THE PRESENT SIMPLE VS
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
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THE PRESENT SIMPLE
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THE PRESENT
CONTINUOUS
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1: Things which are
always true:
E.g: Water boils at
100 degrees.
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1: Things which are
happening at the moment of speaking:
E.g: The water is boiling now,
so you can put in the pasta.
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2: Permanent
situations (or nearly permanent; true for a few years at least):
E.g: Julie lives in
London.
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2: Temporary
situations:
E.g: Julie is living in
Paris for a few months (usually she lives in London).
3: Situations which
are slowly changing:
E.g: I'm getting better
and better at speaking English.
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3: Habits or things
we do regularly:
E.g: I drink coffee every
morning.
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4: Temporary or new
habits:
E.g: I'm drinking too much
coffee these days because I'm so busy at work.
5: Annoying habits
(usually with 'always'):
E.g: My flatmate is always
leaving the kitchen in a mess!
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4: Future events
which are part of a timetable:
E.g: My plane leaves at
eight tonight.
5: To talk about the
future after certain words ('when' 'until' 'after' 'before' 'as soon as'):
E.g: I'll call you when I
get home.
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6: Definite future
plans:
E.g: I'm meeting John
after class today.
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6: To talk about what
happens in books, plays and films:
E.g: At the end of the book, the
detective catches the killer.
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7: To talk about
people in pictures and photos:
In this photo, my mother is
walking beside a lake.
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Remember:
We use the present simple with stative
verbs. We can't use any continuous tense (including the present continuous
tense, of course) with stative verbs.
PRESENT SIMPLE OR
PRESENT CONTINUOUS? EXERCISE 1
Direction: Choose the present simple
or present continuous:
1. (You / come)
_________________________________ tonight?
2. (He / eat)
_________________________________ rice every day?
3. I (work)
_________________________________ at the moment.
4. (He / come) _________________________________
to London often?
5. He (play)
_________________________________ tennis now.
6. (You / come)
_________________________________ to the cinema later?
7. They (not / come)
_________________________________ to the party tomorrow.
8. He (not / play)
_________________________________ golf now.
9. (You / play)
_________________________________ tennis this Sunday?
10. They (go)
_________________________________ to a restaurant every Saturday.
11. She (not / go)
_________________________________ to the cinema very often.
12. You usually (arrive)
_________________________________ late.
13. He normally (eat)
_________________________________ dinner at home. 14. (You / study)
_________________________________ every night?
15. (They / work) _________________________________
late usually?
16. You (not / go)
_________________________________ out later.
17. I (not / work)
_________________________________ tonight.
18. (She / work)
_________________________________ at the moment?
19. I (not / drink) _________________________________
coffee very often. 20. Julie (sleep) _________________________________ now.
PRESENT SIMPLE OR
PRESENT CONTINUOUS? EXERCISE 2
Direction: Make the present simple or
present continuous:
1. You (not / like)
_________________________________ chocolate.
2. She (not / study)
_________________________________ at the moment.
3. We often (go)
_________________________________ to the cinema.
4. He usually (not / do)
_________________________________ his homework. 5. They (not / eat)
_________________________________ rice every day.
6. We (not / study)
_________________________________ every night.
7. (You / like)
_________________________________ spicy food?
8. (She / go)
_________________________________ to Scotland often?
9. (He / eat)
_________________________________ now?
10. We (go)
_________________________________ to the cinema this weekend.
11. They (study)
_________________________________ now.
12. I (clean)
_________________________________ the kitchen every day.
13. She (work)
_________________________________ every Sunday.
14. We (not / sleep)
_________________________________ now.
15. He (not / go)
_________________________________ to the park very often. 16. It (rain)
_________________________________ a lot here.
17. I (go)
_________________________________ on holiday tomorrow.
18. How long (she / stay)
_________________________________ in London? 19. I often (read)
_________________________________ at night.
20. We (not / drink)
_________________________________ much wine.
PRESENT SIMPLE OR
PRESENT CONTINUOUS? EXERCISE 3
Direction: Choose the present simple
or the present continuous. Watch out for stative verbs.
1. Julie ____________ (read) in the
garden.
2. What ____________ (we / have) for
dinner tonight?
3. She ____________ (have) two
daughters.
4. I ____________ (stay) in Spain for
two weeks this summer.
5. He often ____________ (come) over
for dinner.
6. The class ____________ (begin) at
nine every day.
7. What ____________ (you / eat) at
the moment?
8. What ____________ (Susie / do)
tomorrow?
9. I ____________ (not / work) on
Sundays.
10. She ____________ (not / study)
now, she ____________ (watch) TV.
11. How often ____________ (you / go)
to restaurants?
12. I ____________ (not / go) on
holiday this summer.
13. I'm sorry, I ____________ (not /
understand).
14. She ____________ (work) as a
waitress for a month.
15. She ____________ (take) a salsa
dancing class every Tuesday.
16. It ____________ (be) cold here in
winter.
17. Take your umbrella, it
____________ (rain).
18. This cake ____________ (taste)
delicious.
19. The bag ____________ (belong) to
Jack.
20. When ____________ (you / arrive)
tonight?
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