THE PRESENT SIMPLE AND THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS

I. Usage and meanings:

*). Notes:
- The present simple expresses the schedule time(with future meaning)
E.g: The train to Hanoi arrives at 6 a.m tomorrow.
# This party is going tomorrow.
(making arrangement)
# The present continuous tense expresses the near future with making arrangement.
II. What is tense?
- Present à past à future
- 4 aspects: simple à continuous à perfect à perfect continuous
III. Practice:
A. Put the verbs into the correct tense (present simple or present continuous):
1. The train always _______leaves_________(1: leave) on time.
2. "What's the matter? Why _are you crying_______________(2: cry/you)?"
3. That's strange. They aren’t watching_______________(3: not to watch) TV.
4. He isn’t to speak______________(4: not to speak) very good English.
5. Please be quiet! I’m doing________________(5: do) my homework.
6. Where are they living/do they live________________(6: live/they)?
7. Listen! John is playing________________ music! (7: play)
8. I never go________________(8: go) to the swimming pool.
9. Harold Black's a famous pianist. He gives________________(9: give) two or three concerts
every week. He travels________________(10: travel) a lot and this week he's in New York. He
is staying________________(11: stay) at an expensive hotel. He's at his hotel now. He is
having________________(12: have) his breakfast in the dining−room. He is
drinking________________(13: drink) a cup of coffee and he is reading________________(14:
read) a newspaper. Harold's always very busy. He plays________________(15: play) the piano
regularly. He practices________________(16: practice) for four hours every day. He
goes________________(17: go) to bed late and he always gets up
early________________(18: get up) early. But he sometimes gets________________(19: get)
dressed too quickly, and this morning he is wearing________________(20: wear) one blue sock
and one red one!
B. Complete the sentences below using one of the verbs in the box in the correct form.
You may use each verb once only.

