PRESENT SIMPLE versus PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Every autumn, the people of Pineville set out on a memorable journey up Blue Peak Mountain.
As September approaches, they mark their calendars. They know the hike always takes
place on the first Saturday of the month.

Today is the day! Right now, hikers are gathering at the base of the mountain. The local
school band is playing uplifting tunes as the people get together. Every year, the hike starts
at 8 a.m. sharp, and it's almost time.

At 10 a.m., the group reaches the halfway point. There is a well-known resting spot where
they have a 30-minute break. By noon, they reach the summit. Most hikers look forward to
the picnic at the peak. The local bakery delivers fresh bread for this occasion, and this year is
no exception.
It is 3 p.m. and the group is heading back to Pineville. Some kids are chatting excitedly
about the ice cream van that always waits at the mountain's base. It leaves at 5 p.m., so they
want to make it back in time.

The town's community hall is hosting a celebration dinner at 7 p.m. Tonight, a local band is
performing, and the mayor is giving a short speech.

This tradition unites the people of Pineville. The hike is difficult, but they take pleasure in the
gathering and the moments they share.

Present Simple

1: We use the present simple when something is generally or always true.

People need food.
It snows in winter here.
Two and two make four.
2: Similarly, we need to use this tense for a situation that we think is more or less permanent.
(See the present continuous for temporary situations.)
Where do you live?
She works in a bank.
I don't like mushrooms.
Every autumn, the people of Pineville set out on a memorable journey up Blue Peak Mountain.
3: The next use is for habits or things that we do regularly. We often use adverbs of frequency
(such as 'often', 'always' and 'sometimes') in this case, as well as expressions like 'every Sunday'
or 'twice a month'. (See the present continuous for new, temporary or annoying habits).
Do you smoke?
I play tennis every Tuesday.
I don't travel very often.
4: We use the present simple to talk about the future when we are discussing a timetable or a
fixed plan. Usually, the timetable is fixed by an organisation, not by us.
School begins at nine tomorrow.
What time does the film start?
The plane doesn't arrive at seven. It arrives at seven thirty.
The ice-cream van leaves at 5 p.m.

1
Simple Present Exercises:
A. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in the boxes.

B. Complete the sentences.

C. Put the frequency adverb in the correct place in the sentence.

1. The children go to school by the bus. (always) 4. I clean my bedroom. (every week)
_____________________________ _____________________________
2. The shops are very busy. (often)
5. Dad polishes his shoes. (twice a week)
_____________________________
_____________________________
3. We walk home from school. (every day)
_____________________________

Simple Present / Asking Questions

A. Ask questions for the underlined words.

1.Julia likes pop-music.
a b
a)
b)

2.Maria comes from Spain.

3.They play in the garden.

a b
a)
b)

2
4.Rick rides his bike.

5.Mary is at home on Saturdays.

a b
a)
b)

6.We go to Miami for our holiday in February because it is warm there.

A b c
a)
b)
c)

7.Joe repairs his bike in the garage every time it breaks.

a b c
a)
b)
c)

8.Robin drives his car carefully.

a b c
a)
b)
c)

9.Peter runs with Mark in the park every weekend.

a b c
a)
b)
c)

