Present continuous (I am doing)

A.    Study this example situation:

Ann is in her car. She is on her way to work.

She is driving to work.

This means: she is driving now, at the time of speaking. The action is not finished.

Am/is/are ~ing is the present continuous:

I am(= I'm) driving

he/she/it is(he's etc.) working

we/you/they are(we're etc.) doing etc.

 

B.    I am doing something = I'm in the middle of doing something; I've started doing it and I haven't finished yet.

Often the action is happening at the time of speaking:

* Please don't make so much noise. I'm working. (not 'I work')

* 'Where's Margaret?' 'She's having a bath.' (not 'she has a bath')

* Let's go out now. It isn't raining any more. (not 'it doesn't rain')

* (at a party) Hello, Jane. Are you enjoying the party? (not 'do you enjoy')

* I'm tired. I'm going to bed now. Goodnight!

But the action is not necessarily happening at the time of speaking. For example:

Tom and Ann are talking in a cafe. Tom says:

TOM: I'm reading an interesting book at the moment. IT lend it to you when I've finished it.

Tom is not reading the book at the time of speaking. He means that he has started it but not finished it yet. He is in the middle of reading it.

Some more examples:

* Catherine wants to work in Italy, so she is learning Italian. (but perhaps she isn't learning Italian exactly at the time of speaking)

* Some friends of mine are building their own house. They hope it will be finished before next summer.

 

C.    We use the present continuous when we talk about things happening in a period around now (for example, today/this week/this evening etc.):

* 'You're working hard today.'  'Yes, I have a lot to do.' (not 'you work hard today')

* 'Is Susan working this week?'  'No, she's on holiday.'

We use the present continuous when we talk about changes happening around now:

* The population of the world is rising very fast. (not 'rises')

* Is your English getting better? (not 'does your English get better')

 

EXERCISES

1.1.  Complete the sentences with one of the following verbs in the correct form:

  come  get  happen  look  make  start  stay  try  work

  1. 'You're working hard today.' 'Yes, I have a lot to do.'

  2. I --- for Christine. Do you know where she is? Am looking

  3. It --- dark. Shall I turn on the light? is getting

4. They haven't got anywhere to I've at the moment. They --- with friends until they find somewhere.

 Are staying

  5. 'Are you ready, Ann?' 'Yes, I ---.' am coming

  6. Have you got an umbrella? It --- to rain. Is starting

  7. You --- a lot of noise. Could you be quieter? I --- to concentrate. Are making, am trying

8. Why are all these people here? What ---? Is happening

 

1.2.  Use the words in brackets to complete the questions.

  1. 'Is Colin working this week?' 'No, he's on holiday.' (Colin/work)

  2. Why --- at me like that? What's the matter? (you/look) are you looking

  3. 'Jenny is a student at university.' 'Is she? What --- ?' (she/study) is she studying

  4. --- to the radio or can I turn it off? (anybody/listen) Is anybody listening

5. How is your English? --- better? (it/get) Is it getting

 

1.3.  Put the verb into the correct form. Sometimes you need the negative (I'm not doing etc.).

  1. I'm tired. I'm going (go) to bed now. Goodnight!

  2. We can go out now. it isn't raining (rain) any more.

  3. 'How is your new job?' 'Not so good at the moment. I --- (enjoy) it very much.' 'm not enjoying

  4. Catherine phoned me last night. She's on holiday in France. She --- (have) a great time and doesn't want  to come back. 's having

  5. I want to lose weight, so this week I --- (eat) lunch. 'm not eating

  6. Angela has just started evening classes. She --- (learn) German. 's learning

7. I think Paul and Ann have had an argument. They --- (speak) to each other. Aren't speaking

 

1.4.  Read this conversation between Brian and Sarah. Put the verbs into the correct form.

  SARAH: Brian! How nice to see you! What (1) --- (you/do) these days?

  BRIAN: I (2) --- (train) to be a supermarket manager.

  SARAH: Really? What's it like? (3) --- (you/enjoy) it?

  BRIAN: It's all right. What about you?

  SARAH: Well, actually I (4) --- (not/work) at the moment.

  I (5) --- (try) to find a job but it's not easy.

  But I'm very busy. I (6) --- (decorate) my flat.

  BRIAN: (7) --- (you/do) it alone?

SARAH: No, some friends of mine (8) --- (help) me.

 

1.5.  Complete the sentences using one of these verbs:  get  change  rise  fall  increase

  You don't have to use all the verbs and you can use a verb more than once.

