PRESENT

TENSES
PRESENT SIMPLE - Form
he, she, it:
 base form + -s
base form + -es after o, s, sh, ch
and x
base form + -ies when the base
form ends in -y
I read → he reads
we watch → she watch es
 they carry → it carries
Mary enjoys comedies so she
watches them every week.
 Present simple - Form

negative and questions →

auxiliary do
don’t and doesn’t + verb in
the negative
Japanese cooking doesn’t
use a lot of dairy products.
Do interest rates usually go
up in order to reduce
inflation?
 General truths and facts

things which are generally true:

British people drink a lot of tea,
while Americans drink more
coffee.
facts:
Broken bones in adults don’t heal
as fast as they do in children.
permanent situations:
A colony of Antarctic penguins
lives in Marwell Zoo.
Repeated events/actions

things that happen on a

regular basis
As temperatures fall
with the approach of
winter, the soil freezes.
The Blairs take their
summer holiday in a quiet
part of Tuscany.
 Repeated events/actions
adverbs of frequency: always,
usually, often, sometimes, never,
seldom
expressions of frequency: every….,
once a….
Share prices usually change on a
daily basis – but often very little.
Our two chefs provide an
excellent choice of hot meals
every day.
 Series of events/actions

giving directions or instructions

often with impersonal you
From here you cross the road,
go through an iron gate and
follow the path west …
sports commentaries
France kicks off, Zidane
passes to Henry, Henry cuts
inside ….
 Other uses

to give the events of a past

narrative or an anecdote more
immediacy (in speech)
There’s an old woman with
thick glasses and a name tag.
I go up to her and ask …
newspaper headlines
The pop star gets three
years for new drugs lapse.
 Other uses
for certain actions in formal
speech or writing
I note that you referred to the
national curriculum in your speech
….
I look forward to receiving your
prompt reply to my enquiry.
fixed events in the future
to express the future after
conjunctions of time, e.g. when,
after, as soon as
 PRESENT CONTINUOUS- Form

present of the verb be +

present participle of the main
verb
‘What are the children doing?’
is or are → ‘s or ‘re in speech
and informal writing
‘Well, Alan’s drawing in his
room and Steve’s watching TV
with me.’
Spelling rules - present participle

base form + -ing:

draw → drawing
watch → watching
speak → speaking
Spelling rules - present participle
base form ending in
-e + -ing:
take → taking
receive → receiving
create → creating
Spelling rules - present participle

base form +
consonant + -ing:
swim → swimming
run → running
we often omit the
pronoun and auxiliary (is
or are) when we repeat the
present continuous in the
same sentence:
James and Sally are
spending the evening
together, watching a new
video.
 Things which are true now

an action in progress at the moment

of speaking or around the time of
speaking
temporary action
I’ll be with you in a minute. I’m just
finishing something in the kitchen.
We are staying with John to try and
find out if his place really is haunted.
now, just, still and at the moment
We’re studying grammar issues on
the French course now.
live, work, study and stay in the
continuous → if the action is
temporary:
She’s staying in the Waldorf
Astoria on this visit to New York,
isn’t she?
Here comes and There goes →
always in the present simple:
Here comes the postman. There
goes the last bus.
Note the inversion of the verb and
subject in these phrases
present continuous → to describe
things which are changing
The population of the world is
increasing.
British summers are getting
hotter and winters are getting
wetter.
present simple → to describe
regular events which we see as
unchanging
We get a lot of rain during the
winter in this part of the world.
 R epe at ed eve nt s

present continuous → repeated

events or actions within a
temporary period
I’m feeding the neighbour’s cat this
week while she’s in hospital.
present simple → repeated actions
Steve is a confirmed smoker. He
smokes about 30 cigarettes a day.
Steve is having a tough time at the
office at the moment and he is
smoking about 30 cigarettes a day!
 Repeated events
present continuous + always,
forever or continually → actions
that happen too often → irritating,
annoying
Sue is always losing her keys.
My husband is always leaving the
lights on when he goes to work.
It’s so annoying.
This car is useless. It’s
continually breaking down. It’s so
irritating.
 Series of events

present continuous in sports

commentaries → when the action
is in progress throughout the
time of speaking
They’re now entering the back
straight and El Garrouj is
starting to pull away… (… he is
crossing the line two seconds
ahead of his closest rival….)
present continuous + present
Other uses

simple → to give more immediacy

to a past narrative
There’s an old woman with thick
glasses who’s serving the hot
drinks, so I go up to her and ask ….

present continuous →
arrangements in the future
I’m visiting my grandparents at
the weekend.
VERBS NOT USED in the CONTINUOUS
verbs of be, consist of,
existence or contain, exist
being
verbs of belong to, have
possessing (=own), include,
lack, own, possess
verbs of appear, resemble,
appearance seem
verbs of believe, doubt,

thinking or expect, feel

(=think), forget,
believing
imagine, intend,
know, realize,
recognize,
remember, see
(=understand),
suppose, think,
verbs of adore, desire,
despise, detest,
feeling or
dislike, envy, hate,
wanting
like, love, need,
pity, prefer, trust,
want, wish
other concern, depend,
deserve, fit,
verbs
matter, measure,
if used in the continuous
 the verb has a different meaning
expresses a temporary action
‘Is John ready yet?’ ‘No, he’s
having a shower.’ (= is taking)
Now that there’s electricity in
the village, I’m thinking of getting
my house connected. (= I’m
considering)
verb use in present Use in present
simple continuous
be Your son is a Your son is being
very obedient very obedient at
child, isn’t he? the moment. (=is
behaving
obediently)
have They’re very I’m having a really
rich. They good time, thanks.
have three (= am experiencing)
think I think that I’m thinking of
the world’s contributing to
problems Oxfam. (= am
are getting considering)
worse.
mean The sign You’re always
means ‘slow meaning to call
down’. us, but you
never do. (= are
appear It appears The Philharmonic
the police are appearing at
have not the Palladium. (=
started the are performing)
investigation.
weigh She weighs I’m weighing the
70 kilos. ingredients for
the cake.
(= action of
some verbs of feeling are used in
both the simple and the
continuous → 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?
 Sense verbs
hear, notice, see, smell, taste
→ involuntary use
simple form
can/could + the verb
I notice that your wife doesn’t
come to the wine tastings. Doesn’t
she drink?
Can/Do you smell something
burning?
smell and taste → continuous for a
deliberate action
I (can) taste cream in this. (involuntary
action)
I’m tasting the cream. (intentional action)
see and hear → different meaning in the
continuous
I’m seeing a new man at present (= going
out with)
look at, watch, or listen to → intentional
Can you keep the noise down? I’m
listening to the afternoon play.
Performative verbs
accept,agree, apologise,
congratulate, declare, deny,
disagree, forbid, forgive,
guarantee, insist, invite,
order, predict, promise,
recommend, refuse,
request, suggest, thank,
warn
present simple → when these verbs
‘perform’ the function they express
The Railtrack apologises for the
disruption to services over the
last three months.
in the continuous → to describe the
action rather than do it
The Railtrack chief executive was
apologizing profusely for the
inconvenience.