Giáo trình luyện thi lớp 12

UNIT 1
THE PRESENT SIMPLE AND THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSES

THE PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE

The Present Simple is used:
 For habits
He drinks tea at breakfast.
She only eats fish.
They watch television regularly.
 For repeated actions or events
We catch the bus every morning.
It rains every afternoon in the hot season.
They drive to Monaco every summer.
 For general truths
Water freezes at zero degrees.
The Earth revolves around the Sun.
Her mother is Peruvian.
 For instructions or directions
Open the packet and pour the contents into hot water.
You take the No.6 bus to Watney and then the No.10 to Bedford.
 For scheduled events in the near future
His mother arrives tomorrow.
Our holiday starts on the 26th March
 With future constructions such as Time clauses, Zero and First conditionals (after, when,
before, as soon as, until, if)
She'll see you before she leaves.
We'll give it to her when she arrives.
If you come into my garden, my dog will bite you.
Note
We usually use words like adverbs of frequency (always, usually / normally, often /
frequently/ regularly, sometimes, occasionally, rarely / seldom / hardly ever, never); every
(every day, every week, every night); twice a week, once a week, etc with the present tense.
THE -S OR -ES ENDING PRONUNCIATION
1) /ɪz/ when the final sound is any of the following sounds: /s/, /z/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /ʃ/ or /ʒ/.
Example: buses, buzzes, watches, bridges, crashes, garages
2) /s/ when the final sound of the word is /p/, /k/, /t/, /θ/, /f/.
Example: cups, books, cats, cloths, beliefs
3) /z/ when the final sound of the word is /b/, /g/, /d/, /ð/, /v/, /l/, /r/, /ə(r)/, /ɑː/, /ɔː/, /eə/, /m/, /n/,
/ŋ/.
Example: describes, legs, ends, bathes, knives, calls, answers, stars, pours, toys, scares, dreams,
songs

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THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

The Present Continuous is used:

1. For an action that is happening at the moment of speaking
You are using the Internet.
You are studying English grammar.
2. For an action or event in the future, which has already been planned or prepared
We're going on holiday tomorrow.
I'm meeting my boyfriend tonight.
Are they visiting you next winter?
3. For a temporary event or situation:
He usually plays the drums, but he's playing bass guitar tonight.
The weather forecast was good, but it's raining at the moment.
4. with "always, forever, constantly", to describe repeated actions which the speakers find
annoying.
Harry and Sally are always arguing!
You're constantly complaining about your mother-in-law!
5. For something is changing, growing or developing
The children are growing quickly.
The climate is changing rapidly.
Your English is improving.

BE CAREFUL! State verbs are not usually used in the continuous form
Time expressions usually used with Present Continuous:
now, at the moment, currently, nowadays, today, tonight, always, still etc

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PRESENT SIMPLE OR PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Present Simple Present Continuous

For general truths
• Water boils at 100 degrees.
For permanent situations
• Julie lives in London.
For an action that is happening at the moment of
speaking
• The water is boiling now, so you
can put in the pasta.
For temporary situations
• Julie is living in Paris for a few
months (usually she lives in
London).

For scheduled events in the near future For an action or event in the future, which has
already been planned or prepared:
• I'm meeting John after class
• My plane leaves at eight tonight. today.
Remember:
We use the present simple with state verbs. We can't use any continuous tense (including the present
continuous tense, of course) with state verbs.

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VERBS THAT ARE NOT USUALLY USED IN THE CONTINUOUS FORM

SENSES / PERCEPTION: to feel*, to see*, to smell*, to taste*

We all felt (that) we were unlucky to lose.
I am not feeling well today.
I see what you mean.
I am seeing the doctor
The coffee smells good
I am smelling the flowers.
The coffee tastes good.
I am tasting the cake.
OPINION to believe, to doubt, to suppose, to think*
He thinks the test is easy.
She is thinking about the question.
MENTAL STATES to forget, to imagine, to know, to mean, to recognize, to remember, to understand
EMOTIONS / DESIRES to dislike, to envy, to hate, to like, to love, to mind, to prefer
OTHERS to be (in most cases)*, to belong to, to have (when it means "to possess")*, to seem
I have a dollar now.
I am having fun now.
Joe is an American citizen.
Joe is being very rude. (Joe is behaving very rudely. Usually he is not rude)

