Present Tenses PDF

# Present Simple and Present Continuous This table shows some of the common differences in use: | Verb | Present Simple | Present Continuous | |---|---|---| | be | Your son is a very obedient child, isn't he? | Your son is being very obedient at the moment. (= is behaving obediently) | | have | T...

# Present Simple and Present Continuous This table shows some of the common differences in use: | Verb | Present Simple | Present Continuous | |---|---|---| | be | Your son is a very obedient child, isn't he? | Your son is being very obedient at the moment. (= is behaving obediently) | | have | They're very rich. They have three homes and a yacht. | I'm having a really good time, thanks. (= am experiencing)| | think | I think that the world's problems are getting worse. | I'm thinking of contributing to Oxfam. (= am considering) | | mean | The sign means 'slow down'. | You're always meaning to call us, but you never do. (= are intending) | | appear | It appears the police have not started the investigation. | The Philharmonic are appearing at the Palladium. (= are performing) | | weigh | She weighs 70 kilos. | I'm weighing the ingredients for the cake. (= action of weighing) | Some verbs of feeling can be used in both the simple and the continuous with no change in meaning: - My wrist hurts/is hurting again – I must go to the physiotherapist. - I think those mussels may have been off. Do you feel/Are you feeling OK today? ## Verbs Rarely Used In The Continuous There are a number of verbs in English which we rarely use in a continuous tense. They often describe states of being, thinking, possessing or feeling: - *Most people aren't believing in the existence of UFOs.* - *Most people don't believe in the existence of UFOs.* The most common of these verbs are: | Verbs | |---| | be, consist of, contain, exist | | belong to, have (= own), include, lack, own, possess | | adore, desire, despise, detest, dislike, envy, hate, like, love, need, pity, prefer, trust, want, wish | | believe, doubt, expect, feel (= think), forget, imagine, intend, know, realise, recognise, remember, see (= understand), suppose, think, understand | | appear, resemble, seem | | concern, depend, deserve, fit, matter, measure mean, mind, weigh | It is possible to use many of the verbs in the continuous, but the verb either has a different meaning or expresses a temporary action: - 'Is Maria ready yet?' 'No, she's having a shower.' (= is taking) - Now that there's electricity in the village, Santos is thinking of getting his house connected. (= is considering) ## Present Continuous We form the present continuous with the present of the verb be and the present participle of the main verb: - **What are the children doing?** - Well, Alan's drawing in his room and Sophie's watching TV with me **Note the following spelling rules for forming the present participle:** - Base form + **-ing**: draw - drawing, watch - watching, speak - speaking - Base form ending in **-e + -ing**: take - taking, receive - receiving, create - creating - Base form + **consonant + -ing**: swim - swimming, run - running ## When We Use The Present Continuous - The present continuous describes an action in progress at the moment of speaking or around the time of speaking. The action is likely to continue after the time of speaking but is likely to stop at some point, i.e. it is temporary. - We are staying with John to try and find out if his place really is haunted. Common adverbs with this form are *now, just, still* and *at the moment:* - We're studying the writings of Gunter Grass on the German course *now*. We use *live, work, study* and *stay* in the continuous if the action is temporary: - *She stays in the Waldorf Astoria on this visit to New York, doesn't she?* - *She's staying in the Waldorf Astoria on this visit to New York, isn't she?* Compare: _She always stays in the Waldorf Astoria on visits to New York._ An exception to the use of the present continuous to describe actions in progress is: - _Here comes_ and _There goes_, which are always in the present simple: - *Here is coming the postman. There is going the last bus.* - *Here comes the postman. There goes the last bus.* We also use the present continuous to describe things which are changing: - British summers are getting hotter and winters are getting wetter. We do not use the present simple to express this: - British summers *get* hotter and winters *get* wetter. The present simple describes a regular event which we see as unchanging: - We get a lot of rain during the winter in this part of the world.