10. Eric goes to Italy all the time because his wife works there.
a b
a)
b)

Present Continuous

1: First, we use the present continuous for things that are happening at the moment of speaking.
These things usually last for quite a short time and they are not finished when we are talking
about them.
I'm working at the moment.
Please call back as we are eating dinner now.
Julie is sleeping.
Right now, hikers are gathering at the base of the mountain.
2: We can also use this tense for other kinds of temporary situations, even if the action isn't
happening at this moment.
John's working in a bar until he finds a job in his field. (He might not be working now.)
I'm reading a really great book.
She's staying with her friend for a week.
Compare this with the present simple, which is used for permanent situations that we feel will
continue for a long time.
I work in a school. (I think this is a permanent situation.)
I'm working in a school. (I think this is a temporary situation.)
3
3: We can use the present continuous for temporary or new habits (for normal habits that
continue for a long time, we use the present simple). We often use this with expressions like
'these days' or 'at the moment'.
He's eating a lot these days.
She's swimming every morning (she didn't use to do this).
You're smoking too much.
4: Another present continuous use is for habits that are not regular, but that happen very often. In
this case we usually use an adverb like 'always', 'forever' or 'constantly'. Often, we use the present
continuous in this way to talk about an annoying habit.
You're forever losing your keys!
She's constantly missing the train.
Lucy's always smiling!
5: The next use is for definite future arrangements (with a future time word). In this case we have
already made a plan and we are pretty sure that the event will happen in the future.
I'm meeting my father tomorrow.
We're going to the beach at the weekend.
I'm leaving at three.
The town's community hall is hosting a celebration dinner at 7 p.m.

Present Continuous Exercises:

I. Complete the conversation with the correct Present Continuous Tense form of the
verbs given and answer the questions with short answers.
A: So what 1. ................................... (happen)? 2. ...................................... (they/have) a
party?

B: Yes, they 3. ......................

A: And what 4. ................................................................ (they/do)?

B: Well, a few of them 5. .............................................. (dance).

A: 6. ............................................................... (Mum and Dad/dance)?

B: Yes, Mum 7. ............................ but Dad 8. ........................ He 9. .......................................

(talk) to Uncle Jack and they 10. ..............................................(laugh) a lot.

A: Is Aunty Linda there?

B: Yes, she 11. ...................... She 12. ......................................(dance) with Brian from next
door. Oh, and Dad 13. ......................................(give) everyone a drink.

A: 14. ...............................................(they/eat)?

B: Only crisps and nuts and some cheese.

A: and we 15. ..................................................(not/eat) anything. It’s not fair.

4
 Present Simple Versus Present Continuous Tense

Present Simple Present Continuous

Things which are always true: Things which are happening at the moment
of speaking:
• Water boils at 100 degrees.
• The water is boiling, put the pasta in it.

Permanent situations (or nearly permanent; Temporary situations:

true for a few years at least):
• Julie is living in Paris for a few months
• Julie lives in London. (usually she lives in London). Situations
which are slowly changing:
• I'm getting better at speaking English.
Habits or things we do regularly:
Temporary or new habits:
• I drink coffee every morning.
• I'm drinking too much coffee these days
because I'm so busy at work. Annoying
habits (usually with 'always'):
• My flatmate is always leaving the kitchen
in a mess!
State verbs are never used in the
State verb are used in Simple Present
progressive (continuous) tense
• I’m understanding you.
• I understand you.
• She was knowing.
• He knew the answer
• He is having a job.
• He has a job.
Future events which are part of a timetable: Definite future plans:
• My plane leaves at eight tonight. • I'm meeting John after class today.

To talk about what happens in books, plays To talk about people in pictures and photos:
and films:
• In this photo, my mother is walking
• At the end of the book, the detective beside a lake.
catches the killer.
We can't use Present Continuous tense (or any other continuous tense) with stative verbs. The
following verbs are usually only used in Simple Present (not in the progressive form).

 state: be, cost, fit, mean, suit

Example: We are on holiday.
 possession: belong, have
Example: Sam has a cat.
 senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch
Example: He feels the cold.
 feelings: hate, hope, like, love, prefer, regret, want, wish
Example: Jane loves pizza.
 brain work: believe, know, think, understand
Example: I believe you.

5
Action and State verbs

In English language there are verbs that are not normally used in the Continuous Tense, because
they describe rather state than an action. They are called state verb (stative verbs, non-
progressive verbs). The verbs that can be used in the Continuous Tense are called action verbs
(dynamic verbs). Some verbs can be both state and action verbs depending on their meaning.
Here are some verbs that are not normally used in the Continuous Tense.

like, dislike, love, hate, prefer, remember, forget, believe, mean, seem, understand, want, need,
know, belong, own

Here are some a few verbs that can be both state and action verbs depending on their meaning.

