Unit 2 Learn more

A Present continuous tense

Al Lee is feeling hilarious with JackJack.

2 hours
I really love art lessons. Look at this photo
our art teacher Miss Wong took for us this
afternoon. Miss Wong is teaching us how to
paint with watercolours. But Jack and I are not
painting. We are playing with paint!

-ing form of verbs

• We use the present continuous tense to talk about things that are happening now.
’m/am
I
’m not/am not
’s/is
He/She/It playing.
’s not/is not/isn’t
’re/are
You/We/They
’re not/are not/aren’t

I’m doing homework now. I’m not reading comics.

Look! The children are fighting. They aren’t playing.
It’s raining now. Take an umbrella with you.
• We also use the present continuous tense to talk about ongoing
situations or to describe photos or pictures.
The baby is crying.
We are staying in this hotel during our holiday.
• We usually add -ing to the main verb like this:
Type of verb -ing form Example

Most verbs + ing sing à singing

Verbs ending in e e + ing make à making

Verbs ending in ie ie + ying die à dying

Short verbs ending in a double the run à running

vowel letter + a consonant consonant letter + begin à beginning
letter ing

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 Form & Usage
Practice 1 Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs in the box.

come have not listen steal

drive not feel sit

1 Look! The monkey is stealing food from your bag.

2 We are/’re sitting in the front row now. Can you see us?
3 Mr Wong and Mr Lee are having a meeting now. Please call later.
4 Can I go home, Miss Chan? I am/’m not feeling well.
5 Slow down! You are/’re driving too fast. It’s very dangerous!
6 You can turn off the radio. They are/’re not listening to it.
7 Hurry up! The bus is coming !

Practice 2 Make sentences in the present continuous tense with the words in brackets.
1 (Maria/shut/the windows) Maria is shutting the windows.
2 (My sister/practise/the piano) My sister is practising the piano.
3 (the children/not dance) The children are not dancing.
4 (the birds/fly/in the sky) The birds are flying in the sky.
5 (I/bake/a cake)  I am baking a cake.
6 (the students/enjoy/the talent show) The students are enjoying the talent show.
7 (the clock/not work) The clock is not working.

Practice 3 What are they doing? Write sentences with the verbs in brackets.

1 2 3 4

(swim) (run) (laugh) (smile)

5 6 7 8

(shine) (walk) (write) (lie)

1 It is swimming. 5 The stars are shining.
2 They are running. 6 They are walking (in the park).
3 She is laughing. 7 She is writing (a letter).
4 He is smiling. 8 He is lying (on the floor).

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Present continuous tense

Yes/No questions
• We put the verb to be at the beginning and the -ing form of the main verb after the subject to
ask Yes/No questions in the present continuous tense.
Am I I am.
Is he/she/it playing? Yes, he/she/it is.
Are you/we/they you/we/they are.

I am not (’m not).

No, he/she/it is not (’s not/isn’t).
you/we/they are not (’re not/aren’t).

Am I talking too loud? No, it’s just right.

Is Thomas listening to the radio? No, he’s playing with his new mobile phone.
Are they having English lessons? Yes, they’re learning some new vocabulary today.

• We can give short answers to Yes/No questions.

Am I walking too fast? Yes, you are.
Is she using the computer? No, she isn’t.

Form & Usage

Practice 4 Change the statements into questions.
1 Peter is talking to the teacher. Is Peter talking to the teacher?
2 I am looking for the keys. Are you/Am I looking for the keys?
3 Shirley is studying French. Is Shirley studying French?
4 We are going to the zoo. Are you/we going to the zoo?
5 It is climbing up the tree. Is it climbing up the tree?
6 They are asking the same question. Are they asking the same question?
7 You are eating too much. Am I/Are you eating too much?

