IES SERRA MARIOLA. PRIMER DE BATXILLERAT. ENGLISH PRACTICE

UNIT 1: GRAMMAR, LEVEL 1

1 Rewrite the sentences with the time expressions below.

rarely ■ every day ■ now ■ tomorrow ■ soon

1. She’s busy, so she’ll call you back later.

.......................................................................................................................

2. Antonella watches the British soap opera EastEnders, and she loves it.

.......................................................................................................................

3. What time are you arriving?

.......................................................................................................................

4. He goes to the cinema, but enjoys watching DVDs at home.

.......................................................................................................................

5. I’m meeting Ben, so I’ve got to leave in five minutes.

.......................................................................................................................

2 Choose the correct answer.

1. What CD … to? I really like it!

a. do you listen b. are you listening

2. My friend … a moped this weekend.

a. is buying b. buys

3. I can’t tidy up my room now because I … in a minute.

a. am leaving b. leave

4. Marty rarely … television.

a. watches b. is watching

5. … Kim’s phone number?

a. Are you remembering b. Do you remember

6. Some of the basketball players … in every game.

a. aren’t playing b. don’t play

3 Complete the sentences with the verb in brackets. Use the Present Simple or Present Continuous.

1. Laura ................................………… (love) cooking.

2. My friends and I ................................………… (learn) how to drive this year.

3. What temperature ................................………… water ................................………… (boil) at?

4. They always ................................………… (wait) for the bus on that corner.

5. Be quiet! I ................................………… (try) to concentrate.

6. I used to go out with Tim, but I ................................………… (not date) anybody right now.

4 Choose the correct answer.

1. It rarely rains / is raining here, but it rains / is raining now.

2. Now that I am thinking / think about your suggestion, I am thinking / think it’s a good idea.

3. Why does she begin / is she beginning the lesson so late? She always begins / is beginning on time.

4. I want to check how much these boxes are weighing / weigh, so I am weighing / weigh them now.

5. I look / am looking at everyone in this room but nobody looks / is looking familiar.

6. My doctor usually sees / is seeing patients in the afternoons but this morning, I see / am seeing him.

7. Your dog is smelling / smells this bag because he is smelling / smells the hamburger inside it!

IES SERRA MARIOLA. PRIMER DE BATXILLERAT. ENGLISH PRACTICE

5 Complete the sentences with the verb in brackets. Use the Present Simple or Present Continuous.

1. What’s so funny? (laugh)

Why ............................................................................................................ ?

2. In my opinion, she isn’t very generous. (not think)

I ................................................................................................................... .

3. Emma can’t find her maths book. (look for)

Emma .......................................................................................................... .

4. She’s walking to school today. (ride)

She usually .................................................................................. her bicycle.

5. Please put the milk back into the fridge. (drink)

Nobody ............................................................................................... it now.

6. What are you talking about? (not understand)

I ................................................................................................................... .

6 Complete the passage with the verb in brackets. Use the Present Simple or Present Continuous.

Nearly everyone 1. .................................. (love) chocolate, but most people 2. .................................. (think) that it is

unhealthy because it 3. .................................. (contain) a lot of calories and a high amount of fat. However, these days,

scientists 4. .................................. (find) that it has also got some health benefits. Based on recent studies, researchers

5. .................................. (begin) to promote the idea that moderate amounts of dark chocolate can help protect against

heart disease and high blood pressure. Furthermore, dark chocolate provides small amounts of important nutrients, so

it adds some vitamins and minerals to your diet. I 6. .................................. (want) some chocolate right now; what about

you?

ANSWERS

1 1. She’s busy now, so she’ll call you back later.

2. Antonella watches the British soap opera EastEnders every day and she loves it.

3. What time are you arriving tomorrow?

4. He rarely goes to the cinema, but enjoys watching DVDs at home.

5. I’m meeting Ben soon, so I’ve got to leave in five minutes.

2 1. b 2. a 3. a 4. a 5. b 6. b

3 1. loves 3. does … boil 5. am trying

2. are learning 4. wait 6. am not

dating

4 1. rains, is raining 5. am looking, looks

2. am thinking, think 6. sees, am seeing

3. is she beginning, begins 7. is smelling, smells

4. weigh, am weighing

5 1. are you laughing

2. don’t think she is very generous

3. is looking for her maths book

4. rides

5. is drinking

6. don’t understand what you are talking about

6 1. loves 3. contains 5. are beginning

2. think 4. are finding 6. want

IES SERRA MARIOLA. PRIMER DE BATXILLERAT. ENGLISH PRACTICE

UNIT 1: GRAMMAR, LEVEL 2

1 Rewrite the sentences using the words in brackets.

1. (now / always)

a. I’m going to the shopping centre.

