8 Worksheets
Ten worksheets for Grade 8: four grammar, three reading and three writing, each with the answers.
Grammar
Worksheet 1 — Modal verbs: can, must, should, may
Focus: choosing the modal that carries the right meaning.
Task A. Fill in can, must, should or may.
1. You ____ wear a helmet when riding. It is the law. 2. ____ I borrow your pen, please? 3. She ____ speak three languages. 4. You ____ see a doctor about that cough. 5. Passengers ____ not smoke on the bus.
Task B. Rewrite each sentence with the modal in brackets, keeping the meaning sensible.
6. It is necessary for you to submit the form today. (must) 7. It is a good idea for him to apologise. (should) 8. Is it permitted for us to leave early? (may) 9. She has the ability to swim well. (can) 10. It is forbidden to park here. (must not)
Answers. A: 1. must 2. May 3. can 4. should 5. must. B: 6. You must submit the form today. 7. He should apologise. 8. May we leave early? 9. She can swim well. 10. You must not park here.
Teaching note. The distinction worth drilling is must (obligation) against should (advice). Questions 1 and 4 sit side by side for exactly that reason.
Worksheet 2 — The passive voice
Focus: turning an active sentence into a passive one, and knowing when it is worth doing.
Task A. Rewrite in the passive.
1. The teacher marked the papers. 2. Somebody has stolen my bicycle. 3. They build these houses of clay. 4. The principal will announce the results. 5. Farmers grow tea in the hill country.
Task B. Rewrite in the active.
6. The window was broken by the boy. 7. The letter has been posted by my sister. 8. The prizes are given by the chief guest. 9. The road is being repaired by the council. 10. The song was sung by the choir.
Answers. A: 1. The papers were marked by the teacher. 2. My bicycle has been stolen. 3. These houses are built of clay. 4. The results will be announced by the principal. 5. Tea is grown in the hill country. B: 6. The boy broke the window. 7. My sister has posted the letter. 8. The chief guest gives the prizes. 9. The council is repairing the road. 10. The choir sang the song.
Teaching note. In 2 and 5 the doer is dropped, and that is the real use of the passive: when who did it is unknown or does not matter. Ask the class why by somebody would be silly in question 2.
Worksheet 3 — Prefixes and suffixes
Focus: building words, and noticing that a suffix can change the word class.
Task A. Add a prefix to make the opposite.
1. ____happy 2. ____possible 3. ____legal 4. ____regular 5. ____agree 6. ____correct 7. ____polite 8. ____honest
Task B. Change the word in brackets to fit the sentence.
9. Her ____ (kind) surprised everyone. 10. He spoke very ____ (soft). 11. The film was ____ (excite). 12. We need a ____ (decide) today. 13. This medicine is ____ (harm) if taken correctly. 14. His ____ (fail) taught him a great deal.
Answers. A: 1. un- 2. im- 3. il- 4. ir- 5. dis- 6. in- 7. im- 8. dis-. B: 9. kindness 10. softly 11. exciting 12. decision 13. harmless 14. failure.
Teaching note. The pattern in A is worth naming: im- before p and m, il- before l, ir- before r. It is not arbitrary, and children remember rules better than lists.
Worksheet 4 — Punctuation: commas, apostrophes and speech marks
Focus: the three punctuation marks that cost the most marks at this level.
Task. Rewrite each sentence with the punctuation put right.
1. my brothers bicycle is new 2. we bought bread butter eggs and milk 3. where are you going asked the teacher 4. its raining so the match wont start 5. the girls books were left in the hall 6. yes said Nimal I finished it yesterday 7. although it was late we decided to walk 8. the dogs tail was wagging 9. i said stop shouting at once 10. after the rain stopped the children went outside
Answers. 1. My brother's bicycle is new. 2. We bought bread, butter, eggs and milk. 3. "Where are you going?" asked the teacher. 4. It's raining, so the match won't start. 5. The girls' books were left in the hall. 6. "Yes," said Nimal, "I finished it yesterday." 7. Although it was late, we decided to walk. 8. The dog's tail was wagging. 9. I said, "Stop shouting at once!" 10. After the rain stopped, the children went outside.
Teaching note. Question 5 is the one to discuss: girls' means more than one girl. Write the girl's books beside it and ask what changed.
Reading
Worksheet 5 — The wrong bus
Focus: following a sequence and drawing a conclusion from it.
Passage. Chamari boarded the 6.40 bus as she did every morning. She noticed nothing until the bus turned left at the clock tower instead of right. The conductor explained that the route had changed a week earlier and that a notice had been pasted at the halt. She had walked past that halt fourteen times without reading it.
Questions. 1. What time was the bus? 2. Where did Chamari notice something was wrong? 3. What had changed? 4. How had passengers been told? 5. Why had Chamari not known? 6. What does the last sentence suggest about her? 7. What is the lesson of the passage, in one sentence?
Answers. 1. 6.40. 2. At the clock tower, when the bus turned left instead of right. 3. The bus route. 4. By a notice pasted at the halt. 5. She had never read the notice. 6. That she is unobservant, or that she does things out of habit without paying attention. 7. Accept any sensible version of: it is worth reading notices, or habit stops us noticing what has changed.
Marking note. Question 6 asks what the sentence suggests. A child who writes she walked past fourteen times has copied, not answered.
Worksheet 6 — A letter to the editor
Focus: identifying opinion, and separating it from fact.
Passage. Sir — The junction near our school has no pedestrian crossing. Last month two children were knocked down there, and one is still in hospital. Traffic moves at speed because the road is straight and wide. I believe the authorities have ignored this problem for far too long, and I am certain that a crossing would cost less than the treatment of a single injured child. — Concerned Parent, Kadawatha.
