PRESENT CONTINUOUS VS.

SIMPLE PRESENT

A. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the Present Simple or
Progressive as appropriate.

Dear Sara:

I ________(write)
'm writing to you from our hotel. I am on vacation
with my family and we_________(have)
are having a great time.

The weather is great and the sun __________(shine).

is shining
I___________(look)
'm looking outside my window and people
_________(go)
are going towards the beach. There are some people who
___________(swim)
are swimming and others are
_______(sail).
sailing I________
'm looking
(look) at some children. They________(play)
are playing near the edge of
the beach and others ________________(build)
are building sandcastles.
is
Just to left of our hotel ________(be) a big restaurant. There, some people
_____________(sit)
are sitting and _________(drink)
drinking some kind of drink that looks delicious.
The waiter_________(go) towards them and I am sure that they _________(be)
is going are
ready to order. They look very hungry. At the moment my brother__________
is watching (watch)
television and my mother _____________(tell)
is telling him to get ready because
we__________(go)
are going to do some sightseeing. My father___________(wait)
is waiting for us
downstairs, so I will write to you again later in the week.

Have to go now.

Love Paula.

B. Answer these questions about the reading.

1. Where is Paula? Paula is at her hotel enjoying her vacation in the company of her family.

2. How is the weather? The climate quite pleasant since the sun shines.

3. What is Paula doing at the moment? Paula is looking out the window and sees people
heading to the beach.
4. What are the people doing? Some people are swimming and others are sailing in the sea.
Children playing on the edge of the beach and others are
5. What are the children doing?
building sandcastles.
6. Where is the restaurant located? The restaurant is located to the left of the hotel where you
are staying.
7. Do the people at the restaurant look hungry? Yes, people look very hungry but are ready to
order.
8. What is Paula’s brother doing? Paula's brother is watching television.

9. What is Paula’s father doing? Paula's father is waiting downstairs for sightseeing together.

10. Who is Paula writing? Paula is writing to her friend Sara telling her about her vacation.
Present Simple or Present Continuous?

A. Complete the following sentences using the simple present or the

present continuous of the verbs in brackets.

1. Usually, Nathalie and Chantal ____________________

go to play (to play) in the
park but today they ____________________ (to study) at school. The
are studying
teacher ____________________
is giving (to give) them an exam.

2. Kathy always ____________

smiles (smile) in class and at the moment some of
the other pupils ____________________
are smiling (smile) as well.

3. Right now the pupils __________

are reading (read) a book and the teacher
____________________
is writting (to write) on the board.

4. Almost every day class_______(begin)

begins at 8:00, but on Tuesdays the class
_________(start) at 8:30.
starts

5. She_______(like)
likes to bake cookies, but at the moment she
___________(not
isn't baking bake) cookies because she___________(study)
is studying at school.

6. Dany _________(enjoy)
enjoys climbing mountains during his vacation, but this
year he_________(not
doesn't take take) any vacation because he________(study)
is studying
English.

7. Martine___________(do)
is doing computer exercises at the moment. She usually
______(do)
makes computer exercises on Tuesday.

8. Isabelle __________(like)
is liking to read at the moment.
She_____________(read)
reads a very good novel about Ghandi.

9. Suzanne_________(come)
is comming from France, and ___________(return)
returns there
for a holiday in the near future.

10. Claude _____________(try)

is trying to complete the on-line exercises at the
moment.

http://www.englishexercises.org