Practice 5 Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
1 Is Mrs Dickson leaving (leave) the flat now?
2 Are the waitresses setting (set) another table?
3 Where’s Bill? Is he preparing (prepare) for the exam in his room?
4 Are the police officers checking (check) the house at the moment?
5 It’s so dusty. Is the worker digging (dig) a hole in the garden?
6 Are your friends travelling (travel) in Japan now?
7 Is the plant dying (die)? I always forget to water it.
8 Is someone knocking (knock) on the door? I hear some noise.
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Practice 6 There is one mistake in each sentence. Underline the wrong forms of the verbs and write
the correct ones above them.
Are Is
1 Is they drawing flowers? 5 Are she doing homework?
lying biting
2 Are you lie on the bed? 6 Is it bite her leg?
Are spending
3 Am we waiting for the bus? 7 Am I spend too much?
sitting Is
4 Is he sit on the second row? 8 Are the class monitor bringing the books back?

Practice 7 Look at the picture. Give short answers to the questions.

1 Are the cats sleeping?  No, they’re not/aren’t.
2 Are the cats fighting? Yes, they are.
3 Is the boy playing computer games? No, he’s not/isn’t.
4 Is the boy reading a book? Yes, he is.
5 Is the bird flying? No, it’s not/isn’t.
6 Is the bird singing? Yes, it is.

Grammar in Use
Practice 8 You have a free lesson today because your English teacher is absent. You are writing
a blog entry about what everyone is doing during the lesson. Complete the blog entry
using the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

23 June, Friday
Our English teacher Miss Chan is sick today, so we (1) ’re/are having (have) a free lesson.
I (2) ’m/am noting (note) down what everyone (3) is doing (do) now.
Mr Wong is at the teacher’s desk. He (4) ’s/is marking (mark) some exam papers.
Louis (5) is writing (write) an English composition.
Mason (6) is reading (read) a novel. He (7) ’s/is looking (look) up words that
he doesn’t know in a dictionary.
(8) Are Vivian and Lily using (use) their tablets? Yes, Vivian
(9) is watching (watch) an English video and Lily (10) is playing (play)
English online games. aren’t/are not
Joey and Tommy (11) doing (not do) their English homework. They
(12) ’re/are finding (find) a solution to a Maths problem. They look really confused.
Kyle and Donald (13) are chatting (chat) about what to have for
lunch today.
Ted (14) isn’t/is not feeling (not feel) well. He has a runny nose and
sneezed all morning. Poor Ted!
(15) Is Bobby feeling (feel) unwell too?
No, he (16) ’s/is falling (fall) asleep!

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Present continuous tense

Practice 9 You and Melinda are members of the Film Club. There is a screening today. Melinda is
late and you are texting her. Complete the text messages using the correct form of the
verbs in brackets.

Melinda
online

Hey Mel, where are you? They (1) ’re/are showing (show) the film now.
(2) Are you still having (have) lunch?

No, I’m not. I (3) ’m/am waiting (wait) for the bus at the bus stop.
Hurry up!

I wish I could. What’s the film about?

It’s an action film called The Gangsters. Now,
some triad members (4) are chasing
(chase) the main character. Oh, they
’re not/are not/
(5) aren’t letting (not let) him go!
Sounds exciting! Hey, the bus
(6) is coming (come).
Now, the main character (7) isn’t/is not trying (not
try) to escape. He (8) ’s/is fighting (fight) back!

The bus driver (9) is driving (drive) very slowly! I don’t know
when I can arrive. Tell me what’s going on in the film.

No, people (10) are looking (look) at me

because I (11) ’m/am texting (text) with
my phone all the time. I should stop!
Oh please, Josie!

Now, the main character (12) is riding (ride) on a motorbike.

Why? (13) Is he going (go) to the police station?

No, to the airport! He (14) ’s/is escaping (escape) from the country.

Oh, there’s a traffic accident ahead and the bus (15) isn’t/is not moving (not move) at all!

Oh no ...

Phew, the bus (16) is moving (move) at full speed finally after 20 minutes.

That’s the end of the film. The credits (17) are coming (come) up.
I think you don’t have to come now, Mel …

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Learn more

B Wh-questions

Name: Samuel Lam

Class: 1A

1 What is your favourite hobby?

Playing the drums
2 Why do you love this hobby?
I think it’s cool!
3 Where do you do this hobby?
¨ at home ¨ at school ✔ others: in the youth centre
¨

• We use Wh-words to ask Wh-questions for information about someone or something.

