I.

Complete the sentences by using either the present simple or the present progressive of the verbs
in the box.
bite, bleed, flow, rain, leave, grow, belong, take, seem, shine, wake
1. The River Nile _______ into the Mediterranean.
2. This book is mine. That one _______ to Pierre.
3. Look at Joan. She _______ her fingernails. She must be nervous.
4. We usually _______ vegetables in our garden.
5. Let’s go out. It (not) _______ now.
6. Every morning, the sun _______ in my bedroom window and _______ me up.
7. Jim is very untidy. He (always) _______ his things all over the place.
8. Ann _______ very happy at the moment.
9. He’s a photographer. He _______ a lot of photos.
10. Oh! What’s the matter with your hand? It _______.
II. Put the verb in the correct form, present simple or present progressive.
1. A: What _______________________ (you/ do)?
B: I ________________ (write) to my parents. I ____________ (write) to them every weekend.
2. A: Look, it ______________ (snow).
B: It’s beautiful! This is the first time I’ve ever seen snow. It ___________ (not snow) in my
country.
3. A: Oh, that’s Adrian. He’s new here.
B: Really? Where _______ (he/ live)? _______ (you/ know)?
A: Yes. He _______ (live) in Milan, but now he _______ (stay) with his aunt on Shirley Road.
4. A: What time _______ (you/ usually/ finish) work?
B: Normally I _______ (finish) work at five o’clock, but this week I _______ (work) until six to earn
a bit more money.
5. A: How _______ (you/ travel) to work?
B: I haven’t got a car at the moment, so I _______ (go) to work on the bus this week. Usually I
_______ (drive) to work.
6. A: I think we’re going the wrong way.
B: I don’t think so. The sun _______ (rise) in the east, remember. It’s behind us, so we _______
(travel) west.
7. A: _______ (you/ look) for someone?
B: Yes, I _______ (need) to speak to Neil. Is he in?
A: Yes, but I _______ (think) he’s busy. He _______ (talk) to the boss at the moment.
8. A: I _______ (want) a new computer. I _______ (save) up to buy one.
B: But computers _______ (cost) so much money. What’s wrong with the one we’ve got?
A: It _______ (get) out of date now.
 9. A: Your new dress _______ (look) very nice.
B: Thank you. The trouble is it _______ (not/ fit) properly. I _______ (not/ know) why I bought
them, really.
10. A: What _______ (you/ do)?
B: I _______ (taste) the sauce. It _______ (taste) too salty.
11. A: I _______ (think) this road is really dangerous. Look how fast that lorry _______ (go).
B: I _______ (agree). People shouldn’t go so fast.
12. A: My two children don’t get along. It seems they _______ (always/ fight) about something.
B: Don’t worry. It will be better when they____________ (grow) up.
13. A: Could you post the goods to me, please?
B: Yes, certainly.
A: I ___________ (live) at a guest house at the moment as I ______ (look) for a flat. So could you
send it to my work address?
B: Yes, of course. And you’ll have the goods by the end of the week, I __________ (promise).
14. A: I ______ (always/ fall) asleep. I just can’t keep awake.
B: What time ______ (you/ go) to bed?
15. A: Why ______ (you/ want) to change the whole plan?
B: I’m just not happy with it.
A: And I ______ (not/ understand) why you ______ (be) so difficult about it.
III. Put the verbs into the suitable form, the present perfect or the present perfect progressive.
1. A: How long ______ (you/ study) English?
B: I ______ (learn) English since I was twelve.
2. A: Are you waiting for someone?
B: Yes, I ______ (wait) for two hours, but my friend ______ (not/ come) yet.
3. A: I ______ (lose) my address book. ______ (you/ see) it anywhere?
B: Yes. I ______ (just/ see) it on the bookshelf.
4. A: You look tired. ______ (you/ work) so hard?
B: Yes. I ______ (study) for four hours and probably won’t finish until midnight.
5. A: ______ (you/ see) Mark recently?
B: No, I ______ (not/ see) him since Christmas. I wonder where he ______.
6. A: I feel really tired.
B: It’s because you ____________ (do) too much.
A: Well, at least I ______________ (finish) that report now, and I can relax.
7. A: Someone ______ (leave) the ladder outside, look.
B: I expect that’s Mike. He ______ (clean) the windows. I don’t think he ______ (finish) yet.
8. A: You’ve got mud on your shoes.
B: It’s all right, I’ll take them off. I ______ (work) in the garden.
 A: Yes, it looks a lot tidier. Well done. You ______ (do) a good job.
9. A: I ______ (hear) that you and Harriet are building a garage. How long ______ (you/do) that?
B: Oh, for about a month now. We ______ (do) about half of it.
