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Grammar Basics: Unit 4 – Present Continuous Questions

Posted on 2011/12/29

To form questions in the present continuous, switch the order of the subject and the verb:

I am ~ing ==> Am I ~ing?
You are ~ing ==> Are you ~ing?
He / she / it is ~ing ==> Is he / she / it ~ing?
We are ~ing ==> Are we ~ing?
You are ~ing ==> Are you ~ing?
They are ~ing ==> Are they ~ing?

Examples:

Am I kidding?
– Yes (. I’m just pulling your leg [= teasing you]).

Are you sleeping, Brother John?
– No (, I’m not).
– No (, I’m lying awake, thinking).

Is it still snowing?
– No (, it isn’t // it’s not).
– No (, it’s raining).

Are we leaving yet?
– Yes (. Please get your coat on).

Are they eating dinner?
– No (, they aren’t // they’re not).
– No (, they’ve finished eating).

Wh-questions can also use ~ing form: Wh- + (be) + S + ~ing?

Who is having a party? (“Who” is the subject for who-questions, and so don’t need another subject.)
What is he doing?
Where is she going?
When is Sally coming to pick up the book?
Why are you yelling at me?
How are they going to move that piano?

Exercises.

Put together the following words in the proper order to form a present continuous question. Don’t forget to use the correct form of the verb “be.”

1. be fight have a snowball they ?

2. any be buy for magazines ride she the train ?

3. bake be cookies today we ?

4. be feel sick you ?

5. be dream I ?

6. be do teacher the tomorrow what ?

7. be cold get it out ?

8. be do how you ?

9. and be down jump they up why ?

10. ball be game Mike next play in week’s ?

11. be my phone ring ?

12. be choir concert in school sing Steve the when ?

13. be lie who ?

14. be tell the truth who ?

15. be boil soup the yet ?

16. be go on vacation where you ?

17. be crazy go I ?

18. baby be sleep still the ?

19. be loudly snore so who ?

20. be still TV watch you ?

Grammar Basics: Unit 3 – Present Continuous (Solution)

Posted on 2011/12/28

Exercises (Solution)

1. He is doing his homework.

2. The cat is acting crazy.

3. Mother is washing clothes in the basement.

4. Father is mowing the lawn.

5. I am taking a bath – shut the door!

6. Please wash your hands – we are having pork chops for dinner.

7. You are lying – you’ve never been to Antarctica!

8. It is snowing heavily now.

9. Tell Tom to turn down the volume – I am talking on the phone.

10. Do you see the bird that is sitting on the fence over there?

11. The twins are swimming in the pool since it’s so hot.

12. We are drinking iced tea to keep cool.

13. Please don’t disturb us – we are practicing for next week’s concert.

14. He is writing a letter to Santa Claus.

15. Thousands of people are dying in Africa from famine.

present continuous

Grammar Basics: Unit 3 – Present Continuous

Posted on 2011/12/27

The present continuous is the ~ing form of the verb. It is used with the appropriate form of the verb be:

I am ~ing
You are ~ing
He / she / it is ~ing
We are ~ing
You are ~ing
They are ~ing

The present continuous is used to indicate that an action is happening now:

I’m reading the newspaper.

You can’t fool me – you’re not sleeping!

He’s studying for tomorrow’s exam.

Please be quiet – the baby’s sleeping.

Hurry up – we’re leaving!

They’re outside playing in the sandbox.

Making the ~ing form of the verb:

– In general, simply put –ing after the dictionary form of the verb:

eat ==> eating
laugh ==> laughing

– If the verb ends with an “e,” omit the “e” and put –ing at the end:

smile ==> smiling
bake ==> baking

– If the verb has a short vowel, double the final consonant before putting –ing at the end:

put ==> putting
run ==> running

– For verbs ending in –ie, change the “ie” to “y” before putting –ing at the end:

lie ==> lying
die ==> dying

Exercises

Complete the following sentences, using the appropriate form of the verb “be” along with the –ing form of the given verb.

Example:
She (sweep) the porch ==> She is sweeping the porch.

