Present simple vs present continuous in English
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There are two choices in the English present tense, the present simple and present continuous. In this chapter the differences between these tenses is explained.
The present simple and the present continuous are both used to describe actions taking place in the present time, but the tenses are used for different moments in the present.
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The present simple is mostly used to refer to habits and routines in the present. The table below shows you all the situations in which the English present simple tense is used.
Situation | Example |
---|---|
You want to describe habits and routines. |
|
You want to describe a general or scientific fact. |
|
You want to describe an action that takes place, never takes place or is repeated constantly. |
|
You want to describe an event that is probably happening in the future. |
|
You want to refer to a past event. (In newspaper headlines and captions to photographs.) |
|
You want to give instructions or indications |
|
How to recognize the usage of the present simple tense? You can recognize the use of the present simple tense when the sentence contains words as:
The table below shows the situations in which the present continuous is used.
Situation | Example |
---|---|
You want to describe an action or event that takes place at that exact moment. |
|
You want to describe an action or event that is happening now, but not necessarily during the conversation. |
|
You want to describe an action or event that is already scheduled, but is not happening right now. |
|
You want to describe a temporary event or a temporary situation. |
|
You want to describe and emphasize a continuous series of repeated actions. Often combined with words as 'always, forever, constantly.' |
|
How to recognize the usage of the present continuous? You can recognize the use of the present continuous tense when the sentence contains words as:
Test your knowledge of the difference between the present simple and the present continuous by doing the exercises below!
Fill in the correct tense of the verbs between brackets. Choose: present simple or present continuous.
Remember:
He is with his girlfriend. (to fight)
Martha a teacher. (to be)
We soccer twice a week. (to play)
They are an essay. (to write)
I do not meat, I a vegetarian. (to eat, to be)
You are to work now, aren't you? (to cycle)
Fillip does not Italian. (to speak)
Do you at a big company? (to work)
Is he homework right now? (to do)
School in six weeks. (to start)
Fill in the correct tense of the verbs between brackets. Choose: present simple or present continuous.
Remember:
I am a very interesting book at the moment. (to read)
His birthday on the second of January. (to be)
Who what time it is? (to know)
You are the wrong knife. (to use)
We are Christmas songs. (to sing)
Susan a dancer. (to be)
Where do you ? (to live)
I a present for my birthday. (to want)
Sam is very good today. (to look)
They are to school now. (to walk)
Fill in the correct tense of the verbs between brackets. Choose: present simple or present continuous.
Remember:
He is her messages. (to send)
Is he the game? (to win)
We in Manchester. (to live)
Sandra me her homework. (to show)
Are you money on food? (to spend)
The plant day by day. (to grow)
The kids are in the sand. (to play)
He always about jokes. (to laugh)
I am to my mother on the phone. (to speak)
The car in front of the traffic lights. (to stop)
Fill in the correct tense of the verbs between brackets. Choose: present simple or present continuous.
Remember:
He is with his girlfriend. (to fight)
Martha a teacher. (to be)
We soccer twice a week. (to play)
They are an essay. (to write)
I do not meat, I a vegetarian. (to eat, to be)
You are to work now, aren't you? (to cycle)
Fillip does not Italian. (to speak)
Do you at a big company? (to work)
Is he homework right now? (to do)
School in six weeks. (to start)
Fill in the correct tense of the verbs between brackets. Choose: present simple or present continuous.
Remember:
I am a very interesting book at the moment. (to read)
His birthday on the second of January. (to be)
Who what time it is? (to know)
You are the wrong knife. (to use)
We are Christmas songs. (to sing)
Susan a dancer. (to be)
Where do you ? (to live)
I a present for my birthday. (to want)
Sam is very good today. (to look)
They are to school now. (to walk)
Fill in the correct tense of the verbs between brackets. Choose: present simple or present continuous.
Remember:
He is her messages. (to send)
Is he the game? (to win)
We in Manchester. (to live)
Sandra me her homework. (to show)
Are you money on food? (to spend)
The plant day by day. (to grow)
The kids are in the sand. (to play)
He always about jokes. (to laugh)
I am to my mother on the phone. (to speak)
The car in front of the traffic lights. (to stop)
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Hi! My name is Joyce and I am from Glasgow in Scotland. I’m looking forward to meeting you online to help you improve your English!
I have a degree in French and German, and have worked in tourism for over 30 years, living in many different parts of the world. I love learning about and getting to know different cultures.
I love travelling and have been fortunate enough to work as an overseas representative, and then manager, for British tour operators in such diverse places as Bulgaria, Spain, Jamaica, Italy, Austria, Paris, Thailand and Cancún, where our objective was always to provide the best possible service to our customers, the holidaymakers.
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Great teacher ! Joyce has good communication and focuses on what’s important for me. + she helps me to be more confident :) Thank you!
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After a year of classes with Federica, I can only say that she is an excellent teacher, I am very satisfied with my progress
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Thanks a lot! It's amazing how much progress you've made with English in one year! Keep going like this!
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Hi! My name is Joyce and I am from Glasgow in Scotland. I’m looking forward to meeting you online to help you improve your English!
I have a degree in French and German, and have worked in tourism for over 30 years, living in many different parts of the world. I love learning about and getting to know different cultures.
I love travelling and have been fortunate enough to work as an overseas representative, and then manager, for British tour operators in such diverse places as Bulgaria, Spain, Jamaica, Italy, Austria, Paris, Thailand and Cancún, where our objective was always to provide the best possible service to our customers, the holidaymakers.
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Times are changing and looking for a new challenge I have taken the opportunity this year to add to my skills and have obtained certificates in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, and Teaching English Online. I’m really looking forward to putting these to good use in helping you to improve your English vocabulary, grammar and conversational skills. We will go at your pace, incorporating reading, writing, listening and speaking, with enjoyable interactive activities to make learning fun.
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Great teacher ! Joyce has good communication and focuses on what’s important for me. + she helps me to be more confident :) Thank you!
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**** Please contact me before booking a lesson, thanks! :-)*** Hello everyone, I'm Federica and I'm an italian and english teacher. Before being a teacher I've been a student infact I graduated in languages so I know very well how hard can be learning a new language. I'm interested in music, cinema, literature and I enjoy talking about several topics. I've been teaching since 2009 and in 2012 I've qualified as italian language teacher. I've experience with children and adults, with in company courses, with total beginners as well as with advanced. Also I've succesfully prepared a number of students for the most important english and italian certification (CELI, CILS, FIRST, PET, KET). Over the last years I've became specialized in one-to-one or small groups lessons because in this way I can create a tailored programme for each student. I follow a communicative approach and in my classes there's lot of room for speaking but I don't neglect grammar, listening and writing. I provide you with material, sometimes selfmade, other times taken from books, videos, or songs, but always useful to help you to immerse in the target language! At the end of every lesson I always assign homework in order to revise the things learnt. I define myself as a happy, positive and very patient person and I do my best to make the class a funny and relaxed moment. I look forward to meet you online!
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After a year of classes with Federica, I can only say that she is an excellent teacher, I am very satisfied with my progress
Federica C.
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Thanks a lot! It's amazing how much progress you've made with English in one year! Keep going like this!
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This review was written by a coLanguage team member during a manual screening of this teacher profile.
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Catherine is very professional, I found the class very helpful and would fully recommend her as a teacher Thanks Catherine !
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