Exercise 1. Using the Present Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs shown in brackets.

Example: He ______ hard. (to work) → He is working hard.
We ______ anxious. (to feel) → We are feeling anxious.

1. I ______ the questions. (to answer)
2. You ______ boots. (to wear)
3. We ______ for work. (to look)
4. She ______ her friend. (to call)
5. He ______ a house. (to build)
6. They ______ supper. (to cook)
7. We ______ a story. (to tell)
8. You ______ for the bus. (to wait)
9. I ______ a book. (to read)
10. They ______ berries. (to pick)

Exercise 2. Using the Present Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs shown in brackets.

Example: They ______ the lemons. (to squeeze) → They are squeezing the lemons.
It ______ on the sidewalk. (to lie) → It is lying on the sidewalk.

1. She ______ a letter. (to write)
2. They ______ about it. (to worry)
3. He ______ jam. (to make)
4. It ______. (to die)
5. We ______ to school. (to hurry)
6. She ______ us to do it. (to dare)
7. You ______ on the blanket. (to lie)
8. He ______ the problem. (to solve)
9. I ______ now. (to leave)
10. They ______ to help us. (to try)

Exercise 3. Using the Present Continuous tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verbs shown in brackets.

Example: We ______ to come. (to plan) → We are planning to come.
They ______ the lawn. (to mow) → They are mowing the lawn.

1. I ______ the grass. (to cut)
2. It ______ downstream. (to float)
3. They ______ the game. (to win)
4. We ______ the present. (to wrap)
5. She ______ lettuce. (to grow)
6. He ______ for us. (to look)
7. I ______ a sweater. (to knit)
8. They ______ wood. (to saw)
9. She ______ the windows. (to clean)
10. We ______ the floor. (to scrub)
11. I ______ the toaster. (to fix)
12. He ______ his coffee. (to sip)
13. They ______ the hedge. (to trim)
14. You ______ the ducks. (to feed)
15. She ______ her head. (to nod)

Exercise 4. Each of the following sentences is preceded by a bare infinitive, the most heavily stressed syllable of which is underlined. Paying attention to whether or not the final consonant should be doubled before ing is added, fill in the blanks with the present participles corresponding to the bare infinitives. Use the American spelling for verbs ending in l.

Example: whisper → They are ______ to their friends. → They are whispering to their friends.
refer → I was ______ to your letter. → I was referring to your letter.

1. open → I am ______ the door.
2. display → She is ______ her talents.
3. submit → He is ______ his report tomorrow.
4. limit → The store is ______ the number of items on sale.
5. permit → We are not ______ him to go.
6. sharpen → They are ______ the pencils.
7. confer → She is ______ with her colleagues.
8. focus → He is ______ the camera.
9. repel → They are ______ the attack.
10. shovel → I am ______ the steps.
11. destroy → Hail is ______ the crops.
12. dispel → They are ______ our doubts.
13. squander → He is ______ his money.
14. prefer → We are ______ our new school to the old one.
15. color → The child is ______ the picture.
16. unravel → We are ______ the wool.
17. propel → Jet engines are ______ the plane.
18. flower → The pansies are ______.
19. infer → They are ______ that we do not want to come.
20. listen → The children are ______ to us.

Exercise 5. Change the following affirmative statements into questions.

Example: It is snowing. → Is it snowing?
They are being cautious. → Are they being cautious?

1. I am learning English.
2. You are carrying a parcel.
3. It is growing colder.
4. We are living in Halifax.
5. They are running a race.
6. He is drinking coffee.
7. She is shopping for presents.
8. I am cleaning the window.
9. We are buying pencils.
10. They are playing football.

Exercise 6. Change the affirmative statements given in Exercise 5 into negative statements.

Example: It is snowing. → It is not snowing.
They are being cautious. → They are not being cautious.

Exercise 7. Change the affirmative statements given in Exercise 5 into negative questions. Except when the subject of the verb is I, write both the form without contractions and the form with contractions.

Example: It is snowing. → Is it not snowing? Isn't it snowing?
They are being cautious. → Are they not being cautious? Aren't they being cautious?

Exercise 8. Add negative tag questions to the affirmative statements given in Exercise 5. Except when the subject of the verb is I, use contractions for the tag questions.

Example: It is snowing. → It is snowing, isn't it?
They are being cautious. → They are being cautious, aren't they?

Exercise 9. For each of the following sentences, determine whether the Simple Present tense or the Present Continuous tense is more appropriate, and fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb given in brackets.

Example: Right now, he ______ ridiculous. (to be) → Right now, he is being ridiculous.
She ______ to Sydney every weekend. (to drive) → She drives to Sydney every weekend.

1. At the moment, I ______ supper. (to cook)
2. He ______ the paper every weekday. (to read)
3. We ______ right now. (to study)
4. She ______ every day. (to study)
5. Now it ______. (to rain)
6. They ______ to Mexico every year. (to travel)
7. Just now we ______ the shopping. (to do)
8. She always ______ correctly. (to answer)
9. You ______ never late. (to be)
10. Now I ______ to the radio. (to listen)
11. Each Sunday, we ______ the flea market. (to visit)
12. At present, I ______ for work. (to look)