I think you made a mistake. I am thinking about my mum now.

think = believe think = mental process
I have two cars. I am having my lunch now.
have = possess, own have = eat
I am seeing my friend tomorrow evening. I see what you mean.
see = meeting with See = understand

Exercises:
A. Circle the correct answer.
1 Today she is spending / spends time with her grandmother.
2 They usually are going / go to the gym on Sundays.
3 We are having / have a barbecue later on. Do you want to come?
4 No, she can’t answer the phone, she has / is having a shower.
5 I always have / am having a coffee before I am leaving / leave for work in the morning.
6 They sometimes fly / are flying to Sweden, but usually they are going / go by boat.
7 Where are you? I am sitting / sit outside in the sunshine!
8 He always brings / is bringing a monolingual dictionary to his English class.

B. Complete the sentences with the Present Simple or Present Continuous form of the
verbs in brackets. Be careful with stative verbs.

1 Tom usually ............................. (ride) his bike to school, but he ............................. (go) by car
today.

2 I ............................. (think) he is telling the truth now.

3 Mark and Jill ............................. (try) to improve their French nowadays. They .........................
(study) together in the afternoon.

4 What time ............................. (you / meet) Pete tomorrow?

5 My friend is on holiday now and I ............................. (want) to talk to her.

6 Jane ............................. (not like) tea, but she ............................. (drink) it today because
she’s ill.

7 She ............................. (run) because she's late for her lesson.

6
8 My little sister ............................. (not understand) her homework, so my mum
............................. (help) her now.
9 Archie ............................. (not use) his computer at the moment.
10 ............................. (Tony / live) near the park?

Present Simple or Continuous Exercises

I. Circle the correct answer.

II. Complete the dialogue using correct tense.

Ali Hello!
Mel Hello, this is Mel. Is that you, Ali?
Ali Yeah, it's me. Listen, what 1___________________ (you / do) right now? Can you speak?
Mel Sure! I 2________________ (run) with some friends in the park. You know I usually 3.
_______________ (run) in the afternoons. 4. What _______________ (you / want) to
speak about?
Ali I 5. ______________________ (call) because Pam 6.______________________ (go) to
Bucharest next week, to study for a year.
Mel Yes, I know.
Ali Well, she 7___________________ (often go) to the theatre, and I 8__________________
(think) there's a new drama on this Friday!
Mel OK! So 9. _______________ (you / want) to invite her to the theatre?
Ali Yes! I 10. __________________ (know) if she wants to come. I’m sorry! I have to hang up
now. I’ll call you later. My mom 11. _______________(call) me at the moment.

7
Simple Past To Be

Read the telephone conversation below.

Positive Negative

The past form of to be has two forms, was and We use was not (wasn’t) or were not
were. We use was with I, she, he and it. We (weren’t) to make negative sentences.
use were with you, we and they.
I was awake. I wasn’t asleep.
We were at your house. You weren’t at home last night.
The movie was great. Kathy wasn’t with Olivia

Yes / No Question Question with a Question word

To ask yes / no questions we put was or were To ask questions with a question word, we
before the subject. We use subject and was, put the question word first, then was or
were, wasn’t or weren’t in the short answer. were and the subject.

A: Were you at home? B: No, I wasn’t. A: What movie was it?

A: Was Kathy awake? B: Yes, she was. B. It was Frankenstein’s Uncle.

A. Complete the sentences with was, were, wasn’t, weren’t

8
B. Circle the correct word in the following sentences.

Past simple
Read the following text.
Last Summer I went to Nice. On the first day, we ate in a restaurant with a terrace. It had a
wonderful view of the sea. The dishes were absolutely delicious. On the second day, we visited
an art museum. There were many contemporary exhibits there, but I didn't like them at all. After
visiting the museum, we returned to our hotel room as we were really tired. We didn’t do
anything at night. We spent the next day at the great beaches of Nice. I swam and sunbathed
all day. It was a short but very entertaining holiday. I definitely want to go to Nice again.
The past simple shows us that an action was in the past, not in the present.

