Present simple vs.

present
continuous
 The Present Simple Tense
  
 The present tense is the base form of the verb:
 I work in London. 
 But with the third person singular (she/he/it), we add an –s:
 She works in London.
 Some spelling rules:
 When the verb ends in -ch, -ss, -sh, -x or -zz, we add –es (watches, accesses, washes,
mixes, buzzes)
 When the verb ends in a consonant + -y we change y to i and add -es (hurries, studies)
 But when the verb ends in a vowel + -y we just add -s. (plays, enjoys)
 Have, go, do and be are irregular. (has, goes, does, am/is/are)
 Present simple negatives
Look at these sentences:

 I like tennis but I don't like football. (don't = do not)

I don't live in London now.
I don't play the piano but I play the guitar.
They don't work at the weekend.
John doesn't live in Manchester. (doesn't = does not)
Angela doesn't drive to work. She goes by bus.

We use do and does to make negatives with the present simple. We use doesn't for the third person
singular (she/he/it) and don't for the others.

 For the verb TO BE, we add NOT:

 I am not a tennis player.

 It is not important.

 They are not at home.

 Contractions: isn’t, aren’t

 Present simple questions
Look at these questions:

 Do you play the piano?

Where do you live?
Does Jack play football?
Where does he come from?
Do Rita and Angela live in Manchester?
Where do they work?

We use do and does to make questions with the present simple. We use does for the third person
singular (she/he/it) and do for the others.

 Where do Angela and Rita live?

What does Angela do?
When does Rita usually get up?

With subject questions, we do not use DO or DOES:

 Who lives in London?

Who plays football at the weekend?
Who works at Liverpool City Hospital?

 What caused the problem?

 Questions (the verb TO BE)
 Is she at school?
 Why is she so shy?
 Where is your home?
 Are they willing to help us?
 Present simple: basic uses
 General truths and facts
We use the present simple to talk about general facts that are always true and
permanent about the world:
 Ten times ten makes one hundred. (10 x 10 = 100)
 There is always a holiday on the last Monday in August in the UK.
 Time passes very quickly when you get older.
We use the present simple to talk about general facts that we think are true and
permanent at the present time:
 I really love my job.
 Mrs Clare doesn’t teach me but she teaches my sister.
 Do you live in Glasgow? My cousin lives there too.
 Spiders don’t frighten me.
 Martha does what she wants. No one tells her what to do.
 Regular and habitual events
We use the present simple to talk about regular or
habitual events. We often use always, often, usually,
sometimes, never and other frequency adverbs for
regular and habitual events:
 How do you get to work? Do you get the bus?
 I read every night before I go to sleep.
 We always have a holiday in the summer. We
never work in August.
 We usually fly to France when we go. Lorea
doesn’t like the ferry. It makes her feel sick.
 Stories and commentaries
 We often use the present simple to describe a series of actions –
one action after another. We see this especially in stories,
summaries of stories or reviews:
 [talking about the series of events in a novel]
 Alex doesn’t ring back at midnight … she waits till the morning to
ring, and they get annoyed with Liz when she goes on … they know
she’s got plenty of money by their standards …
 The present simple is often used by sports commentators to give
commentaries or report actions as they are happening:
 Smith fouls Mark. Habsi takes the free kick, Johnson shoots and
volleys. O’Brien blocks.
 Timetables and schedules

 The lesson starts at 9.30 tomorrow instead of 10.30.