.............................................................................................................................

b. I go to the shopping centre on Saturdays.

.............................................................................................................................

2. (at the moment / seldom)

a. Nancy dances at parties.

.............................................................................................................................

b. Nancy isn’t dancing.

.............................................................................................................................

3. (on Monday mornings / right now)

a. Tim’s studying English.

.............................................................................................................................

b. Tim studies English.

.............................................................................................................................

2 Write sentences with time expressions below and the verbs in brackets.

Use the Present Simple or Present Continuous.

tomorrow night ■ rarely ■ at the moment ■ usually

1. a. who / the / game (win)

.......................................................................................................................... ?

b. So far, Juventus are ahead by one goal.

2. a. party / I / Mary’s (go)

........................................................................................................................... .

b. Great! Me too! I’ll see you there.

3. a. you / cook / the food / while / you (taste)

.......................................................................................................................... ?

b. Yes, almost always. That way, I know what spices to add.

4. a. I / from / David / these / days (hear)

........................................................................................................................... .

b. Me neither. He never calls anyone any more.

3 Complete the sentences with the verbs in brackets.

Use the Present Simple or Present Continuous.

1. Jim ................................………… (not talk) to me at the moment, but I ................................…………

(not understand) why he’s angry with me.

2. That door usually ................................………… (close) automatically, but it ................................…………

(not work) properly today.

3. I ................................………… (not taste) that! I ................................………… (hate) fish!

4. This box ................................………… (weigh) a lot. Do you know what it ................................………… (contain)?

5. Officer, this moped ................................………… (belong) to me. Why ................................………… (give) me

a parking ticket?

IES SERRA MARIOLA. PRIMER DE BATXILLERAT. ENGLISH PRACTICE

4 Match I to II to form sentences. Then write S if the verb refers to a state, and A if the verb

refers to an action.

I

1. She loves

2. He often hears

3 I am thinking

4. He seems

5. Don’t weigh

6. The milk smells

II

...... a. about what to wear tonight.

...... b. yourself every day.

...... c. the neighbour’s television.

...... d. sour.

...... e. very ill.

...... f. Italian food.

5 Complete the sentences with the verbs below. Use the Present Simple or Present Continuous.

not understand ■ cry ■ join ■ not believe ■ take ■ use

1. What happened?

Why ............................................................................................................ ?

2. In my opinion, he’s not doing the right thing.

I ................................................................................................................... .

3. Alan doesn’t usually meet his friends at a club on Friday nights.

However he .............................................................................. them tonight.

4. Carol got a lift to school today.

She usually ....................................................................................... the bus.

5. You can’t make your call now.

I ................................................................................................... the phone.

6. I’m not sure why Tom is still dating Katie.

Sometimes I .................................................................................. him at all!

6 Complete the passage with the correct form of the verbs below.

try ■ feel ■ do ■ mean ■ cause ■ lead ■ make

1. ................................………… you sometimes ................................………… tense before an exam, or “stressed out”

because you 2. ................................………… too many things? Although a certain amount of stress

3. ................................………… no lasting harm, constant stress sometimes 4. ................................………… to health

problems. These days, for instance, researchers 5. ................................………… the link between long-term stress and

heart disease, but many of the effects of stress are less serious, such as sore, stiff muscles, especially in the neck and

shoulders. When this happens, it 6. ................................………… that your body 7. ................................………… to tell

you something: relax! An easy way to do this is to sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes and breathe very slowly

and deeply. It takes a while to relax completely, so try this for at least five minutes. You’ll be amazed at the results!

ANSWERS

1 1. a. I’m going to the shopping centre now.

b. I always go to the shopping centre on Saturdays.

2. a. Nancy seldom dances at parties.

b. Nancy isn’t dancing at the moment. / At the

moment, Nancy isn’t dancing.

3. a. Tim’s studying English right now. / Right now,

Tim’s studying English.

b. Tim studies English on Monday mornings. / On

Monday mornings, Tim studies English.

2 1. Who is winning the game at the moment

2. I am going to Mary’s party tomorrow night

3. Do you usually taste the food while you cook

4. I rarely hear from David these days

3 1. isn’t talking, don’t understand

2. closes, isn’t working

3. am not tasting, hate

4. weighs, contains

5. belongs, are you giving

4 1. f, (S) 3. a, (A) 5. b, (A)

2. c, (S) 4. e, (S) 6. d, (S)

5 1. are you crying

2. don’t believe that he’s doing the right thing.

3. is joining

4. takes

5. am using

6. don’t understand

6 1. Do … feel 4. leads 7. is trying

2. do / are doing 5. are making

3. causes 6. means