Present Simple-Present Continuous

PRESENT SIMPLE/CONTINUOUS
PART A: Here are some exchanges from an interview between an American journalist and a French film star. Complete them with the correct tenses.
1. "How do you start work on a film?" "I (read) the script and (make) notes."
2. "I (make) notes of our interview. I hope you don't mind." "No, that's OK."
3. "What languages (you speak) ?" "English, French and Spanish."
4. "I'm glad we (do) this interview in English. My French isn't very good."
5. "Who (play) the guitar?" "My son, when he has time."
6. "Who (play) the piano upstairs?" "My sister. She's got a concert tomorrow."
7. "What (she play) ?" "I think it's a piece by Mozart."
8. " (She play) anything else?" "The violin. She's very musical."
9. "Your daughter's very keen on sports, isn't she?" "She (play) tennis."
10. "Where is she now?" "She's (play) tennis, as usual."
11. "What's that delicious smell?" "My husband (cook) ."
12. "Is that usual?" "Yes, normally I (shop) and my husband (cook) ."
13. "What a lovely clock!" "It (not work) . I'm afraid it's been broken for years."
14. "Could I use your phone?" "I'm afraid it (not work) at the moment."
PART A:
1. read, make
2. am making
3. do you speak
4. are doing
5. plays
6. is playing
7. is she playing
8. Does she play
9. plays
10. is playing
11. is cooking
12. shop, cooks
13. doesn’t work
14. is not working

PART B: Choose the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
1. These days you (live/are living) in North London, aren't you?
2. No thanks, I (don't smoke/am not smoking).
3. Why (does/is) that girl (stand/standing) on a table?
4. What (do/are) elephants (eat/eating)?
5. Hurry up! We (wait/are waiting) for you.
6. Phil (works/is working) in Hong Kong at the moment.
7. The sun (rises/is rising) in the east.
8. Look! Ann (smokes/is smoking) a cigar.
9. Alice (works/is working) for a small company until she finds a better job.
10. Why (do/are) you (cry/crying). What's wrong?

PART B:
1. are living
2. don’t smoke
3. is … standing
4. do … eat
5. are waiting
6. is working
7. rises
8. is smoking
9. is working
10. are … crying
PART C: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Present Simple or Present continuous?
1. Listen! Someone _______________ on the door! (knock)
2. My mother _______________ snooker every Sunday afternoon. (play)
3. We always _______________ to Italy for our holidays. (go)
4. He hasn't replied yet because he _______________ what to say. (think)
5. "What are you doing?". "I _______________ the wall." (paint)
6. He usually _______________ very hard, but he _______________ at all today because it is a holiday. (work/not work)
7. I'm sorry; he can't speak to you at the moment. He _______________ a bath. (have)
8. Look! That man _______________ out of the shop! And he _______________ a large bag full of money! (run/carry)
9. I don't mind babysitting for you. Your baby never _______________. (cry)
10. "Can I help you, madam?" "Yes, I _______________ for a red shirt." (look)
11. She usually _______________ Mercedes, but today she _______________ her husband's Polo. (drive)
12. She _______________ four languages fluently, and at the moment she _______________ as a translator. (speak/work)
13. "Why _______________ you _______________?". "Because nobody _______________ me, that's why!" (cry/love)
14. Don't drink that milk! It _______________ bad. (smell)
15. This lasagne _______________ delicious. (taste)

PART C:
1. is knocking
2. plays
3. go
4. is thinking
5. am painting
6. works, is not working
7. is having
8. is running, is carrying
9. cries
10. am looking
11. drives, is driving
12. speaks, is working
13. are…crying, loves
14. smells
15. tastes
Simple Present or Simple Present Continuous Tense

1. Usually Greg ____________________(eat) anything he ____________________(want) and ____________________(not worry) about what it ____________________(do) to his body. However, now, he ____________________(compete) in swimming and has to change his eating habits.

