🤔 What Is Your Partner Doing?
📸 What do you think is happening in this picture? Why does she look so surprised?
Before Reading
1. Look at the picture and the title. What do you think the story is about? Discuss with a partner or think in your head.
2. Key vocabulary preview: Listen to each word, then read the meaning.
Now you are ready to read the story. Pay attention to the present continuous forms – they are used in many different ways!
While Reading
“What is your partner doing?” I keep asking myself this question. Lately, she is acting very strangely. Every evening, she is spending hours locked in her study, and she is always whispering on the phone. I am starting to get really worried.
Yesterday, I am walking past the door when I hear a strange noise. She is not working – she is building something. I can see wires and small gadgets on her desk. Is she planning a surprise? Or is she hiding something from me?
This morning, things are becoming even more mysterious. She is getting up at 5 AM and is leaving before I wake up. And she is constantly checking her phone. My friends are telling me to just ask her, but I am feeling too nervous.
Then I remember: next week is our anniversary. Is she preparing something special? Is she creating a handmade gift? Suddenly, everything makes sense. Tonight, I am going to pretend I don’t know and enjoy the surprise.
✅ Quick comprehension check (while reading):
Advanced Present Continuous – More Than Just “Now”
You already know the present continuous for actions happening now. But at B2 level, we use it in several other ways:
- Future arrangements: I am going to pretend I don’t know. (a fixed plan)
- Repeated actions with “always” (often to show annoyance or surprise): She is always whispering on the phone.
- Changing or developing situations: Things are becoming more mysterious. I am starting to get worried.
- Actions happening around now (even if not at this exact moment): She is spending hours locked in her study.
In the story, we used all these functions. Can you find one example of each?
✍️ Practice: Rewrite the sentences using the present continuous with the meaning indicated in brackets. Click to check.
1. (future arrangement) I have a plan to surprise her next week.
2. (annoyance) He complains about everything all the time.
3. (changing situation) The weather is getting colder.
4. (action around now) She is reading a lot of detective novels these days.
🎙️ Pronunciation Focus: The -ng Sound /ŋ/
In English, the -ng spelling is usually pronounced as /ŋ/ (the back of the tongue touches the soft palate). Listen and repeat:
⚠️ Be careful not to pronounce a hard “g” at the end. It’s /ŋ/, not /ŋg/.
Practice with phrases from the story: Click to hear, then repeat.
🔑 Key Vocabulary (with audio)
Speaking: What Is Your Partner Doing?
Imagine you are the narrator. Record yourself describing the situation using the present continuous in at least three different ways (e.g., future arrangement, annoyance, changing situation). Also, try to use -ng words correctly.
Describe what is happening, what is becoming, and what you are planning to do.
Your answer:
