PART II: Grammar topic: Present Tense: Progressive/Continuous and Simple

1. Present Continuous/Progressive Grammar structure

Rules to add -ing:
- General rule:

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WH-Questions:

Wh-Q Meaning Example

What+noun: What time is it?
What:
Which:
Where:
When:
Why:
Who:
Whose:
How:
How many:
How much:
How old
How often:

1. Look at the pictures and complete the Wh-questions. Use the following verbs:
Cry - eat - go - laugh - look at - read

Use the verbs to complete the sentences with the correct form of the present continuous. +, -, ?

Listen do think sleep write wear talk go

1. Shhh! My mum’s sleeping now. She works at night.

2. Sarah, __________________ to Pauline on your cellphone?
3. Hello Katie! Hello Jack! Where _____________________?
4. I ____________ about a new song for my band.
5. Don’t talk to your sister, she ________________ her homework.
6. David _________________ to you – look, he’s got his headphones.
7. Is that your brother in the internet café? _____________________ emails?
8. Yasmin ______________ her school uniform, is she on holiday from school today?
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2. Simple Present
When do we use present simple?
Habits: True in the present: General facts/truths:
→ I always drink coffee at work ✓ He works at Universidad de ➢ The Earth is not flat
→ She gets up at 7am every day Caldas ➢ The sun rises in the east
→ They usually eat dinner at home ✓ We live in Manizales ➢ Water boils at 100°C

Present Simple Affirmative Sentences:

Spelling Rules for the –s at the end of the verb in the third singular person.

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Daily Routine vocabulary: Write Maria’s daily routine with complete sentences as in the example.

1. Maria gets up at 7:00am 2. _________________________ 3. ___________________________

4. _________________________ 5. All the students ____________ 6. _______________________

__________________________

7. Maria and her parents 8. ________________________ 9. _______________________

__________________________

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 Adverbs of frequency
POSITION: before main verb or after to be
Complete the sentences with the adverb of frequency

Mary always has coffee and toast for breakfast.

I __________ get up at about 6:30 am

Her father ______________________________

His mother _____________________________

My English teacher _______________________

I _____________________________________

They _________________________________

David ______________________________

It is rarely warm in winter.

A doctor _______________________________

Your brother ___________________________

Put the words in order to make a sentence.

a) Always / January / in / rains / it It always rains in January

b) always / for meals. He is / in time ____________________________________________________
c) Dance / normally / Fridays / on / to / go / they ___________________________________________
d) bad / always/ The weather/ in November / is______________________________________________
e) Football / often / with / he / friends / his / plays __________________________________________
f) happy / is / He / always _____________________________________________________________
g) late / work / He/ / is / for /often ______________________________________________________
h) Go / they / early / home / always ______________________________________________________
i) John is / from lessons / absent / often__________________________________________________
j) sweets / eats / Never / she __________________________________________________________
k) on time/They are / usually / ________________________________________________________
l) Susan is / often / for class./ early /____________________________________________________
m) Often/ music / listens / he / to / evenings / the / in ______________________________________
n) to see me /They are / never / pleased / ______________________________________________
o) We / cinema/ usually / Saturdays / go / the / to / on _____________________________________

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Present Simple: Negative sentences

3. Put in the verbs from the box in present simple in the correct form (+, -).

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4. Use the table to write sentences about Jenny. A tick (√) means something is true and a
cross (x) means that something is not true. Use the verbs in parenthesis. Look the example.

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Present Simple: Yes – No Questions

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Present Simple: Wh-Questions
Wh-Q + aux + subject + verb + complement?

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5. Present Simple vs Present Continuous

These verbs do not go in –ing: Have / think; like, love, hate, prefer, want, need, know, understand,
believe, forget, remember, depend, mean

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Complete the following sentences with present simple or continuous.
1. Look! That lady _________________ her uniform. (not/to wear)
2. Our cat seldom_________________on the sofa. (to lie)
3. What_________________they_________________to at the moment? (to listen)
4. I_________________supermarkets, but my father doesn't. (to like)
5. What_____________that man______________in our garden? (to do)
6. We_________________the bus to school. (not/to take)
7. Where_________________you_________________from? (to come)
8. _________________your girlfriend always_________________green T-shirts? (to wear)
9. I_________________a cup of tea now. (to have)
10. _________________the boy_________________in the pool right now? (to swim)

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General Comprehension reading in present simple and continuous.

