Hello students!
Last week we were talking 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 seeing her Gynaecologist next week
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!
Esta semana pasada hemos visto las diferencias entre el present simple y el present continuous. Vimos que la diferencia más importante estaba en que el present simple se usa para expresar hábitos y rutinas, y el present continuous para cosas que suceden en el momento en el que se habla. Pero también os comenté que hay otros usos que os dejo aquí en este post.
El
Present Simple se usa para expresar:
(1) hábitos y acciones rutinarias:
I walk to school everyday; Tom always gets up early in the morning.
(2) estados permanentes y hechos reales o verdades universales:
We are Spanish; The sun rises in the east.
(3) futuro de horarios y programas oficiales:
The film starts at 7.25 pm.; The art exhibition closes on July 12.
El Present Continuous se usa para expresar:
(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 todavía inacabadas:
We're learning French this year; They're building a new school here.
(3) planes para el futuro próximo y citas oficiales:
I'm going to the cinema this evening; Anna's seeing her Gynaecologist next week.
Que no se te pasen por alto los stative verbs. Estos verbos suelen usarse sólo en los tiempos simples, no en los continuos. Ejemplos de estativos son los verbos que denotan estado (be, cost, mean, suit), posesión (have, have got, own, possess, belong), sentidos (see, hear, feel, smell, taste), sentimientos (love, like, enjoy, hate, hope, want, regret, wish, prefer) and pensamiento (believe, think, understand, notice, realise, know).
For practice:
Exercise 1, Exercise 2, Exercise 3, Exercise 4