Questions. 1. What is missing at the junction? 2. What happened last month? 3. Why does traffic move quickly there? 4. Write down one FACT from the letter. 5. Write down one OPINION from the letter. 6. Which words tell you sentence five is an opinion? 7. What does the writer want to happen?
Answers. 1. A pedestrian crossing. 2. Two children were knocked down; one is still in hospital. 3. The road is straight and wide. 4. Any of: there is no crossing; two children were knocked down; one is in hospital; the road is straight and wide. 5. Either: the authorities have ignored the problem for too long; or a crossing would cost less than treating one injured child. 6. I believe and I am certain. 7. A pedestrian crossing to be built at the junction.
Marking note. Question 6 is the heart of the sheet. Signal phrases — I believe, I think, surely, clearly — are how a reader spots opinion, and they will need this at Ordinary Level.
Worksheet 7 — A table and a paragraph
Focus: taking information from a table and from prose, and combining the two.
Table — rainfall in millimetres. January: Colombo 90, Kandy 105, Jaffna 75. April: Colombo 230, Kandy 190, Jaffna 60. October: Colombo 350, Kandy 245, Jaffna 220.
Paragraph. Two monsoons cross the island. The south-west monsoon brings rain to the western and central areas between May and September, while the north-east monsoon brings rain to the north and east between December and February. October and November are wet almost everywhere.
Questions. 1. Which town had the most rain in October? 2. Which town had the least rain in April? 3. In which of the three months did Kandy get more rain than Colombo? 4. Which monsoon affects Jaffna most? 5. Using the table and the paragraph together, explain why Jaffna's April figure is so low. 6. Which month in the table best matches the sentence about October and November?
Answers. 1. Colombo, with 350 mm. 2. Jaffna, with 60 mm. 3. January, 105 against 90. 4. The north-east monsoon. 5. April falls between the two monsoons for Jaffna: the north-east monsoon has ended in February and the south-west monsoon does not reach the north. 6. October, when all three towns have high figures.
Marking note. Question 5 is the only one that needs both sources. Award it double if you are giving marks.
Writing
Worksheet 8 — An informal letter
Focus: the layout of a friendly letter, and keeping the tone informal.
Task. Write a letter of about 100 words to a friend who has moved to another town. Tell them one piece of news from school, ask two questions about their new school, and invite them to visit.
Model answer. 42, Station Road, Gampaha. 12th August 2026.
Dear Sanduni,
How are you settling in? We all miss you here, especially in the mornings when nobody argues about the window seat.
Our class won the inter-house drama competition last week. Malithi forgot her lines completely and made something up, and the judges said it was the best part of the play.
What is your new school like? Have you made friends yet? Write and tell me everything.
The August holidays begin on the twentieth. Please come and stay for a few days — my mother says you are very welcome.
Your friend, Ishara
Marking guide. Two marks for address and date; one for the greeting; one for the closing; two for the news; two for the two questions; one for the invitation; one for informal tone. Ten marks.
Teaching note. The commonest error is a formal tone: I am writing to inform you. Ask them to read it aloud and decide whether they would say it to a friend.
Worksheet 9 — A short report
Focus: reporting what happened, in order, without opinion.
Task. You are the secretary of the school English Society. Write a report of about 120 words on a poetry recitation held last Friday. Include: when and where it was held, how many took part, who won, and what happened at the end.
Model answer. REPORT ON THE POETRY RECITATION COMPETITION
The annual poetry recitation competition of the English Society was held on Friday 8th August at 2.00 p.m. in the school hall.
Twenty-six pupils from Grades 8 to 11 took part. Each competitor recited one prescribed poem and one of their own choice. The panel of three judges was chaired by Mrs Perera of the English Department.
The first place was won by Thilini Fernando of Grade 10, with Ravindu Silva of Grade 9 second and Aysha Nazeer of Grade 8 third.
The principal distributed the prizes at 4.15 p.m. and thanked the judges. The meeting closed with a vote of thanks proposed by the secretary.
Marking guide. Two marks for a heading; two for date, time and place; two for the number and range of competitors; two for the results; two for the closing events; two for a factual tone throughout. Twelve marks.
Teaching note. Cross out every opinion you find — it was very enjoyable, everyone was excited. A report records; it does not review.
Worksheet 10 — Paragraph: for and against
Focus: presenting both sides before giving a view.
Task. Write three paragraphs of about 60 words each on: Should pupils be allowed to bring mobile telephones to school? Paragraph one: arguments for. Paragraph two: arguments against. Paragraph three: your own view, with a reason.
Model answer. Those in favour argue that a telephone is a safety measure. A pupil who misses the bus or falls ill can reach a parent at once, and a parent who is delayed can send word. Telephones are also useful for schoolwork: a dictionary, a calculator and a camera for copying notes from the board are all in one pocket.
Those against point out that telephones are the most effective distraction ever invented. A pupil scrolling under the desk is not listening, and the teacher often cannot tell. There is also the question of theft, and of the unkindness that spreads quickly through a class group when nobody is watching.
In my view telephones should be allowed into school but collected at the start of the day and returned at the end. That keeps the safety of the journey, which is the strongest argument for them, and removes the distraction, which is the strongest argument against.
Marking guide. Three marks for two genuine arguments on each side; two for the paragraph division; two for a view that follows from what came before; two for accurate sentences; one for length. Ten marks.
Teaching note. The third paragraph must answer the first two. A view that ignores everything above it is where most marks are lost, at every level from here to Advanced Level.