Unit
1 Present continuous (I am doing)
St u d y this e x a m ple situation:
Sarah is in her car. She is on her w a y to work.
She is d rivin g t o work.
This means: she is driving now, at th e ti m e of speaking.
The action is not finished.
A m / is / are + -ing is th e prese n t continuous:
I am (= I'm) d rivin g
he / she / it is (= he's etc.) workin g
we / yo u / th ey are (= w e'r e etc.) d oi n g etc.
I a m d oi n g so m e thin g = I'm in t h e mid dle of doing it; I've starte d doing it and I h ave n't finished:
U Please d o n't make so much noise. I'm t r y i n g to work. (n ot I try)
‘Wh e re's M a r k?' ‘H e's h a vin g a shower.' (n ot He has a sh ower)
Let's go o ut now. It is n't ra in in g a ny more. (n ot It d oesn't rain)
(a t a p a r t y) Hi, Ja n e. A r e you e n j o yin g th e p ar ty? (not Do yo u e njoy)
W h a t's all t h a t n oise? W h a t's g oin g o n? (= W h a t's ha p p e nin g?)
So m e ti m es the actio n is not hap pening at t h e ti m e of speaking. For e x a mple:
St ev e is talkin g to a friend on th e phone. He says:
I'm reading a really good book at t he m o m ent.
It's a b out a man w h o ...
Steve is not reading th e book at th e ti m e of speaking.
He means t h a t he has starte d it, but has n ot finished it yet.
He is in t h e mid dle of reading it.
So m e more e x a mples:
Kate wa nts t o work in Italy, so she's l e a r n in g Italian, (b ut perhaps she isn't learning Italian
at th e ti m e o f speaking)
So m e friends of mine a r e b u ild in g t h eir own house. T h ey hope to finish it ne x t su m mer.
You can use th e present co ntinuo us wit h t o d a y / t h is w e e k / t h is y e a r etc. (periods around n ow):
a : Yo u're w o r k i n g h ard t o d a y . (n ot You work hard t o d ay)
b: Yes, I have a lot to do.
The co m p a ny I work for is n't d oin g so w e ll t h is y e a r.
W e use t h e p rese n t co n ti n u o u s w h e n w e t a l k a b o u t ch a n g es h a p p e n in g aro u n d n ow, e s p e cia lly
v.a with these verbs:
get ch a n g e b eco m e i n cre a se rise f a ll grow im prove b e gin start
Is yo u r English g e t ti n g b e t t e r? (n o t Does yo ur English get b etter)
The p o p ulatio n of t h e world is in cr e asi n g very fast. (n o t increases)
A t first I did n't like m y job, but I'm b e gin n in g t o e njoy it now. (not I begin)
Prese n t co n tin u o us and present si m ple - U n its 3 - 4 Prese n t te nses for t he f uture U n i t 19
Exercises
T h e s e n t e nc es on t h e rig ht f o ll o w t h os e on t h e le ft. W h ic h s e n t e nc e g o es w it h w h ic h?
1 Please d o n't make so much noise. a It's g etting late. 1 .£
2 I need to eat so m ethin g soon. b T h ey're lying. 2
3 I d o n't have a nyw h ere to live right now. c It's startin g t o rain. 3
4 W e need t o leave soon. d T h ey're tryin g to sell it. 4
5 T hey d o n't need th eir car a ny more. e I'm g ettin g hungry. 5
6 Things are not so good at work. f 4'm tryin g to work. 6
7 It isn't true w h a t t h ey said. g I'm looking for an a p art m e nt. 7
8 We'r e going to get wet. h The co m p a ny is losing money. 8
C o m p l e t e t h e co nve rsa ti o n s.
1 a : I saw Brian a f ew days a g o .
b: O h, d i d y o u? W H &t ’s He ciomg these d ays? (w h a t / h e / d o)
a : He's at university.
b: ? (w h a t / he / stu dy)
a : Psychology.
b: it? (he / e njoy)
a : Yes, he says it's a very good course.
2 a : Hi, Nicola. H o w ... (yo ur n ew jo b / go)
b: N o t bad. It w asn ’t so good at first, but b etter now.
(it / get)
a : W h a t a b o ut D a niel? Is he O K?
b : Yes, but . . . his work right now. (he / not / enjoy)
H e ’s been in th e same jo b for a long ti m e and t o get bored
wit h it. (h e / b e g i n)
Pu t t h e ver b in t o t h e c o rr e ct f or m , p ositive (I'm d oin g e tc.) or n e g a tiv e (I'm n o t d o i n g e tc.).
1 Please d o n't make so much noise. . I’rn tryin g (I / try) to work.
2 Let's go o ut now. I t u s n t ram'mq (it / rain) any more.
3 You can turn off th e radio. (I / listen) to it.
4 Kate phoned m e last night. She's on h oliday in France, (she / have)
a great ti m e and d oesn't w a n t t o co m e back.
5 ! w a n t t o lose weig ht, so this wee k (I / eat) lunch.
6 A n dre w has j ust starte d evenin g classes. (he / learn) Jap a nese.
7 Paul and Sally have had an argu ment, (t h e y / speak)
to each other.
8 (I / get) tired. I need a rest.
9 Tim (work) today. He's ta k en th e d ay off.
10 (I / look) for Sophie. Do you k now wh ere she is?
O C o m p l e t e t h e s e n t e nc es using t h e f o ll o w i n g verbs:
start get incre ase ch a n g e rise
1 The p op ulation of th e world & marexLsmq very fast.
2 The world ........ ........ Things never stay t h e same.
3 The situation is alrea dy bad and it ... worse.
4 The cost of Living . Every y e ar things are more ex pensive.
5 The w e ath er t o i m prove. T h e rain has sto p p e d, an d t h e win d isn't
as strong.