1. He (do) his homework.

2. The cat (act) crazy.

3. Mother (wash) clothes in the basement.

4. Father (mow) the lawn.

5. I (take) a bath – shut the door!

6. Please wash your hands – we (have) pork chops for dinner.

7. You (lie) – you’ve never been to Antarctica!

8. It (snow) heavily now.

9. Tell Tom to turn down the volume – I (talk) on the phone.

10. Do you see the bird that (sit) on the fence over there?

11. The twins (swim) in the pool since it’s so hot.

12. We (drink) iced tea to keep cool.

13. Please don’t disturb us – we (practice) for next week’s concert.

14. He (write) a letter to Santa Claus.

15. Thousands of people (die) in Africa from famine.

present continuous

Grammar Basics: Unit 2 – The Verb “Be” – Questions (Solution)

Posted on 2011/12/23

Exercises: Write questions, using the proper form of the verb “be.”

1. Is the homework difficult?
2. Is John sick?
3. Is the baby hungry?
4. Are you cold?
5. Am I sleepy?
6. Is she a doctor?
7. Are we late?
8. Are they married?
9. Where are my keys?
10. What is the temperature?
11. Who is that man?
12. How are you?
13. Why are you sick?
14. How old is he?
15. Where is the dog?

Grammar Basics: Unit 2 – The Verb “Be” – Questions

Posted on 2011/12/22

To form questions with the verb “be,” the verb and subject are inverted (switch places in the sentence):

1st person singular:
Positive – I am
Question – am I?

2nd person singular:
Positive – you are
Question – are you?

3rd person singular:
Positive – he / she / it is
Question – is he / she / it?

1st person plural:
Positive – we are
Question – are we?

2nd person plural:
Positive – you are
Question – are you?

3rd person plural:
Positive – they are
Question – are they?

The answer to these “be” questions should be either Yes or No.

Examples:

Am I late?

Yes (you are).
Yes (, the show started ten minutes ago).

Are you hungry?

Yes (I am).
Yes (, I haven’t eaten since breakfast).

Is it raining?

No (, it’s sunny).

Is he crazy?

No (, but he sure acts like it sometimes).

Are we leaving now?

No (, we still have a half hour before the train comes in).

Are you ready?

Yes (we are).
Yes (, let’s take the test now).

Are they home?

No (, the lights are off).

Short negative answers may be contracted, but positive ones may not be:

Am I late?

No / No, you aren’t / No, you’re not.

Are you hungry?

No / No, I’m not.

Is it raining?

No / No, it isn’t / No, it’s not.

Is he crazy?

No / No, he isn’t / No, he’s not.

Are we leaving now?

No / No, we aren’t / No, we’re not.

Are you ready?

No / No, we aren’t / No, we’re not.

Are they home?

No / No, they aren’t / No, they’re not.

Wh-questions use the verb “be,” but cannot use Yes/No for an answer:

Where is / Where’s the restaurant?

It’s next to the bank.

What is / What’s the time?

It’s two o’clock.

Who is / Who’s coming to the party?

John and Sally are.

How tall is Sam?

He’s six feet tall.

Why are you crying?

I lost my puppy.

Exercises: Write questions, using the proper form of the verb “be.”

Solutions tomorrow.

1. the homework / difficult?

2. John / sick?

3. baby / hungry?

4. you / cold?

5. I / sleepy?

6. she / a doctor?

7. we / late?

8. they / married?

9. where / my keys?

10. what / the temperature?

11. who / that man?

12. how / you?

13. why / you / sick?

14. how / old / he?

15. where / the dog?

Grammar Basics: Unit 1 – The Verb “Be” (Solutions)

Posted on 2011/12/21

Answers:

1. That TV show is old.

2. Miss Smith is a lawyer.

3. The cats are hungry.

4. I’m positive I locked the door.

5. It’s eight o’clock – we must leave now.

6. They are the biggest seller of running shoes in the country.

7. You’re early for your appointment.

8. The playground isn’t open today.

9. No thank you, I’m not thirsty.

10. They’re not Americans.

11. John’s not on the team this year.

12. You’re not quiet enough.

13. We’re not afraid of you!

14. She’s not busy right now.

15. It’s not too late to place your order for Christmas.

Grammar Basics: Unit 1 – The Verb “Be”

Posted on 2011/12/20

The verb “be” is used to describe a quality or state of existence for a noun. Its form depends on “person” and count. (Contracted forms are in parentheses):

1st person singular:
Positive – I am (I’m)
Negative – I am not (I’m not)

2nd person singular:
Positive – You are (You’re)
Negative – You are not (You’re not / You aren’t)

3rd person singular:
Positive – He / She / It is (He’s, etc.)
Negative – He / She / It is not (He’s not / He isn’t, etc.)

