The Present Tense
Lessons (1c): Present simple, present continuous
Present simple: "I go", "I read". For the permanent and long-term.
Present continuous: "I am going", "I am reading". Temporary and short-term.
| Present simple: | For: | Present continuous: | For: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| “She goes to Oxford University.” | Long-term (3 years, 5 years) | "He's going home." | Short-term. Today, at present, right now. | |
| “My father reads The Times newspaper.” | Long-term, usually, normally. | "I'm reading a book by Virginia Woolf." | Short-term. Today, at present, right now. | |
| “In England, it rains a lot.” | Long-term, usually, normally. | "It's raining in England." | Short-term. Today, at present, right now. | |
| "What do you do?" "I'm an engineer" |
Long-term, permanent. It's my job. | "What are you doing?" "I'm making a coffee." |
Short-term. Today, at present, right now. | |
| "My family lives in Osaka" (or Moscow, Lima or Zurich) | Long-term, permanent, 10 years, 20 years | "I'm living in London" | Short-term, temporary, 6 weeks, 6 months. | |
| "Usually my wife takes the children to school..." | Long-term, usually, normally. | "... but today I'm taking them." | Short-term, temporary; just today. |
The Present Simple
The present simple is mainly for:
- Anything permanent or long-term (“Gravity makes things fall at 10 metres per second per second” or “I work for IBM” or "I am 22").
- A usual, regular action. “Every morning I wake up at 7 am, I listen to the radio for thirty minutes and I drink a coffee”. I am not drinking coffee now - but I drink coffee every morning.
Another way to say this is that we use the present simple to talk about a STATE.
Complete these sentences:
- TO RUN: “I _____________ around the park every morning before breakfast.”
- TO GO: “He’s an art student. He ____________ to college in New York.”
- TO WATCH: “They usually _______________ television for about two hours at the weekend”.
Well, that was easy; that must be why they call it "present simple"!
If we want to talk about temporary things, activities, we use the present continuous. If somebody telephones you and says “What are you doing?” you could say “Hi, I’m in the park, I’m running” or “I’m going to London, I’m on the train” or “I’m watching a film on TV.”
We use the present simple to talk about permanent states. Things that are always the same (like gravity), and things we do every day; things that are normal for us (“I run for 30 minutes every morning”). If somebody asks you “What do you do?” you could say “I’m a student, I go to Moscow university”.
The present simple is usually for permanent states, but we also use it to talk about temporary states, such as where we are right now (“I’m in the kitchen”); how we are right now (“She’s happy”, “I’m cold” or “I have a headache” or “He’s tired”); what we want or need right now (“I want to open the window” or “I need a pen”); and appearances right now (“He seems happy”). These things are temporary, but we don’t say “He’s seeming happy” or “I’m needing a pen”. That’s because we don’t use the present continuous with “stative verbs”. We’ll talk about this again in a few minutes.
Present simple, positive and negative:
| POSITIVE | NEGATIVE |
|---|---|
| "I like swimming." | "Cats don't like swimming." |
| "She's a student." | "He's not a student" or "He isn't a student". |
| "Antonio goes to university". | "He doesn't play football any more". |
| "They want to visit London". | "They don't want to visit London". |
| "They have a car". | "They don't have a car" or "They haven't got a car". |
Present simple, questions and answers:
| QUESTION | ANSWER |
|---|---|
| "Do you like football?" | "Yes, I do, I love it!" or "No, not really". |
| "Do you go to university?" | "Yes, I go to the Sorbonne" or "No, I finished university last year". |
| "Where's Antonio from?" | "He's from Colombia". |
| "How do they go to London?" | "On the train, usually." |
The Present Continuous
The present continuous is mainly for:
- Anything not permanent. “I’m working for IBM” (but it's only temporary).
- Especially if it is happening RIGHT NOW. For example “It is raining,” or “You are learning some English grammar”.
We make the present continuous with the present simple of “be” plus the -ing form of the main verb.
Present continuous, positive and negative:
| POSITIVE | NEGATIVE |
|---|---|
| "I'm living in Berlin this year". | "I'm not living in Munich any more". |
| "You're working hard". | "You're not listening to me". |
| "She's making coffee". | "She isn't working today". |
| "They're talking in English". | "They aren't just sitting there!" |
Present continuous, questions and answers:
| QUESTIONS | ANSWERS |
|---|---|
| "Are you living in Berlin this year?" | "Yes, near the Ku’damm." |
| “Are you working hard?” | “Not right now, I'm having a coffee break.” |
| “How are you going to London?” | "By train. We're on the train now." |
| “Where are they studying English?” | “On a summer school in Scotland.” |
NOTE 1: The present continuous of “to go” is also used to make the simple future. For example “Tomorrow we are going to play tennis”. This is called the “going to” future.
