BASIC SENTENCE STRUCTURE

PRESENT CONTINUOUS I PROGRESSIVE

Used tô describe an action that is happening NOW.

ÂFFIRMATIVE:
4
SUBJECT + AUXILEAIRY + VERB + ING + OBJECT

I AM EATÈNG A SANDWICH.
HE I SHE I IT IS EATING A SANDWICH.
WE I YOU I THEY ARE EATING A SANDWICH.

NEGATIVE:
SUBJECT + AUXILIAIRY + NEGATION + VERB + ING + OBJECT

AM NOT EATING A SANDWICH.

HE I SHE I IT IS NOT EATING A SANDWICH.
WEIYOUITHEY ARE NOT EATING A SANDWICH.
0

INTERROGATIVE:
AUXILIAIRY + SUBJECT + VERB + ING + OBJECT

AM I. EATING A SANDWICH?
IS HEISHE lIT EATING A SANDWICH?
ARE WE 1 YOU I THEY EATING A SANDWICH?

BASIC SENTENCE STRUCTURE

 Word SkIlIs: Addlng “Ing” n
When you writ• verbs in th pres.nt continuous and past continuous tenses, you use th end
~ng irig. Her are somi ruies to heIp you add that .ndlng.
Ru!. 1: For words that end in a suent (flot PrOnounC.d) e, drop thi e and add ing. Examplo:
srnil., srnhling.
Ru!. 2: For one-syllable words that end In oonsonant-voweI-consonant (except x), doubi. the
iast lotter and add k~g. Exarnples: sit, sittîng; n~, runnu~g.
Rule 3: For most oth.r words (indudingwocds thal .nd in y), add k~g with no changes. Exam.
pies ram, rau7ing, s.nd~ s.~ng

A. Now us. theso rules to add Ing to the following woida:

1. shave ___________ 1& hop. 31. save _____________

2. comb 17. jump 32. tap

~ 3. mak. 18. joke 33. ferry
~ 4. fesd 19. marry 34. buy (~
~4
~
5. do
6. empty
20. put
21. say
35. sew
36. eat

~ 7. jog 22. taik 37. wrtte

~ 8. talcs 23. stop 38. dream

~ 9. vacuum 24. type 39. cut
~ 10.go 25.use 40.roar
~ 11. SlSOP 26. wocry 41. snap

~ 12. wax 27. look__________ 42. dIg

~ 13. change 28. bat 43. bury
~ 14. fry 29. dance 4.4. ses
~ 15. get 30. hurry 45. grat.

~ U
~eseniConli~o~ is + 6~ i
Use thepresent COnÎjI3UOUS tense ofeach verb. Write tue verb in
die blankspace.

1. (work) He is worklng on a report right non’.

2. (study) We .sorneîmportantpapers.
3. (help) She___________ me with .thç report now.
4. (sit) The men______________ at their desks now.
5. (write) The Iwo girls______________ leu~rs now.
6. (work) Everyone___________ very hard righi now.
7. (watch) I________________ my boss ahdthe.visitors~:
8. (listen) They___________ to Mr. Wilson carefully.
9. (talk) Someone jo Miss Stewart now.
10. (talk) Sise________________ ta my brother right non’.
11. (inake) Thèj~___________ alotofnoise~
12. (clean) Suzan_____________ herbedroom. rightnow.....
13. (~writ4 Mr. Smith_____________ leiters now.
14. (fix) l7ze men_____________ thefloor in tise halL
15. (study) Somepeople_______________ their French test.

e
 fls
What are these people doing?
U~s ~‘&~ ir~ k~, tE~E~Z.

~kac~

1~ -~ -

q” Sb~.s ~

4.

5. .. .. ..

7 ...

L
 EXERCISE I :Complete thé table with the correct forms of the present
continuous..

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE QUESTION

I I am working.

You You are flot singing.

He He is eating pizza.

She Is she studying hard?

It It is flot snowing.

We. Are we Ieaving soon?

You You are fighting again.

They f They are flot reading.

