What's the difference?

 
Present Simple and
Present Continuous
Present Simple
Things which are always true:
 Water boils at 100 degrees.
Permanent situations (or nearly permanent; true for a
few years at least):
 Julie lives in London.
Habits or things we do regularly:
 I drink coffee every morning.
Future events which are part of a timetable:
 My plane leaves at eight tonight.
To talk about the future after certain words ('when'
'until' 'after' 'before' 'as soon as'):
 I'll call you when I get home.
To talk about what happens in books, plays and films:
 At the end of the book, the detective catches the
killer.
Present Continuous
Things which are happening at the moment of
speaking:
The water is boiling now, so you can put in the pasta.
Temporary situations:
Julie is living in Paris for a few months (usually she
lives in London).
Situations which are slowly changing:
 I'm getting better and better at speaking English.
Temporary or new habits:
I'm drinking too much coffee these days because I'm
so busy at work.
Annoying habits (usually with 'always'):
 My flat mate is always leaving the kitchen in a mess!
Definite future plans:
 I'm meeting John after class today.
To talk about people in pictures and photos:
 In this photo, my mother is walking beside a lake.
When Should I Use
The Present Simple
Tense?
1: First, we use the Present
Simple when something is
generally true
• The sun rises in the east.
• People need food.
• It snows in winter.
• The sky isn't green.
• Plants die without water.
• Two and two make four.
2: We also need to use this tense for a situation that we think is more or less permanent (see
the present continuous for a temporary situation - one which we think won't last long):

• Where do you live?
• She works in a bank.
• They love coffee.
• She has three children.
• I am married.
• I don't like mushrooms.
3: The next use is for habits or things that
we do regularly. We often use 
adverbs of frequency in this case (also see
the present continuous for new, temporary
or annoying habits):
• Do you smoke?
• I play tennis every Tuesday.
• We often go to the cinema.
• She gets up at seven o'clock every day.
• At the weekend, we usually go to the market.
• How often do you study English?
• I don't travel very often.
4: Four, we use the simple
present to talk about what
happens in books, plays, or
films:
• The hero dies at the end of the film.
• A young woman travels through Europe, where
she meets different people, and finally falls in love.
• In this book, an army invades Britain.
• The main character is very pretty and works in a
bookshop.
5: We use it in the first and the
zero conditionals:

• If it rains, I won't come.

• If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils.
6: Strangely, we can use this tense to
talk about the future. When you are
discussing a timetable or a fixed plan,
you can use this tense. Usually, the
timetable is fixed by an organization, not
by us:
• School begins at nine tomorrow.
• Our train leaves at eleven.
• What time does the film start?
• The plane doesn't arrive at seven, it arrives at seven thirty.
• When does the class finish?
7: We also use it to talk about the
future after words like ' 'when', 'until',
'after', 'before' and 'as soon as' in a
future sentence:

• I will call you when I have time. (Not: 'will have')

• I won't go out until it stops raining.
• She'll come as soon as her babysitter arrives.
• I'm going to make dinner after I watch the news.
• I'll give you the book before you go.
8: We need to use this simple tense with 
stative verbs (verbs which we don't use in
continuous tenses), in situations where we'd
usually use the present continuous:

• This soup tastes great.
• You look fabulous.
• I think she is very pretty.
• I am cold.
• I promise I will help you.
Present Continuous Use
(Also called the present
progressive tense)
1: First, we use it for things that are happening
at the moment of speaking.

• I'm working at the moment.

• Please call back as we are eating dinner now.
• Julie is sleeping.
• You are studying the present continuous.
2: We can also use this tense for temporary situations,
when we feel something won't continue for a long time.

• She's staying with her friend for a week.

• I'm living in London for a few months.
• John's working in a bar until he finds a job in his field.
• I'm reading a really great book.
3: We can use the present continuous for habits but they
have to be temporary or new habits (for normal habits
that continue for a long time, we use the present simple).

• He's eating a lot these days.

• She's swimming every morning (she didn't use to do this).
• You're smoking too much.
• They're working late every night.
4: Another present continuous use is for annoying
habits, when we want to show that something happens
too often and we don't like it. In this case we usually use an
adverb like 'always', 'forever' or 'constantly'.

• You're always losing your keys!

• She's constantly missing the train.
• He's always sleeping in.
• They're forever being late.
5: The next use is for definite future arrangements (with a
future time word). In this case we have already made a plan
and we are pretty sure that the event will happen in the future.

• I'm meeting my father tomorrow.

• We're going to the beach at the weekend.
• I'm leaving at three.
• They're coming to the party at the weekend.
6: Finally we use this tense to talk about a situation which is
slowly changing.

• I'm getting better at playing the piano.

• The weather is improving.