Present simple and present continuous

Form

Simple Present Present Progressive

infinitive form of 'be' and verb + ing

(3rd person singular: infinitive + 's')
I am speaking
I speak you are speaking
you speak he / she / it is speaking
we are speaking
we speak they are speaking
they speak
To make questions, use:

he / she / it speaks Am-is-are + verb +ing

Example: Lara likes pizza. Are you reading a book?

What is she doing?

To make questions, use:
To make negative, use:
-Do (I-you-we-they)
Am-is –are +not + verb + ing
Example: do you like Tom Cruise?
I am not travelling next year.
-Does (he-she-it)
He is not using the computer.
Example : what does she study?

To make negative, use:

- Do not (don’t)----- I-you-we-they

Example: I don’t enjoy watching TV.

- Does not (doesn’t)------ he-she –it

She doesn’t play tennis.
Lara doesn’t like salad.

Exceptions
Exceptions when adding 's' : Exceptions when adding 'ing' :
 For can, may, might, must, do not add s.  Silent e is dropped. (but: does not apply for
Example: he can, she may, it must -ee)
Example: come - coming
 After o, ch, sh or s, add es. but: agree - agreeing
Example: do - he does, wash - she washes
 After a short, stressed vowel, the final
Catch --catches consonant is doubled.
Example: sit - sitting
 After a consonant, the final consonant y
becomes ie. (but: not after a vowel )  After a vowel, the final consonant l is
Example: worry - he worries /cry---cries doubled in British English (but not in
American English).
Example: travel - travelling (British
but: play - he plays English)
but: traveling (American English)

 Final ie becomes y.
Example: lie – lying

Use

In general or right now?

Simple Present Present Progressive

1. Used for facts (personal fact /world fact) 1. Action happening now
Ex. The sun rises from the east Ex. Look! Colin is playing
Ex. The water boils at 100. football now.
2. Used for routines 2. Temporary actions
Ex. I walk ever day to school Ex. Jane is staying with her
She cooks all the time. aunt for 6 months.
3. Habits 3. Future plans or arrangements
Ex. I usually read stories before I sleep Ex. Ahmed is marrying next
Ex. He plays football every weekend year.
Ahmed is going to marry next
year.
 key words

 always  at the moment

 every ...  at this moment
 often  today
 normally  tonight
 usually  now
 sometimes  right now
 not often  this day-month-year
 seldom  Listen!
 rarely  Look!
 never  Next year-day-month
 regularly  The coming year
These adverbs of frequency come before the main  In the future
verb, but after the verb Be (am-is-are).
- I usually start school at 9 pm.
They are usually late in the morning.

- I don’t often go to bed late.

I am not often late for school

- She never eats meat

He’s never late.

Note: The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Present:
be, have, hear, know, like, love, see, smell, think, want

Certain Verbs
The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Present (not in the continuous
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.

Practice:

Complete the sentences. Use Simple Present or Present Progressive.

live
1. I (live) in London.

2. This weekend, I (visit) my friends in Brighton.

leaves
3. The train to Brighton (leave) London at 6.45 in the morning.
want
4. In the early afternoon, we (want) to go on a sightseeing tour.

5. In the evening, we (go) to a concert.

starts
6. The concert (start) at 8 o'clock.

7. I (come) back to London on Sunday.

arrives
8. My train (arrive) in London at 7.50 in the evening.
does she visit
9. (she / visit) her grandma very often?

(Simple Present or Present Progressive).

1. Look! Jenny (go) to school.

2. On her back, Jenny (carry) her school bag.

is
3. The school bag (be) very heavy
 wears
4. Normally, Jenny (wear) black shoes, but today she (wear)
red wellies.

5. And look, she (wear) a raincoat because it (rain) outside.

doesn't want
6. Jenny (not / want) to get wet.

Complete using present simple or continuous:

1. Every Monday, Sally (drive) her kids to football practice.

2. Usually, I (work) as a secretary at ABT, but this summer I (study)

French at a language school in Paris. That is why I am in Paris.