Positive Negative
Regular past simple verbs have -ed at the end We make the negative with didn't and
(e.g. called, played, visited). Irregular verbs have a the infinitive verb.
different form, usually with a different vowel sound
(e.g. go → went, have → had)
We visited an art museum.
Regular I sunbathed all day. I didn't like the exhibits.

We ate in a restaurant. We didn’t do anything at night.

Irregular It had a wonderful view.
Yes / No Question Question with a Question word
To ask yes / no questions we put did before the To ask questions with a question word,
subject and then we put the base form of the verb. we put the question word first, then did
We use subject and did or didn’t in the short and the subject and the base form of
answer. the verb.

A: Did the restaurant have a good view? A: Where did you spend the next
B: Yes, it did. day?
B: At the beach.
A: Did you like the exhibits?
B: No, I didn’t.

The spelling of the simple past form (-ed forms)

9
 Here are the rules:
1. Regular verbs ending in a silent e take /-d/ in the simple past and past participle:
Example:
close=closed
2. Regular verbs ending in a vowel + y take /-ed/ in the simple past and past participle:
Example:
play=played
3. Regular verbs ending in a consonant + y take /-ied/ in the simple past and past participle
(the ' y' becomes an ' i' followed by /-ed/)
Example:
marry=married
4. All the other regular verbs take /-ed/ in the simple past and past participle.
Example:
visit=visited
Follow these rules when there is a consonant after a vowel (stop, ban, open, offer...)
 If there is a consonant after a stressed vowel at the end of the word, double the consonant
stop – stopped
ban - banned
swap - swapped
 If the vowel is not stressed, we do not double it:
open - opened (Here the stress is on'o', not the 'e'.)
offer - offered ( Here the stress is on 'o', not the 'e'.)

Exercises:
A. Fill in the table with the correct verb form.

B. Fill in the blanks below to complete the sentences. Study the boxes above.
1. I (eat)___________ dinner at six o’clock yesterday.
2. A: ___________ Helen (drive)___________ to work? B: Yes, she ___________.
3. My neighbor (buy)___________ a new car last week.
4. They (go)___________ to Italy on their last summer holiday.
5. A: ___________ they (swim)___________ at the beach? B: No, they __________.
6. My family and I (not see) ___________ a comedy movie last night. It was a thriller.
7. First, we (do)___________ exercise, and then we (drink)___________ some water.
8. What time (do)___________ you (get up) ___________ this morning?

10
Order of events in the past

On Saturday night, my friend and I got together to watch a movie after he finished work. He called
me when he left the office. I prepared some snacks before he arrived. We selected a movie when
he got here. We started the movie as soon as we got ready. When the movie ended, we went out.
We found our friends once we got to our favourite spot. I didn’t get back home until it was late at
night.

We use after, before, once, as soon as, until to show the order of events in the past.
After: I went out after I finished my homework. / After I finished my homework, I went out.
Before: Before I went out, I finished my homework. / I finished my homework before I went out.
When: I went out when I finished my homework. / When I finished my homework, I went out.
As soon as: I went out as soon as I finished my homework. / As soon as I finished my
homework, I went out.
Once: I went out once I finished my homework. / Once I finished my homework, I went out.
Until: I didn’t go out until I finished my homework. / Until I finished my homework, I didn’t go
out.
Exercises
1. I saved enough money. I bought a new car.
When ………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. I got some information. I sent a fax to you.
………………………………………… as soon as …………………………………………….
3. She saw her lawyer. She didn’t sell the house.
………………………………………… before …………………………………………………….
4. We arrived at the airport. Our friends met us.
Once ………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. She met his family. She didn’t marry him.
……………………………………….. until ……………………………………………………..
6. Harry got out of prison. He robbed another bank.
……………………………………….. after ……………………………………………..
7. She went to the dance. She wore her new dress.
……………………………………….. when ……………………………………………………
8. They saw the sea. They took a photograph.
……………………………………….. as soon as ……………………………………………..