Wh-words To ask about … Wh-words To ask about …

What a thing or an event When a time or an occasion

Who a person Where a place

Which a specific person or thing from a Why a reason

few choices
How the way something happens

• We usually put the verb to be after the Wh-words when we ask Wh-questions.
What is that? It’s garlic bread.
Who is at the door? A police officer.
Which bag is yours? The red one.
When is the Sports Day? Next month.
Where are the students? In the canteen.
Why is Sally excited? Because she has a present.
How are you? I’m fine.
• We put do/does after the Wh-words, and the bare infinitive after the subject when we ask
Wh-questions with other verbs.
What do you like about your school? I like its environment.
Who do you have lunch with every day? Amanda and Benson.
Which school club do you want to join? The Art Club.
When do you get up every morning? At 7 o’clock.
Where do you live? Quarry Bay.
Why do you like the Drama Club? Because I’m interested in acting.
How do you go to school? By bus.
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Wh-questions

Form & Usage

Practice 1 Match the answers to the correct questions.
1 When do you leave school every day? l l Because it’s cute.
2 What is the colour of your new jacket? l l A watch.
3 Which restaurant do you prefer? l l Mr Lee.
4 What do you want for a birthday present? l l In a piggy bank.
5 Where do you keep your pocket money? l l Yellow.
6 Who is your class teacher this year? l l The Chinese one.
7 Why do you keep a pet dog? l l At 4.30 p.m.

Practice 2 Fill in the blanks with the correct ‘Wh’-words in the box.

how what who which when where why

1 There are no more giraffes in this zoo. Where are they now?
2 What does Sue like? I need to buy her a birthday present.
3 When is Mum’s birthday? Is it next week?
4 I’m not good at Mathematics. How do you do this calculation?
5 Which character do you like most in this film?
6 Who is your role model? What do you learn from him/her?
7 Why does your brother study Chemistry in university? Is it because he wants to
become a scientist?
8 It’s already 10 a.m. When does the tuck shop open?

Grammar in Use
Practice 3 You meet Jason at the school basketball court. Read the conversation and fill in the
blanks with the correct ‘Wh’-words.
You: Hi Jason. (1) How are you?
Jason: I’m fine. Thanks! (2) What are you doing here?
You: I’m waiting for Katherine.
Jason: (3) Where is Katherine/she?
You: She’s in the library.
Jason: (4) Why is Katherine/she in the library?
You: She’s in the library because she has to borrow some books for the History project.
Jason: I see.
You: (5) What are you having for lunch?
Jason: I’m having my favourite home-made garlic bread for lunch.
You: Looks delicious! By the way, (6) which school clubs are you in this year?
Jason: I’m in the Science Club and the English Debating Society. And you?

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You: I’m in the Science Club too! (7) When and (8) where is the regular
meeting?
Jason: Every Monday after school, in the Science Lab.
You: (9) Which floor is the Science Lab on? Is it on the fourth floor?
Jason: Yes, it’s next to the library.
You: OK. (10) Who else is coming?
Jason: Timothy and Harriet. They’re also
in the club.
You: Great! See you all on Monday then.

Practice 4 The Hong Kong Youth Orchestra is giving out questionnaires to students who are
interested in joining the group. You have filled in the questionnaire. Read your answers
and make questions with ‘Wh’-words and the words in brackets.

Hong Kong
Youth Orchestra
An orchestra for all Hong Kong secondary school students
1 Where are you studying? [studying]
Beverley College.
2 Which form are you in? [form/in]
¨
✔ Form 1 ¨ Form 2 ¨ Form 3 ¨ Form 4 ¨ Form 5 ¨ Form 6
3 What musical instrument(s) can you play?
[musical instrument(s)/can/play]
The piano.
4 When do you practise playing the musical instrument(s)?
[practise playing/the musical instrument(s)]
After school in the evening.
5 Who is your favourite musician? [favourite musician]
Beethoven.
6 Why do you want to join the orchestra? [want to join the orchestra]
It’s because I want to meet people who have the same interest.
7 How do you want us to contact you? [want us to/contact]
¨ by phone ¨ by SMS ¨ by mail ✔ by email
¨

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There is and There are

There is and There are

Learn more
C

Join our clubs!

