Simple Present Tense

Vs
Present Continuous Tense
I surf / I am surfing.'
What's the difference between the Present Simple / Present Continuous and how to use them?
We use the present simple tense when we want to talk about fixed habits or routines – things
that don’t change.
We use the present continuous to talk about actions which are happening at the present
moment, but will soon finish.

Compare these two statements:

•(present simple) I play tennis.
•(present continuous/ progressive) I am playing tennis.

(present simple) ‘I play tennis’ tells us that playing tennis is something the speaker always does.
It is part of a routine or habit. We can call this a permanent situation.
(present continuous/ progressive) ‘I am playing tennis’ tells us that the speaker is playing tennis
right now. Soon the game will be over. We call this a temporary situation.
Simple Present Tense

Present Continuous Tense

 Frequency Adverbs we use
With the present simple we use With the present continuous we
these frequency adverbs: use these time expressions:
• Always: ‘I always read before I go to bed.’ • At the moment: ‘I’m watching TV, at the
• Often: ‘Her sister often comes shopping with us.’ moment.’
• Frequently:‘Michael frequently visits his family.’ • These days: ‘Paul’s living in Cardiff, these
days.’
• Sometimes:‘You sometimes go to the gym, don’t
you?’ • Now: ‘What are you doing, now?’
• Occasionally:‘It occasionally rains in summer.’ • Nowadays: ‘I think you are smoking too
• Seldom:‘They seldom ask for help.’ much, nowadays.’
• Rarely: ‘He rarely goes out without his
backpack.’
• Hardly ever:‘I hardly ever eat pizza.’
• Never: ‘Japanese people never wear shoes
inside.’
Review Practice 1: Put the verb in the bracket into the correct form (simple
present, or present continuous).

This is Mrs White. She……… (be) a primary school teacher.

She ..…… (teach) English, Maths and Geography.
At the moment, she …………………………… (teach) Maths.
She ……………… (live) in London and has married to Georges, who is
French. They ………………… (have) three children. They all………… (love)
animals, but they ………………… (not have) any pets because they …………
(live) in an apartment.
Mrs White …………… (speak) French as well as English, but
she………………… (not teach) it.

Mrs White’s niece, Sophie ……… (stay) with the Whites for a few days.
Sophie …………… (live) and ………… (study) in Liverpool, but she ………
(enjoy) her mid-term break in London at the moment.
She …………… (plan) to do some serious shopping and sightseeing.
Review Practice 1: Put the verb in the bracket into the correct form (simple
present, or present continuous).

Mrs White’s son Arnold ……… (not like) shopping, but he ……………
(love) hanging out with friends.
They usually …………………… (go) to the local park where they ……………
(play) football or basketball.
Today, however, Arnold ……………………………….…. (not play) football or
basketball; he …………………………….. (skateboard).

Mr White ………… (work) for a multinational company.

He ……………… (not work) today, however, because he …………………. (not feel) well. He phoned in sick.
 Practice 2: Interview time
Do it in pair, give questions to your friend like
in an interview situation of the jobs today.
Give 10 questions to your friend:
You can choose one job interview topics below, or you can use your
own topic, the next slide serves some interview questions for you.

1. Physical therapist
2. Manager
3. Doctor
4. Accounting
5. Finance
6. Developer
7. Operations
8. Nursing
9. Business development
10. Strategy manager
11. Software engineer
12. Data engineer
13. Data scientist
Thank you, and
see you later