GRAMMAR for IELTS – PRESENT SIMPLE and PRESENT CONTINUOUS

A. PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Read the passage, and put the diagrams in order.

JAPAN'S CHANGING DEMOGRAPHY
In Japan, the average population is getting older. People are living longer, and they are not
having so many children.
The number of people who work is falling, but the number of retired people is growing. This is
having an effect on the economy, as fewer people are paying taxes, while the number of people
they have to support is increasing. Why is this happening? People are living to a very old age
because medical care is improving, and more women are joining the workforce, so they are
waiting longer to have a family and the birth rate is slowing.

1. ________________ 2.__________________ 3._________________

Complete the passage with the correct form of the verb in brackets, using present continuous
where possible.
The Earth’s climate (1 )..................... (change).
The Earth (2 )..................... (warm) up, and
most scientists now (3 )................... (agree)
that human activity (4 )........................(cause)
this to happen. Species of plants and animals
(5) ..........................(die), and chances for
ecosystems to adapt (6) .....................
(diminish). What (7 ) .....................
governments.......................(do) about it? They
(8 ) ..................... (discuss) ways we can reduce
carbon emissions, but many powerful
governments and businesses (9 ).....................
(co-operate) with the advice from the experts.
GRAMMAR for IELTS – PRESENT SIMPLE and PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Complete the passage with the verbs in the box. Use present continuous where possible.
increase hunt believe cause develop result
poison disappear happen sell not adapt
Some people (1) ................... that we are in the middle of a mass extinction of animal life. Why
(2)..................... this.......................? Global warming may be one reason, but many other factors
(3).................... difficulties for wild animals. In many countries, poachers (4)......................rare
animals for money. They (5).................... the animal parts for traditional medicine. As the human
race (6) ..................... , natural habitats (7)......................and the animals (8) .................... to the
new environment. Chemicals used by farmers (9) ......................the land, and this (10)
......................in imbalances between the species. However, extinction of certain species may also
be part of a natural process, as new species (11) .................... to replace those which are lost.

B. PRESENT SIMPLE

Read the text and the student's response. Complete the labels.
Writing task 1
The chart below shows what working Americans aged 25-65 do during the day. Summarise the
information by selecting and reporting the main features.

The pie chart shows how an. average

American spends their time.
The chart is divided into six sections
showing activities per hour over one day.
Americans are hard-working - they work 8.2
hours a day. They sleep jor 7.6 hours,
take part in sports and leisure jor another 2.5
hours and do other activities jor 2.5 hours.
Americans do not take a long time jor meals;
they eat and drink jor 1.5 hours each day.
What do they do for the rest of the
day? Care for others
GRAMMAR for IELTS – PRESENT SIMPLE and PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Look at the chart and complete the passage.

(not) write gives (not) read
watch shows listen spend use
The bar chart shows how children
(1).....................
their time during the day. The vertical axis (2)
....................time in minutes while the
horizontal axis (3)..................... eight different
activities. Children in the UK spend most time
playing, at
nearly two hours for each activity. They (4)
...................TV for over an hour and a half but
(5) ...................much at just over half an hour.
Children (6 )..................... to music for over
half an hour but (7).....................as much as
this at just twenty-one minutes. Finally, they
(8)..................... a computer the least time.

Choose the correct tense to complete the sentences.

THE AMAZON RAINFOREST

The Amazon rainforest (1) covers / is covering
7,000,000 km2 and (2) is crossing / crosses
nine nations. Brazil (3) contains / is containing
60% of the rainforest and Peru (4) has / is
having 13%. Rainforests (5) are supporting /
support over half of our planet's plants and
trees. Although the Amazon (6) is representing
/ represents over half of the planet’s remaining
rainforests, people (7) are cutting / cut down
16,235 km2 of it every year and (8) are
growing / grow soy crops on the land.