In our school, there are over 30 clubs to choose from! You
can join the Gardening Club, the Board Games Club or the
Cooking Club. There is even a Vlogging Club! Is there any
club that you are interested in joining?

• We use there is and there are to show that someone or something exists. We use there is with
singular or uncountable nouns. We use there are with plural nouns.
There is milk. (milk = uncountable) There are some boys. (some boys = plural)
• We put is or are before there to form Yes/No questions.
Is there a cup? Are there eggs?
• We often use any in questions.
Is there any water? Yes, there is./No, there isn’t.
Are there any tigers? Yes, there are./No, there aren’t.

Common Error
We do not use short forms for there are .
✔ There are ✘ There’re
We do not use short forms in positive short answers.
✔ Yes, there is. ✘ Yes, there’s.

Form & Usage

Practice 1 Fill in the blanks with the correct words in the box.

there are there aren’t there isn’t there’s

1 There’s a party at my house. Do you want to join us?

2 There are some good restaurants nearby. We can choose one of them.
3 There isn’tany ice in my glass. Can I have some, please?
4 I’m so thirsty. There’s only a little water left in my bottle.
5 Please call the police! There’s a fire in the cookery room!
6 It’s too cold. There aren’t many people at the outdoor concert.
7 There isn’t any homework to do this weekend. Hurray!

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Practice 2 Look at the picture. Complete the sentences.
1 There are three birds in the sky.
2 There are not/aren’t (any) flowers in the park.
3 There are two dragonflies in the grass.
4 There are not/aren’t (any) apples on the tree.
5 There are some books on the bench.
6 There is/There’s a squirrel near the tree.
There is not/
7 ’s not/isn’t (any) rubbish on the ground.
8 There is/There’s a ribbon on the girl’s dress.

Practice 3 Complete the questions and the short answers.

1 Is there a morning assembly this morning? No, there’s not/isn’t .
2 Is there any money in your wallet? Yes, there is .
3 Are there any coins in the bag? No, there aren’t .
4 Are there any buses to Sai Kung? Yes, there are .
5 Is there a rugby match today? Yes, there is .
6 Are there firework displays? No, there aren’t .
7 Is there a Harry Potter Club at our school?  No, there’s not/isn’t .

Grammar in Use
Practice 4 Ryan is writing an email to his friend about his new school. Complete the email using
‘There is’ and ‘There are’.

Hi Kelvin,
Today is the first day of school. I’m so excited and I can’t wait to share with you!
(1) There are three laboratories at my school. (2) There’s/There is also a
STEM room on the fourth floor. You know I love Science. I think I’ll spend a lot of
time doing experiments in these places! (3) Are there any laboratories at
your school?
There isn’t/
(4) ’s not/is not a gym at my school though. We have P.E. lessons in the
playground or in the hall. (5) There are two badminton courts in the hall.
(6) Is there a gym at your school?
(7) There’s/There is a computer room in the new wing. (8) There are
tablets of the latest model and (9) there’s/there is high-speed Internet
connection. I look forward to having computer lessons there.
(10) There are many school clubs at my school. Which one do you think I
should join?
Cheers,
Ryan

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There is and There are

Practice 5 You are visiting the Science Museum. You have got a museum guide from the
information counter but some words are not printed clearly. Look at the floor plan and
complete the sentences in the museum guide using ‘There is’ and ‘There are’.