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Exercise

A Choose the word that has the underlined part pronounced differently from that of the others.
1. A. proofs B. books C. points D. days
2. A. asks B. laughs C. lives D. hopes
3. A. sees B. sports C. pools D. trains
4. A. tombs B. lamps C. brakes D. invites
5. A. books B. floors C. combs D. drums
6. A. cats B. tapes C. rides D. cooks
7. A. walks B. begins C. helps D. cuts
8. A. shoots B. grounds C. concentrates D. forests
9. A. helps B. coughs C. cooks D. finds
10. A. hours B. fathers C. dreams D. thinks
11. A. beds B. doors C. plays D. students
12. A. arms B. suits C. chairs D. boards
13. A. boxes B. classes C. potatoes D. finishes
14. A. relieves B. invents C. buys D. deals
15. A. dreams B. heals C. kills D. tasks
16. A. resources B. stages C. preserves D. focuses
17. A. villages B. whistles C. assures D. costumes
18. A. offers B. mounts C. kitchens D. words
19. A. likes B. works C. accidents D. names
20. A. sports B. households C. minds D. plays
B. Put the verb in the brackets into the correct form:
1. Diane can’t come to the phone because she (wash) ………… her hair.
2. Diane (wash) ………… her hair every other day and so.
3. Kathy (sit/usually) ………………. in the front row during class, but today she (sit) ………… in
the last row.
4. Please be quiet! I (try) ………… to concentrate.
5. A: Look! It (snow) ………… .
B: It’s beautiful! This is the first time I’ve ever seen snow. It (not/snow) ………… in my country.
6. After three days of rain, I’m glad that the sun (shine) ………… again today.
7. Every morning, the sun (shine) ………… in my bedroom window and (wake) ………… me up.
8. (You/always/lock) …………………… the door to your apartment when you leave?
9. Pierre (smoke) ………… twenty cigarettes a day, but he (not/smoke) ………… now because he’s
in class.
10. Mike is a student, but he (not/go) ………… to school right now because it’s summer. He (attend)
………… college from September to May every year, but in the summers he (usually/have)
………………….. a job at the post office. In fact, he (work) ………… there this summer.

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C. Complete the sentences, using the Present Simple or the Present Continuous.
1. I ………… Lisa ………… detective stories to romantic ones. (not think/prefer)
2. Gertrude and Joseph ………… of getting married this summer. (think)
3. This house was built by my grandfather. Now it ………… to me (belong)
4. There ………… to be something unusual about this house. (seem)
5. You’d better not drink that milk. It ………… bad. (smell)
6. Why ………… that shirt? Does it need washing? (you/smell)
7. Now that Sheila is twenty, she ………… a car of her own. (have)
8. I can’t help you with your homework at the moment. I ………… dinner. (have)
9. Carrick ………… to be honest. I think we can trust him. (appear)
10. This famous actress ………… on a TV show these days. (appear)
11. Look out! The bus ………… (come)
12. There ………… our bus. We have to wait for the next one. (go)
13. According to the timetable, his train ………… at 7.45 p.m. (arrive)
14. I’ll phone you as soon as I ………… home. (get)
15. Hurry up! Everyone ………… for you! (wait)
16. Why …………? Is something wrong? (she/cry)
17. The universe …………, and has been since its beginning. (expand)
18. I’ll kill anybody who ………… my possessions. (touch)
19. “What’s your plan?” “We ………… to the pop concert this evening.” (go)
20. I ………… your sister ………… married. Is it right? (hear/get)
D. Correct the sentences if necessary. Tick () any which are already correct.
1. The kettle boils – shall I make tea? ..........................................................................................
2. She doesn’t like to be disturbed if she’s working. ...................................................................
3. The climate gets warmer and warmer. .....................................................................................
4. Chetford Castle is standing on a hill outside the town. ............................................................
5. I’m seeing my cousins tonight. ................................................................................................
6. You are looking lovely when you’re smiling. ..........................................................................
7. He’s constantly leaving his papers all over the places. ............................................................
8. I am seeing there’s been trouble in your neighborhood. ..........................................................
9. You’re all remembering what Hamlet says about suicide. ......................................................
I’m always forgetting to lock the gate. ....................................................................................
E. Complete the sentences by putting in the verbs. Use the Present Simple. You have to decide if
the verb is positive or negative.
Claire is very sociable. She knows (know) lots of people.
We’ve got plenty of chairs, thanks. We don’t want (want) any more.

1 My friend is finding life in Paris a bit difficult. He ………… (speak) French.

2 Most students live quite close to the college, so they ………… (walk) there.
3 My sports kit is really muddy. This shirt ………… (need) a good wash.
4 I’ve got four cats and two dogs. I ………… (love) animals.
5 No breakfast for Mark. He ………… (eat) breakfast.

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6 What’s the matter ? You ………… (look) very happy.

7 Don’t try to ring the bell. It ………… (work).
8 I hate telephone answering machines. I just ………… (like) talking to them.
9 Matthew is good at badminton. He ………… (win) every game.
10 We always travel by bus. We ………… (own) a car.

GV: Nguyễn Minh Chánh 7