Simple Present vs. Present
Continuous
Use the simple present for:
1) ROUTINES: action that happens repeatedly (habitual action)
2) general or permanent situations
3) facts
Use the present continuous for:1) Something that is happening now or close to the time of speaking
2) A temporary situation
PRESENT SIMPLE
Routines…
Simple Present (Examples)
1) Routines:Tom goes fishing every week.
I usually work until 2:00 p.m.
My family comes to visit me every year.
Frequency adverbs
• On Mondays, on Saturdays…
• At weekends
• Every day, year, night, morning, weekend, century…
• Once / twice / three times… a week/a month / a year…
Simple Present (More Examples)
2) General or Permanent Situations:
Carmen lives in Palma.Jack doesn’t work on Saturday.Beth and Toan work at ECC.
3) Facts:The Earth is round.Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.The Eiffel Tower is in Paris.
Present Continuous (Examples)
1) Action happening now or close to time of speaking:
Where’s Tom? He’s playing soccer.
Don’t bother the kids. They are doing their homework.
2) Temporary situations:Martha and her husband are
travelling around Europe for two weeks.
Lisa is living with friends until she finds an apartment.
Present Continuous . . . Time expressions
Now
Right now
We are reviewing the present continous at the moment
At the moment
Today, tonight…
Grammar Structure:
Here are some reminders about how to make the simple present and present continuous:
Simple Present:
The most important thing to remember about this tense is . . .
3rd person singular (he, she, it)We say:
IYouWeThey
Simple Present:
But for 3rd person singular, we say . . .
HeSheIt
Simple Present (Negative)
For all verbs, use:
1) Sara works on Sunday.Sara doesn’t work on Sunday.
2) They have a big house.They don’t have a big house.
3) Sam takes classes at night.Sam doesn’t take classes at night.
4) I have a lot of free time.I don’t have a lot of free time.
Simple Present (Interrogative?)
For all verbs, use:
Do SubjectDoes
Ex. Do you study English? Yes, I do.
Present Continuous:
Don’t forget that VERB BE is part of this structure.
I AMYou, We, They AREHe, She, It IS
Examples:
Everyone is studying hard.
They are celebrating their 40th anniversary today.
I am cleaning my house this week.
Present Continuous (Negative)
For this tense, simply ADD the word NOT after the verb BE.
They are working today.They are NOT working today. (aren’t)
She is taking a Math class.She is NOT taking a Math class.
(isn’t)
Present Continuous (Interrogative ?)
• Am • Is Subject V. -ing• Are
Are you playing football right now? No, I’m not.
Important Note aboutPresent Continuous!
Some verbs are NOT typically used in the present continuous tense. Instead, we prefer to use these verbs in the simple present.
These verbs are called STATIVE (or non-action) verbs. Here are some examples:
want like lovehate
know need seehear
believe understand have (possession)
forget remember belong
Examples:
I like Rome.NOT: I am liking Rome.
She has a big house.NOT: She is having a big house.
I prefer to have coffee.NOT: I am preferring to have coffee.
Practice!Do these exercises with your class.Choose the simple present or
present continuous and discuss why each is correct.
1. On Tuesdays, I ________ (go) to the gym.2. Karen ________ (paint) her apartment this
week.3. This room __________ (be) very large.4. He _________ (have) a headache right now.5. It ________ (rain) really hard right now. 6. Where is John? He _______ (work). 7. I ________ (meet) my friend in a few minutes.8. My family ________ (come) to San Diego often.
Answers!1. On Tuesdays, I go to the gym.2. Karen is painting her apartment this
week.3. This room is very large. (fact)4. He has a headache right now. (stative)5. It is raining really hard right now. 6. Where is John? He is working. (right
now)7. I am meeting my friend in a few
minutes.8. My family comes to San Diego often.
PAST SIMPLETENSE
AFFIRMATIVE FORM
Verbs can be:
REGULAR or …
Irregular!(IRREGULAR VERBS LIST AT THE BACK OF YOUR BOOK…)
Affirmative of Regular Verbs
All Persons add –ED to the Base Form:
I played
You laughed
He listened
She watched
We waited
They rememebered
SPELLING the –ED ending
Regular verbs ending in :1. E : Add –D:I lived , you decided , he liked, …2. Consonant + Y: IED:I studied, He tidied, …(vs: I played)
3. CVC: 1 consonant + 1 Vowel + 1 consonant: Double the consonant:
She planned , they stopped, …
Pronouncing the –ED:
Three possibilities:
- /d/ as in cleaned
- /t/ as in kicked
- /id/ as in decided
Plenty of pronunciation practice:http://englishteachermargarita.blogspot.com/2009/10/pronouncing-ed-2009-10.html
Affirmative of Irregular Verbs
You must learn them by heart:
A List: http://www.mansioningles.com/gram53.htm
An Irregular Verbs in Groups List:http://safasexto.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/irregularverbsingroups1.pdf
I wentYou readHe spokeWe heardThey came
All Persons are the same - as in Regular Verbs.