NOTE 2. Sometimes we use the present continuous as a future tense. For example “Tomorrow I am playing football with John” or “Last week I visited Sarah. Next week I'm visiting John.”
Dynamic Verbs vs. Stative Verbs
So, the rule is that the present simple is for permanent states and regular activities; and the present continuous is for temporary things now (running, raining, making coffee). However, we don’t use the continuous form with stative verbs. That means we use the present simple for a lot of temporary things now. “I’m hungry, I want a sandwich, I’m in the kitchen.” and NOT "I'm being hungry, I'm wanting a sandwich."
There are dynamic verbs, and there are stative verbs. Most English verbs talk about an action. They are about change, and they’re called “dynamic verbs”. Run, walk, look, write, work ... even sleep. They are all actions.
About 30 English verbs talk about a state or condition and we don’t use them in the present continuous. For example, like and love. Technically they are called “state verbs” or “stative verbs”. We say "I like chocolate", not "I am liking chocolate".
Verbs that are always stative verbs:
like, dislike, love, hate, want, need, wish, prefer, know, understand, realize, believe, mean, belong, contain, consist, concern, involve, seem, sound, appear, recognise.
You just can’t say “He is needing a pen” or “I am liking this.” It’s “He needs a pen” and “I like this”.
At this point, somebody always asks me why you can’t say “I am liking it” if you can say “I’m loving it”. The answer is - you can’t say either of them. “I’m lovin’ it”™ is a McDonald’s advert. Because it’s incorrect English, it was possible for McDonald’s lawyers to make it copyright © and a trade-mark™.
Verbs that are usually stative verbs:
imagine, suppose, think, remember, agree, disagree, fit, appear.
Normally we use them in the present simple: “Yes, I remember Madrid. I have been there twice.” However it is possible to use them in the present continuous if you talk about doing these things RIGHT NOW: “Why are you smiling?” “Because I'm remembering Madrid...”
The verbs be and have are usually stative verbs too:
"Are you OK?" - "No, I'm cold" not "I'm being cold"
"Where are you?" - "I'm at the supermarket" not "I'm being at the supermarket”.
"Have you any money?" - "Yes, I have £5" not "I'm having £5"
We don’t often say “You’re being...” or “I’m having...”, but it is possible. For example “You’re just being difficult, you know I’m right!” or “I’m sorry I was rude, I’m having a bad day.”
Verbs that can be stative or dynamic:
A lot of verbs can be dynamic or stative. That’s the same as saying you can use them in the present simple or the present continuous.
Play, for example. Usually it’s a dynamic verb, it’s about action and change.- If we say “I play football” or “I play the piano”, it’s a state. It’s like saying “I like football” or “I like the piano” or "I am an engineer". It was true last year, it’s true today, it will be true next year.
- If we say “John is playing the piano” it’s dynamic. If we want to talk to John, we have to go to the piano, because that’s where John is right now.
- What is the difference between “Cristiano Ronaldo plays football really well” and “Cristiano Ronaldo is playing really well at the moment”? The first sentence is stative. It’s about a continuous state. The second sentence is dynamic. It’s about change. OK, the second sentence about Ronaldo does not tell us where he is right now (maybe he is on a football pitch, maybe he is shopping or travelling or asleep) but it is about change.
Exercise: Present simple or present continuous?
1. Every weekend, John and Sarah ______________(to go) sailing.
2. Usually, I _____________ (to work) as a teacher, but at the moment I ______________ (to study) French at a language school in Lyons. That’s why I am in France now.
3. Sarah ________________ (to write) a book about sailing. John _____ (to be) a photographer. This week he ____________ (to take) photographs for Sarah’s book.
4. Shhhhh! Be quiet! The baby is ______________ (to sleep).
5. Don’t forget to take your umbrella. It _______________ (to rain).
6. I love Iceland, but I don’t want to live there because it ____________ (to rain) too much. In winter it ____________ (to rain) every day!
7. I’m sorry, I can’t hear what you _______________ (to say) because the children _____________ (to shout).
8. Have you got any aspirin? I _______________(to have) a headache.
9. I can’t go to the cinema tonight. I _____________ (to be tired) so I _______________ (to stay) at home and __________(to watch TV).
10. Q. Where do you live?
A. I ____________ (to live or to stay) with my mother, but I will get my own apartment soon.