Alternative questions.

Am	I	sitting this exam in June	or	in July?	- In June.
Are	you	working	or	daydreaming?	- I'm working.
Is	he/she	watching TV	or	listening to the radio?	- He's/She's watching TV.
I s	i t	closing	or	opening?	- I think, it's closing.
Are	we you they	leaving tonight	or	tomorrow?	- Tomorrow.
		keeping a dog	or	a cat?	- A cat.
		playing rugby	or	football?	- I don't know.

Exercise 6. Ask alternative questions with the following words. Give answers.

Example: he/study/have a rest? - Is he studying or having a rest? - He's having a rest.

1) she cook the dinner \make coffee?

2) he\ drive a car\ ride a motorbike?

3) you/eat out/have dinner at home tonight?

4) those children/play/fight?

5) he/get ready for his classes/do crosswords?

6) they/stay/leave?

Special questions

What	am	I	doing?	- I'm wasting my time!
Where	are	you	going?	- To the institute.
Why	is	he	shouting at you?	- I'm late, as usual.
When	are	we	meeting?	- At 7.00 p. m.
Which film	are	you	watching?	- "Rocky".
What kind of (dish)	is	she	cooking?	- A very tasty one.
How	are	you	getting on?	- Not bad, thanks.
How many (books)	is	she	reading at a time?	- Two or three.

Who is used to ask about the subject and the object. Compare:

Asking about the object

Asking about the subject

SUBJECT

OBJECT

SUBJECT

OBJECT

Ken

is talking

to my friend

My friend

is talking

to Ken.

Who

is Ken talking

to?

Who

is talking

to Ken.

Exercise 7. Ask questions about the information in italics.

1. We are laughing because the film is very funny.

2. Nancy is learning two foreign languages.

3. The secretary is typing some letters.

4. They are meeting at 8 o'clock in the evening.

5. Dolly is wearing a fur coat.

6. They are dancing in the disco.

7. John is watching TV in the living room.

8. I'm translating a very difficult text.

Exercise 8. Ask subject and object questions.

Example: They're waiting for the bus. - Who is waiting for the bus?

What are they waiting for?

1. They're laughing at Tom's jokes.

2. We're waiting for the lecturer.

3. She's talking about yesterday's party.

4. Bob's looking through his notes.

5. I'm looking for the keys.

6. Eric is shaking hands with Ken's brother.

Tag questions

I	am	listening to a new group,	aren't I?		- Yes, you are./ No, you aren't.
You	are	looking after the baby,	aren't you?		- Yes, I am. /No, I am not
He/ She	is	living in Paris just now	isn't he/she?		- Yes, he is./No, he isn't. - Yes, she is./ No, she isn't.
I t	is	working properly,	i sn't it?		- Yes, it is./No, it isn't.
We You They	are	lying in the sun now,	aren’t	we? they? you?	- Yes, we are./ No, we aren't.
					- Yes, you are./ No, you aren't.
					- Yes, they are./ No, they aren't.
I	am not	killing the time,	am I?		- No, you aren't./Yes, you are.
You	aren't	wearing my tie,	are you?		- No, I'm not./ Yes, I am.
He/ She	isn't	playing chess,	is he/she?		- No, he/she isn't. / Yes, he/she is.
It	isn't	burning,	is it?		- No, it isn't./ Yes, it is.
We You They	aren't	joking,	are	we? they? you?	- No, we/you/they aren't./ Yes, we/you/they are.

Exercise 9. Give the correct tag to these sentences.

1. Bill's wearing Levi's jeans, _?

2. They're enjoying the party, _?

3. It's getting dark, _?

4. I'm having an English class, _?

5. The children aren't watching TV, _?

6. The tape recorder isn't working, _?

7. I'm not studying hard, _?

Exercise 10. Put the words in the correct order to make questions in the Present Continuous.

Example: cooking/are/you/what. - What are you cooking?

1) to/you/who/talking/are?

2) moment/book/reading/at/you/the/which/are?

3) downstairs/the/who/piano/playing/is?

4) at/you/why/me/are/laughing?

5) that/Mexican/is/again/wearing/funny/hat/she?

6) Ann/for/is/who/waiting?

7) clothes/she/kind/designing/of/is/what?

Present Continuous vs. Present Simple

Present Continuous	Present Simple
a temporary situation/ action She's living with her relatives until she gets a hostel accommodation.	a permanent situation/ action She lives in Kiev.
an action that happens too often (in a negative sense) He's always coming to work late.	an action that happens regularly (in a positive sense) He always comes to work at 8.30.
a planned future action My mother is coming tomorrow.	a future action (for time tables) The train comes at 7.45 a.m.
with sense verbs to express an action to see (= to meet) I'm seeing him tonight. She is tasting this new ice-cream right now. The cat is smelling the food. The customer is feeling the fur coat.	with sense verbs and other verbs not used in the Continuous Tense She looks great! The water feels cold. The dish smells delicious. This coffee tastes bitter. The idea sounds great! I prefer tea to coffee. He doesn't belong to any political party.

Exercise 11. Complete the sentences with the correct tense of the verbs in brackets to express a permanent or a temporary action.

1. The car isn't here today because Sheila _ (use) it. She generally _ (use) the bus, but the drivers are on strike.

2. I _ (stay) with my parents at the moment, though I _ (have) my own flat.

3. They usually _ (work) at the weekends, but they _ (not work) at the moment.

4. The Moon _ (go) round the Earth.

5. I hear Bob's got a new job. How _ he _ (get) on?

6. Leave me alone! I _ (try) to concentrate.

7. Robert is a vegetarian. He _ (not eat) meat.

Exercise 12. Complete the sentences using always. Put the verbs in brackets in the Present Continuous or the Present Simple.

Example: Simon is very untidy. He is always leaving (leave) his clothes lying on the bathroom floor. Lawrence always does (do) the same things every day.

1. My sister really makes me angry. She _ (borrow) my things without asking me.

2. I _ (buy) milk in that shop.

3. My memory is getting very bad these days. I _ (forget) things.

4. Peter _ (catch) the 8.05 train home.

5. Her younger brother _ (lose) the keys.

6. My neighbors are too noisy. They _ (shout) at each other.

Exercise 13. Put the verbs in brackets in the Present Continuous or the Present Simple tense to express a future action.

1. The swimming pool _ (close) at 18.30 in the evening.

2. We _ (visit) some friends in Scotland next week.

3. Ann and Pete _ (not go) away for their holidays next month because they haven't got enough money.

4. George _ (get) married next week.

5. Tonight's concert _ (begin) at 7 o'clock and it _ (not end) until 11 o'clock.

6. I _ (meet) John at 3 o'clock.

7. What time _ the tennis tournament _ tomorrow evening? (open)

Exercise 14. Are the underlined verbs right or wrong? Correct the ones that are wrong.

Example: I'm thinking this is your key.

wrong - I think ...

I'm feeling hungry. Is there anything to eat? - right

1. The dessert is great. It is tasting really good.

2. Sam, you aren't listening! What do you think about?

3. I think you are tired, aren't you?

4. What is he talking about? I'm not understanding.

5. Do you look for me?

6. What does this mean?

7. I'm looking forward to my holiday.