EXERCISES FOR THE PRESENT SIMPLE X PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Exercise 1: Identify which sentence is simple present or present continuous

Sentence Simple Present
present continuous
1. Mr. Nam often teaches the dogs new tricks.
2. We always throw our litter in the bin.
3. He is reading a book about American history
at the moment.
4. . Oh no! It is raining again.
5. Listen! The neighbors are having an argument
again.
6. He speaks English well.
7. Kelly is never late.
8. The Olympic Games take place every four
years.
9. Mr. John is a graphic designer.
10. Bill is learning to drive at the moment.
11. Are you watching the TV or can I turn it off?
12. Look! That boy is running after the bus
13. Sally is wearing her new T-shirt today.
14. My students speak a little French.

Exercise 2: Put the verb in the bracket into the simple present tense or present
continuous.
1 I (be not) ________ at school at the weekend.
2. She (not study) ___________ on Sunday.
3. My students (be not) __________ hard working.
4. He (have) ________ a new haircut today.
5. I usually (have) ________ lunch at 11.00.
6. ________She (live) _________ in a flat?
7. Where__________ your children (be) ?
8. My sister (work) ________ in a bank
9. Dogs (like) ________ meat
10. She (live) ________ in California.
11. It (rain) ________ almost every day in Liverpool.
12. We (fly) _________ to Italia every summer.
13. They (go)______ to the zoo every Sunday.
14. ________the bank (close)_______ at four o'clock ?
15. Minh (try) _______ hard in class, but I (not think) _______ he'll pass.
16. Look! The car (go) ___ ________ so fast.
17. Listen! Someone (cry) ) ________________ in the next room.
18. Your brother (sit) ) ________________ next to the beautiful girl over there at
present?
19. Now Mai and Hoa (try) ________________ to pass the examination.
20. It’s 12 o’clock, and my parents (cook) ________________ lunch in the kitchen.
21. Keep silent! You (talk) ________________ so loudly.
22. I (not stay) ______________at home at the moment.
23. Now she (lie) ________________. to her mother about her bad marks.
24. At present they (travel) ________________ to New York.
25. He (not work) _________________ in his office now.
26. Mr. John often (teach) ________________ the dogs new tricks.
27. We always (throw) _______________our litter in the bin.
28. The referee usually (stop) ______________ the game after 90 minutes.
29. The children (hurry) _______________ to open their gifts.
30. He (speak) _________________ English well.
Exercise 3: Order these sentences
1. My brothers/ sleep/ on the sofa/often.
=> _________________________________________________________________.
2. He /stay/usually/ up late?
=> _________________________________________________________________.
3. I /do/ the housework /with my brother/never.
=> _________________________________________________________________.
4. Peter and/ Mary /come/ to class on time/always.
=> _________________________________________________________________.
5. Why/ Johnson/get/ good marks?
=> _________________________________________________________________.
6. You /go/ shopping/ usually?
=> _________________________________________________________________.
7. She (cry). (seldom)
=> _________________________________________________________________.
8. My father (have) popcorn. (never)
=> _________________________________________________________________.
9. My/ father/ water/ some plants/ in the/ garden/now.
=> _________________________________________________________________.
10. My/ mother/at the moment/ clean/ floor/.
=> _________________________________________________________________.
11. He/ listen/ to the radio right now.
=> _________________________________________________________________.
12. Look!/run/she/in the street.
=> _________________________________________________________________.
13. .Be quite!/the baby/sleep .
=> _________________________________________________________________.
Exercise 4: Choose the best answer
1. I _____ (be) a student.
a. are b. is c.am d.be
2. My father __________ excuses when I feel like going to the cinema.
a.make always b. always make c. always makes d.always
making
3. His students ________ (not, speak) German in class.
a.don’t speak b. doesn’t speak c. not speak d.is speak
4. She ________ (not, be) six years old.
\a.isn't b. not is c. are not d.not be
5. John ________ (work) in a supermarket.
a.works b.working c.work d.workes
6. Danny ________ (phone) his father on Sundays.
a.phons b.phones c.phone d.phoning
7. I ___________ (not, know) what you mean.
a.doesn't know b.not know c.don’t know d.don’t
knows
8. My husband and his colleague __________ golf whenever they are not too busy.
a.Play b.plays c.are playing
d.is playing
9. John always __________ on time for meetings.
Arrive b.arrives c.are arriving d.Is
arriving
10. Barbara usually __________ dinner for her husband after work.
a.Cook b.cooks c.are cooking
d.is cooking
11. Mr. and Mrs. Parsons drive to work together __________.
a.everyday b.at the moment c.now d.at the present.