Ground Exhibition area 1: Exhibition area 2: Exhibition area 3:

floor Mirrors (101 Electricity (a lot of Magnets (an interactive
mirrors here in electrical equipment on zone hosted by trained staff
total!) display) members)

Information counter

Entrance

First Theatre 1 Theatre 2

floor (regular performances about the (a documentary about rare animals)
history of dinosaurs)

Cafe (under construction) Gift shop

GUIDE TO THE SCIENCE MUSEUM

What’s on the ground floor?
(1) There are three exhibition areas on the ground floor. They are about
mirrors, electricity and magnets respectively. (2) There are 101 mirrors in total in
the mirror area. In the electricity area, (3) there’s/there is a lot of electrical equipment on
display . Also, (4) there’s/there is an interactive zone
in the magnet area. (5) There are trained staff members to guide visitors in
doing experiments with magnets.

What’s on the first floor?

(6) There aren’t/are not any exhibitions on the first floor. Instead, (7) there are
two theatres . In Theatre 1, (8) there are regular performances about the history of
dinosaurs . Besides information about dinosaurs, (9) there’s/there is a documentary
about rare animals showing in Theatre 2.

(10) Are there any other facilities?

(11) There’s/There is an information counter next to the entrance.
(12) There are two toilets in the museum: one on the ground floor and the other
one on the first floor. (13) There’s/There is a gift shop on the first floor. We are
sorry that (14) there isn’t/is not a cafe in the museum yet as it is under construction.

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 2
Learn more

D Prepositions of place

Busy day
Can you guess where we are? Look at the shelves
behind us. Yes, we’re in the library. We’re busy
finding information for our project. There are so
many reference books on the table! We all look tired.
Megan is sitting between me and Janice. She says she
needs some rest. She’s Facebooking!
Posted on 12 October 5.34 p.m.

• We use prepositions of place to on

above
talk about the location of people
or things. These pictures show
between in behind
the most common prepositions
of place. beside/
next to
under below
in front of

Billy is on the first floor of the building. The bakery is between the bank and the flower shop.
Danny and Sarah are at the bus stop. The bakery is below Billy’s home.
Danny is beside/next to Sarah. There is graffiti on the wall above the flower shop.
The taxi is in front of the bus. There is a football under the taxi. Remind Ss that under
and below are similar.
The bus is behind the taxi. Mrs Lam is in the bakery. We usually use below
when there is a space
Tip between the two things.

We can use at to talk about an exact position, e.g. at home and at the corner of the room, or to
talk about an event or place where something happens, e.g. at the meeting. When we talk about
being at a building, it can mean either inside or just outside the building, e.g. at the hotel.

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Prepositions of place

Practice 1 Look at the pictures. Fill in the blanks with the correct words in the box.

above behind beside in next to under

at below between in front of on

1 2 3

The car is in front of the The woman is at The bird is on

bus. the entrance of the shop. the car.

4 5 6

The boy sits behind The yellow light is The police officer is standing
the girl. between the red and beside/next to Amy.
green lights.

7 8 9

The ball is in The hospital is The box is under

the box. beside/next to the school. the table.

10 11 12

Janice lies on There are two birds This T-shirt is too big
a mat at the above Karen. for Max. It goes almost
beach. below his knees!

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 2
Practice 2 Circle the correct words.
1 Rome is ( at / in / next to ) Italy.
2 The music room is ( at / in / on ) the third floor.
3 The toy shop is ( beside / on / under) the restaurant. It’s on the right.
4 We are still waiting for the ferry ( at / in front of / behind ) the ferry pier.
5 The coffee shop is ( at / between / in ) the post office and the supermarket.
6 I cannot see the face of the man because he is standing ( at / in / in front of ) me.
7 We have to put our bags ( at / on / under ) our chairs when we take the exams.
8 Amy sits ( behind / in / next to ) me. We can share our lunch without turning around.
9 Tall students usually sit ( behind / in front of / on ) shorter students in a classroom.
10 The Art Room is on the third floor. The Music Room is ( behind / below / next to ) it on the
second floor.

Grammar in Use
Practice 3 You are going to hold a party and you are asking your friends to help with the
preparation. Complete the instructions with the correct prepositions of place.

