Present Simple vs Present Continuous

Present Simple

 

Affirmative:	I work,you work,he/she/it works,we work,etc
Negative:	I don’twork, you don’twork, he/she/it doesn’twork, etc
Interrogative:	DoI/you work? Doeshe/she/it work? Dowe work? etc
Short Answers:	Yes,I/you do. Yes,he/she/it does,etc No,I/you don’t. No,he/she/it doesn’t,etc

Spelling: 3^rd person singular

· Most verbs take -s in the third person singular.

I drink - he drinks

· Verbs ending in -ss, -sh, -ch, -x or -o, take -es.

I miss - he misses, I brush - he brushes, I catch - he catches, I fix - he fixes, I do - he does

· Verbs ending in a consonant + y, drop the -y and take -ies.

1. cry - he cries

BUT: I play - he plays

Pronunciation

-s/-es in the third person singular is pronounced:

· /s/ with verbs ending in /f/, /k/, /p/, or /t/ sounds, he works

· /iz/ with verbs ending in / s /, / ʃ /, /tʃ /, / ʤ / or /z/ sounds, he watches

· /z/ with verbs ending in all other sounds, he leaves

Use

We use the present simple for:

· daily routines. I start work at nine o’clock in the morning.

· repeated actions. She walks to work every day.

· habits. They usually go to the park in the afternoon.

· permanent states. They live in Bristol.

· timetables, itineraries. The bus for Brighton leaves at 3 o'clock.

· laws of nature. Water boils at 100°C.

Time expressions used with the present simple: every hour/day/week/month /summer/year/etc, usually, always, every morning/afternoon/evening/night, in the morning/afternoon/evening, at noon, at night, etc.

 

Adverbs of frequency

 

Adverbs of frequency tell us how often something happens. They are used with the present simple. They are:

always (100%), usually (75%), often (50%), sometimes (25%), seldom/rarely (10%), never (0%). Adverbs of frequency usually come before the main verb (drink, work, leave, etc) but after auxiliary verbs (have, do, can, will, etc) and the verb to be.

He always behaves like this.

He is always late for work.

Do you sometimes stay at home on Saturday evenings?

Some adverbs of frequency can come at the beginning or end of a sentence (sometimes, usually, often).

He goes to the park sometimes.

 

Present Continuous

 

Affirmative:	I’m working, you’re working, he’s/she’s/it’s working, we’re working, etc
Negative:	I’m not working, you aren’t working, he/she/it isn’t working, etc
Interrogative:	Am I working? Are you working? Is he/she/it working? etc
Short Answers:	Yes, I am/you are. Yes, he/she/it is. etc No, I’m not/you aren’t. No, he/she/it isn’t, etc

Spelling

 

· Most verbs add -ing after the base form of the main verb.

tell - telling, catch - catching, stay - staying

· Verbs ending in -e drop the -e and add -ing.

write - writing, leave - leaving

· Verbs ending in a vowel and a consonant double the consonant and add -ing. cut - cutting, stop - stopping

· Verbs ending in -ie change the -ie to -y and add -ing. lie - lying

Use

We use the present continuous

1. actions happening now, at the moment of speaking.

She’s eating some pizza now.

2. actions happening around the time of speaking.

She’s staying at her aunt’s house this week.

3. fixed arrangements in the near future, especially when we know the time and the place.

We’re going on a picnic tomorrow.

4. changing situations.

The Earth is getting warmer.

Time expressions used with the present continuous: now, at the moment, at present, these days, tomorrow, next week, etc.

 

Stative Verbs

 

Stative verbs are verbs which do not normally have continuous tenses because they describe a state rather than an action. Some of them are: have (= possess), like, love, hate, want, know, remember, forget, understand, think, believe, need, smell, see, cost, etc.

1 love Chinese food. (NOT: I’m loving Chinese food.)

I believe you’re wrong. (NOT: I’m believing you’re wrong.)

Some stative verbs have continuous tenses but there is a difference in meaning. Read the following examples:

· She has a red car. (= possesses)

She’s having lunch now. (= is eating)

· I think she’s a very clever girl. (= believe)

I’m thinking about working late tonight. (= I am considering)

· The flower smells nice. (= it has a nice smell)

She is smelling the flower. (= she is sniffing)

· Do you see that man over there? (= perceive with my eyes)

I’m seeing my doctor this evening. (= I am meeting)

· She is selfish. (= that’s her character)

She is being selfish. (= that’s her behaviour at the moment)

· They look tired. (= they appear to be tired)

They are looking at the building. (= they are examining)

· The food tastes delicious. (= has a nice flavour)

Why are you tasting the food? (= eat it to try its flavour)

 

 

Present Simple	Present Continuous
daily routines, habits, repeated actions I have breakfast at 8 am every morning.	actions happening at the time of speaking I’m having breakfast at the moment.
permanent states He works for a big company.	changing situations It’s getting colder as winter approaches.
timetables, itineraries The bus leaves at 9.	temporary situations He’s staying with his friend until he finds a flat of his own.
Time expressions every hour/day/week/month/summer/year/etc, usually, always, every morning/ afternoon/ evening/night, in the morning/afternoon/ evening, at noon, at night	fixed arrangements in the near future He’s leaving for the airport in two hours.
Time expressions now, at the moment, at present, these days, today, tomorrow, etc

 

It’s 9 o’clock. He is going to work. He usually starts work at 8, but today he is running late.

