Universidad del Valle Sede Norte del Cauca

Inglés II
Teacher John Hamilton Sepúlveda
Guía de aprendizaje núm. 4
Temas: Present continuous tense; Telling the time

 TOPIC: PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Present continuous tense expresses actions which are taking place at the time of
speaking. Present continuous tense uses the Present Tense of auxiliary verb TO
BE in the present (is, am, are) and the main verb with its present participle (suffix
ING).
Examples:
We are learning German.
I am driving to work.
She is watching TV.

Grammar Structure

SPELLING OF SUFFIX –ING

RULES SIMPLE FORM -ING FORM

Most verbs just add –ing. Clean, develop Cleaning, developing

Verbs ending in –e, omit it. Use, live, solve Using, living, solving

Verbs that end in –ie, Die, lie Dying, lying

change the –ie to -y

Verbs ending in a single Begin, put, stop Beginning, putting,

stressed vowel and a stopping
consonant, double the
consonant
 1. Affirmative Form:

1 2 3 4
Subject verb TO BE in main verb-ING complement
present tense (am,
is, are)

My brother is building a house.

2. Negative Form:

1 2 3 4
Subject verb TO BE main verb-ING complement
in present
tense (am, is, are)
+not
My brother isn´t (is not) building a house.

3. Interrogative Form:

1 (if 2 3 4 5
WH word Verb TO BE in Subject Main verb-ING Complement
needed) present tense
(am, is, are)
Why is my brother building a house?

EXERCISE # 1
• What are the following people doing?

______she is runing in the beach______

 _____she is waiting in the beach____

____ he is Reading a book___

____he is talking for phone______

• Unscramble the words to make affirmative sentences in the present

continuous tense.

1. Margarita/ to meet new friends ___margarita is meeting new friends___

2. I / to make a cake ____i am making a cake____
3. we / to take the bus _____we are taking the bus_______
4. Julian / to get a new house _____julian getting a new house_____
5. the TV /to work very well ____the tv is working very well____
6. They / to fish _____they are fishing______
7. We / to go to the movies _____we are going to the movies______
8. I / to take French classes ____i am taking french classes_____
9. Adriana / to call me back _____adriana is calling me back______
 10. He / to go swimming _____he is go swimming________

 Unscramble the words to make questions in the present continuous tense.

1. they/ to have / a good time ____are they have a good time_______
2. Jhonny/ to teach / now _________________________________
3. Diva / to watch TV /at home _____________________________
4. Luz Stella / to write a book_______________________________
5. they / to leave / a message _______________________________
6. you / to visit / an amusement park in Bogotá__________________
7. he / to see / a sports event in Palmira_______________________ 8. you / to
celebrate / your birthday __________________________
9. she / to have/ a headache________________________________
10. you / to feel/ well /are/_____________________________________

 Rewrite the statements below in negative sentences in the present

continuous tense.

1. She is doing her nails. _________________________________

2. I am making an important decision. _______________________
3. My parents are having a lot of fun._________________________
4. Diana is making some photocopies. ________________________
5. You are having a great party. _____________________________
6. Edilberto is taking a day off. _____________________________
7. I am getting better. _____________________________________
8. We are taking the risk. __________________________________
9. They are doing their homework. ___________________________
10. He is making pasta. _____________________________________

 TOPIC: TELLING THE TIME

Existen diferentes formas para preguntar y expresar la hora.

Asking for the Time
 The common question forms to ask for the time right now are:

What time is it?

What’s the time?
Could you tell me the time please?

 The common question forms to ask at what time a specific event will happen are:

What time...?
When...?
Examples:
-What time does the flight to New York leave?
-When does the bus arrive from London?
-When does the concert begin?

Giving the Time

 You should use It is or It's to respond to the questions that ask for the time right
now.

Examples:
-It's ten to twelve (11:50)
-It is half past five (5:30).

 You should use the structure at + time when giving the time of a specific event.

