-Chapter 1 Present Time

Name: ________________________________ Group: _________

Practice 1. Interview questions and answers. Complete the sentences with words from the list.
A word may be used more than once.

am do is meet play you

are from like name write

KUNIO: Hi. My name is Kunio.

MARIA: Hi. My _______ ______ Maria. I ________ glad to meet you.

KUNIO: I ________ glad to _________ you too. Where ________ ______ from?

MARIA: I ____ from Mexico. Where _____ ______ ______?

KUNIO: I ________ _________Japan.

MARIA: Where _________ _________ living now?

KUNIO: On Fifth Avenue in an apartment. And you?

MARIA: I __________living in a dorm.

KUNIO: What _________ you studying?

MARIA: Business. After I study English, I'm going to attend the School of Business
Administration. How about you? What _________ your major?

KUNIO: Engineering.

MARIA: What _________ you like to do in your free time?

KUNIO: I play the guitar with a group.

MARIA: Really? Where?

KUNIO: We ___________together in a friend's garage on weekends. It's fun. How about you?
What _________you do in your free time?

MARIA: I like to get on the Internet.

KUNIO: Oh? What ___________ you do when you're online?

MARIA: I write a blog. I ____________two or three times a week.

KUNIO: A blog! What __________ you write about on your blog?

MARIA: The news. I ___________to give my thoughts.

KUNIO: That's interesting!

MARIA: I have to ____________ your full name on the board when I introduce you to the class.
How _________ __________spell your name?

KUNIO: My first name ________Kunio. K-U-N-I-O. My family name ________ Akiwa.

MARIA: Kunio Akiwa. _________that right?

KUNIO: Yes, it __________. And what ___________ your name again?

MARIA: My first name ___________ Maria. M-A-R-I-A. My last name __________Lopez.

KUNIO: Thanks. Well, it's been nice talking to you.

MARIA: I enjoyed it too.

Practice 2. Simple present and present progressive. Underline the correct verb.

1. I (sit / am sitting) at my desk right now.

2. I (sit / am sitting) at this desk every day.
3. I (do / am doing) grammar exercises every day.
4. I (do / am doing) a grammar exercise now.
5. I (look / am looking) at Sentence 5 now.
6. Now I (write / am writing) the correct completion for this sentence.
7. Henry (sits / is sitting) at his desk now.
8. He (works / is working) at his computer.
9. He (works / is working) at his computer every day.
10. He (checks / is checking) his email right now.
11. He (checks / is checking) his email 20 times a day.
12. He (writes / is writing) more than 30 emails every day.

Practice 3. Forms of the simple present tense. Complete each sentence with the appropriate
verb from the list. Add -s/-es as necessary.

collect cook play run work

conduct drive program train write

1. Leon is a piano player. He ___plays the piano in a restaurant on weekends.

2. Akira is an orchestra conductor. He __________________the City Symphony Orchestra.
3. My grandparents are stamp collectors. They ________________stamps from all over
the world.
4. My sister is a computer programmer. She ____________________computers for a large
corporation.
5. Ariel is a teacher trainer. He ____________________teachers for elementary schools.
6. Fred and Ted are marathon runners. They ____________________in marathon races.
7. Gino is the cook in the governor's house. He __________________for the governor's
family.
8. Two of my friends are post-office workers. They _____________________in the post
office.
 9. Alex is a truck driver. He __________________a truck up and down the interstate
highways.
10. I am a travel writer. I ____________articles for a travel magazine.

Practice 4. The simple present tense. Sentence a. is a statement with an incorrect fact. In
Sentence b., write the negative of that statement, and then write the correct fact. Use the
affirmative and negative forms of the verb in Sentence a.

1. a. The needle of a compass points south.

b. No. The needle of a compass doesn't point south. It points north.

2. a. February comes before January.

b. No. February ________________________before January. It _____________after January.

3. a. It snows in warm weather.

b. No. It _______________________in warm weather. It _________________in cold weather.

4. a. Bananas grow in cold climates.

b. No. Bananas _____________________in cold climates. Bananas ______________in warm

climates.

5. a. Lightning follows thunder.

b. No. Lightning _______________________thunder. Thunder _________________lightning.

6. a. Whales fly.

b. No. Whales ___________________. Birds __________________________.

7. a. The earth revolves around the moon.

b. No. The earth _______________________around the moon. The moon ________________

around the earth.

8. a. Butterflies turn into caterpillars.

b. No. Butterflies __________________into caterpillars. Caterpillars ________into butterflies.

Practice 5. The simple present tense. Complete the sentences with do, does, or Ø.