EXERCISE2: WHICH PRESENT IS IT? ~S~vi~ple~. Pr~-~&r~4’ ~YY’

Decide if the following are in the simple present or the present

~4~5~41~k c4-~w~s
continuous form.. Write P for the simple present and PC for
the present coritinuous.

Ex..: Julïen’s creatong a theme park on Roller Coaster Tycoon. PC

I love ta see hîs creations. P
1. Where’s your mom? _______
2. I don’t llke it here. _______

3. She3s walking~thê dàg. ______

4. Do you hear the music? _______

5. l’m not working for the rest of the week. ________

6. We’re renovating the house. _______

7. They love to talk about boys! _______

8. Everybody’s sleeping. _______

 PRESENT TENSE SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS FORMS
-
.0
Use the simple present tense or present COntInUOUS tense.

1. John _________(do) his hornework 110W.

2. Look! It :.. ~. (snow).:
..

3~. I (read).
4.’ Mary (PIay) the plano nàw.
5. Mr. Smith ___________(corne) here every day.
6... Mary ~.. (play) violln welL
7. It ____________(rain)harj
8. The teacher ______________(talk) with Elenry and Helen,
9. Listen! Sorneone _________________(knock) at the door.
10. Thewind ________(blow) very rnùch in auturnn.
11. The telephone _____________(ring) during. the day.
12. John aiways ________________(walk) to schooL
13. Mary _____________(play) the piano now. O..
14. Mr. Smith _____________(srnoke) a cigarette now.
15. The telephone ___________(ring) now.

Wnte 5 sentences using the present continuous.

Write 5 sentencesusing the simple present.

—
 Cormparisons With Adjéctives
Look at the rules for writing the Comparative form al adjectives. f4
1. For one-syflabie adjectives: add -e, and than.
Iàrge larger than New York is larger than Chicago.
fast- faster than A car is faster than a bicycle.
2. For two-syflable adjectives that end in y. change.y to i,add -erand than.
easy easier than Math is easier than physics.
pretty prettier than Your dress la prettier than mine.
3. Fàr other adjectives of two or more syliables: use more than.
—

famous famous than Stevie Wonder is more famous than Ray Charles.
expensive more expensive than Steak la more expensive than chiàken.
4. lrregular adjectives
gocd better than Tea is bette, than coffee, 1 think.
bad - worse than My English is worse than yours.
4iirf~ ~ ~ctLØ.v~ j ≤ 4i~,j4~ ~ 1V~t~ ~
A. Add -er or more—— than to the following words. Use the mies tà help you. Theffrst
two are done for you.
1. big~ . bigger thon . 9. warm V

2. pretty pr~~ thon — 10. intelligent . .

3. good V. . 11. popular_______________________

4. boring . 12. noisy_________________________
5. small___________________________ 13. great __________________________
6. impôrtant 14. smart________________________
7. nice ____________________________ 15. expensive ______________________
8. valuable - 16. poor ___________________________

B. Write the correct form 0f the comparative In the sentences below. The first one is done
for you.
1. The Nue River is longer thon (long) the Amazon River.
2. People are ~ (intelligent) animais.
3. Florida is ~ (sunny) Michigan.
4. Boston is~ (smail) New York City.
5. I think that history is . — (interesting) algebra.
6. Chicago is (cold) Miami.
7. A Ford IS (economicai) a Mercedes.
8. A Toyota is __ (cheap) a Cadiilac.
9. Dogs are (friendiy) cats. V

10. I think that chicken is —~ ~good) fish.

 COMPARATIVE FORM

JSE THE COMPARATIVE FORM 0F THE WORD IN PARENTHESES

1. My brother is (tau) your brother.

2. He may be taller but my brother is (good-Iooking) yours!

3. This year’s exams are (difficuif) Iast year’s exams.

4. ‘That’s strange, I thought it was (easy) . in Sec. 2.”

