Grammar 1 Present time 1

Present Simple and present continuous

Affirmati Negative Yes-No Yes-No answers
Present Simple
Form ve questions
I/You/We/Th work don’t work Do Yes, you/I/we/they do
ey I/you/we/they No, you/I/we/they
work? don’t
She/He/It works doesn’t Does she/he/it Yes, she/he/it does
work work? No, she/he/it doesn’t
Prеsent Wе usе thе prеsеnt simplе to dеsсribе:
simpIe: 1. Habitual aсtions.
meaning - I usuаllу get up at 7.З0.
2. Aсtions and situations that are gеnеrally or usually truе:
- Liz plауs in the sсhool bаsketbаll teаm.
- We like iсe-сreаm.
3. Faсts whiсh arе always truе:
- The sun rises in thе eаst.
4. Thе prеsеnt simplе also has somе futurе mеanings:
- The train to London leaves at 2 p.m tomorrow.
Presеnt - Vеrbs whiсh еnd in /z/, /dz/, /s/, /sh/, /tsh/ and /ks/ makе an еxtтa syllablе
simple: in thе third pегson, pгonounсе /iz/.
pronunсiation Wаtсhеs misses relахes
- Аftеr /f /, /k/, /p/, /t/, third pelson sound is /s/.
Othеr third pеrson /s/ are pronounсеd as /z/
Does is normally pronounсеd /dʌz/
Present - Тhе prеsеnt сontinuous is formеd with thе auxiliary vеrb be and the
сontinuous: -ing form of thе main vеrb.
form I аm relахing You аre relахing He/She is relахiпg.
Wе аre relахing They аre relахiпg
- Spеlling problеms:
+ Vеrbs еnding /-e/ :
like -> liking decide -> deciding write -> writiпg
+ Vеrbs with onе syllablе, еnding in onе vowеl and onе сonsonant, doublе
thе сonsonant whеn thеy add -ing.
Sit -> sitting swim -> swimmiпg dig -> diggiпg
+ Vеrbs еnding -ie сhangе -ie to -y.
lie -> lуing tie -> tyiпg die -> dуing
Presеnt Wе usе the prеsеnt сontinuous to dеsсribе:
сontinuous: 1. Aсtions in progrеss at thе prеsеnt momеnt.
mеaning - Sorry, I саn’t speаk to you, I’m wаshing mу hаir.
2. Aсtions happеning around now, еvеn though not at thе momеnt of spеaking.
- I’m reаdiпg The Lord of thе Rings.
3. To be + Always + V-ing: A complaint
- He’s always losing his car key and wasting my time at the garage.
4. Thе prеsеnt сontinuous also has some futurе mеanings.
- She’s leaving for Paris tomorrow.
Exercises:
I. Complete with the correct Present Continuous form of the verb in brackets.
Steve is talking to Anita on his mobile phone.
ANITA: Hi Steve! Where are you? You’re late.
STEVE: I know. I (1) _________________ (come). I (2) _______________ (walk) down Parliament
Street now.
ANITA: Hurry up! Rosie (3) _______________ (buy) the tickets and we (4) ______________ (go)
into the Jorvik Viking Centre.
Sounds of lots of screaming.
STEVE: What’s that?
ANITA: Don’t worry! It’s Sara and Barbara. They (5) _______________ (scream).
STEVE: Why?
ANITA: They are scared. We (6) ________________ (look) at an exhibition of a man with a knife.
CARL: Where’s Steve?
ANITA: He (7) _______________ (come). Look! There he is. He (8) ______________ (speak) to the
man at the entrance.
II. Supply the Present Continuous form of the verbs in the brackets.
Sarah Miller is in New York. She is writing a letter to her best friend.
Dear Sophia,
How are you? How is London? I (1) ............................. (have) a very good time in New York.
It’s Sunday and it’s sunny and warm. Now it’s ten in the morning and we are in Central Park. I
(2) ............................. (sit) under a tree, I (3) ................................ (listen) to my radio… and I (4)
..................... (write) to you, of course.
My Canadian cousin Rosemary is here with us, she (5) ............................ (read) a comic. She’s
very pretty. She’s tall and slim and she has got long wavy brown hair. Her parents are in Toronto.
