Verb Tense Exercise 2

Verb Tense Exercise 2

Simple Present / Present Continuous

Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses

November 12, 1997

Today (be) the second day of my trek around Mount Annapurna. I am exhausted and my legs (shake) ; I just hope I am able to complete the trek. My feet (kill, really) me and my toes (bleed) , but I (want, still) to continue.

Nepal is a fascinating country, but I have a great deal to learn. Everything (be) so different, and I (try) to adapt to the new way of life here. I (learn) a little bit of the language to make communication easier; unfortunately, I (learn, not) foreign languages quickly. Although I (understand, not) much yet, I believe that I (improve, gradually) .

I (travel, currently) with Liam, a student from Leeds University in England. He (be) a nice guy, but impatient. He (walk, always) ahead of me and (complain) that I am too slow. I (do) my best to keep up with him, but he is younger and stronger than I am. Maybe, I am just feeling sorry for myself because I am getting old.

Right now, Liam (sit) with the owner of the inn. They (discuss) the differences between life in England and life in Nepal. I (know, not) the real name of the owner, but everybody (call, just) him Tam. Tam (speak) English very well and he (try) to teach Liam some words in Nepali. Every time Tam (say) a new word, Liam (try) to repeat it. Unfortunately, Liam (seem, also) to have difficulty learning foreign languages. I just hope we don't get lost and have to ask for directions.

Verb Tense Exercise 1

Verb Tense Exercise 1

Simple Present / Present Continuous

Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses

1. Every Monday, Sally (drive) her kids to football practice.

2. Usually, I (work) as a secretary at ABT, but this summer I (study) French at a language school in Paris. That is why I am in Paris.

3. Shhhhh! Be quiet! John (sleep) .

4. Don't forget to take your umbrella. It (rain) .

5. I hate living in Seattle because it (rain, always) .

6. I'm sorry I can't hear what you (say) because everybody (talk) so loudly.

7. Justin (write, currently) a book about his adventures in Tibet. I hope he can find a good publisher when he is finished.

8. Jim: Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?
Denise: Oh, I'm sorry, I can't. I (go) to a movie tonight with some friends.

9. The business cards (be, normally ) printed by a company in New York. Their prices (be) inexpensive, yet the quality of their work is quite good.

10. This delicious chocolate (be) made by a small chocolatier in Zurich, Switzerland.

Verb Tense Overview with Examples

Verb Tense Overview with Examples

Simple Present	Simple Past	Simple Future
I study English every day.	Two years ago, I studied English in England.	If you are having problems, I will help you study English. I am going to study English next year.
Present Continuous	Past Continuous	Future Continuous
I am studying English now.	I was studying English when you called yesterday.	I will be studying English when you arrive tonight. I am going to be studying English when you arrive tonight.
Present Perfect	Past Perfect	Future Perfect
I have studied English in several different countries.	I had studied a little English before I moved to the U.S.	I will have studied every tense by the time I finish this course. I am going to have studied every tense by the time I finish this course.
Present Perfect Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous	Future Perfect Continuous
I have been studying English for five years.	I had been studying English for five years before I moved to the U.S.	I will have been studying English for over two hours by the time you arrive. I am going to have been studying English for over two hours by the time you arrive.

Simple Present Tense

Simple Present

FORM

[VERB] + s/es in third person

Examples:

• You speak English.
• Do you speak English?
• You do not speak English.

Complete List of Simple Present Forms

USE 1 Repeated Actions

Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens. It can also be something a person often forgets or usually does not do.

Examples:

• I play tennis.
• She does not play tennis.
• Does he play tennis?
• The train leaves every morning at 8 AM.
• The train does not leave at 9 AM.
• When does the train usually leave?
• She always forgets her purse.
• He never forgets his wallet.
• Every twelve months, the Earth circles the Sun.
• Does the Sun circle the Earth?

USE 2 Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future. It is not important if the speaker is correct about the fact. It is also used to make generalizations about people or things.

Examples:

• Cats like milk.
• Birds do not like milk.
• Do pigs like milk?
• California is in America.
• California is not in the United Kingdom.
• Windows are made of glass.
• Windows are not made of wood.
• New York is a small city. It is not important that this fact is untrue.

USE 3 Scheduled Events in the Near Future

Speakers occasionally use Simple Present to talk about scheduled events in the near future. This is most commonly done when talking about public transportation, but it can be used with other scheduled events as well.

Examples:

• The train leaves tonight at 6 PM.
• The bus does not arrive at 11 AM, it arrives at 11 PM.
• When do we board the plane?
• The party starts at 8 o'clock.
• When does class begin tomorrow?

USE 4 Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)

Speakers sometimes use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is happening or is not happening now. This can only be done with Non-Continuous Verbs and certain Mixed Verbs.

Examples:

• I am here now.
• She is not here now.
• He needs help right now.
• He does not need help now.
• He has his passport in his hand.
• Do you have your passport with you?

ADVERB PLACEMENT

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

Examples:

• You only speak English.
• Do you only speak English?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

• Once a week, Tom cleans the car. Active
• Once a week, the car is cleaned by Tom. Passive

Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable

Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning.

Countable		Uncountable
There are two hairs in my coffee!	hair	I don't have much hair.
There are two lights in our bedroom.	light	Close the curtain. There's too much light!
Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise. There are so many different noises in the city.	noise	It's difficult to work when there is too much noise.
Have you got a paper to read? (newspaper) Hand me those student papers.	paper	I want to draw a picture. Have you got some paper?
Our house has seven rooms.	room	Is there room for me to sit here?
We had a great time at the party. How many times have I told you no?	time	Have you got time for a coffee?
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest works.	work	I have no money. I need work!

Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:

• music, art, love, happiness
• advice, information, news
• furniture, luggage
• rice, sugar, butter, water
• electricity, gas, power
• money, currency

We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:

• This news is very important.
• Your luggage looks heavy.

We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:

• a piece of news
• a bottle of water
• a grain of rice

We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:

• I've got some money.
• Have you got any rice?

We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:

• I've got a little money.
• I haven't got much rice.

Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".

Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns:

Countable	Uncountable
dollar	money
song	music
suitcase	luggage
table	furniture
battery	electricity
bottle	wine
report	information
tip	advice
journey	travel
job	work
view	scenery

Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:

• dog, cat, animal, man, person
• bottle, box, litre
• coin, note, dollar
• cup, plate, fork
• table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:

• My dog is playing.
• My dogs are hungry.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:

• A dog is an animal.

When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:

• I want an orange. (not I want orange.)
• Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:

• I like oranges.
• Bottles can break.

We can use some and any with countable nouns:

• I've got some dollars.
• Have you got any pens?

We can use a few and many with countable nouns:

• I've got a few dollars.
• I haven't got many pens.