1st person plural:
Positive – We are (We’re)
Negative – We are not (We’re not)

2nd person plural:
Positive – You are (You’re)
Negative – You are not (You’re not / You aren’t)

3rd person plural:
Positive – They are (They’re)
Negative – They are not (They’re not / They aren’t)

Examples:

I’m worried. The baby is sick.
If you’re cold, put on a sweater.
He is a doctor.
We are the number one manufacturer of erasers in the world.
They’re tired and hungry.

I’m not sure if we have enough food.
You aren’t bored, are you?
She’s not a very patient person.
We’re not late for dinner, are we?
They’re not members of the orchestra.

Note –
For tag questions, “I am not” has an irregular contraction:
I’m a clever student, aren’t I? (not amn’t I?)

===============================

For the following exercise, write complete sentences. Use the appropriate form of “be.”

Example:

(keys bag my in not) – My keys are not in my bag.

Solutions tomorrow.

1. (old show that TV)
____________________________________________________________________________

2. (a lawyer Miss Smith)
____________________________________________________________________________

3. (cats hungry the)
____________________________________________________________________________

4. (door I I locked positive the)
____________________________________________________________________________

5. (eight it leave must now o’clock we)
____________________________________________________________________________

6. (biggest country in of running seller shoes the the they)
____________________________________________________________________________

7. (appointment early for you your)
____________________________________________________________________________

8. (not open playground the today)
____________________________________________________________________________

9. (I no not thank thirsty you)
____________________________________________________________________________

10. (Americans not they)
____________________________________________________________________________

11. (this team John the not on year)
____________________________________________________________________________

12. (enough not quiet you)
____________________________________________________________________________

13. (afraid not of we you)
____________________________________________________________________________

14. (busy not now right she)
____________________________________________________________________________

15. (Christmas for it late not order place to too your)
____________________________________________________________________________

a/an—Indefinite Article

Posted on 2011/12/14

Used when we (speaker and listener) don’t know which one, or it doesn’t matter which one

I need a cup; could you get me one, please? (It doesn’t matter which one, I just need a cup.)
She wants a doll for her birthday.

Used to talk about any one member of a class.

A car is a necessity for many people. (any car)
An elephant is big and gray.

Used to classify people or things.

She’s a waitress.
“What’s that?” “Oh, it’s just a wind chime, that’s all.”

Plural and uncountable nouns generally do not get an article—use some or any.

I saw some geese flying overhead.
Water, milk, bread, sugar, etc.

Please give me some juice.
Do you have (any) money?
The store was out of butter.

When “a/an” is necessary:

Negative expressions

“Let me borrow your calculator.” “I don’t have a calculator.” (Not I don’t have calculator.)

Prepositions

He sat down in the shade of a tree. (Not … of tree.)

Fractions

two-thirds of a mile (Not two-thirds of mile)

When “a/an” is NOT used:

With adjectives alone (without a noun).

It’s a nice day. (The article is used, since there is a noun.)
It’s nice. (Not It’s a nice.)

Possessives—use the phrase a _______ of mine/yours/ etc.

She’s my teacher.
She’s a teacher of mine.

the—Definite Article

Posted on 2011/12/12

A. Used when we (speaker and listener) know “which one”

1. We have mentioned it before.

He has a mother. The mother is sick.

2. We say which one we mean.

The man with the yellow hat is George’s friend.

3. It is clear from the situation which one we mean.

Everybody went to the picnic.
He spoke to the boss about getting a raise. (You know which one – my boss.)
Please turn off the light when you’re done. (You know that the light in the room is the one I’m talking about.)

B. There is only one around.

The Black Death devastated Europe in the 14th century.
People say that the moon is made of green cheese.

C. It concerns the physical environment.

1. The city, the country, the weather, the sea, the future, etc.

Listen to the falling rain.
Do you want to go camping in the mountains on your vacation, or would you rather rent a cottage by the seashore?
Some people would rather live in the country instead of the city.

2. Used with superlatives—usually only one best, biggest, etc., so we know which one.

That’s the biggest park in our town.

3. Also used with first, next, last, same, only

It was a coincidence that we got the same score on our tests.
That’s the last straw – I will never shop there again.

4. “the” = “the well-known”

The President will give his State of the Union address tonight.
Did you ever see Yo-Yo Ma, the cellist?

When “the” is NOT used:

A. Possessives and demonstratives.

My father is an engineer. (Not The my father is an engineer.)
Give me that book when you’re done. (Not Give me that the book when you’re done.)

B. Proper names.

They went to Canada on their vacation. (Not They went to the Canada on their vacation.)

C. Things in general.

Cats are popular pets. (Not The cats are popular pets.)