Present Tense vs.
Present Continuous


It often rains in the Pacific Northwest, but it is not raining there now.

The sun often shines in Los Angeles, but it is not shining there today.


So, what's the difference between Simple Present and Present Continuous (also known as Present Progressive)?

Present Tense is used to express a habit, custom or frequent occurrence.

Present Progressive is used to express what is happening NOW in a continuous way.

Examples:

  1. Len teaches English. (It is something he often does.)
  2. It is Saturday today, so Len is not teaching now.


OK. Let's have a look at how we can use the Simple Present to describe a typical morning in Len's day.

Len's Morning

Len's alarm clock rings loudly at 6:00 every morning. However, he usually doesn't get up out of bed until 6:30 AM. When he does get up, he goes to the bathroom and takes a shower. The shower makes him feel good. After taking a shower, Len puts on a bathrobe and goes to the den. There he dries his hair with a hairdryer. It only takes about two minutes. When his hair is dry, he turns on CNN to watch the news. While Len watches the news, he also eats the cereal his wife, Yukie, prepares for him each morning. The breakfast cereal is delicious because Len's wife usually adds sliced bananas, strawberries or blueberries to the cereal. Yum. After breakfast, Len returns to the bathroom where he shaves and brushes his teeth. Then, he puts on his clothes and gets ready to go to work. He goes outside to the garage. There Yukie opens the garage so Len can go inside and get into his car. He starts the car and backs out of the garage to the street. Finally, he waves goodbye to Yukie and happily drives to work.



Now, it's time for you to write your own morning story. Make sure that you use the Simple Present tense!




Well, how about the Present Progressive (Continuous) tense? We need to practice this, too. Look at the pictures below, select an appropriate verb from the list and write sentences for each picture using the Present Progressive.


frown cry
shake laugh
sleep smile
write listen
worry wave
yawn talk


Write your sentences in the textbox below. For example, "The baby is ..."







Check-Up: (Present & Present Progressive)


Select the correct word(s) for each blank below.

1) Stan and I _____________ eating pizza again.

Wrong
am
Wrong
is
Right
are


2)Maria Jose is _____________ Eleazar.

Wrong
speaking
Wrong
waving
Right
hugging


3) Paula and Vera ____________ using their cellphones for this lesson.

Wrong
be
Right
are
Wrong
is


4) We usually don't _____________ cellphones in class, but today we are.

Wrong
using
Right
use
Wrong
to use


5)Sana does not often ________________ Japanese in school.

Right
speak
Wrong
speaking
Wrong
like speak


6)On a weekend, he _________________ up at 7:00 AM.

Wrong
is getting
Wrong
get
Right
gets


7)Julio and Sana always ____________ Len's lunch behind his back.

Wrong
ate
Right
eat
Wrong
are eating


8)Ersin and Betul ____________ for the class at the moment.

Wrong
look
Wrong
laughing
Right
are singing


9)Thérèse cannot talk now. She ____________ yoga to her sister.

Wrong
teaches
Wrong
teach
Right
is teaching


10)She __________ at the gym every day.

Right
works out
Wrong
not works
Wrong
working






Using the Present Continuous


Make a sentence for each picture below. Click on the picture to hear an appropriate response.



1 / 14
What's he doing?
2 / 14
What's he doing?
3 / 14
What are they doing?
4 / 14
What's he doing?
5 / 14
What are they doing?
6 / 14
What is he doing?
7 / 14
What is he doing?
8 / 14
What's the dog doing?
9 / 14
What is she doing?
10 / 14
What is she doing?
11 / 14
What is she doing?
12 / 14
What is he doing?
13 / 14
What is she doing?
14 / 14
What is she doing?




Want Homework? Click to download.


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