12. My parents normally __________ breakfast at 7:00 a.m.
a.eat b.eats c.are eating d.is eating
13. I ________ in a bank.
a.work b.works c.workes d.working
14. It ________ almost every day in Manchester.
a.rain b.rains c. Raines
d.raining
15. My life is so boring -- I just ________ TV every night.
a.watch b.watchies c.watches
d.watching
Exercise 5: Choose the correct answer in the bracket.
1. Marie isn’t a Canadian. I (believe/ am believing) she comes from France.
2. Look! Bin (jumps/ is jumping) into the water.
3. I (think/ am thinking) you’re crazy!
4. Don’t give Jenny any cheese. She (hates/ is hating) it!
5. I (go/ am going) to New York next Thursday. Do you want to come?
6. Once a week, I (go/ am going) to an English class at the college.
7. I (have/ am having) lunch in the cafeteria every day.
8. David is rich – he (drives/ is driving) a Mercedes.
9. You won’t find Tom at home right now. He (studies/ is studying) in the library.
10. It (snows/ is snowing) quite hard - perhaps we shouldn’t go out tonight.
11. I have to change my shoes. These (are killing/ kill) me. I’m sure I have a blister.
12. I feel lost. I’ve just finished a really good novel and now I (do not read/ am not
reading) anything.
13. Coming to London for Christmas was a great idea. I (love/ am loving) it here.
14. The company (is moving/ moves) its offices to a bigger building next month.
15. John (gives/ is giving) a lecture on social media at university every Wednesday. You
should come.
16. Sally (always interrupts/ is always interrupting) me when I speak. It’s so irritating.
17. Can you help me with this exercise or (are you being busy/ are you busy)?
18. I (hate/ am hating) people who never really listen to what you saỵ.
Exercise 6. Complete the sentence using the verbs in the box in the correct form.
enjoy prefer play work seem know interview wait talk finish
1. I always _______ badminton on Saturdays.
2. She _______ her report now. She will bring it into the office when it is complete.
3. My parents phoned me this morning. They _______ themselves in Hawaii.
4. We _______ to entertain our guests in a local restaurant rather than the canteen.
Although it is expensive, we can talk freely there.5. I _______ the answer to your
problem. Get a new computer.
6. “Where is Tim?” – “He _______ for an important telephone call in his office.”
7. I can’t make the meeting tomorrow. I _______ the applicants for the sales manager’s
job.
8. My brother _______ for a company which makes bathroom fittings.
9. Who _______ to John? Is it the new secretary?
10. The new contract _______ fine to me. However, could you just check it through once
more?
Exercise 7. Put the verb in brackets in the correct form (present simple).
Mr. John (0. get) gets up very early every day. He (1 wash) _______ his face and takes a
quick shower in the mornings. His best friend, Bobby, also wakes up very early. Mr. John
(2. make) _______ the breakfast for both. They both (3. not like) _______ drinking milk
but they love eating meat. Then, Mr. John (4. take) _______ Bobby out to the park. Mr.
John (5. be) _______ a graphic designer. He (6. be not) _______ an office worker. He (7.
work) _______from home. He designs beautiful images for an advertising company. He
(8. have) _______ lunch at half past twelve. Then he (9. not start) _______ start work
immediately. He (9. play) _______ with Bobby instead. After Bobby’s favorite time, he
starts work again and (10. finish) _______ in the evening. They both (11. eat) _______
meat for dinner and rest in the front of the TV. He always (12. watch) _______ his
favorite TV show after dinner. He never misses it. They both go to bed late at night.
Exercise 8. Put the verb in brackets in the correct form (present continuous).
Lisa and her friends (0. study) are studying for their final exams. They are very excited
for this exam as it’ll be the last exam of the term. They are studying Maths right now.
Mary (1. help) _______the others. She is the top student in the class. She is really good at
Maths. Emily is also good at Maths. She (2. not study) _______Maths. She (3.
read)_______ a book. They (4. talk) _______ talking loudly, because they are at the
library at the moment. Sally (5. surf) _______ the net for extra exercises. They (6. try)
_______ to solve her exercises. They (7. help) _______each other to pass the class with
high marks.
Exercise 9. Put the verb in brackets in the correct form (present simple or present
continuous).
Next week, my friends and I (1. go) _______camping in the woods. I (2. organize)
_______ the food, because I (3. like) _______. Tom (4. have) _______ a big car with a
trailer, so he (5. plan) _______the transportation. Sam (6. bring) _______the tent. He (7.
go) _______camping every year, so he (8. have) _______ a great tent and lots of other
equipment. My wife (9. think) _______ we’re crazy. She likes holidays in comfortable
hotels, so she (10. take) _______ a trip to Paris instead.