1. Polly and Scott ______________not work in an office.

2. They _____________own a small construction company.
3. The company ___________not build houses.
4. The company ____________repairs houses.
5. Polly and Scott _____________not do the same work.
6. They ______________do different kinds of work.
 7. Polly _____________enjoys painting, but Scott _____________not like painting.
8. He ____________prefers to fix things.
9. They ____________spend 8 to 10 hours at work on most days.

Practice 6. Forms of the present progressive. Complete the sentences with the correct form of
the verb speak.

Part I: STATEMENT FORMS

1. I am speaking English right now.

2. They __________________________________English right now.

3. She ___________________________________English right now.

4. You ___________________________________English right now.

5. He ___________________________________ English right now.

Part II: NEGATIVE FORMS

6. I am not speaking English right now.

7. They __________________________________English right now.

8. She ___________________________________English right now.

9. You ___________________________________English right now.

10. He __________________________________ English right now.

Part III: QUESTION FORMS

11. Are you speaking English right now?

12. ____________ he ______________________English right now?

13. ____________they _____________________English right now?

14. ____________we ______________________English right now?

15._____________she _____________________English right now?

Practice 7. The present progressive. Complete each sentence with the present progressive form
of the verbs in parentheses.

I'm looking around the classroom now. My classmates are not paying attention. Sally (look) is
looking at her watch. Ali has his head back and he (stare) ______________at the ceiling. Kiki
and Ruth (text) _______________ each other. Janet (file) _______________her nails. Tanya and
Olga (listen) _________________to something on their iPods. Spiro (move) ___________around
in his seat. Ana (draw) _______________ a picture of the professor. Dmitri (sleep) ___________
I (try) __________________ to stay awake. The poor professor (speak) ______________very
softly. He has a sore throat, and he (lose) ________________his voice. I think that he (fall)
________________ asleep too.

Practice 8. The simple present and the present progressive. Choose the correct completions for
each group.

Group 1

1. Jack c a. working today

2. Jack is ___ b. work in an office
3. Jack does not ___ c. works in a factory

Group 2

1. Nina ____. a. playing tennis now

2. She does not ____. b. play tennis on weekdays
3. She is not ____. c. plays tennis on weekends

Group 3

1. Leah and Hank are ____. a. chats on the computer every night
2. They ____ . b. chatting on their computers now
3. Leah ____. c. chat on their computers a lot

Group 4

1. My roommate and I do not ____ a. watches the news at 11:00 P.M.

2. He ____. b. watch TV in the afternoons
3. I am not ___. c. watching TV right now.

Practice 9. The simple present and the present progressive. Choose the correct completion.

1. Turtles, snakes, and alligators ___are__ reptiles.

a. do b. are c. is

2. Almost all reptiles _____________eggs.

a. lay b. lays c. are laying

3. A turtle ___________eggs in the warmer months.

a. lays b. laying c. is laying

4.____________frogs reptiles?

a. Do b. Is c. Are

5. No. They _____________amphibians.

a. is b. are c. do

6. An amphibian ________________in water and on land.

 a. live b. lives c. is living

7. ____________ frogs lay eggs?

a. Do b. Does c. Are

8. Yes. Frogs ___________eggs in the water.

a. lay b. lays c. are laying

9. Do you ___________that frog on the rock over there?

a. see b. sees c. seeing

10. ______________it sleeping?

a. Does b. Do c. Is

11. No, it ________________sleeping.

a. doesn't b. don't c. isn't

12. It is _______________for insects to eat.

a. look b. looks c. looking

Practice 10. Frequency adverbs. Put the word in italics in its usual midsentence position. Write
Ø if no word is needed.

1. usually Ann usually stays Ø at night.

2. usually Ann __________________is ________________________ at home at night.

3. always Bob ___________________stays ______________________home in the evening.

4. always He ____________________is ______________________ at his desk in the evening.

5. usually He ____________________doesn't _____________________go out in the evenings.

6. always But, he __________________doesn't _____________________study in the evenings.

7. sometimes He ___________________watches _______________________a little TV.

8. never He _______________________stays ______________________up past midnight.

9. never He ______________________is _______________________ up past midnight.

10. usually Does __________________Ann ________________________study at night?

11. always Does _________________Bob ________________________study at night?

12. always Is ____________________Bob ________________________at home at night?

Practice 11. Reading comprehension.

Part I. Read the passage. Then highlight in yellow eight verbs in the simple present tense and in
green one verb in the present progressive. Underline the three frequency adverbs.

