English Grammar Exercises for B1 – Present simple, present continuous, stative verbs exercise

A. Look at the pictures of Helen and use the prompts to write sentences. Use the correct form of the present simple.

often / eat fast food for lunch

once a week / watch a film at the cinema

have a driving lesson / twice a week

4   ……………………………………………….

5   ……………………………………………….

6   ……………………………………………….

B. Complete using the correct present continuous form of the verbs in brackets. You may have to use some negative forms.

1   Gordon? I think he ……………………… (write) a letter at the moment.

2   Yes, the match is on T now, but we ……………………… (lose).

3   Right now, Margaret ……………………… (have) a shower. Do you want to ring later?

4   Sally ……………………… (stay) with her aunt for a few days.

5   I ……………………… (lie)! It’s true! I did see Madonna at the supermarket.

6   Josh ……………………… (always / use) my bike! It’s so annoying.

7   We ……………………… (have) lunch, but I can come round and help you later.

8   ……………………… (you / play) music up there? It’s really noisy!

C. Rewrite correctly. Change the words or phrases in bold.

1   Are top musicians studying for many years? ……………………………..

2   What’s going on? I hope you don’t touch my things! ……………………………..

3   It’s a small business, so each person is doing lots of different jobs. ……………………………..

4   Does Christine listen to the radio, or is that the T I can hear? ……………………………..

5   I am usually buying a special ticket each week for the bus because it’s cheaper. ……………………………..

6   Our washing machine is starting when you press this button. ……………………………..

7   How’s the match going? Does our team win? ……………………………..

8   Many people are enjoying spending time on the beach on holiday. ……………………………..

D. Circle the correct word or phrase.

1   I work / am working at the local library for the summer.

2   We don’t go / aren’t going to the theatre very often.

3   Stacy gets / is getting ready for school, so she can’t come to the phone.

4   Does Gary ever talk / Is Gary ever talking about his expedition to the Amazon jungle?

5   In squash, you hit / are hitting a ball against a wall.

6   I read / am reading a newspaper at least once a week.

7   Do you practise / Are you practising the piano for two hours every day?

8   Nadine and Claire do / are doing quite well at school at the moment.

9   A good friend knows / is knowing when you’re upset about something.

10   How do you spell / are you spelling your name?

E. Complete using the correct present simple or present continuous form of the verbs in the box. You may have to use some negative forms.

1   In Monopoly, you …………………… around the board, buying houses and hotels.

2   …………………… you …………………… this programme or can I turn the TV off?

3   Regular exercise …………………… you to stay healthy.

4   I …………………… my brother’s guitar until I get a new one.

5   …………………… Simon always …………………… the washing-up after lunch?

6   …………………… you …………………… any sweaters in a larger size?

7   You …………………… the kite right. Let me show you.

8   Dad …………………… to the local astronomy club.

F. Underline ten verbs in the wrong tense and rewrite them correctly.

‘One game I am loving is backgammon. You are throwing the dice and then you move your pieces around the board. It is seeming quite easy, but in fact you are needing to be quite careful. When your piece lands on one of the other person’s pieces, you are taking it off the board and you send it back to the beginning. You are winning by getting all your pieces to the end and off the board. Some people are preferring chess, but I am not understanding that game. Right now, I wait to have a game with my brother. He does his homework. I usually win, so I think he doesn’t want to play a game with me!’

6   ……………………………

7   ……………………………

8   ……………………………

9   ……………………………

10   ……………………………