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EXERCISES for CHAPTER 3. THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS

1. Using the Present Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs shown in brackets. For example:
      He _________ hard. (to work)
      He is working hard.

      We ____________ anxious. (to feel)
      We are feeling anxious.

1. I _______________ the questions. (to answer)
2. You ________________ boots. (to wear)
3. We ______________ for work. (to look)
4. She ______________ her friend. (to call)
5. He _______________ a house. (to build)
6. They _______________ supper. (to cook)
7. We ______________ a story. (to tell)
8. You ______________ for the bus. (to wait)
9. I _______________ a book. (to read)
10. They _______________ berries. (to pick)
Answers

2. Using the Present Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs shown in brackets. For example:
      They _____________ the lemons. (to squeeze)
      They are squeezing the lemons.

      It ________ on the sidewalk. (to lie)
      It is lying on the sidewalk.

      I ___________ the groceries. (to carry)
      I am carrying the groceries.

1. She ________________ a letter. (to write)
2. They _________________ about it. (to worry)
3. He _________________ jam. (to make)
4. It _________________. (to die)
5. We _______________ to school. (to hurry)
6. She _________________ us to do it. (to dare)
7. You ________________ on the blanket. (to lie)
8. He _________________ the problem. (to solve)
9. I _________________ now. (to leave)
10. They _________________ to help us. (to try)
Answers

3. Using the Present Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs shown in brackets. For example:
      We ___________ to come. (to plan)
      We are planning to come.

      They _________ the lawn. (to mow)
      They are mowing the lawn.

      It __________. (to rain)
      It is raining.

1. I _______________ the grass. (to cut)
2. It _______________ downstream. (to float)
3. They _________________ the game. (to win)
4. We _________________ the present. (to wrap)
5. She _________________ lettuce. (to grow)
6. He _________________ for us. (to look)
7. I _________________ a sweater. (to knit)
8. They _________________ wood. (to saw)
9. She _________________ the windows. (to clean)
10. We _________________ the floor. (to scrub)
11. I ________________ the toaster. (to fix)
12. He _________________ his coffee. (to sip)
13. They __________________ the hedge. (to trim)
14. You _________________ the ducks. (to feed)
15. She _________________ her head. (to nod)
Answers

4. Each of the following sentences is preceded by a bare infinitive, the most heavily stressed syllable of which is underlined. Paying attention to whether or not the final consonant should be doubled before ing is added, fill in the blanks with the present participles corresponding to the bare infinitives. Use the American spelling for verbs ending in l. For example:
      whisper: They are __________ to their friends.
      They are whispering to their friends.

      refer: I was _________ to your letter.
      I was referring to your letter.

1. open: I am _____________ the door.
2. display: She is ______________ her talents.
3. submit: He is _______________ his report tomorrow.
4. limit: The store is _____________ the number of items on sale.
5. permit: We are not _____________ him to go.
6. sharpen: They are _______________ the pencils.
7. confer: She is ________________ with her colleagues.
8. focus: He is ________________ the camera.
9. repel: They are ________________ the attack.
10. shovel: I am ________________ the steps.
11. destroy: Hail is _______________ the crops.
12. dispel: They are _______________ our doubts.
13. squander: He is _______________ his money.
14. prefer: We are _______________ our new school to the old one.
15. color: The child is ______________ the picture.
16. unravel: We are _____________ the wool.
17. propel: Jet engines are _______________ the plane.
18. flower: The pansies are _______________
19. infer: They are ______________ that we do not want to come.
20. listen: The children are ______________ to us.
Answers

5. Change the following affirmative statements into questions. For example:
      It is snowing.
      Is it snowing?

      They are being cautious.
      Are they being cautious?

1. I am learning English.
2. You are carrying a parcel.
3. It is growing colder.
4. We are living in Halifax.
5. They are running a race.
6. He is drinking coffee.
7. She is shopping for presents.
8. I am cleaning the window.
9. We are buying pencils.
10. They are playing football.
Answers

6. Change the affirmative statements given in Exercise 5 into negative statements. For example:
      It is snowing.
      It is not snowing.

      They are being cautious.
      They are not being cautious.
Answers

7. Change the affirmative statements given in Exercise 5 into negative questions. Except when the subject of the verb is I, write both the form without contractions and the form with contractions. For example:
      It is snowing.
      Is it not snowing?
      Isn't it snowing?

