UNIT 9

GRAMMAR: REVISION → 1) The Present Indefinite Tense & the Present Continuous Tense (in comparing); 2) The Past Indefinite Tense & the Past Continuous Tense (in comparing)

Grammar Exercises

1. Complete this conversation with the verbs in The Present Simple Tense or The Present Continuous Tense. They may be affirmative, negative or interrogative. Some of them are used several times:

cook

know

come

want

mean

play

do

like

take

go

Jane: Malden 4328.

Peter: Hello, Jane. This is Peter. Is John in?

J.: Hello, Peter. No, he isn’t in at the moment. He … football. In fact, he always … football on Friday afternoons.

P.: And what … you … at the moment, Jane?

J.: Me? I … supper for tonight.

P.: … you always … the supper, Jane?

J.: No, you know, John … supper quite often, but I … this evening because some friends …. tonight and I ... it to be good!

P.: What …you …?

J.: It’s from an Italian recipe book. I … Italian food, but I … (not) … Italian! … you know what a word “friggerre” mean?

P.: Yes, I … because I ‘m taking Italian courses.

2. Open the brackets and put the verbs into the correct forms of either the Present Continuous Tense or the Present Simple Tense. Then translate into Russian:

1. I (to go) to school every day.

2. He (to go) to the school now.

3. Look! They (to come) towards us.

4. Now I (to hear) her clearly.

5. Every morning I (to take) a walk by the river.

6. The sun (to rise) in the east and (to set) in the west.

7. The teacher (to watch) me when I (to write),

8. We (to go) to the cinema this evening. – So (to be) I.

9. I (to practice) my English now.

10. People often (to use) umbrellas when it (to rain). – So (to do) I.

11. Everybody (to know) that personal computers (to be) powerful creations that (to have) a life of their own.

12. At present people (to use) various tools of communication from pencils, pens and paper to television and computers to serve their minds.

13. What Peter (to do) now? – As far I (to know), he (to be) in the laboratory and (to carry out) an experiment with static electricity.

14. Please, don’t disturb Mr. Brown and Mr. Peterson. – Why can’t I? – You see, they (to demonstrate) the principle of electrolysis to their students.

3. Open the brackets and put the verbs into the correct forms of either the Past Continuous Tense or the Past Simple Tense. Then translate into Russian:

1. When at 6 p.m. yesterday I (to come) in, it (to rain).

2. Many years ago people (to travel) on horseback.

3. I (meet) him as I (go) home.

4. He (go) to another school last year.

5. My father (to play) football in his youth.

6. We (to eat) our dinner when he (come) to visit us.

7. In the past he (to smoke) a great deal.

8. They (to make noise) when the teacher (to enter) the room.

9. Last year he (to study) very hard.

10. While he (to play) football he (to lose) his watch.

11. When I entered the reading-room, Nick (to sit) at the table and (to read). It (to be) a book on modern computer technologies,

12. The abacus (to be) the most widely used device for arithmetic in ancient times and whose use (to persist) into Modern Times in the Orient.

13. It (to happen) so that in the 17^th century calculators more powerful than abacus (to begin) (to appear).

13. That wonderful computer enthusiast (to devise) a portable variant of a computer which (to have) a lot of practical applications for teachers.

14. In 1890 John Loud (to create) the first ballpoint pen.

15. Michael Faraday (to be) one of those scientists who (to try) their hand at unlocking the secrets of electricity and magnetism in the 20s and 30s of the 19^th century.

16. What important discovery Faraday (to make) connected with the moving a magnetic field?