My father (6) ........................... (read) The New York Times, an American newspaper. My mother
(7) ............................ (play) with my little brother Jimmy on the grass and they (8) .......................... (eat)
popcorn.
There are many people in the park. Some men (9) ........................ (jog), two girls (10)
............................ (walk) their dogs, and an old man (11) ........................... (skate)! And he can do that quiet
well.
We often come to this fantastic park, in this wonderful city because we (12) ............................
(relax) here. But sometimes we visit other interesting places: museums, shops…
New York is great! There are many fantastic skyscrapers and there are people
everywhere!
Love, Sarah

III. Supply the Present Continuous form of the verbs in the brackets.
Hi Jane,
I’m so excited. Guess what – it’s my Dad’s 40th birthday next month, and so he (1)
......................(take) us all to London for a weekend! Cool, eh?
We (2) ............................. (fly) over on the Thursday evening. As soon as we arrive, we (3)
........................... (go) on a tour of the city. They say London is really beautiful by night, and I
really (4) .......................... (look) forward to seeing all those famous places.
On the Friday we (5) ....................... (go) to the Tate Modern (the art gallery near the river
Thames), then to the Design Museum. It’s not far from our hotel, so we (6) .................... (plan) to
walk there. In the afternoon, we (7) ............................... (spend) time on the London Eye. I can’t
wait to see the Houses of Parliament from up there!
Saturday is for shopping – there’s no doubt about that! We (8) ...................... (walk) to
Portobello Road first. Then in the afternoon, we (9) ........................ (visit) Harrods – the most
famous shop in London! Dad’s not very happy about it, but I’m sure he’ll enjoy it when we’re
there.
On Sunday morning we (10) ....................... (go) to Hyde Park, and we (11) ....................
(fly) home in the afternoon. It’s my dream trip – and it (12) ......................... (happen)!
Hope everything’s OK with you.
Love, Cynthia
IV. Supply the correct form of the verbs given in the brackets.
1. It is Friday evening and the Brown family are at home. Mrs. Brown (listen) ........................ to a
concert on the radio; Mr Brown (read) ........................... a paper, George Brown (do)
...................... his homework and Ann Brown (write) ........................ a letter.
2. Mr Brown always (read) ............................ his newspapers in the evenings. Mrs Brown
sometimes (knit) ......................... but she (not knit) ........................... tonight.
3. Mr. Black often (go) .......................... to the theatre but his wife (not go) ................... very often.
He (like) ........................ all sorts of plays. She (prefer) ........................ comedies.
4. Tonight they (watch) ............................. a very modern comedy. They (enjoy) ..................... it, but
they (not understand) .................................. some of the jokes.
5. - What (happen) ........................ in your class? (The teacher/ give) ............................ lectures every
day?
- No. He (give) ...................... one lecture a week, and on the other days he (show) .........................
films or (discuss) ........................... books with us.
6. A bus conductor (get) ........................ more exercise than a bus driver. The driver just (sit)
............................ in his cab but the conductor (stand) ........................... and (walk) .....................
about and (run) ......................... up and down the stairs.
7. - Why (that man/ stand) .......................... in the middle of the road?
- He (try) ............................ to get across. He (wait) ........................ for a gap in the traffic.
- Why (he/ not use) .......................... the subway?
- Lots of people (not bother) ............................... to use the subway. They (prefer) ...........................
to risk their lives crossing here.
8. - (You/ wear) ........................... a new coat, aren't you?
- Yes. (You/ like) ............................ it?
- The colour (suit) ............................. you but it (not fit) ........................ you very well. It's much too
big.
9. All the guides here (speak) ...................... at least three foreign languages, because a lot of foreign
visitors (come) ....................... every summer.
10. Paul (take) ...................... a party of French tourists round now and tomorrow an American
party (come) ........................
11. - Englishmen very seldom (talk) ............................... on the Underground. They (prefer)
.......................... to read their newspapers.
 - Those two men in the corner (talk) ...........................
- But they (not talk) ................................ in English.
12. - Jones and Co. (have) ......................... a sale at the moment. Shall we look in on our way home?