According to the texts answer the following questions:

a. What does he do? He is a baker.
b. What time does he get up? _______________________________
c. What does he have for breakfast? _______________________________
d. What does he do after breakfast? _______________________________
e. Where is he going to be next week? _______________________________
Based on the underlined information from the reading, write the corresponding Wh-Q
EXAMPLE: Where does he have lunch? He has lunch in his house.
1) ________________________________________ ? he normally wears white clothes.
2) ________________________________________ ? he is wearing a Hawaiian T-shirt.
3) ________________________________________ ? they send a liner every Sunday.
4) ________________________________________ ?He is going to be in Hawaii next week.
5) ________________________________________ ?He is going to be in Hawaii next week

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PART II
Reading Comprehension Skills: Previewing and predicting

Previewing is one of the most important reading skills. You should always preview before you read. You will
find that you understand more if you preview first.
Let’s compare previewing with traveling. Before you start on a trip, you usually look at a map, pictures,
currency, look for information about prices, accommodation, restaurants, tourist places or activities, transport
timetables, weather, clothes, and so on. But you are still here, you are not there yet. Then you know what to
expect as you travel or when you get there. This is a good idea in reading too. Look at the text carefully before
you read it. Then it will be much easier to understand it. That is what you do when you preview.

How to preview a short passage: articles, chapters.

1. Read the title. (and subtitles)
2. Look at the pictures (if there are any).
3. Read the first few sentences in the each paragraph.
4. Read the last sentence(s) of the last paragraph.
5. Watch for names, dates, numbers, etc.

You can learn a lot about a passage if you read just a few important sentences. This is the reason for
Previewing.

Now, let’s do the exercise the other way round. Let´s continue the comparison with travelling.
Let’s imagine that you appeared in the middle of Pekin without any notice. You didn’t have the opportunity to
look for information to have an idea of that place. How do you feel? Lost, isn’t it? Now, in reading, if you do not
have any information as title, pictures, etc, or dictionary it is difficult to understand a text. That is what we are
going to do.

Read all the passage, underline the unknown words and then look at the meanings in your dictionary. Read it
again and try to write what the topic of the passage is.

The first time you try it, ask someone to help you. You may fall if no one holds you up. It is a

good idea to start on the sidewalk. The street may be dangerous. After you start, do not stop.

Try to go faster. That will help you to stay up. Remember, even little children can do this. And

once you learn how, you will never forget!

What is the passage about? ______________________________ Why?

If you cannot tell, talk to your classmates, finally your teacher will tell you.

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Exercise A. Preview the following passage. Read only the underlined sentences. You will have 1 minute to
preview. Then, turn the page and answer the questions. DON’T look back at the passage.

A BUSY STUDENT

Tomiko is happy to be a student in New York. She is studying English at the Columbia University. She plans
to finish her English course in June. Then she will work on her master’s degree at New York University.
Tomiko likes the many beautiful buildings in New York. In fact, she plans to become an architect. Then, she
can build great buildings too.
Tomiko also likes the people in New York City. There are many different kinds of people. They speak many
languages. Tomiko has new friend from other countries.
Best of all, Tomiko loves the theaters in New York. She goes to plays almost every week. Sometimes the
plays are in theaters on Broadway. Sometimes the plays are in small theaters in other parts of the city.
Tomiko is far from her home in Japan. But she is not sad. She goes to classes every day. She visits her
friends. She goes to see new places. And she attends many plays. She is very busy and happy in New York.

Circle the best answer. Remember DON’T look back at the passage.

1. This passage is about: 3. Tomiko is

a. An American student in Japan a. an architect
b. A Japanese student in New York. b. unhappy
c. A Japanese student in Japan. c. happy
d. A Japanese man studying in New York. d. not busy

2. Tomiko has 4. She goes to plays in:

a. few friends a. New York
b. few interests b. large theaters
c. many interests c. small theaters
d. nothing to do d. all of the above

Now, go back to the passage and read the whole passage and correct your answer if it is necessary.

