CONTINUOUS ASPECT

1. Choose the best option a) or b) to complete the sentence.

1. The photocopier a) isn’t working b) doesn’t work at the moment, but the engineer
will fix it later.
2. You can’t go because you a) haven’t been finishing b) haven’t finished your
work.
3. I a) was having b) had a great time when my dad came and dragged me home!
4. The postal worker a) is weighing b) weights the package right now.
5. That’s a tricky question and I a) am not knowing b) don’t know the answer.
6. I a) was looking b) looked through my old papers and I found a letter from you.
7. Can you turn down the volume? I a) am talking b) talk on the phone.
8. I a) was hearing b) didn’t hear the doorbell so I carried on watching TV.
9. She has a) been studying b) studied all morning.
10. I live in Krakow, but I a) am doing b) do a course in Warsaw this summer.

2. Complete the questions. Use the correct continuous form of the verb in
brackets where possible. Which sentences need a simple form?

1. A: ______________________________________________ (cry)?
B: Because I just fell off my bike and it hurts!

2. A: __________________________________________ (work) there before

they fired him?
B: About twenty years. He was devastated.

3. A: _______________________________________ (do) since you graduated?

B: I’ve mainly been looking for jobs, but no luck so far.

4. A: ________________________________________(live) in Madrid?
B: Twenty-seven years. I moved here when I was twenty.

5. A: _________________________________(talk) to when I saw you earlier?

B: Oh, she’s an old schoolmate.

6. A: ________________________________(want) to be when you were a child?

B: A fire fighter. I loved the uniform!

7. A: ___________________________________________(wait) long?
B: About an hour. The hospital is always busy on a Saturday.

8. A: ________________________________________(not finish) your degree?

B: Because I ran out of money and couldn’t pay the tuition fees.