3. Shhhhh! Be quiet! John (sleep) .

4. Don't forget to take your umbrella. It (rain) .

5. I hate living in Seattle because it (rain, always) .

6. I'm sorry I can't hear what you (say) because everybody (talk) so
loudly.

7. Justin (write, currently) a book about his adventures in Tibet. I hope

he can find a good publisher when he is finished.

8. Jim: Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?

Denise: Oh, I'm sorry, I can't. I (go) to a movie tonight with some friends.

9. The business cards (be, normally ) printed by a company in New York.

Their prices (be) inexpensive, yet the quality of their work is quite good.

10. This delicious chocolate (be) made by a small chocolatier in Zurich,

Switzerland.
Complete using present simple or continuous:

Today (be) the second day of my trek around Mount Annapurna. I am

exhausted and my legs (shake) ; I just hope I am able to complete the trek. My

feet (kill, really) me and my toes (bleed) , but I (want, still)

to continue.

Nepal is a fascinating country, but I have a great deal to learn. Everything (be)

so different, and I (try) to adapt to the new way of life here. I

(learn) a little bit of the language to make communication easier;

unfortunately, I (learn, not) foreign languages quickly. Although I

(understand, not) much yet, I believe that I (improve, gradually)

I (travel, currently) with Liam, a student from Leeds University in

England. He (be) a nice guy, but impatient. He (walk, always)

ahead of me and (complain) that I am too slow. I (do) my best to

keep up with him, but he is younger and stronger than I am. Maybe, I am just feeling
sorry for myself because I am getting old.

Right now, Liam (sit) with the owner of the inn. They (discuss)

the differences between life in England and life in Nepal. I (know, not) the real

name of the owner, but everybody (call, just) him Tam. Tam (speak)
 English very well and he (try) to teach Liam some words in Nepali.

Every time Tam (say) a new word, Liam (try) to repeat it.

Unfortunately, Liam (seem, also) to have difficulty learning foreign languages.

I just hope we don't get lost and have to ask for directions.

Find mistakes (realted to present simple and continuous) in the following passage:

Sufia Begum does a retired teacher of a Government school in Rangpur. She do a widow
and live alone. Her two children, a son and a daughter, are married and lives with their
families in Dhaka. Sufia Begum is a lot of free time which she spend reading books,
watching TV, visiting friends and relations and occasionally writing letters to her old
colleagues. She has generally quite happy with her retired life, but at times she is feeling
bored. Now she's thinking of doing something more meaningful than just socializing. A
friend of hers now runs a school for adults. Sufia is knowing that she is looking for some
experienced teachers. She could surely go and teaches there!

Past simple

- It means action happened and finished in the past

Verb to BE

The past of AM-IS (WAS) with I- he-she –it

The past of ARE (WERE) with you- we- they
 Other verbs

1) The normal rule is to add –ed to the verb

2) Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ‘ed’

Exceptions in spelling when adding ed Example

after a final e only add d love – loved

final consonant after a short, stressed vowel scan – scanned

or l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled
stop - stopped

final y after a consonant becomes i hurry – hurried

cry - cried

3) Irregular verbs

Visit this site: http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/irregular-verbs-list.htm

Key Words of Simple Past

 yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday, the day before yesterday,
in the past, long ago.

Put the verbs into the correct form (simple past).

1. Last year I (spend) my holiday in Ireland.

2. It (be) great.

3. I (travel) around by car with two friends and we (visit) lots

of interesting places.
4. In the evenings we usually (go) to a pub.

5. One night we even (learn) some Irish dances.

6. We (be) very lucky with the weather.

7. It (not / rain) a lot.

8. But we (see) some beautiful rainbows.

9. Where (spend / you) your last holiday?

Correct the verb

1) I my Maths homework yesterday. (to do)
2) Susan to England by plane? (to go)
3) They a farm two weeks ago. (to visit)
4) Jenny and Peggy their brother. (not/to help)
5) The children at home last weekend. (not/to be)
6) When you this wonderful skirt? (to design)
7) My mother into the van. (not/to crash)
8) The boys the mudguards of their bicycles. (to take off)
9) you your aunt last week? (to phone)
10) He milk at school. (not/to drink)

Imperative
Definition: Imperatives are verbs used to give orders, commands, warning or
instructions, and (if you use "please") to make a request.
 - We use the verb in the infinitive for positive sentences
Ex. Sit down
- We add Do not (Don’t) + the verb in the infinitive for the negative sentence.
Ex. Don’t travel alone
- To make the imperative, use the infinitive of the verb without "to"

You can also use "let's" before the verb if you are including yourself in the imperative.
The negative of "let's" is "let's not".