2. Usually, he ____________________(get up) and ____________________(have) orange juice or just ____________________(skip) breakfast because he ____________________(be) late for class. Then at lunch, he frequently ____________________(meet) his friends at Mac Donald's and ____________________(have) a Big Mac, fries and a cola.

3. At dinner time, he always ____________________(sit) down with his family, and ____________________(enjoy) a big meal. His mom usually ____________________(serve) meat, vegetables and potatoes. After that, he ____________________(eat) a green salad or some fruit. Most of the time, by eleven o'clock, he ____________________(be) hungry again, so he ____________________(have) ice-cream and cookies.

4. Now, he ____________________(swim) competitively and his diet ____________________(be) completely different. In the morning, he ____________________(eat) a lot more protein, eggs and bacon, and "carbos", a couple pieces of toast, so that he has more energy for his morning work-out. He ____________________(spend) noontime with his swimming teammates, not his "junk food" friends. He ____________________(follow) a low-fat, high-protein diet.

5. At dinner, he ____________________ (take) an extra helping of meat and potatoes. In fact, my mom ____________________(have) trouble keeping enough food in the refrigerator. She ____________________(think) that he ____________________(be) an "eating-machine". Next, week Greg ____________________(go) to Washington State for the National Swimming Championships. He ____________________(be) excited about them, but he ____________________(know) that it may take a while until he ____________________(win) a big competition.

6. Andreas ________________(get) nervous whenever he takes a test. His head feels light and his hands ________________(become) sweaty. He worries that the teacher ________________(look) at him. Other people can see that Andreas ________________(appear) upset because he ________________(act)

7. Alberto Benigni is a very funny Italian actor. Presently, he ________________(appear) in a movie called "Il Monstro", the monster. He ________________(seem) to have a natural gift for comedy. In this movie,the police think he, Loro, is a dangerous serial killer, but this is a case of mistaken identity. The police try to catch him by having a beautiful woman, a cop, invite him to her apartment. He is delighted to be in her company. However, Loro is a person who ________________(act) strange. He bumbles, and fumbles, which causes the police to think he is going to attack her at any moment. Instead, the woman ________________(appear) to fall in love with him. Meanwhile another man, the real serial killer, is caught. He ________________(resemble) Loro in appearance, but not in character.

Answers:
1. eats, wants, doesn't worry, does, is competing
2. gets up, has, skips, is, meets, has
3. sits, enjoys, serves, eats, is, has
4. is swimming, is, is eating, is spending, is following
5. is taking, is having, thinks, is, is going, is, knows, wins
6. gets, become, is looking, appears, acts
7. is appearing, seems, acts, appears, resembles

1. "What is that sound?" -- " I don't know. I ______________ anything."
a) am not hearing
b) don't hear
c) am not listening to
d) don't listen to

2. "How is your cold today?" "You a lot better today."
a) sound
b) are sounding

3. Every time he thinks of his mother's cooking, he homesick.
a) feels
b) is feeling

4. This milk fresh.
a) isn't tasting
b) doesn't taste

5. This afternoon, I the doctor about my skin problem.
a) see
b) am seeing

1. Millions of Americans have started dieting. They believe, are believing that if they can cut down on their caloric intake, they will lose weight.
2. However, what they don't understand, aren't understanding is that it takes more than just improving one's diet to lose weight. They have to exercise too.
3. Some people hate, are hating having to exercise.
4. They feel , are feeling tired after a long day of work and don't want, aren't wanting to exercise.
5. They need are needing encouragement to complete their goal successfully.

1. My sister told the caller, "Please call back later. We __________________ dinner."
2. The policeman asked, " Do you __________________ a valid California drivers license?"
3. I told the officer "I __________________ trouble with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
They were supposed to send it to me a week ago.
4. The officer asked, "Are you ok?" "No", I said, "I think I __________________ a baby!"
5. The street person asked, " any spare __________________change?"
6. "When __________________ our next quiz?" I asked.