Examples:
The bus arrives at midday (12:00).
The flight leaves at a quarter to two (1:45).
The concert begins at ten o'clock. (10:00)
 You can also use subject pronouns (It) in these responses.

Examples:
It arrives at midday (12:00).
It leaves at a quarter to two (1:45).
It begins at ten o'clock. (10:00)

 You should use a.m. (am) for the morning and p.m. (pm) for the afternoon and
night.

Examples:
3am = Three o'clock in the morning.
3pm = Three o'clock in the afternoon.

 Say the hour first and then the minutes. (Hour + Minutes)

Examples:

6:25 - It's six twenty-five

8:05 - It's eight-oh-five
9:11 - It's nine eleven
2:34 - It's two thirty-four

 Say the minutes first and then the hour. (Minutes + PAST / TO + Hour)

Examples:

For minutes 1-30 use PAST after the minutes.

For minutes 31-59 use TO after the minutes.

2:35 - It's twenty-five to three

11:20 - It's twenty past eleven
 4:18 - It's eighteen past four
8:51 - It's nine to nine
2:59 - It's one to three

 When it is 15 minutes past the hour we normally say: (a) quarter past

Example:

7:15 - It's (a) quarter past seven

 When it is 15 minutes before the hour we normally say: a quarter to Example:

12:45 - It's (a) quarter to one

 When it is 30 minutes past the hour we normally say: half past

Example:

3:30 - It's half past three (but you can also say three-thirty)

 You should use o'clock when there are NO minutes.

Examples:

10:00 - It's ten o'clock

5:00 - It's five o'clock
1:00 - It's one o'clock

Otros ejemplos:
 What time is it?

Ten en cuenta:
 For 12:00 there are four expressions in English.

Examples:

• twelve o'clock
 • midday / noon
• midnight

 There are several common ways to reference the time of day depending on what
portion of the day you are in.

Examples:
 Look at these clocks. What time is it?

1. ____it´s twenty past two____

2. ____it´s ten to seven_____

3. ____it´s fifteen to nine_____

4. ____it´s five past eleven_____

5. ____it´s three o´clock___

6. ____it´s half past four____

 • What time is it?

It´s quarter past five

It´s twenty-five past ten

It´s ten to twelve

It´s five past eight

It´s half past three

It´s twenty past nine

It´s twenty to three

It´s Thirty five to seven

It´s ten past one

It´s fifteen to five

• Say each time a different way.

Example: It’s nine o’clock in the evening. It’s 9:00 P.M.

1. It’s eight o’clock in the morning. ____it´s 8:00 A.M____

2. It’s twelve o’clock at night. ____it´s 12:00 A.M____
3. It’s three in the afternoon. ______it´s 3.00 P.M______
4. It’s 3:00 A.M. ___it´s three o´clock in the morning_____
5. It’s 6:00 P.M. ___it´s six o´clock in the afternoon_____
6. It’s 4:00 P.M. ___it´s four o´clock in the afternoon _______
7. It’s 12:00 P.M. ___ it´s twelve o´clock in the afternoon_____
• Match the items on the right to the items on the left.
VIDEOS

PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=CkWCzB8dk2U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7xA8V5JtbQ

TELLING THE TIME https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq2tRfHu5s8

References
• Richards, J., Hull, J. & Proctor, S. (2005). Interchange Intro (3rd Ed.). Cambridge
University Press.
• Richards, J. Hull, J. & Proctor, S. (2005). Interchange 1 (3rd Ed.).
• Sepulveda, J., Mayo, D. Gutiérrez, L. & Segura, J. (2013). Grammar in context
training course. UNIAJC

Websites

• Telling the time. Berlitz. https://www.berlitz.com/blog/how-to-tell-time-english  Telling

the time in English. Woodward English.
 https://www.woodwardenglish.com/telling-the-time-in-english/
• Telling the time in English. EnglishStudyPage.com
https://englishstudypage.com/grammar/telling-the-time-in-english/