Let's stop now.

Orders
Adults do not usually give each other orders, unless they are in a position of authority.
However, adults can give orders to children and to animals. The intonation of an order is
important: each word is stressed, and the tone falls at the end of the sentence:

For example:
Sit down now!
* "Sit", "down" and "now" are all stressed, and the tone falls on "now".

Warnings
You can use the imperative to warn someone of danger. All the words in the warning are
stressed, but the last word has a higher tone than the first word:

Look out! Don't cross!

Advice
When you give advice using the imperative.

 Don't drink alcohol

 Don't eat heavy meals

Requests
You can also use the imperative to make a request, but you should use a polite word
before the verb.

 Please wait here.

 Please hold the line.
 Please don't smoke here.

Writing 1
About expository paragraphs:
 A paragraph is a unit of text that develops one idea or topic in specific detail.
Like a paper, a paragraph is further categorized in three different parts which
are described below at length to give you an insight of Parts of Paragraph:
Topic Sentence:
Every It is the first sentence in the paragraph. It says the main topic of the writing.
Preferably limit “the reasons—causes—effects—advantages—disadvantages”
Ex. Smoking is harmful because of 3 reasons.
( this is a very good topic sentence)

Supporting Details
These are different sentences following the topic sentence giving more details
of the topic and giving examples too.

Closing Sentence or concluding sentence : it is the last sentence in

the paragraph. (it is signaled by one of the following words):
Finally, At the end, To finish, To conclude, As a result,
In short, In brief,
paragraph is like a story. It has a beginning, a middle and an end.

Description: The Best Place to Visit

(Topic sentence) California is the most wonderful place to visit because of its variety of weather
and its beautiful nature. (subject development) Visitors to California can find any weather they
like. They can find cool temperatures in the summer; also they can find warm weather in the
winter. They can find places that are difficult for humans to live in the summer because they are
so hot. Or they can find places closed in the winter because of the snow. On the other hand,
visitors can find the nature they like. They can find high mountains and low valleys. Visitors can
find a huge forest, a dead desert, and a beautiful coast.(summary sentence) So California is the
most wonderful place to visit because of its weather and nature.

Identify the three types of sentences in the paragraph below:

There are three reasons why Canada is one of the best countries in the world. First,
Canada has an excellent health care system. All Canadians have access to medical
services at a reasonable price. Second, Canada has a high standard of education. Students
are taught by well-trained teachers and are encouraged to continue studying at university.
Also, Canada's cities are clean and efficiently managed. Canadian cities have many parks
and lots of space for people to live.
As a result, Canada is a desirable place to live in.

Homework

Attempt writing a paragraph about any of the following topics:

1- Difference between life style at school and life style at university

2- What type of personality do you like most? Explain with examples
3- An interesting TV programme you like to watch regularly

Writing 2

A Personal statement

It is something like a CV in which you give all the details about yourself.

It can be divided into 5 parts (short paragraphs)

1) Personal details (name, age, place of living, nationality..etc)

2) School and courses taken
3) Qualifications- hobbies and interests
4) Conclusion (in which you state the reason for this personal statement)
- I want to study…
- I hope to get…
- I am interested in…
- I hope to become….
- I am applying for… because…
5) Conclusion (quick description about yourself)

While writing your personal statement, remember to use:

- The present simple for general facts

- The present simple for likes, hopes, wants and wishes
 - The present continuous for actions happening now
- The past simple for past events.

Example of a good personal statement is in the book page 33

Homework

Write a personal statement about yourself .

Vocabulary

lists