  1. The population of the world is rising very fast.

  2. Ken is still ill but he --- better slowly.

  3. The world ---. Things never stay the same.

  4. The cost of living ---. Every year things are more expensive.

  5. The economic situation is already very bad and it --- worse.

The form of the possessive/genitive case

's is used with singular nouns and plural nouns not ending in s:
    a man's job                      the people's choice
    men's work                      the crew's quarters
    a woman's intuition           the horse's mouth
    the butcher's (shop)          the bull's horns
    a child's voice                  women's clothes
    the children's room           Russia's exports 

A simple apostrophe (') is used with plural nouns ending in s:
    a girls' school                   the students' hostel
    the eagles' nest                 the Smiths' car 

Classical names ending in s usually add only the apostrophe:
    Pythagoras' Theorem      Archimedes' Law  Sophocles' plays 

Other names ending in s can take 's or the apostrophe alone;
    Mr Jones's (w Mr Jones' house)      Yeats's (or Yeats') poems 

With compounds, the last word takes the's:
        my brother-in-law's guitar 

Names consisting of several words are treated similarly:
    Henry the Eighth's wives     the Prince of Wales's helicopter 

's can also be used after initials:
        the PM's secretary         the MP's briefcase the VIP's escort 

Note that when the possessive case is used, the article before the person or thing
'possessed' disappears:
        the daughter of the politician = the politician's daughter
        the intervention of America = America's intervention
        the plays of Shakespeare = Shakespeare's plays

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Ali Baba was such a poor man that he had only one shoe for his two feet. Even the mice in his house were hungry.

One day, his wife said, "We have no food in the house. No rice. No potatoes. Go and collect leaves in the forest so that I can make a soup."

Ali was a lazy man. He looked for leaves for about ten minutes and then he climbed a tree to sleep. He was afraid of wolves. When he woke up, he was surprised to see forty thieves on forty horses. They stopped in front of a big rock.

"Open Sesame!" shouted the leader. A door on the rock opened. The thieves carried sacks full of gold into the cave. When they had finished, the leader shouted.

"Close Sesame!" and the door closed. As soon as the thieves had disappeared Ali Baba jumped downfrom the tree, said, "Open Sesame" and
went into the cave.

There were shelves all around the walls. The shelves were full of sacks. And the sacks were full of gold. Ali took a sack home with him.

Unfortunately, one of the thieves saw Ali's footprints on the sand. He followed them to Ali's home. He took out his knife and made a cross on the door.

"Now I shall know which house it is," he said.

He rode off to get the other thieves. But Ali had seen the thief.

He and his wife took brooms and swept away the footprints. Then he made crosses on every door at the street. When the forty thieves arrived they had their knives between their teeth. But they couldn't fi  nd either Ali – or the gold. And Ali and his wife lived happily ever after.

What Is Thunder and Lightning?

Lightning is a sudden, violent flash of electricity between a cloud and the ground, or from cloud to cloud. A lightning fl  ash, or bolt, can be several miles long. It is so hot, with an average temperature of 34,000° Centigrade, that the air around it suddenly expands with a loud blast. This is the thunder
we hear.

Lightning occurs in hot, wet storms. Moist air is driven up to a great height. It forms a type of cloud called cumulonimbus. When the cloud rises high enough, the moisture freezes and ice crystals and snowfl  akes are formed. These begin to fall, turning to rain on the way down. This rain meets more moist air rising, and it is the friction between them which produces static electricity. When a cloud is fully charged with this electricity, it discharges it as a lightning flash.

Interjections

Hi! That's an interjection. :-)

Interjection is a big name for a little word. Interjections are short exclamations like Oh!, Um or Ah! They have no real grammatical value but we use them quite often, usually more in speaking than in writing. When interjections are inserted into a sentence, they have no grammatical connection to the sentence. An interjection is sometimes followed by an exclamation mark (!) when written.

Interjections like er and um are also known as "hesitation devices". They are extremely common in English. People use them when they don't know what to say, or to indicate that they are thinking about what to say. You should learn to recognize them when you hear them and realize that they have no real meaning.

The table below shows some interjections with examples.

interjection	meaning	example
ah	expressing pleasure	"Ah, that feels good."
	expressing realization	"Ah, now I understand."
	expressing resignation	"Ah well, it can't be heped."
	expressing surprise	"Ah! I've won!"
alas	expressing grief or pity	"Alas, she's dead now."
dear	expressing pity	"Oh dear! Does it hurt?"
	expressing surprise	"Dear me! That's a surprise!"
eh	asking for repetition	"It's hot today." "Eh?" "I said it's hot today."
	expressing enquiry	"What do you think of that, eh?"
	expressing surprise	"Eh! Really?"
	inviting agreement	"Let's go, eh?"
er	expressing hesitation	"Lima is the capital of...er...Peru."
hello, hullo	expressing greeting	"Hello John. How are you today?"
	expressing surprise	"Hello! My car's gone!"
hey	calling attention	"Hey! look at that!"
	expressing surprise, joy etc	"Hey! What a good idea!"
hi	expressing greeting	"Hi! What's new?"
hmm	expressing hesitation, doubt or disagreement	"Hmm. I'm not so sure."
oh, o	expressing surprise	"Oh! You're here!"
	expressing pain	"Oh! I've got a toothache."
	expressing pleading	"Oh, please say 'yes'!"
ouch	expressing pain	"Ouch! That hurts!"
uh	expressing hesitation	"Uh...I don't know the answer to that."
uh-huh	expressing agreement	"Shall we go?" "Uh-huh."
um, umm	expressing hesitation	"85 divided by 5 is...um...17."
well	expressing surprise	"Well I never!"
	introducing a remark	"Well, what did he say?"

