Grammar reference and practice 1.1

1.1 ■ Present simple and present continuous

Present simple

Affirmative and negative
I We You They	live don't (= do not) live		in a city.
He She It	lives doesn't (= does not) live
Questions and short answers
Do	I we you they	live in a city?	Yes, I do. No, I don't.
Does	he she it		Yes, he does. No, he doesn't.

Spelling rules: third person singular

• ■Most verbs: add -s

  ■Verbs ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -o, -x: add -es

  ■Verbs ending in consonant + -y: change -y to -ies

Use

We use the present simple to talk about:

• ■habits and everyday routines, normally with adverbs of frequency such as always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely and never. We can also use time expressions such as every evening / Monday / winter or in the morning / evening, etc.

  I sometimes get up late on Sunday.

  Diana travels to Latin America every summer.

  Note that adverbs of frequency go immediately before the main verb, but after the verb be. Longer time expressions usually go at the end of the sentence.

  Do you always do your homework before dinner?

  The school is never open on Sunday.

  The school usually closes in the afternoon.

  ■facts and general truths.

  Annika and Elly come from the Netherlands.

  December isn’t a warm month in Europe.

  ■states. Some verbs that describe states are believe, hate, know, like, love, need, prefer, understand, want.

  Erdem knows the names of all countries in Africa.

  Do you want to work on one of our projects?

1Choose the correct words. 

• 1Carol gogoes to school by train.

• 2My father often fliesfly to Italy for his work.

• 3Helen washeswash her hair every day.

• 4Our friends don't liveslive very far from here.

• 5DoesDo Paul have a big family?

• 6My sister don'tdoesn't finish school at 4 p.m.

 

2Put the words in order to make sentences. 

You need to use correct punctuation in this task.

• • don't
  • I
  • have breakfast
  • usually
  • .

  1

   

• • your brother
  • a new car
  • every year
  • buy
  • does
  • ?

  2

   

• • never
  • before eleven o'clock
  • we
  • go to bed
  • .

  3

   

• • is
  • often
  • Paula
  • late for class
  • .

  4

   

• • we
  • at home
  • sometimes
  • have our lunch
  • .

  5

   

• • always
  • Simon's parents
  • in the evening
  • watch TV
  • .

  6

   

• • have
  • in the afternoon
  • rarely
  • lessons
  • they
  • .

  7

   

• • cinema
  • you
  • go
  • do
  • the
  • to
  • often
  • ?

  8

   

1.1 ■ Present simple and present continuous

Present continuous

Affirmative and negative
I	'm (= am) 'm not (= am not)		playing tennis.
He She It	's (= is) isn't (= is not)
We You They	're (= are) aren't (= are not)
Questions and short answers
Am	I	playing tennis?	Yes, I am. No, I'm not.
Is	he she it		Yes, he is. No, he isn't.
Are	we you they		Yes, we are. No, we aren't.

Spelling rules: -ing form

• ■Most verbs: add -ing

  ■Verbs ending in -e: remove -e and add -ing

  ■Verbs ending -ie: change -ie to -ying

  ■Short verbs ending consonant + vowel + consonant: double the final consonant and add -ing

Use

We use the present continuous to talk about:

• ■actions that are happening at the time of speaking, often with expressions such as at the moment and now.

  Where is Peter? ~ He's having lunch at the moment.

  I can't talk right now. I'm eating dinner.

  ■actions that are happening around now, but perhaps not at the moment of speaking.

  Paul is teaching English in Africa. (He isn't necessarily teaching English right now.)

  Freya is studying Japanese at university. (She isn't necessarily having lessons right now.)

  ■planned future arrangements, usually with time expressions such as tomorrow, tonight and this afternoon / week / Friday.

  I'm flying out to Africa tomorrow.

  What are you doing tonight?

  Sandra isn't going on holiday this summer.

3Complete the sentences. Use the present continuous form of the verbs in brackets. 

You need to use normal letters and capital letters correctly in this task.

• 1It  (snow) at the moment.

• 2I  (not do) anything right now.

• 3Gina and Paul  (try) to make a meal over a fire.

• 4 you  (write) your essay?

• 5They  (not open) the new school this month.

• 6What time  we  (leave) on Friday?

4Complete the sentences. Use the present continuous form of the verbs in the box. 

You need to use normal letters and capital letters correctly in this task.

MOVE
• brush
• not organize
• get
• make
• play
• do

• 1It's nearly seven o'clock.  you  ready?

• 2Leo  a mess with those paints.

• 3I'm nearly ready. I  my teeth.

• 4We  the party. Kim is doing it.

• 5She isn't very good at cooking, but she  her best.

• 6Chris and Phil  tennis this afternoon.

5Complete the sentences. Use the present simple or present continuous form of the verbs in brackets. 

You need to use normal letters and capital letters correctly in this task.

• 1Can you help me? I  (look) for a good hostel.

• 2The children's English isn't very good, but it  (get) better.

• 3My friend and I  (chat) online about twice a week.

• 4 (Sally and Naomi / come) to watch the match later?

• 5I  (not have) the same thing for breakfast every day.

• 6This project is hard work. You  (need) to be very fit and healthy.

• 7We  (meet) Samuel at eight o'clock tonight.

• 8 (you / prefer) hot or cold weather?