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Exercise B. Preview the following passage. Read only the first sentences of each paragraph and the last one.
You will have 1 minute to preview. Then, turn the page and answer the questions. DON’T look back at the
passage.
In very cold parts of the world, scientists study
the past. They find animal frozen in the ice. The
animals look alive, but they are not. They were
frozen many years ago.
Russian scientists found a large animal called
mastodon in the ice. It looked like an elephant,
but it was larger and it had lots of hair. In fact, the
elephant is the mastodon’s younger cousin.
In 1984, American scientists were working
near the North Pole. They found the body of a
man frozen in the ice. This man went to the North
Pole in 1846. He died, and his friends buried him
in the ice.

These facts interest doctors. They have some patients who are very sick. No one can help these patients.
But some day there may be a new medicine for them. These doctors want to save people for the future. Maybe
patients can be frozen until there is medicine to help them.

Circle the best answer. Remember DON’T look back at the passage.

1. Scientists are studying the past: 3. American scientists worked

a. in Russia a. in Russia
b. in 1848. b. in the laboratory
c. in the ice. c. with a mastodon
d. in the laboratory. d. near the North Pole

2. Russian scientists found: 4. doctors think frozen bodies:

a. a man in the ice a. are too cold
b. a large animal in the ice b. are near the North Pole
c. nothing interesting c. are mastodons
d. a frozen patient d. are interesting

Now, go back to the passage and read the whole passage and correct your answer if it is necessary.

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Predicting. To predict means to tell what will happen later based on previous information. You will be a
better reader if you predict. As you read, try to guess what will happen in the text. You can use words and
pictures to help you predict.

Exercise 1: Using pictures to predict

Find the right name of the story for each picture:

a. Women in science
b. How Americans shop for food
c. How beavers build their homes
d. When a child goes to the dentist
e. The violin in the symphony orchestra

Exercise 2: Using the title to predict

A. Will you find these ideas in the story? Check Yes √ or No. X

Boston: A good place to live

Yes No
1. There are many poor people in Boston.
2. The spring flowers are beautiful in Boston.
3. There are a lot of universities in Boston.
4. Jobs are hard to find in the Boston area.
5. Winters in Boston are very cold and snowy.
6. Boston City Hall is very beautiful.
7. There are many famous old buildings in downtown Boston.
8. People are not very friendly in Boston.
9. Apartments are very expensive and hard to find.
10. The Charles River flows by the city. People like to walk along the river in the parks.

B. Will you find these ideas in the story? Check Yes √ or No. X

Modern dentists: How they can help you

Yes No
1. Dentists have new machines.
2. Dentists hurt your teeth.
3. Some dentists play the radio for their patients.
4. Some dentists will pull out all your teeth.
5. A nurse cleans your teeth at the Dentist’s office.
6. The Dentist’s office is very comfortable.
7. Dentists want everyone to have healthy teeth.
8. A visit to the dentist is very expensive.
9. The dentist may x-ray your teeth.
10. Modern dentists must study for many years.
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Exercise 3: Predicting the next idea

When you are reading you can predict which idea comes next.
Read the sentences and predict which idea comes next. Circle the right answer.

1. There were many good shows on TV last night. The Smith family stayed home.
a. They turned off the TV and went to bed early.
b. The only interesting show was about traveling by bicycle.
c. They saw a play, a music show and the news.

2. John and Alice are not happy with the school in their town.
a. Their children love to go to school
b. Their classes are very crowded.
c. It is a beautiful building.

3. The roads were covered with ice and were very dangerous today.
a. Sam took a long time to drive home.
b. Sam drove home very quickly.
c. Sam enjoyed driving home.

4. Boston is a nice play to live in, but New York City is more exciting.
a. There are many interesting thing to do in New York.
b. New York is a very dangerous city.
c. There are not good restaurants in New York.

5. Fly Avianca Airlines! Take an exciting trip to Paradisiac Island.

a. This trip is very expensive.
b. Paradisiac Island has warm sunny weather.
c. Avianca Airlines is never on time.

6. Alex had trouble falling asleep last night. He was awake until 3:00 am.
a. This morning, he feels rested and ready to work.
b. This morning, he is very hungry.
c. This morning, he feels very tired.
End of PART II

Evaluation 2_________________

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