Mixed Present Simple and Present Continuous

3.1 Are the underlined verbs right or wrong? Correct the verbs that are wrong.

1. Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. RIGHT

2. The water boils. Can you turn it off? ______________

3. Look! That man tries to open the door of your car. ________________

4. Can you hear those people? What do they talk about? ________________

5. The moon goes round the earth. _______________

6. I must go now. It gets late. -_________________

7. I usually go to work by car. __________________

8. 'Hurry up! It's time to leave.' 'OK, I come.' _________________

9. I hear you've got a new job. How do you get on? ___________________

3.2 Put the verb in the correct form, present continuous or present simple.

1. Let's go out. It _________________ (not/rain) now.

2. Julia is very good at languages. She _________________ (speak) four languages very well.

3. Hurry up! Everybody ---_____________ (wait) for you. –

4. '_______________(you/listen) to the radio?' 'No, you can turn it off.' –

5. '________________(you/listen) to the radio every day?' 'No, just occasionally.' –

6. The River Nile -________________ (flow) into the Mediterranean. -

7. Look at the river. It _____________ (flow) very fast today - much faster than usual. –

8. We usually ____________ (grow) vegetables in our garden but this year we ___________(not/grow) any.

9. 'How is your English?' 'Not bad. It _________________(improve) slowly.'

10. Ron is in London at the moment. He ____________stay) at the Park Hotel. He _____________(always/stay) there when he's in London.

11. Can we stop walking soon? I ___________ (start) to feel tired.

12. 'Can you drive?' 'I __________ (learn). My father _____________ (teach) me.' \

13. Normally I __________(finish) work at 5.00, but this week I_________ (work) until 6.00 to earn a bit more money.

14. My parents __________(live) in Bristol. They were born there and have never lived anywhere else. Where -_____________ (your parents/live)?

15. Sonia _______ (look) for a place to live. She _____________(stay) with her sister until she finds somewhere.

16. 'What ___________ (your father/do)?' 'He's an architect but he ____________(not/work) at the moment.'

17. (at a party) Usually I_________- (enjoy) parties but I ____________(not/enjoy) this one very much.

18. The train is never late. It _________ (always/leave) on time.

19. Jim is very untidy. He _____________(always/leave) his things all over the place.

3.3 Finish B's sentences. Use always ~ing (see Section B).

1. A: I'm afraid I've lost my key again.

B: Not again! You____ always ___________your key.

2. A: The car has broken down again.

B: That car is useless! It __________

3. A: Look! You've made the same mistake again.

B: Oh no, not again! I _________

4. A: Oh, I've left the lights on again.

B: Typical! You _______________

3.4 Are the underlined verbs right or wrong? Correct the ones that are wrong.

1. I'm seeing the manager tomorrow morning. RIGHT

2. I'm feeling hungry. Is there anything to eat? _______________

3. Are you believing in God? No I’m an atheist _____________________

4. This sauce is great. It's tasting really good. ___________________

5. I'm thinking this is your key. Am I right? ____________________

3.5 Put the verb into the correct form, present continuous or present simple.

1. Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat? (you/want)

2. Jill is interested in politics but she ____________to a political party. (not/belong)

3. Don't put the dictionary away. I ____________ it. (use)

4. Don't put the dictionary away. I ____________ it. (need)

5. Who is that man? What _____________? (he/want)

6. Who is that man? Why _________________ at us? (he/look)

7. George says he's 80 years old but nobody _____________ him. (believe)

8. She told me her name but I _____________it now. (not/remember)

9. I _____________of selling my car. (think) Would you be interested in buying it?

10. I __________ you should sell your car. (think) You ___________ it very often. (not/use)

11. I used to drink a lot of coffee but these days I _________ tea. (prefer)

12. Air ___________ mainly of nitrogen and oxygen. (consist)

3.6 Complete the sentences using the most suitable form of be. Sometimes you must use the simple (am/is/are) and sometimes the continuous is more suitable (am/is/are being).

1. I can't understand why he's being so selfish. He isn't usually like that.

2. Jack _____________ very nice to me at the moment. I wonder why.

3. You'll like Jill when you meet her. She __________ very nice. -

4. Normally you are very sensible, so why ________ so silly about this matter?

5. Why isn't Sarah at work today? -__________ ill?