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Intermediate B1 / Lesson 1

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Present simple vs. present continuous

LinksMy EUO

PRESENT SIMPLE is used for things…

you do EVERY DAY, or NORMALLY, or OFTEN

I eat breakfast every day before I go to work.

She plays football on Saturdays.

We go to the mountains two or three times a year.

that STAY THE SAME

My car is red.

She owns two houses in Prague.

William lives in San Diego.

I speak English. Do you?

that talk about STATES OF BEING, for example

FEELINGS

I like ice cream.

He cares a lot about the environment.

She really appreciates your help.

MENTAL STATES

You know that I love you.

I don't understand this exercise.

I think he is really nice.

What do you mean?

Do you recognize my voice?

THE FIVE SENSES

This soup tastes very good.

You smell like gasoline.

I hear someone at the door.

Do you see that guy in the green shirt? He is the owner.

This material feels so soft.  What is it?

OTHER EXISTING STATES

You seem unhappy. What is wrong?

He looks like Robert Redford, doesn't he?

This sounds like the Beatles to me.

A new phone costs about 100 dollars.

The price includes airfare and seven nights in a hotel.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS is used for things…

that are HAPPENING NOW, AT THE MOMENT

I'm working, so please call me back later.

Look! It is raining.

Are you enjoying this party?

I'm studying, can you be quiet?

The phone is ringing – can you answer it?

that you are IN THE MIDDLE OF, but maybe NOT DOING NOW

I'm reading War and Peace at the moment. You can borrow it when I'm finished.

Tom wants to go to Paris, so he's learning French.

I need a new job, so I'm applying with lots of firms in town.

that are HAPPENING AROUND NOW

Are you working this week? No, I'm sick.

You're working hard this morning. – – – I know, it is because I want to leave early today.

that are CHANGING AROUND NOW

His English is certainly improving.

The cost of living is increasing very quickly.

SOME EXCEPTIONS…

HERE COMES and THERE GOES

It is possible and normal to say "Here comes our train” if you mean "Our train is coming now”.

It is also fine to say "There goes the bus” if you mean "The bus is going away from us now”.

But, it is incorrect to say "Here is coming the train.” or "There is going the bus.”

CONTINUOUS VERBS WITH THE IDEA OF CHANGE

Some verbs which are normally "Non-Continuous” can be used in continuous form to emphasize the idea of change or development.

These days, more and more people are preferring low-calorie foods.

The water is tasting better today.

I'm liking my job a lot more now than when I started.

(In this sentence, for example, the speaker means that she did not enjoy her job at the beginning, but that the situation is improving over time.)


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