The Present Progressive Tense

Exercise 1. Make the following sentences negative and interrogative.

1. The secretary is typing a letter. 2. The sun is shining brightly. 3. The cat is running along the wall. 4. My mother is cooking a meal. 5. My father is reading a book. 6. They are having a German lesson now. 7. She is constantly forgetting phone numbers. 8. The doctor is feeling her pulse. 9. She is running home. 10. You are walking too quickly. 11. Margie is typing very fast. 12. You are making a lot of noise. 13. The lecturer is explaining some new material now. 14. The wind is blowing outside. 15. The children are singing a new song. 15. My brother is listening to some new record.

Exercise 2. Complete the following sentences according to the pattern.

Pattern: He usually has breakfast at seven, but today he is having breakfast at eight.

1. She usually drinks coffee in the morning, but today she … tea. 2. They usually play tennis on Sundays, but today they … football. 3. I usually read books in the evening, but tonight I … newspaper. 4. Usually you skate alone. – But today I … with my friends. 5. She usually washes the dishes at night, but tonight she … dishes, she … a book. 6. Brian usually has breakfast very early, but today he … late. 7. They usually have lunch in the canteen, but today they … in the cafe. 8. I usually watch TV after dinner, but today I … TV, I … a newspaper. 9. Faith usually drinks tea with sugar, but today she … tea without sugar. She’s on a diet. 10. I usually do my morning exercises every day, but today I … my morning exercises. I’m not well. 11. Usually you type your essays. – Yes, but today I … it. Something’s wrong with my computer. 12. Martin usually drives to college, but today he … .

Exercise 3. Ask questions to the sentences beginning with the words in brackets.

1. They are writing a composition now. (What? Who?) 2. He is translating an English article. (Who? What? What kind of?) 3. The dog is running after a cat. (What? What … after?) 4. He is having dinner in the canteen now. (Who? Where?) 5. She is looking for her glasses. (Who? Where? What … for? Why?) 6. I’m learning this poem by heart. (Who? What? How?) 7. They are building a new school in our street. (What? Where?) 8. She is opening a letter from her mother. (What? What kind of?) 9. She is constantly nagging her husband. (Why? When?) 10. Tony is painting a new picture. (Who? What? What?) 11. You are talking too fast. (How? Why?) 12. My parents are redecorating our dining room now, because they never liked its style. (Who? What? What? Why?)]

Exercise 4. Ask all types of questions to the sentences.

1. Albert is doing quite nicely in his business. 2. All the town is talking about this story. 3. We are discussing what can be done about this situation. 4. He is working on some kind of invention. 5. You are eating too much. 6. I am having dinner now. 7. Aunt Betty is talking to the butcher in the kitchen. 8. He is being somewhat strange today. 9. Liz is trying to fix her washing machine. 10. My parents are talking about Fred’s new car. 11. I am dreaming about summer. 12. Archie is always talking about his baby son. 13. We are trying to talk Ron out of it.

Exercise 5. Use the Present Progressive Tense instead of the infinitives in brackets.

1. Look! It (rain). 2. Why you (not wear) your coat today? It’s so cold. 3. Excuse me, I (look for) the post-office. Is there one near here? 4. You (make) a lot of noise. 5. They (quarrel) again! 6. He is on holiday. He (not work) today. 7. You (read) any books now? 8. They (have) an English lesson. The teacher (write) new words on the blackboard and (explain) their meanings. The students (sit) at the tables and (make) notes. Through the window we see the school yard. The school children (run about) there. They (have) an interval between their lessons. 9. What you (talk) about? 10. Jim (have) his driving test now. 11. What you (do) at the moment? Can you help me with my project? – Oh, I’m busy just now. I (fix) my mixer. But if you can wait … - Yes, I can. We (write) several projects this semester. I don’t know what to do about this one. 12. What you (play)? Is it something that I know? – It’s mine. – You (play) wonderfully. 13. What Tom (do)? Why he (not practise)? – He (have) some rest. 14. I constantly (forget) things. 15. What you (wait for)? Why you (sit) here? 16. What Barry (try) to get at? 17. Stop making that noise! – And what you (do)? – I (try) to get some sleep!

Exercise 6. Use the Present Simple or the Present Progressive Tense instead of the infinitives in brackets.

1. I (think) you (behave) rather foolishly, honey. 2. I (think) about your behaviour. What you (think) you (do)? 3. Your German (get) better?. 4. I (see) that you (have) some problems with this computer. Can I be of any help? 5. He (understand) the rule, but he still (make) mistakes too often. 6. You (believe) his story? Oh, I never (believe) him. He always (tell) lies. 7. How many parts this text (consist of)? 8. Listen! You (hear) that noise? – That’s our neighbours. They (shout) again. They never (tire) of it. – They always (shout) like this? 9. Now I (see) everything clearly. You (try) to swindle. That won’t do! 10. Who this house (belong) to? 11. Hello there! Where you (think) you (go)? – I (want) to go to the disco. – No. You (do) your lessons now. And I (mean) it. 12. Where’s Mom? – She’s in the kitchen. She (cook) dinner. – I (think) I’ll go and give her a hand. – Don’t! She (be) sulky today. She (not want) too see anyone. 13. Why he (look) so gloomy? – Oh, he (have) a toothache. 14. What you (look) at? – I (look) at the girl over there. You (not) think her dress is wonderful? 15. What you (think) about? – I (think) that I won’t really enjoy the party tonight. – You (say) that I must go alone? You (go) with me, and that’s that. 16. What we (wait) for? – We (wait) for mother. She (choose) presents. She (think) that one of those dresses will do for Jessie, so now she (look over) them. 17. Gerry always (find fault with) me.

Exercise 7. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Кто сейчас сдает экзамен? – Моя подруга. 2. Почему Вы не смотрите телевизор? – Я готовлюсь к занятиям. 3. У тебя все еще дрожат руки. 4. Вечно она со всеми ссорится! 5. Что делает твой племянник? – Он работает в саду. 6. Почему она плачет? – Я не знаю. Я стараюсь успокоить ее. 7. Откуда вы идете? – Из магазина. 8. У них сейчас урок английского языка. 9. Мы сидим у окна, ярко светит солнце, мимо нашего окна спешат люди… 10. Он ведет себя ужасно. 11. Студенты слушают объяснения преподавателя. 12. Куда вы спешите? 13. Что ты ищешь? – Я ищу свои часы. 14. Почему ты всегда ворчишь? 15. Что ты о нем думаешь? – Я думаю, что он хороший собеседник. 16. О чем ты думаешь? – Я думаю о каникулах. 17. Сколько глав в этой книге? – Десять. Сейчас я читаю седьмую. Вы хотите взять ее? – Да, если можно. 18. Я надеюсь, что он не опоздает. 19. Я знаю, что ты не любишь ходить по магазинам.