Exercise 10.

In the following paragraph substitute each highlighted verb with a

correct form of the verb “to be” (am, is, are).

My oldest child, a girl of 14, looks energetic and athletic. I feel sure that she can
do almost everything but sing. Listening to her get through a song can be very painful.
In fact, her voice sounds like a choir of dogs and cats trying to sing the national anthem.
Her first-grade teacher told her that she couldn’t sing when she auditioned for a music
version of the Betsy Rose story, but my daughter still seems determined to try. She
appears unable to accept defeat. Her success in other areas seems overshadowed by her
failure in singing. She appears well suited for track and has even broken the state
record for the 50-yard dash. She also looks very graceful on the dance floor and loves to
disco. All the people who know her feel certain her voice is not going to change because
it sounds as much like a dog-and-cat choir as ever.

Exercise 14. Underline the correct form of the verb.

1. Stacey goes / is going shopping for fruit and vegetables every Saturday morning.
2. Jane thinks / is thinking that this project is not worth developing anymore.
3. Peter is in his room now. He thinks / is thinking over a new quiz.
4. Our firm president’s assistant speaks / is speaking five foreign languages.
5. Bob drives / is driving his sons to the football match tonight.
6. My mother enjoys / is enjoying listening to classical music.
7. Do the children play / Are the children playing in the garden at the moment?
8. Jane and Mary hate / are hating horror films.
9. The Greens look / are looking for a new house to rent.
10. The flight to London departs / is departing at 10:05 a.m.
11. Mrs. Parker teaches / is teaching English literature in local high school.
12. Melissa doesn’t like / isn’t liking wearing skirts.
13. Water boils / is boiling at 100 degrees of Calcium.
14. What do you do / are you doing this Saturday night?
15. The kitchen always smells / is smelling of freshly baked bread.
Exercise 15. Use the correct tense of the verb in each sentence. Choose between the
present simple and the present progressive.

1. Ms. Stewart (look through) the newspapers now.

2. The children (sleep) for two hours every afternoon.
3. Those two fellows (fix) the car in our garage right now.
4. That Ukrainian girl (speak) English very well.
5. My uncle (eat) dinner with us every Sunday.
6. Peter and Alex (write) letters at this moment.
7. Mr. Johnson (work) thirty-five hours a week.
8. My sister (need) some money for her books.
9. Mr. Berg (pay) his bills once a month.
10. The student (look up) that new word right now.
11. Our lecturer (begin) the new lesson next study-room right now.
12. She (teach) English from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
13. I (owe) my friend two dollars and fifty cents.
14. Mr. Smith (watch) a baseball game every Saturday.
15. Peter (know) all of the new words very well now.
16. We always (do) our English lessons carefully.
17. The students (do) exercise thirteen right at the moment.
18. The sun (get) very hot during the afternoon.
19. Anna and Kate (put away) the dinner dishes right now.
20. Mr. Harris (read) an interesting book about Lincoln.
21. My friend (talk) to his teacher about that mistake.
22. I frequently (go) to my office by bus.
23. They (translate) the article in linguistics into English language now.
24. The Browns (consider) buying a new house in our neighborhood.
25. Our students (be) very responsible, they never (postpone) doing their home
assignments.

Exercise 16. Use the correct tense of the verb in each sentence. Choose between the
present simple and the present progressive.
A.
Like all professionals, you __________1 (have) to be committed to what you
__________2 (do). I __________3 (be) at work very early in the morning to set things
up so that everything __________4 (be) ready when the day __________5 (start). The
work ___________6 (take) up a lot of my time, especially preparation time and going
through people’s work and correcting it. The poor pay sometimes ___________7 (get)
me down, but I __________8 (believe) in what I ___________9 (do) and that’s the most
important thing.
B.
Doc.: Hello, it _______ 1 (be) Mrs. White, _______ 2 (be) it?
Mrs. W: That _______3 (be) right, doctor.
Doc.: What _______ 4 (can, do) I for you?
Mrs. W: Oh dear. I _______ 5 always (be tired), doctor – I _______6 absolutely (be
worn out) at the end of the day.
Doc.: ________7 (eat) regular meals?
Mrs. W: Well, I really ________8 (have, not) time to eat – I ________9 too (be busy)
with the children. And we ________10 (have, not) much money for food because my
husband ________11 (be) out of work.
Doc.: It ________12 (sound) to me as if you ________13 (be) a bit run down. I
________14 (write) out a prescription for some extra iron and vitamins, and I’d like you
to come back in a couple of weeks so I ________15 (can) see how you _______16 (get
on).
Mrs. W: Thank you, doctor.
C. A middle-aged regular saver
Some people _______1 (spend) money like water but not me – I _______2
(believe) in saving up for a rainy day. I _______3 (put by) a little money every week.
You see, you _______4 (have to) think about the future when you _______5 (be) my
age. When you ________6 (be) young you ________7 (need, not) money but when you
_______8 (be) old, you _______9 (can, not) live without it.
 Speaking. Use the present progressive tense in the following situations:
1. The members of your family are away in different places now. What do you think
they are doing right at the moment?
2. Look through the window and describe what is going on outside right now.
Writing.
1. Write a post card to your friend or family describing activities that you are involved
into during the English-language lesson. What are you, your university mates and a
lecturer doing and not doing at the moment?
2. Write about trends and changes that you are observing nowadays in your native place
(village, town or city) and in Ukraine in general. Express your attitude to these
processes.