1.are having, 2.have, 3.am having, 4.am having, 5.Do you have, 6.are we having

1. My baby __________________ twenty five pounds!"
a) weighs
b) is weighing

2. The nurse __________________ my baby on a scale while the doctor is watching."
a) weighs
b) is weighing

3. A new VolksWagen Jetta __________________ $22,000 dollars.
a) costs
b) is costing

4. My 16-year old son __________________ six feet - four inches tall.
a) measures
b) is measuring

5. This exam __________________ what you know about cell biology.
a) measures
b) is measuring
•
• Are the underlined verbs right or wrong? Correct the verbs that are wrong.
1 Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. ……………………………………
2 The water boils. Can you turn it off? ……………………………………
3 Look! That man tries to open the door of your car.
4 Can you hear those people? What do they talk about?
5 The moon goes round the earth. ……………………………………
6 I must go now. It gets late.
I usually go to work by car.
8 'Hurry up! It's time to leave.' 'OK, I come.'
9 I hear you've got a new job. How do you get on?
• Put the verb in the correct form, present continuous or present simple.
1 Let's go out. It ...isn't raining... (not/rain) now.
2 Julia is very good at languages. She ...speaks... (speak) four languages very well.
3 Hurry up! Everybody (wait) for you.
4 ' (you/listen) to the radio?' 'No, you can turn it off.'
5 ' (you/listen) to the radio every day?' 'No, just occasionally.'
6 The River Nile (flow) into the Mediterranean.
7 Look at the river. It (flow) very fast today - much faster than usual.
8 We usually (grow) vegetables in our garden but this year we…………………….(not/grow) any.
9 'How is your English?' 'Not bad. It (improve) slowly.'
10 Ron is in London at the moment. He (stay) at the Park Hotel. He
(always/stay) there when he's in London.
11 Can we stop walking soon? I (start) to feel tired.
12 'Can you drive?' 'I (learn). My father (teach) me.'
13 Normally I (finish) work at 5.00, but this week I………………..(work) until 6.00 to earn a bit more money.
14 My parents (live) in Bristol. They were born there and have never
lived anywhere else. Where (your parents/live)?
15 Sonia (look) for a place to live. She (stay) with her sister until she finds somewhere.
16 'What (your father/do)?' 'He's an architect but he……………..(not/work) at the moment.'
17 (at a party) Usually I (enjoy) parties but I (not/enjoy) this one very much.
18 The train is never late. It (always/leave) on time.
19 Jim is very untidy. He (always/leave) his things all over the place.
• Finish B's sentences. Use always -ing
1 A: I'm afraid I've lost my key again.
B: Not again! ...YOU'RE always.losing.your key...
2 A: The car has broken down again.
B: That car is useless! It
3 A: Look! You've made the same mistake again.
B: Oh no, not again! I
4 A: Oh, I've left the lights on again.
B: Typical! You

• Put the verb into the correct form, present continuous or present simple.
1 Are you hungry? ...DO YOU WANT... something to eat? (you/want)
2 Jill is interested in politics but she to a political party, (not/belong)
3 Don't put the dictionary away. I it. (use)
4 Don't put the dictionary away. I it. (need)
5 Who is that man? What ? (he/want)
6 Who is that man? Why at us? (he/look)
7 George says he's 80 years old but nobody him. (believe)
8 She told me her name but I it now. (not/remember)
9 I of selling my car. (think) Would you be interested in buying it?
10 I you should sell your car. (think) You
it very often, (not/use)
11 I used to drink a lot of coffee but these days I tea. (prefer)
12 Air mainly of nitrogen and oxygen, (consist)
• Complete the sentences using the most suitable form of be. Sometimes you must use the simple am/is/are) and sometimes the continuous is more suitable (am/is/are being).
1 I can't understand why ...He.'s being... so selfish. He isn't usually like that.
2 Jack very nice to me at the moment. I wonder why.
3 You'll like Jill when you meet her. She very nice.
4 Normally you are very sensible, so why so silly about this matter?
5 Why isn't Sarah at work today? ill?