Present Simple vs Present Continuous

Adverbs of Frequency and

Stative Verbs
 1. Present Simple
• Present Simple is used for :
• Permanent states: He works as a doctor.
• General truths : The sun sets in the West.
• Timetables/Programmes : The plane to Bucharest takes off at 9:00 am.
• Repeated actions, daily routines: Jane walks her dog in the morning.
• Sport commentaries, reviews or narrations:
Messi gets the ball and passes it to Louis Suarez.(sports commentary)
Johnny Deep plays Captain Jack Sparrow in The Pirates of the Caraibbean.
(review)
And the evil witch tells the prince to go to the castle and pick up the
poisonous apples. (narration)
 Adverbs of frequency
• Show us how often something happens.
• Always 100% We use adverbs of frequency:
Usually 75%
• Often 50% 1. before the main verb: Spot
• Sometimes 20% always eats its biscuits.
Rarely/Seldom 10%
• Never 0% 2. after the auxilairy verbs (be,
have, do) and modal verbs (can, will , must):
She is always so nice to everyone.
 Present Continuous
• The Present Continuous is used:
• For actions taking place now, at the moment of speaking: I am
writing my homework now.
• For temporary actions happening around now but not at the
actual moment of speaking.:
I usually study hard but this week I am taking a break.
She is practicing for a concert these days.
• For changing or developing situations: The giant panda is
becoming extinct due to deforestation.
• With always to express annoyance, irritation or anger: You are
always eating my pudding!
• For fixed arrangements in the near future: He is taking the
Mocanita train in one hour.
 Stative Verbs
• Are verbs which do not normally have continous
tenses because they describe a state rather than an
action. They usually are:
• 1 Likes/Dislikes: like, love, prefer, hate, dislike, enjoy.
• 2. Perception: belive, know, notice, remember, forget,
recognise, understand, realise, seem, think.
• 3. Senses: see, hear, feel, taste, look, smell, sound
• 4. Other: be, contain, include, matter, need, belong,
cost, owe, mean, own, appear, want, have (=posess)
 Some stative verbs have continuous
tenses, but there is a difference in
meaning:
• I think he is totally • Am thinking about going
immature. (=belive) to the seaside in the
summer. (=am
considering)
• She is tasting the soup to
• The soup tastes really
see if it is spicy enough.
good (has a nice flavour).
(is tasting the flavour)
• I can see the boys
• I m seeing Hermione this
playing. (=perceive it
evening. (=am meeting)
with my eyes)