- I'd love to but I'm afraid I won't have time. I (meet) ...................... Tom at 5.30.
- (You/ go) ............................ out with Tom often?
13. I usually (go) ............................ by train, but this weekend I (go) ..................... by bus. It (take)
........................ longer but it (cost) ........................ less.
14. (on telephone): (You/ do) ........................... anything at the moment, Sally?
Sally: Yes. I (pack) ......................; I (catch) ................. a plane to New York in three hours' time.
Ann: Lucky girl! How long (you/ stay) ................................. in New York?
15. Peter: (You/ go) ........................ out tonight, Paul?
Paul: No, I (stay) ...................... at home. The neighbours (come) ....................... in to watch TV.
Peter: (You/ invite) ............................ the neighbours often?
Paul: No, but they (invite) ......................... themselves whenever there is a good programme.
16. Jack: I (go) .................... out to get an evening paper.
Ann: But it (pour) .......................... ! Why (you/ not wait) ......................... till the rain (stop)
.................. ?
17. Lucy: Tom (get) .................... up very early but he (wash) .................... and (shave) .....................
and (get) ..................... his breakfast so quietly that I (not hear) .................... a thing. But I (hear)
................... him driving away from the house because his car (make) ....................... a lot of noise.
18. Alice: My brother (get) ..................... up very early too. But he (make) ..................... such a lot of
noise that he (wake) ...................... everybody up. He (sing) .................. in his bath and (bang)
.................. doors and (drop) ..................... things in the kitchen and (play) ........................ the
radio very loudly.
19. Lucy: Why (you/ not ask) ......................... him to be a bit quieter?
Alice: I (mention) ...................... it every night but it (not do) .................... any good. He (say)
................... that he (not make) ........................ a sound, and I (think) ...................... he really (believe)
........................... it.
20. Tom: (You/ see) .............................. that man at the corner? He (keep) .................... stopping
people and asking them questions. (You/ think) .......................... he (ask) ................... for
directions?
Jack: No, I (expect) ...................... he (make) .................... a survey.
Tom: How (you/ make) ................................... a survey?
Jack: You (stop) .......................... people and (ask) .................. them questions and (write)
...................... the answers on a report sheet.
21. In most countries a child (start) ...................... school at six and (stay) ...................... for about
five years in a primary school. Then he (move) ....................... to a secondary school. At 17 or 18
he (take) ................ an exam; if he (do) ..................... well in this exam he can go on to a university
if he (wish) ......................
V. Supply the correct form of the verbs given in the brackets.
Charlie Foster (1) ......................... (work) in a bakery. He (2) ........................ (always/ get up) very
 early because he (3) .................... (start) work at four o’clock every morning. Charlie
(4) .................. (not/ be) at work this morning. At the moment he (5) .................... (pack) his
suitcase he (6) .......................... (go) on holiday today. Charlie (7) .................... (sing) to himself.
He’s very happy. Right now he (8) .................... (look) for his aeroplane tickets. Where are they?
He can’t find them. There they are; under his bed. Charlie (9) ........................ (call) a taxi now.
His plane (10) ........................ (leave) in an hour. Where (11) ........................... (Charlie/ go)? To
Hawaii.
VI. Supply the correct form of the verbs given in the brackets.
Dear Martin,
How are you and Sally? I (1) ........................ (hope) you are well. I (2)
........................ (write) to give you some good news. I have got a summer
job for the holiday. I (3) ..................... (repair) the telephone lines for a
telephone company.
I (4) ............................ (usually/ ride) my bike to work because it’s
only a ten minute ride from home. We (5) ..................... (start) work at 8.30. We (6) ..................
(finish) at 4.30 on Monday to Thursday, but at 2.30 on Fridays, so I (7) ..................... (have) long
weekends.
I (8) ......................... (work) very hard at the moment. To tell you the truth, I (9) ..................
(be) a bit nervous because my boss (10) ....................... (leave) for Scotland on business next week,
so I’ll be on my own. Lizzie says I (11) ..................... (worry) about it too much. She’s probably
right.
Please write with your news. Say hello to Sally for me.
Best wishes,
Richard