Powerful Storms

Hurricanes and typhoons are powerful storms. They form over warm oceans. They have strong
winds (at least 74 miles or 119 kilometers per hour), a huge amount of rain, low air pressure,
and thunder and lightning. Scientists call the storms east of the International Date Line and
north of the equator – for example, in Mexico and the United States - hurricanes. Storms west of
the International Date Line and south of the equator - for example, in Indonesia and India - are
typhoons.

Usually, about 100 of these tropical storms occur in the world each year. These storms travel
from the ocean to the coast and on to land. On land, the wind, rain, and enormous waves often
cause terrible destruction. People never like to hear the news that a hurricane or typhoon is
coming.

Part II. Answer the questions according to the information in the passage. Circle "T" if the
statement is true and "F" if the statement is false.

1. Hurricanes and typhoons have winds of more than 74 miles per hour. T F

2. These storms don't have rain. T F

3. There is often snow with hurricanes. T F

4. Hurricanes are bigger than typhoons. T F

5. In India and Indonesia, these big storms are typhoons. T F

6. Hurricanes and typhoons begin over land. T F

7. Hurricanes and typhoons rarely cause destruction. T F

8. People don't like to hear that a hurricane is coming. T F

Practice 12. Spelling of final -s/es. Complete the second sentence with the correct form of the
verb in bold.

1. I eat potatoes. Mary ______________________ rice.

2. I get up early. Carl ________________________up late.
3. I teach English. Henri ______________________French.
4. I work indoors. Mei _______________________outdoors.
5. I do housework. My daughter __________________ homework.
6. We study math. Paulo ________________________chemistry.
7. We pay bills by check. Yoko __________________bills online.
8. We have a house. Maria ____________________an apartment.
9. We buy magazines. Ali ______________________newspapers.
10. We go to the supermarket. Hannah __________________ to a small grocery store.
Practice 13. Simple present: final -s/-es. Read Sam's paragraph about his typical day. Then,
rewrite the paragraph using he is place of I. You will need to change the verb forms.

Sam's Day

I leave my apartment at 8:00 every morning. I walk to the bus stop and catch the 8:10 bus. It
takes me downtown. Then I transfer to another bus, and it takes me to my part-time job. I arrive
at work at 8:50. I stay until 1:00, and then I leave for school. I attend classes until 5:00. I usually
study in the library and try to finish my homework. Then I go home around 8:00. I have a long
day.

Sam leaves his apartment at 8:00 every morning. He ______________ to the bus stop and
____________the 8:10 bus. It takes him downtown. Then ____________________to another
bus, and it takes him to his part-time job. _______________________at work at 8:50.
__________________________until 1:00, and then _______________ for school. __________
____________ classes until 5:00. ___________________ usually ____________________in the
library and ___________________to finish his homework. Then ____________________home
around 8:00. ___________________a long day.

Practice 14. Simple present and present progressive. Complete the sentences with the simple
present or present progressive form of the verb.

Rosa is sitting on the train right now. She (take, not, usually) _____________________the
train, but today her son (need) ________________her car. She (enjoy) _________________the
ride today. There (be) ______________so many people to watch. Some people (eat)
______________breakfast. Others (drink) ______________coffee and (read)
_________________the newspaper. One woman (work) _______________ on her laptop
computer. Another (feed) _______________ her baby. Two teenagers (play)
__________________________computer games. Rosa (know) ___________________that
teenagers (love) _____________________computer games. She (have) ________________two
teenage daughters, and they (play) ______________computer games all the time. Rosa (smile)
________________and (relax) _______________now. The train ride (take, usually)
_________________________longer than driving, but today it (be) ______ a more enjoyable
way for her to travel.

Practice 15. Present verbs: questions and short answers. Complete the questions with Do,
Does, Is, or Are. Then complete both the affirmative and negative short answers.

1. A: Are you leaving now?

B: Yes, I am . OR No, I'm not.

2. A: ____________ your neighbors know that you are a police officer?

B: Yes, ___________. OR No, ________________

3. A: ____________you follow the same routine every morning?

B: Yes, ______________. OR No, __________________

4. A: _________________Dr. Jarvis know the name of her new assistant yet?

B: Yes, ________________. OR No, ___________________

5. A: _____________Paul and Beth studying the problem?

B: Yes, ______________. OR No, _______________.

6. A: _______________they understand the problem?

B: Yes, ______________. OR No, __________________

7. A: ________________Mike reading the paper and watching television at the same time?

B: Yes, ______________. OR No, ___________________

8. A: __________________you listening to me?

B: Yes, ________________. OR No, __________________

9. A: ________________that building safe?

B: Yes, ______________. OR No, __________________

10. A: _________________you and your co-workers get together outside of work?

B: Yes, ___________. OR No, ___________________