Hello! We know that, for most of you, one of the most difficult things when you start learning grammar, is the difference between present simple and present continuous. When to use what? How are the constructions made? Don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place!
Present simple
The present simple is the tense we use when we want to speak about actions that are routines or permanent (I play football on Wednesdays). There are some words that may suggest that you should use this tense, which are:
Adverbs of frequency (always, never, often)
Normally
Days of the week
The formation of this tense is very simple (no pun intended) and it responds to this pattern:
Affirmative sentences: Subject+verb in the present tense (“normal” verb)+objects. I eat pizza on Saturdays.
Negative sentences: Subject+do not/does not+verb in the present tense+objects. He doesn’t train on Sundays.
Questions: Do/Does+Subject+Verb in the present tense+objects. Does she play tennis?
The only thing we need to have to be careful with when we use this tense, is the addition of an “-s” on verbs if the subject is 3rd person singular (he/she/it). If the sentence is negative or it’s a question, the “-s” is added to the auxiliar verb (Do) forming the verb “does”, NOT to the verb. Ex: He doesn’t plays basketball. He doesn’t play basketball.
Present continuous
The present continuous, on the other hand, is the tense we use when we want to speak about actions that are happening in that exact time, and haven’t finished yet (I am writing a post). There are some words that may suggest that you should use this tense, which are:
right now
now
at the moment
in this moment
Interjections (“Look!”, “Listen!”)
Today
This week
This month
This year
The formation of this tense is a bit more difficult, but it’s nothing to worry about. The pattern would be:
Affirmative: Subject+to be(conjugated)+verb with -ing+objects. I am doing my homework.
Negative: Subject+to be(conjugated)+not+verb with -ing+objects. You’re not studying right now.
Questions: To be (conjugated)+Subject+verb with -ing+objects. Are you doing the task?
You may be looking at the "To be (conjugated)" and asking yourself "What does that mean?". Well, here you have an image which explains it better than we can, so you only need to look at who is the subject.
Hope you find this information useful, and if you have any doubts, feel free to contact us through our different social media accounts, which you can see in the page. See you!
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