Present Continuous Tense: Interrogative sentences.Wh-questions.

In the present continuous tense question forms are made by changing the word order of the sentence.

Forming a question

Yes/no questions are created by moving the verb BE to the beginning of the sentence. WH-questions are formed by moving the verb BE, and then adding the WH- word. Here are the rules:

Statement	Yes/no question	WH- question
I am eating.	Am I eating?	What am I eating?
You are crying.	Are you crying?	Why are you crying?
He is going.	Is he going?	Where is he going?
She is arriving.	Is she arriving?	When is she arriving?
It is sleeping.	Is it sleeping?	Why is it sleeping?
We are leaving.	Are we leaving?	When are we leaving?
They are fighting.	Are they fighting?	Why are they fighting?

Exercises

a) Write the questions and the short answers.

1. your dad / work / today /?

_____________________________

Yes, _________________________

 

2. you / have a good time / on holiday /?

_____________________________

Yes, _________________________

3. your mum / cook dinner / now /?

_____________________________

Yes, _________________________

 

4. your friends / play football /?

_____________________________

Yes, _________________________

 

b) Complete the dialogues.

1. I´m going on holiday.

Where ______________?

2. He´s cooking dinner.

What ______________?

3. My sister is going to England.

Who ______________?

4. We aren´t staying in a hotel.

b. Where ______________?

c) Put the verb in present continuous tense

1. Trina ___________ (walk) past the supermarket.

2. Where are you? We ___________ (wait) for you!

3. I´m on a bus and it ___________ (not move).

4. When ___________ you ___________ (come) to see me?

5. I ___________ (sit) on a bus.

6. Pete´s mother ___________ (not have) a burger.

7. John´s friends ___________ (play) football at the Sports Centre.

8. My best friend ___________ (sit) next to me.

9. I ___________ (not wear) something blue.

10. My teacher ___________ (not stand) behind me.

11. I ___________ (not write) with a pencil.

 

The comparative and the superlative

Comparative adjectives

Comparative adjectives are used to compare differences between the two objects they modify (larger, smaller, faster, higher). They are used in sentences where two nouns are compared, in this pattern:

Noun (subject) + verb + comparative adjective + than + noun (object).

The second item of comparison can be omitted if it is clear from the context (final example below).

Examples

• My house is larger than hers.
• This box is smaller than the one I lost.
• Your dog runs faster than Jim's dog.
• The rock flew higher than the roof.
• Jim and Jack are both my friends, but I like Jack better. ("than Jim" is understood)

Superlative adjectives

Superlative adjectives are used to describe an object which is at the upper or lower limit of a quality (the tallest, the smallest, the fastest, the highest). They are used in sentences where a subject is compared to a group of objects.

Noun (subject) + verb + the + superlative adjective + noun (object).

The group that is being compared with can be omitted if it is clear from the context (final example below).

Examples

• My house is the largest one in our neighborhood.
• This is the smallest box I've ever seen.
• Your dog ran the fastest of any dog in the race.
• We all threw our rocks at the same time. My rock flew the highest. ("of all the rocks" is understood)

Forming regular comparatives and superlatives

Forming comparatives and superlatives is easy. The form depends on the number of syllables in the original adjective.

One syllable adjectives

Add -er for the comparative and -est for the superlative. If the adjective has a consonant + single vowel + consonant spelling, the final consonant must be doubled before adding the ending.

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
tall	taller	tallest
fat	fatter	fattest
big	bigger	biggest
sad	sadder	saddest

Two syllables

Adjectives with two syllables can form the comparative either by adding -er or by preceeding the adjective with more. These adjectives form the superlative either by adding -est or by preceeding the adjective with most. In many cases, both forms are used, although one usage will be more common than the other. If you are not sure whether a two-syllable adjective can take a comparative or superlative ending, play it safe and use more and most instead. For adjectives ending in y, change the y to an i before adding the ending.

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
happy	happier	happiest
simple	simpler	simplest
busy	busier	busiest
tilted	more tilted	most tilted
tangled	more tangled	most tangled

Three or more syllables

Adjectives with three or more syllables form the comparative by putting more in front of the adjective, and the superlative by putting most in front.

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
important	more important	most important
expensive	more expensive	most expensive