# I am learning English for travel

Aim of this lesson: Revise and practice the present continuous (progressive) and learn vocabulary related to sports and hobbies.

## Dialogue

Richard is travelling to school with his son Michael.
(listen)
| Richard | Look at the children, Michael. What are they doing? |
| Michael | They're playing football, Daddy. The boys are kicking the ball and the girls are watching them play. |
| Richard | And what about the older boys over there? What are they doing? |
| Michael | They're walking the dog and talking on their mobile phones. Dad, can I have a mobile phone? |
| Richard | Er, ask your mother, Michael. And what is that old lady doing? |
| Michael | She's waiting for a bus. |
| Richard | And what are we doing? |
| Michael | We're driving to school. |

## Grammar Focus - Present Continuous

The Present Continuous is commonly used to talk about current present actions - things happening at this moment.
English for B2 students Grammar • Unit 2
Present Continuous :
| Situation | Form | Example |
| + POSITIVE | subject + be + verb + ing | I am learning English at the moment |
| - NEGATIVE | subject + be + not + verb + ing | I'm not eating a banana because I'm learning English |
| ? QUESTION | be + subject + verb + ing ? | Are you eating a banana or learning English? |
| present continuous describes actions happening at the moment. Use present simple to describe actions which are always true, e.g. NOT "I am living in London" but "I live in London." |||
| present continuous can also be used to talk about arrangements in the future - "I am meeting John at 10pm on Friday." |||
| present continuous is only used with verbs which describe an action. Use the present simple with verbs which describe states, e.g. NOT "I am being happy" but "I am happy" because "to be" describes a state not an action. |||

## Vocabulary - Sports & Hobbies

When we want to talk about doing a hobby we often have a choice of verbs we can use. This table shows the appropriate verb to use with different sports. Basically we use play with ball sports, do with exercises and martial arts (Asian sports like judo and karate) and go with sports that end with ing like swimming.
English for B2 students Vocabulary • Unit 2
Sports Verbs :
| Verb | Sports | Example |
| play | football, tennis, rugby, hockey, baseball, badminton | Let's play football |
| do | exercise, yoga, aerobics, judo, karate | Have you ever done yoga? |
| go | skiing, bungee-jumping, parachuting, kayaking, fishing | Shall we go skiing on the weekend? |

## Speaking about Hobbies

Work with a partner, if you can, and ask/answer these questions. If you're on your own you should think about these questions and write your answers instead.
* What sports and activities do you do regularly? How often do you practice?
* What sport are you playing or watching next week?
* How do you feel when you are playing this sport?
* What sports do you hate playing or watching?
* Do you have a favourite football team? Have you ever seen them play?

## Exercises

Try these questions to see if you can use present continuous and present simple correctly. The answers can be found here.
Complete the following sentences using the present simple or present continuous:
* Look at that bad man! He ________ (smoke) a cigarette on the bus.
* I _________ (study) for my exam at the moment.
* Do you have any children? Yes, I __________ (have) two sons.
* What are you doing tomorrow evening? I _________ (meet) my wife for dinner.
* Are you busy? Yes, I ________ (take) a shower.

## Grammar Reference

For further information about present continuous and present simple see Tenses and Forms.

## Vocabulary Reference

For an excellent list of sports vocabulary in English complete with pictures see Learning with Pictures - Sports on the Learning English Online website.
English for B2 students
* Aims • Unit 1 • Unit 2
• Unit 3 • Unit 4 • Unit 5
• Unit 6 • Test 1
* Unit 7 • Unit 8 • Unit 9
• Unit 10 • Unit 11 • Unit 12
• Test 2