The Present Simple & The Present Continuous

Hi you learners!

Last week we talked about the differences between the present simple and the present continuous. We saw the main difference laid on the fact that the present simple is used for habits and daily routines whereas the present continuous is for things that are happening at the moment of speaking. But I also told you there were some other uses that I'm leaving for you in this post.

Clic on the table to enlarge.

The Present Simple is used for

(1) habits and daily routines:
I walk to school everyday; Tom always gets up early in the morning.
(2) permanent states and true facts:

We are Spanish; The sun rises in the east.
(3) future action set by a timetable or schedule:
The film starts at 7.25 pm.; The art exhibition closes on July 12.

The Present Continuous is used for
(1) actions happening at the moment of speaking:
I'm walking to school now; She's having a shower at the moment.
(2) temporary actions:
We're learning French this year; They're building a new school here.
(3) arrangements for the near future:
I'm going to the cinema this evening; Anna's travelling to New Jersey next weekend.

Don't forget about stative verbs. These verbs are usually only used in the Present Simple, not in the continuous form. Examples of stative verbs are those denoting state (be, cost, mean, suit), possession (have, have got, own, possess, belong), senses (see, hear, feel, smell, taste), feelings (love, like, enjoy, hate, hope, want, regret, wish, prefer) and brain work (believe, think, understand, notice, realise, know).

¡Hola alumnos!

La semana pasada hablamos sobre las diferencias entre el presente simple y el presente continuo. Vimos que la diferencia principal está en el hecho de que el presente simple se utiliza para los hábitos y las rutinas diarias, mientras que el presente continuo es para las cosas que están sucediendo en el momento de hablar. Pero también os dije que había algunos otros usos que ahora voy a poner aquí.

El Present Simple se usa para...
(1) hábitos y rutinas diarias:
I walk to school everyday; Tom always gets up early in the morning.
(2) estados permanentes y hechos reales:
We are Spanish; The sun rises in the east.
(3) acción futura en horarios y programas:
The film starts at 7.25 pm.; The art exhibition closes on July 12.

El Present Continuous es para...
(1) acciones que ocurren en el momento de hablar:
I'm walking to school now; She's having a shower at the moment.
(2) acciones temporales incompletas:
We're learning French this year; They're building a new school here.
(3) planes a corto plazo y citas oficiales:
I'm going to the cinema this evening; Anna's travelling to New Jersey next weekend.

Que no se os olvide los verbos estativos. Estos verbos son utilizados normalmente en el Present Simple, nunca en las formas continuas. Ejemplos de verbos estativos son los que expresan estado (be, cost, mean, suit), posesión (have, have got, own, possess, belong), los relacionados con los sentidos (see, hear, feel, smell, taste), sentimientos (love, like, enjoy, hate, hope, want, regret, wish, prefer) y la mente(believe, think, understand, notice, realise, know).

For practice:

Exercise 1, Exercise 2, Exercise 3, Exercise 4