• We are going to have our party

(1) in the student
lounge (2) on the
second floor.
• There are two sofas, and there is
a coffee table (3) between
them. Please put all the food
and drinks (4) on the
coffee table.
• (5) At the other end of the room, there is a large table (6) in front of
the TV set. (7) Next to the TV set you will find a small chest of drawers.
There are some games and equipment (8) in it. The TV game controller
is (9) under the table. Please put it (10) on the table.
• There is a rubbish bin (11) below the window. Please take it away (maybe
put it (12) in another classroom for the time being). We need a bigger
rubbish bin (13) at the party venue.
• There is a picture (14) above the window. Please take it down and hide it
(15) behind the sofa on the left. This is part of a game we will play.

31
Prepositions of place

Practice 4 Today is the first day of school. You are in Class 1B this year. You are writing about the
classroom and your new classmates on your blog. Complete your blog entry with the
correct prepositions of place.

David
This is my
desk!
Venus Ivan

Susanna

This is part of our classroom. There is no one in the photo because all my classmates
are having recess (1) in the playground.
beside/
Ivan sits (2) next to me. He sits right (3) below/under the fan. I think it’s too
windy but Ivan likes where he sits. He says, ‘I like sitting (4) between you and
Venus. You two are very helpful and I can always ask you or Venus when there are
things that I don’t understand during the lesson.’
Venus likes playing basketball. Her basketball is (5) under her desk
(6) on the floor.
Susanna sits (7) in front of me. She’s a rather messy person. I have no idea why
she’s brought so many things on the first day of school. There are piles of books
(8) on her desk. There’s another book (9) in the corner of the
classroom. It’s hers!
David sits (10) behind me. He likes eating snacks. He has a packet of sweets
(11) in his drawer.
There’s a clock (12) above the noticeboard (13) at the back of the
classroom. It’s difficult to see the clock because it’s (14) behind all of us. We
need to turn around if we want to know the time. Maybe we should ask Miss Wong to
move it to the front of the classroom.

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 Unit 2 Consolidation
You are a reporter for the campus TV. You are reporting live the
activities on the school’s Open Day. Complete the reporting script
with ‘there is’ or ‘there are’, the correct ‘Wh’-words and prepositions of
place, and the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

This is Sarah Yu from Campus TV. I (1) ’m/am now

reporting (report) live our school’s Open Day.
As you can see, (2) there are crowds of schoolmates
and guests (3) in the playground. Two
basketball teams (4) are playing (play) against each other.
(5) Who are they? Oh, it’s our current schoolmates
versus our alumni. Many people (6) are cheering (cheer)
for the players excitedly.

Now, let’s walk upstairs to the art room. (7) Where is it? It’s (8) on
the first floor. (9) There are over a hundred drawings, paintings and crafts on show, all
created by our students. (10) At the back of the room, (11) there’s/there is a
huge painting created by over 20 schoolmates from Form 1 to Form 6 to celebrate our school’s 50th
anniversary. How beautiful it is!
Let’s go up a floor to the multimedia room, where our guests can learn
more about technology in our school. This guest (12) isn’t/is not surfing
(not surf) the Internet on the computer but she (13) ’s/is playing
(play) the online game Teencraft. It’s an award-winning coding game
created by our schoolmates!

Now, let’s move a few steps to the music room, which is (14) beside/next to the
multimedia room on the same floor. (15) In the music room, a mini-orchestra
(16) is performing (perform) music for our guests. (17) There are about 15 players
in our orchestra, and the conductor is our music teacher Miss Li. (18) What/Which musical
piece (19) are they performing (perform)? It’s Star Wars. Stunning music,
isn’t it? Finally, let’s have a look at our school’s telescope, which is located (20) above
all the floors at the top of the school building. (21) Why are the guests using the
telescope now? Because (22) there’s/there is a partial solar eclipse
occurring today and the guests (23) are observing (observe) it
with the telescope. What a bonus activity on our Open Day!
(24) There are many other activities going on until 6 p.m.
I hope all of you enjoy our Open Day!

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