5. This river is (dangeroUS) the one we followed yesterday.

6. But you have to admit that it is (beautifu!) the other river.

7. The sound of the rapids is (Ioud) it was an hour ago..:

8. I steer the boat (good) I did last summer.

9 Your stories are (interesting) mine

10. This part of the country is (wlld) where we live.

11. •This canoe is (good) the one we rented before.

12. That one was (bad) the canoe we are using this summer.

13. The weather is (cold) it was this moming.

14 Yesterday’s storm was (wolent) the day before

15. Hîs dog is (welI-behaVed) my sister’s puppy.

16. That’s because his dog is (old) your sister’s puppy.

17 But she is teaching it to perform (amazing tricks) the ones he knows

18 The cold that you caught is (bad) the last one

19 This winter has been generally (warm) other years

20 I think the temperature in Florida is (good) in Quebec

21 It’s true that Florida is (popular) Quebec with sun loyers

 EXERC.ISE 7:~ Write the comparative forms for thefolfowing adjectives.

1. old older ((han) 9. sweet________ -j

10. expenSive.__ j
2. small —

3. big 11. hot _____

-~

4. important 12. cheap

5. easy 13. good
6. dj.fficult -
14. bac~_
7. long L 15. far — —~

8. heavy 16. lazy.... j

EXERCISE 8: Càmpléte the sentences. Use the comparative form of the

) words in parentheses.

1. (comforrab!e) This chair is more comfortable than that j

chair.
2. (large) Your apartment is
mine.
3. (warrn) It’ s today
k was yesterday.
4. (dark) Tom’s mustache is
Don’s.
5. (important) Love is than
. .• môney.

6. (lazy) l’m my
. roornrnate.
7 (laI!) My brôther is ________ (han
• lam.*

8H(heavy) IràflLS.____ _wood.

Formai wrtttcn English My bro(her is ruiler than I (ami

 9. (difficult) My physics course is _______________

I _____________________________________ my math course.

10. (goocl) Her English is __________________________________ her

husband’s.
11. (long) The Nue River is ______________________________________

4 the Mississippi.
12. (intelligent) A dog is ___________________________________ a chicken...
13. (gôod) Mywife’scookingis______________________________
• _______________________________mine. V

14. (bad) V My cooking is _________________________________ my

• V wife’s.

15. (short) My littie fïnger is ______________________________________

my middleVfinger.
16. (preuy) This dress is ______________________________________ that
one.
17. ~far~ Your apartment is \ V)

from school . mine.

V 18. (strong) A horse is V V a
person.
19. (curly) Tom’shair is _______________________________________

mine.
20. (beautifuï~ Aroseis V aweed.

EXERCISE 9: Same as the preceding exercise. V

1. (goocf) The weather today is ___________________________________

it. was yesterday.

2. (bacf) The weather yesterday was_______________________________
_______________________________________‘it is today.
3. (funay) This story is V that
story. .. .• ..

4- ~ T~ii~ bazki~ V o~e.

 5:(,rt) Bobis ___________________ _____his broiher..
6. (famous) • A movie star is — ..Iazn.
7. (wide) A highway is — Z~an
allèy.
8. (deep) The Pacific Oceanis _______

the Mediterranean Sea.

9. (confusing) This story is — ___ that :
st ory.
10. (fat) A pig is a chicken.
11. (thin) A giraffe’s neck is - I
an elephant’s neck.
12. (far) My house is — from
downtown your
house is.
) 13. (goocl) Reading a good book is
watching televisjon.
14. (easy) My English class is
my history class.
15. (nervous) Thegroom was —
at
the wedding the
bride.

4j
 EXERCISE 12: Complete the søi~tences. Use the comparative form of the
wo~ds in the Iist (or your own words).

big eosy important..

L;4~h1 expensive intelligent
cheap fast large
co!d high small
comforrable hot sweer

1. An elephant is bigger than/l~rger than a mouse.

2.,, A lemon is saur. An orange is _____________________________________ a
Lemon.
~• Texas is a large state, but Alaska is ______________________ _______

Texas.
4. A diamond costs a lot of rnoney. A diamond is ____________________________

aruby.
V. ~ 5~ ;Harnbur,ger is expensive, but it’s ________________________________________

steak
6An airpiane moves quckly. An airpiane is ______________________

an automobile.
________

7...Alakejs _____________———— anocean.