 Lunch is at 12.30. Don’t be late.
 What time do you land? (talking about a flight at some
time in the future)
 They don’t start back to school until next Monday.
 The Present Continuous Tense
 
The present continuous is made from the present tense of the verb be and the –ing form of a
verb:
 I am working.
 They are playing.
 She is speaking.
Some spelling rules:
 When the verb ends in -e, we take off the -e and add –ing (moving, coming, facing)
 When the verb ends in a vowel followed by a single consonant and if the last syllable is
stressed, then the consonant is doubled (hitting, putting, rubbing)

 Lie – lying, die – dying, tie – tying

 
 Present continuous negatives
 We make negatives by putting not after am, is or are:
 I'm not doing that. (or I am not doing that)
You aren't listening. (or You're not listening; or You are
not listening)
They aren't coming to the party. (or They're not coming to
the party; or They are not coming to the party)
She isn't going home until Monday. (or She's not going
home until Monday; or She is not going…)
 Present continuous questions

We make questions by putting am, is or are in

front of the subject:
 Are you listening?
Are they coming to your party?
When is she going home?
What am I doing here?
 Present continuous: basic uses
 Events at the time of speaking
 We use the present continuous to talk about events which
are in progress at the moment of speaking:
 A: What time’s dinner?
 B: I’m cooking now so it’ll be ready in about half an hour.
 She’s pressing the button but nothing is happening.
 Temporary states
 We use the present continuous to talk about
temporary states which are true around the
moment of speaking:
 Her mother’s living with her at the moment.
She’s just come out of hospital.
 Who’s looking after the children while you’re
here?
 Change

 We use the present continuous to talk about a

gradual change:
 They’re building a new stand at the football ground.
 Maria, 37, is getting better and doctors are
optimistic she will make a full recovery.
 Recent evidence suggests that the economic
situation is improving.
 Plans and arrangements
 We use the present continuous to refer to
the future when we talk about plans and
arrangements that have already been made:
 We’re moving to Cambridge in July.
 Sarah isn’t taking Rory to football training
later. She hasn’t got the car tonight.
Stative verbs
We do not normally use the continuous with stative verbs. Stative verbs include:

 verbs of thinking and feeling: know, understand, believe, remember, want, love, hate, like,
prefer

 verbs of senses: appear, feel, sound, taste

 others: agree, belong, need, own, possess etc.

We normally use the present simple instead:

I understand you. (NOT I am understanding you.)
This cake tastes wonderful. (NOT This cake is tasting wonderful.)
 Practice:
  
 Complete the text with the correct form of the verb in simple present tense
or present continuous tense.
  
 My favourite aunt, Monica, ____________ (teach) archeology at the
university. Right now she ____________ (give) a class on the art of
ancient Egypt.
 She ____________ (do) a lot of sports and ____________ (go) to the
cinema regularly. This month, she ____________ (learn) to hang glide.
But she also ____________ (climb) mountains every weekend and
____________ (do) scuba diving when she is on holidays.
 Put the verb in brackets in the correct form (present simple or present continuous)

Next week, my friends and I _________ (go) camping in the woods. I
____________
(organize) the food, because I _____________ (like) cooking.
Dave ________________ (have) a big car with a trailer, so he _____________
(plan)
the transportation. Sam ______________ (bring) the tent — he ___________
(go)
camping every year, so he _________ (have) a great tent and lots of other
equipment.
My wife _______ (think) we're crazy. She (like) _______________ holidays in
comfortable hotels, so she ______________ (take) a trip to Paris instead.
 Answer these questions in pairs (focus on the use of the present simple and the
present continuous)

 1. How often do you watch TV?

 What TV shows are you watching these days?
 How often do you go to the cinema?
 Have you planned to go to the cinema this month?
 What is you favourite movie? What is it about?

 2. What do you do in your free time?

 What are you doing this afternoon/evening?
 What do you do when you are tired? What activities do you find
relaxing?
 3. What sports do you like to play?
 Are you playing any sports this week?
 Who is your favourite player/team? What do you like about
him/her/them?

 4. How often do you study English?

 What are you studying these days?
 What is your favourite course at the faculty?
 5. What do you usually do with your friends?
 Are you meeting any friends today?
 Do you enjoy going shopping?

 6. What do you spend most of your money on?

 Are you saving up for anything at the moment?

 7. Where do you like to go on the weekend?

 Where are you going next weekend?

 7. What do you spend most of your money on?

 Are you saving up for anything at the moment?

 8. Do you like to read? (books, magazines, blogs, news…)

 Are you reading anything these days?