      They are being cautious.
      Are they not being cautious?
      Aren't they being cautious?
Answers

8. Add negative tag questions to the affirmative statements given in Exercise 5. Except when the subject of the verb is I, use contractions for the tag questions. For example:
      It is snowing.
      It is snowing, isn't it?

      They are being cautious.
      They are being cautious, aren't they?
Answers

9. For each of the following sentences, determine whether the Simple Present tense or the Present Continuous tense is more appropriate, and fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb given in brackets. For example:
      Right now, he ________ ridiculous. (to be)
      Right now, he is being ridiculous.

      She ______ to Sydney every weekend. (to drive)
      She drives to Sydney every weekend.

1. At the moment, I __________________ supper. (to cook)
2. He ________________ the paper every weekday. (to read)
3. We ________________ right now. (to study)
4. She ________________ every day. (to study)
5. Now it _______________. (to rain)
6. They ______________ to Mexico every year. (to travel)
7. Just now we ________________ the shopping. (to do)
8. She always ________________ correctly.( to answer)
9. You ________________ never late. (to be)
10. Now I ________________ to the radio. (to listen)
11. Each Sunday, we ________________ the flea market. (to visit)
12. At present, I ________________ for work. (to look)
Answers
 

ANSWERS for CHAPTER 3. THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Answers to Exercise 1:
1. am answering 2. are wearing 3. are looking 4. is calling 5. is building 6. are cooking 7. are telling 8. are waiting 9. am reading 10. are picking

Answers to Exercise 2:
1. is writing 2. are worrying 3. is making 4. is dying 5. are hurrying 6. is daring 7. are lying 8. is solving 9. am leaving 10. are trying

Answers to Exercise 3:
1. am cutting 2. is floating 3. are winning 4. are wrapping 5. is growing 6. is looking 7. am knitting 8. are sawing 9. is cleaning 10. are scrubbing 11. am fixing 12. is sipping 13. are trimming 14. are feeding 15. is nodding

Answers to Exercise 4:
1. opening 2. displaying 3. submitting 4. limiting 5. permitting 6. sharpening 7. conferring 8. focusing 9. repelling 10. shoveling 11. destroying 12. dispelling 13. squandering 14. preferring 15. coloring 16. unraveling 17. propelling 18. flowering 19. inferring 20. listening

Answers to Exercise 5:
1. Am I learning English? 2. Are you carrying a parcel? 3. Is it growing colder? 4. Are we living in Halifax? 5. Are they running a race? 6. Is he drinking coffee? 7. Is she shopping for presents? 8. Am I cleaning the window? 9. Are we buying pencils? 10. Are they playing football?

Answers to Exercise 6:
1. I am not learning English. 2. You are not carrying a parcel. 3. It is not growing colder. 4. We are not living in Halifax. 5. They are not running a race. 6. He is not drinking coffee. 7. She is not shopping for presents. 8. I am not cleaning the window. 9. We are not buying pencils. 10. They are not playing football.

Answers to Exercise 7:
1. Am I not learning English? 2. Are you not carrying a parcel? Aren't you carrying a parcel? 3. Is it not growing colder? Isn't it growing colder? 4. Are we not living in Halifax? Aren't we living in Halifax? 5. Are they not running a race? Aren't they running a race? 6. Is he not drinking coffee? Isn't he drinking coffee? 7. Is she not shopping for presents? Isn't she shopping for presents? 8. Am I not cleaning the window? 9. Are we not buying pencils? Aren't we buying pencils? 10. Are they not playing football? Aren't they playing football?

Answers to Exercise 8:
1. I am learning English, am I not? 2. You are carrying a parcel, aren't you? 3. It is growing colder, isn't it? 4. We are living in Halifax, aren't we? 5. They are running a race, aren't they? 6. He is drinking coffee, isn't he? 7. She is shopping for presents, isn't she? 8. I am cleaning the window, am I not? 9. We are buying pencils, aren't we? 10. They are playing football, aren't they?

Answers to Exercise 9:
1. am cooking 2. reads 3. are studying 4. studies 5. is raining 6. travel 7. are doing 8. answers 9. are 10. am listening 11. visit 12. am looking

 

Go to : Grammar Home | Table of Contents | Alphabetical Index | Back to Chapter 3

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