8. A person can think logically. A person is__________________________

________ an animal.
9. Fulls are low. Mountains are ~ . hjlk.
10. Thesungivesoffalotofljgh( Thesunis _______________________

-~ the moon.
11. Sometimes my feet hurt when I wear high heels. Bedroom siippers are

~sh oes with high heels.

12. Arithmeticisn’t difficuit. Arithmetjcjs __________________________

algebra.
Good health is V — money.
The weather today is V it was yestei-dav.
u
Superlatives With Adjectives
Look at the rules for writing the superlative form of adjectives

I For one-syllable adjectives use the —est

large the largest Mexico City is the Iargest city in the world
tau the tallest The Sears building is the tallest building
2 For two-syllable adjectives that erid in y change ytol, use the est
pretty the prettiest Sue is the prettlest girl in the class
funny the funniest Jase is the funniest person I know
3 For two or more syllabies use the most—
beautiful the most beautiful I think Paris is the most beautiful city
handsome the most handsome Bob is the mosthandsome boy in our club
4 irregular adjectives
good the best Kim is the best student in my class
bad the worst £~Jim~s Diner” is the worst restaurant in town

A. Add ————est or the most -——— ta the following words. Use the rules to help you. The.
first two are done for you.
1. famous the most fcimous 9. bad
2.. large thelargest 10. iazy
3. rich __________________________ 11. economical
4. heavy _________________________ 12. exciting
5 honest _________________________ 13 ugly
6. .modern _________________________ 14. straight
7. strong~ 15. chéap
8. powerful 16. interestÏng

B. Write the correct form 0f the superlative in the sentences below. The first one is done
for you.
1. Mt. Everest is the highest (high) mountain in the world.
2. Queen Elizabeth Il is _______________________________ (rich) woman in the world.
3. John F. Kennedy was______________________________ (young) president 0f the U.S.
4. Vie New York Times is _____________________________ (important) newspaper in
NewYork.
5. Bennington College was (expensive) coilege in the
United States in 1988.
6. Mohammed Ail is probably (famous) boxer in
theU.S.
7. (old) university in the world is in Morocco.
8. Many Americans think that Abraham Lincoiri was
(great) U.S. president.
B. Fui in the blanks to compiete the foliowing sentences.
Use the superlative form of the adjectives given.

Example
book interesting.
-

This 1700k is the most inlerestfrig I have ever read.

1. hamburger de!icious. -

This ____________ is f~e Vv~6SI- rJji~c(~ut~~ one I have

ever eaten. -

2. kitchen large.
The ____________ is _____ _________ room in the bouse.

3. cheesecake-best.
Your _____________ is - I have ever tasted.

4. nephew nice. - -•.

My __________ 15 ______________ person I have ever known. j

5. skidoo powerful.
-

Your ___________ is ____________ ___________ one on the

6. book thick.
- is _____ ___________ one I have ever read.

7. basketball player tait. -

That ___________________ 15 _____ ________ mon I have ever seen.

8. (Person’s name) - iazy. j -

__________________ is _____ person I know.

-\

J T~
 ÉCOLE SECONDAIRE LE TREMPLIN, LEVEL 3

SUPERLATIVE FORM

• ~IJSE Ti-IE SUPERLATIVE FORM 0F THE WORD IN PARENTHESES

• ~IDYOUKNOW?
• 1 (large) ocean,the Pacific, covers haif the surfacé of1hée~rth., V V