10. A: You’re still reading that book, aren’t you? How long ______ (you/read) it?
B: I ______ (read) it for three days, but I ______ (not/finish) it yet.
11. A: How long ______ (you/know) Jane?
B: We ______ (know) each other for over ten years.
12. A: ______ (John/always/live) in London?
B: No, he ______ (live) in London for the last few years.
IV. Supply the correct verb form: Present tenses.
1. Listen! I ______ (think) someone ______ (knock) at the door.
2. We ______ (not/know) why Sarah is upset, but she ______ (not/speak) to us for ages.
3. The earth ______ (circle) the sun once every 365 days.
4. Why ______ (you/stare) at me? I suppose you ______ (not/see) a woman on a motorbike before!
5. How many times ______ (you/see) him since he went to Edinburgh?
6. Trevor and Laura like Scrabble. They ______ (play) it most evenings.
7. The number of vehicles on the road ______ (increase).
8. ‘Sorry I’m late.’ ‘That’s all right. I ______ (not/wait) long.’
9. Mrs Green always ______ (go) to work by car, but this week she ______ (travel) by bus.
10. We ______ (be) from French. We ______ (be) there for 20 years.
11. These flowers are dying. You ______ (not/water) them for ages.
12. Mai ______ (lose) her keys, so she can’t get into the house.
13. I’m afraid I ______ (not/finish) typing those letters yet. I ______ (deal) with customers all morning.
14. A: What ______ (your father/do)?
B: He ______ (be) an architect but he ______ (not/work) at the moment.
15. A: ______ (you/ever/see) a lion?
B: Yes, I ______ (see) it since I was a child.
V. Put the verbs into the correct form, past progressive or past simple.
1. When Martin ______ (arrive) home, Ann ______ (talk) to someone on the phone.
2. It ______ (be) cold when we ______ (leave) the house that day, and a light snow ______ (fall).
3. I ______ (call) Roger at nine last night, but he (not/ be) at home. He ______ (study) at the library.
4. I ______ (see) Sue in town yesterday but she ______ (not/ see) me. She ______ (look) the other way.
5. When I ______ (open) the cupboard door, a pile of books ______ (fall) out.
6. A: How ______ (you/ break) your arm? B: I ______ (slip) on the ice while I ______ (cross) the
street in front of the dorm.
7. A: What ______ (you/ do) this time yesterday?
 B: We ______ (drive) to London, but on the way we ______ (hear) about a bomb scare in Oxford
Street. So we ______ (drive) back home straightaway.
8. I ______ (meet) Tom and Ann at the airport a few weeks ago. They ______ (go) to Berlin and I
______ (go) to Madrid. We ______ (have) a chat while we ______ (wait) for our flights.
9. I ______ (cycle) home yesterday when suddenly a man ______ (step) out into the road in front of
me. I ______ (go) quite fast but luckily I ______ (manage) to stop in time and ______ (not/ hit) him.
10. Flight 2001 ______ (fly) from London to New York when it suddenly ______ (encounter) turbulence
and ______ (drop) 15,000 feet. The plane ______ (carry) over 300 passengers and a crew of 17.
11. While divers ______ (work) off the coast of Florida, they ______ (discover) a 100-year-old
shipwreck. The shipwreck ______ (contain) gold bars worth $2 million. The divers ______ (film)
life on a coral reef when they ______ (find) the gold.
12. A man was fined $4,000 for stealing an ambulance. The ambulance driver ______ (make) a phone
call when the thief ______ (start up) the ambulance. He ______ (speed) away when the driver
______ (see) him and ______ (call) the police.
13. Police got a shock when they _______ (stop) a motorist as she _______ (speed) on the highway.
While they _______ (search) the trunk of her car, they _______ (find) three snakes. The driver said
she _______ (take) them to a pet fair.
14. Last night when we _______ (come) down the hill into town, we _______ (see) a strange object in
the sky. It just suddenly _______ (appear) in front of us. We _______ (stop) the car and _______
(get) out. As we _______ (watch) it, it suddenly _______ (fly) away and _______ (disappear).
15. It was my first day of class. I _______ (finally/find) the right room. The room _______ (already/ be)
full of students. On one side of the room, students _______ (talk) busily to each other in Spanish.
Other students _______ (speak) Japanese, and some _______ (converse) in Arabic. It sounded like
the United Nations. Some of the students, however, _______ (just/sit) quietly by themselves. I
_______ (choose) an empty seat in the last row and _______ (sit) down. In a few minutes, the
teacher _______ (walk) into the room and all the multilingual conversation _______ (stop).