- - - produce –- - - - - -

1. I always __ play ______ tennis on Fridays.

2. He is finishing ________ his report. He will bring it into the office when it is complete.
3. "My parents phoned me this morning. They _ enjoy ________ themselves in the Seychelles.
Champagne every night! In fact, they don't want to leave."
4. We _prefer_______ to entertain our guests in a local restaurant rather than the canteen.
Although it is expensive, we can talk freely there.
5. I __know_________ the answer to your problem. Get a new computer.
6. "Where is John?" "In his office ______waiting______ for an important telephone call."
7. I can't make the meeting tomorrow. I _____am interviewing________ the applicants for the
sales manager's job.
8. My brother ____works_________ for Shink Inc. which makes bathroom fittings.
9. Who _____is talking______ to Bill? Is it the new secretary?
10. The new contract ______ seems _________ fine to me. However, could you just check it
through once more?
C. Choose the correct form for each verb.
1. Marie-Claude isn't a Canadian. I ________ she comes from France. A. believe B. ? am
believing
2. Look! Junko ________ into the water. A. ? jumps B. ? is
jumping
3. I ________ you're crazy! A. ? think B. ? am
thinking
4. Don't give Jan any cheese. She ________ it! A. ? hates B. ? is
hating
5. I ________ to Toronto next Thursday. Do you want to come? A. ? go B. ? am
going
6. Once a week, I ________ to an art class at the college. A. ? go B. ? am
going
7. I ________ lunch in the cafeteria every day. A. ? have B. ? am
having
8. Salman is rich — he ________ a Mercedes. A. ? drives B. ? is
driving
9. You won't find Jerry at home right now. He ________ in the library. A. ? studies B. ? is
studying
10. It ________ quite hard — perhaps we shouldn't go out tonight. A. ? snows B. ? is
snowing
D. Put the verb in brackets in the correct form (present simple or present continuous)
Next week, my friends and I ____are going_____ (go) camping in the woods. I
am_organizing___________ (organize) the food, because I ___like__________ (like) cooking.
Dave _____has___________ (have) a big car with a trailer, so he ___is planning__________
(plan) the transportation. Sam ___is bring___________ (bring) the tent — he ____goes_______
(go) camping every year, so he ___has______ (have) a great tent and lots of other equipment.
My wife _thinks______ (think) we're crazy. She (like) _____likes__________ holidays in
comfortable hotels, so she _____is taking_________ (take) a trip to Paris instead.
E. Present Simple or Continuous? Choose the correct alternative(s) in the sentences 1-8
below.
1 Today she ’s spending/spends time with her grandmother.
2 They usually are going/go to the gym on Sundays.
3 We ’re having/have a barbecue later on. Do you want to come?
4 No, she can’t answer the phone, she has/is having a shower.
5 I always have/am having a coffee before I ’m leaving/leave for work in the morning.
6 They sometimes fly/are flying to Sweden, but usually they are going/go by boat.
7 Where are you? I ’m sitting/sit outside in the sunshine!
8 He always brings/is bringing a monolingual dictionary to his English class.
E. Put the verb in brackets in the correct form (present simple or present continuous)
1. You can’t see Tom now. He _____is having____________ a bath. (have)
2. He usually __drinks_______________ coffee, but today he ___is drinking______________
tea.(drink, drink)
3. I won’t go out now because it ______is raining__________ and I ____don’t
have___________ an umbrella.(rain, not have)
4. In Spain women usually __don’t wear_______________ hats.(not wear)
5. Who _is making______________ that terrible noise? It is John. He ____is
blowing_____________ his nose.(make, blow)
6. My dentist always keeps ______telling___________ me to clean my teeth. I hate that. (tell)
7. He never ____goes_____________ to the theatre. (go)
8. I _____am_spend_______ this weekend in Eastbourne. I ____go__________ there nearly
every week. (spend, go)
9. My wife always keeps _asking________________ for more money at the end of the week.
(ask)
10. Who __are you speaking_______________ to on the phone? (you speak)
11. Anne ____makes_____________ all her clothes. At the moment she _is
making________________ a dress for herself. (make, make)
12. What’s that smell? Something ___is burning______________ in the kitchen. (burn)
13. I ___work___________ overtime this month because I ____am saving__________ up to
buy a new car. (work, save)
14. He ___smokes______________ thirty cigarettes a day but at the moment he _______is
trying__________ very hard to stop. (smoke, try)
15. The sun __rises_______________ in the east and ___sets______________ in the west.
(rise, set)
16. She usually ____learns_____________ languages very fast but she ____is
having____________ problems with Chinese at the moment. (learn, have)
17. He never _goes________________ to the theatre. (go)
18. Do __________you watch_______ television every night? (you watch)
19. He always _____pays____________ his bills on time. (pay)
20. My father usually ___eats______________ his breakfast at eight. (eat)
21. How long ___does it take you___________ to get to the office? It
_takes________________ me half an hour. (it take, take)
22. The boat _________leaves________ Victoria Station at 9. (leave)
23. ___Do you know______________ how old I am? (you know)
24. Jane’s husband _doesn’t smoke________________ . (not smoke)
25. It _is’t often rain________________ in Egypt. (not often rainy)
26. Florence _________lies________ on the river Arno. (lie)
27. He usually ____speaks_____________ so quickly that I _don’t
understand________________ him. (speak, not understand)
28. How do you get_________________ to work? – I usually go_________________ by car but
tomorrow I ______am going___________ in Tom’s car. (you get, go, go)
29. Why _____do you put____________ on your raincoat? – I ______am going _________ for
a walk. – ______Do you want___________ to come with me? (you put, go, you want)
30. I always ____buy_____________ lottery tickets but I never _____win____________ .(buy,
win)
31. Do you love______________ him? – I like______________ him, but I don’t
love______________ him. (you love, like, not love)
32. ___Are you writing____________ him tonight? – Yes, I always __write_______________ to
him on his birthday. _______Do you want__________ to send him a message? (you write,
write, you want)
33. That car ____is making__________ a very strange noise. __Do you think_______________
it’s all right? – Oh yes, that noise __doesn’t matter_____________ . It always
____makes_________ a noise like that. (make, you think, not matter, make)
34. The plane that you _____are you are looking____________ at now ____is taking
off_____________ for Paris. (look, take off)
35. What _are he doing________________ to his car now? – I think he ____is
polishing_____________ it. (he do, polish)