Past Continuous

FORM

[was/were + present participle]

Examples:

• You were studying when she called.
• Were you studying when she called?
• You were not studying when she called.

Complete List of Past Continuous Forms

USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Past

Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.

Examples:

• I was watching TV when she called.
• When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
• While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
• What were you doing when the earthquake started?
• I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
• You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
• While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
• Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
• While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
• A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?
  B: I was snowboarding.

USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption

In USE 1, described above, the Past Continuous is interrupted by a shorter action in the Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.

Examples:

• Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
• At midnight, we were still driving through the desert.
• Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.

IMPORTANT

In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action.

Examples:

• Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.
  I started eating at 6 PM.
• Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
  I started earlier; and at 6 PM, I was in the process of eating dinner.

USE 3 Parallel Actions

When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

Examples:

• I was studying while he was making dinner.
• While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.
• Were you listening while he was talking?
• I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
• What were you doing while you were waiting?
• Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.
• They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.

USE 4 Atmosphere

In English, we often use a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a particular time in the past.

Example:

• When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his hands. Others were complaining to each other about the bad service.

USE 5 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"

The Past Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. The concept is very similar to the expression "used to" but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."

Examples:

• She was always coming to class late.
• He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.
• I didn't like them because they were always complaining.

While vs. When

Clauses are groups of words which have meaning, but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when she called" or "when it bit me." Other clauses begin with "while" such as "while she was sleeping" and "while he was surfing." When you talk about things in the past, "when" is most often followed by the verb tense Simple Past, whereas "while" is usually followed by Past Continuous. "While" expresses the idea of "during that time." Study the examples below. They have similar meanings, but they emphasize different parts of the sentence.

Examples:

• I was studying when she called.
• While I was studying, she called.

REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs

It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using Past Continuous with these verbs, you must use Simple Past.

Examples:

• Jane was being at my house when you arrived. Not Correct
• Jane was at my house when you arrived. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

• You were just studying when she called.
• Were you just studying when she called?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

• The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store. Active
• The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store. Passive

Present Conditionals

Present Real Conditional

FORM

[If / When ... Simple Present ..., ... Simple Present ...]

[... Simple Present ... if / when ... Simple Present ...]

USE

The Present Real Conditional is used to talk about what you normally do in real-life situations.

Examples:

• If I go to a friend's house for dinner, I usually take a bottle of wine or some flowers.
• When I have a day off from work, I often go to the beach.
• If the weather is nice, she walks to work.
• Jerry helps me with my homework when he has time.
• I read if there is nothing on TV.
• A: What do you do when it rains?
  B: I stay at home.
• A: Where do you stay if you go to Sydney?
  B: I stay with my friends near the harbor.
  

IMPORTANT If / When

Both "if" and "when" are used in the Present Real Conditional. Using "if" suggests that something happens less frequently. Using "when" suggests that something happens regularly.

Examples:

• When I have a day off from work, I usually go to the beach.
  I regularly have days off from work.
• If I have a day off from work, I usually go to the beach.
  I rarely have days off from work.

Present Unreal Conditional

FORM

[If ... Simple Past ..., ... would + verb ...]

[... would + verb ... if ... Simple Past ...]

USE

The Present Unreal Conditional is used to talk about what you would generally do in imaginary situations.

Examples:

• If I owned a car, I would drive to work. But I don't own a car.
• She would travel around the world if she had more money. But she doesn't have much money.
• I would read more if I didn't watch so much TV.
• Mary would move to Japan if she spoke Japanese.
• If they worked harder, they would earn more money.
• A: What would you do if you won the lottery?
  B: I would buy a house.
• A: Where would you live if you moved to the U.S.?
  B: I would live in Seattle.
  

EXCEPTION If I were ...

In the Present Unreal Conditional, the form "was" is not considered grammatically correct. In written English or in testing situations, you should always use "were." However, in everyday conversation, "was" is often used.

Examples:

• If he were French, he would live in Paris.
• If she were rich, she would buy a yacht.
• I would play basketball if I were taller.
• I would buy that computer if it were cheaper.
• I would buy that computer if it was cheaper. Not Correct (But often said in conversation.)

IMPORTANT Only use "If"

Only the word "if" is used with the Present Unreal Conditional because you are discussing imaginary situations. "When" cannot be used.

Examples:

• I would buy that computer when it were cheaper. Not Correct
• I would buy that computer if it were cheaper. Correct

EXCEPTION Conditional with Modal Verbs

There are some special conditional forms for modal verbs in English:

would + can = could

would + shall = should

would + may = might

The words "can," "shall" and "may" cannot be used with "would." Instead, they must be used in these special forms.

Examples:

• If I went to Egypt, I would can learn Arabic. Not Correct
• If I went to Egypt, I could learn Arabic. Correct

• If she had time, she would may go to the party. Not Correct
• If she had time, she might go to the party. Correct

The words "could," should," "might" and "ought to" include conditional, so you cannot combine them with "would."

Examples:

• If I had more time, I would could exercise after work. Not Correct
• If I had more time, I could exercise after work. Correct

• If he invited you, you really would should go. Not Correct
• If he invited you, you really should go. Correct