• 2 (extensive) Iar~d m~s~ is~Euràsia (Europe and Asia combined). V

• 3 The Bay of Fundy has
• 4 The Sahara Desert in Africa is
• 5
• 6 Tibet has
• 7 If you like waterfaIls
• where you will find one 979 meters high.
• 8
• 9
) for 400 years.
10 If you enjoy the heat,
• temperature can go up to 58°C.
(‘remarkable~ difference in its Iow an~d high
(enormous) expanse of ae~sert inthe World.
(bad) place to be if you are afraid of heights is MçuntEverest (8,863 m).
(high) plateau in the world at 4,875 meters above sea level.
(good) place to go is Salto del Angel, in Venezuela,
(violent) earthquake was recorded in Valdini, Chue (9.5 onVthe. Richter scale).
(dry) place on earth is in the desert of Atacama, Chile, where it hasn’t rained
(good) place to v~sit is AI Azizyah, in Libya, where th
V V V -

• V «ainy,) place is in Cherrapunji, India, where they have had as much

• as 26,461 mm of rein in one year.
• 12. If you feel the cold ~‘bad~ place you could go to 15 the South Pole, in
• Antarctica, which has a mean temperature of —57.8°C.
13. Manitoulln, the island in Lake Huron, is (big)freshwater island ~fl the world.
14. Still rumbling, Ojos del Salado, in South Arnerica, is (elevated) active volcano.
• 15 (far) you can travel along one river is 6,670 km. On the Nue.
16. Lake Baikal, Siberia, is (deep) lake, at 1,637 meters.
• 17. A point in the Marianna Trench in the Pacific Ocean has (unbelievable)
depthçf 11,032 meters V

18. Mammoth Grotto in-Kentucky, USA, goes (far) under ground with a
distance of 560 km V

19. The Grand Canyon is (renowned) canyon in the world. It is 349 km. long.
20. If you enjoy scuba diving (good) place to be is along the Great Barrier Reef,

V V off the coast 0f Australia. It is 2,027 km. long. V V

~IV~/21. (long) rift valley in the world is in Ethiopia and stretches for 6,400 km.
 SUPERLATIVE FORM

USE THE SUPERLATIVE FORM 0F THE WORD IN PARENTHESES.

(1) Q.~1.1Lt.~1~ t. ~‘briIIianV starthatwe can. see iii the Northern Hemïsph~re .is caIl~d Sinus.
Another giant red star, called Beteigeuse, is (2) ~ (large) star we ca~ see without
the aid cf a teies~çpe In millions cf years’ time Hie sun may become a red giant Other heavier stars, (more
‘~~~i1î~ei1tuaiiy become supergiants In many millions of years a supergiant will explode into a supernova,
(3) ..~t.t~’k&~+ (great) type of explosion known in our universe. A black hole is ail that is left
after à supérnova has eventually exploded. These black holes are (4) (strange)
objécts in the tiniverse às they are invisible. (5)•~ (good) way to teli if a black hole
exists is to test its gravitation force Its gravitational pull exerts (6) (extraordinary)
force imaginable Even light cannot move fast enough to escape its attraction Solar eruptions producing jets 0f
heat and energy, measuring as much as 600,000 km in length, are (7) (violent)
activity that occurs on the sun’s surface

The planet Jupiter s (8) (big) planet in our solar system Satum would be
(9) (bad) planet to land on as the winds travel at least ten times faster than an
earth tornado at an average of 1,800 km/hour However it is (10) (fantastic)
to look at through a telescope Mercury iS (11) (close) planet to the sun and
Pluto is (12) (far) (13) (enormous)
planet, Jupiter, has (14) (short) day a littie less than 10 earth hours and,
-

like Saturn, Uranus and Nepturie, it is surrounded by clouds of swirling gas Olympus Moons, on Mars, is
(15) (high) mountain of ail the planets in our solar system, while on
Venus the temperature ‘s so hot that it would flot be (16) (good) place to visit Its
atmosphere cf carbon dioxide is (17) (effective) way of preventing heat from
escaping (18) (good) time to see Venus is at sunset, in the western sky it is
(19) (amazing) sight to watch this bnight pianet appear near the horizon as it begins
to get dark

When you look up at the sky, neyer look directly at the sun, it is (20) (bad)
thing you couid possibiy do you could damage your eyes Have you ever wondered if we will ever reach
- ç
(21) (far) limits of our universe9