 

 

10. Past Simple vs Past Continuous

 

Past Simple (regular & irregular verbs)

 

Regular Verbs Form

Affirmative:	I,you, he/she/it etc started.
Negative:	I,you, he/she/it etc didn’t start.
Interrogative:	Did I,you, he/she/it etc start?
Short Answers:	Yes, I,you, he/she/it etc did. No, I,you, he/she/it etc didn’t.

Spelling

 

Verbs ending in -e take only -d. change - changed, tie - tied Verbs ending in a consonant + y, drop the y and take -ied. try - tried

Verbs ending in a vowel + y, take -ed. stay - stayed, display - displayed

Verbs ending in one stressed vowel between two consonants, double the last

consonant before the -ed. plan - planned, but open - opened

Verbs ending in -1, double the 1 before they take -ed. travel - travelled

Pronunciation

The suffix -ed is pronounced:

· /id/ when the verb ends in a /t/ or /d/ sound, started, wanted, succeeded, ended

· /t/ when the verb ends in a / k /, / s /, / ʃ /, /tʃ /, / f /, or /p/ sound, laughed, cooked

· /d/ when the verb ends in any other sound, stayed, allowed, arrived

Use

 

We use the past simple to talk about:

· actions which took place at a specific time in the past. The time is either mentioned or implied. Michael left work at 2 pm yesterday. (When? At 2 pm. The time is mentioned.)

Mary cooked dinner when she got home. (When? When she got home.The time is implied.)

· repeated actions in the past (habits or hobbies).

She often played the piano when she was young.

· actions that took place immediately one after the other. He got up and took a shower.

· to talk about people who are no longer alive. Elvis wrote a lot of songs.

Time expressions used with the past simple: yesterday, the day before yesterday, last week/ month/year, two hours/days/weeks/months/years ago, when, then, in 2003, etc.

 

 

Irregular Verbs

 

Irregular verbs do not form the past simple by adding -ed.

come - came

leave - left

go - went

put - put

Note: See the list of irregular verbs at the back of the book.

 

 

Past Continuous

Form

Affirmative:	I was,You were,He/She/It was,We/You/They were playing.
Negative:	I wasn’t,You weren’t,He/She/It wasn’t,We/You/They weren’t playing.
Interrogative:	Was I, wereyou, washe/she/it, werewe/you/they playing?
Short Answers:	Yes,I/he/she/it was./No,I/he/she/it wasn’t. Yes,we/you/they were./No,we/you/they weren’t.

Use

 

We use the past continuous:

· for an action which was in progress at a stated time in the past. We do not know when the action started or finished. Linsday and Burt were playing chess yesterday at four o’clock. (We do not know when they started or stopped playing chess.)

· for a past action which was in progress when another action interrupted it. We use the past continuous for the action in progress (the longer action) and the past simple for the action which interrupted it (the shorter action). Kenneth was reading when Jane arrived.

· for two or more actions which were happening at the same time in the past (simultaneous actions). Martha was planting roses while Donald was washing the car.

· to give background information in a story.

The sun was shining and the birds were singing as the children were walking through the woods.

Time expressions used with the past continuous: while, when, as, all day/night/morning, all day yesterday, etc.

When/While/As + past continuous (longer action) When + past simple (shorter action)

 

Past Continuous vs Past Simple

Past Simple

We use the past simple for:

· an action which was completed at a stated time in the past.

They watched a film last night. (The time is stated. The action was completed.)

Philip finished university last year.

· actions which happened immediately one after the other in the past.

First he chopped the meat and then he sliced the onions.

Time expressions used with the past simple: ago, yesterday, last month/week, in 1998, etc.

Past Continuous

We use the past continuous for:

· an action which was in progress (i.e. was happening) at a stated time in the past. We do not know when the action started or finished.

At eleven o’clock this morning, Diana was studying. (We do not know when she started studying or when she finished.)

· two or more actions which were happening at the same time in the past (simultaneous actions).

He was relaxing in the living room while his son was playing in the garden.

· a past action which was in progress when another action interrupted it.

He was having a shower when the phone rang. (The phone interrupted his shower.)

Time expressions used with the past continuous: while, when, as, all day/night/ morning, all day yesterday, etc.

 

Used to/Would

 

We use used to:

· to talk about past habits or things that do not happen anymore. Used to has the same form in ail persons, singular and plural. It is followed by the infinitive.

Alfred used to go cycling when he was young. (Alfred doesn’t go cycling anymore.)

· We form questions with the auxiliary verb did.

Did Jack use to sleep a lot?

· We form negations with the auxiliary verb didn’t.

Steven didn’t use to eat meat.

· We can use the past simple instead of used to with no difference in meaning to talk about past habits.

hey used to live in Oxford. They lived in Oxford.

Note: T We can’t use used to for actions that happened at a stated time in the past.

She passed her examination yesterday. (NOT: She used to pass her examination yesterday.)

 

Affirmative:	I, You,He/She/It etc used to work.
Negative:	I, You, He/She/It etc didn’t use to work.
Interrogative:	Did I,you, he/she/it etc use to work?
Short Answers:	Yes, I,you, he/she/it etc did. No, I,you, he/she/it etc didn’t.

Would is used to describe past habitual actions, especially reminiscences, not past states.

Every day, we would have breakfast at the café overlooking the lake.

He used to be a farmer. (NOT: He would be a farmer.)

He used to be very happy. (NOT: He would be very happy.)