11
Past continuous
Axel: Hey Laura! Did you look at my blog last night?
Laura: Unfortunately, no. I had lots of things to do. While I was doing my homework, my cousin
visited us. It was eight o’clock and after that I couldn’t even finish my homework.
Axel: Oh! Poor you! What did you do with her?
Laura: Well. We didn’t stay at home. We went to the park near our house. While we were going
to the park, we saw Michael on the way. He joined us and we chatted for an hour there.
Axel: Sounds nice. So are you ready for Mrs. Sabina’s class?
Laura: Not at all. What about you? I bet you finished yours last night.
Axel: Well, I didn’t study all night. I was watching TV at eight o’clock. Then I started writing my
new blog post.

The past continuous shows us that the action was already in progress at a certain time
in the past.

Positive Negative
We use was or were and the -ing form of the We use wasn’t or weren’t and the
verb to make positive statements. -ing form of the verb to make negative
statements.
While I was doing my homework, my cousin I tried to give him some advice, but he
visited us. wasn't listening.
I was watching TV at eight o’clock last night. When I called her, she wasn’t studying.

Yes / No Questions Question with a Question word

To ask yes / no questions we put was or were To ask questions with a question word, we
before the subject and then we put the -ing put the question word first, then was or
form of the verb. We use subject and was or were and the subject and the –ing form of
were in the short answer. the verb.
A: Were you sleeping when I called you? A: What were you doing at 8 p.m. last
B: Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t. night?
B: I was studying.
A: Were they studying all day?
A: What was she doing this time last
B: Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t.
year?
B: She was studying French.

Exercises:
A. Complete the sentences with the past continuous form.
1 I _____________________ (run) when you saw me because I was late.
2 They _____________________ (wait) for a bus when the car crashed.
3 Gabi and Laura _____________________ (dance) at 8pm.
4 Tomek _____________________ (not / eat) a sandwich when Ben fell into the river.
5 What ____________________ Carol and Jack ___________________ (do) when Pedro phoned?
6 _____________________ Sally _____________________ (take) a photo when I phoned?
7 Pedro and Tomek _____________________ (not / laugh) when Ben fell in the river.
12
8 We (not / cycle) _____________________ all day.
9 While Aaron (work) ___________________ in his room, his friends (swim) _________________
in the pool.
10. I tried to tell them the truth but they (listen / not) _____________________ What (you / do)
_____________________ yesterday?

Past continuous and past simple

When we use these two tenses together, it shows us that the past simple action happened in the
middle of the past continuous action, while it was in progress.

While I was studying, I suddenly felt sleepy.

We often use these tenses to show an action interrupting another action.
I broke my leg when I was skiing.
As I was going to work, I saw an old friend.
We were watching television when the power went off.
Can you see a difference in the meaning of these two sentences?
When the guests arrived, Jane was cooking dinner.
When the guests arrived, Jane cooked dinner.

In the first one, Jane started cooking dinner before the guests arrived. We know that because it
uses the past continuous. In the second sentence, the guests arrived first and then Jane started
cooking.

Verbs not normally used in the continuous form.

The continuous tenses – both present and past – are used for action verbs but not for verbs that
refer to states and feelings. These verbs are typically stative verbs and are used in the simple
present and simple past tenses.

Some of the stative verbs that cannot be used here are

believe, desire, doubt, feel, forget, hear, know, like, love, notice, remember, see, smell,
taste, understand, wish and want.

Examples:

o We understood the step-by-step instructions.

(Not: We were understanding the step-by-step instructions.)
o They didn’t believe in the news.
(Not: They weren’t believing the news)
o She wanted to go to the cinema.
(Not: She was wanting to go to the cinema.)

Exercises:

A. Circle the correct answer.

13
B. Complete the sentences with the past simple or continuous form of the verbs.

14