PRESENT SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS S TUDENTS NOTES

P RESENT S IMPLE
We use the Present Simple for

habits and regular events

thoughts, feelings and state of being. State verbs include: like, prefer, mean, need,
remember, seem, know, love, hate, forget, understand, belong, believe, hope, own

ACTION EXAMPLE

She runs the Berlin marathon every year.

Habit He visits the dentist once a year.
I eat chocolate every day.
I get up late on weekends.

They live in London.

State I am tired.
He likes cake and coffee.
I hope its sunny tomorrow.

P RESENT C ONTINUOUS
We use the Present Continuous for:

a temporary action happening now

a definite plan for the future

ACTION EXAMPLE

Its snowing and its only November!

Temporary action Im writing an e-mail to my mother.
NOW Can I come in 10 minutes, Im eating lunch at the moment?
Im cycling to work because my car has broken down.

Im flying to Paris tomorrow.

th
Definite plan for Hes celebrating his 30 birthday.
the future We are leaving at 5pm.
Theyre moving house on the weekend.
PRESENT SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS T EACHERS NOTES

E XERCISE 1
Each student needs to explain their daily routine to the rest of the class, or alternatively
they can make a list of things that they do weekly, or every year (and present them to
the class in full sentences).

E XERCISE 2
All the students need to write a list of all the things they are doing right now. Who can
come up with the longest list?

E XERCISE 3
Write the following words onto flashcards (or others of your choice):

run, leave, love, read, belong, write, understand, stand up, talk, swim, fix, feel, sit

Divide the flashcards equally between the students. They have to write sentences using
the Present Simple or the Present Continuous with their words where possible, they
can write two sentences with the same word.

Once all the students are finished writing their sentences, they need to act out or draw
the scenario for the rest of the class. The other students need to ask questions to work
out what the sentence is e.g. Are you running? Do you run every day? Are you leaving?
Do you leave work at 6pm every day?

E XERCISE 4
Get the students to make sentences with the following words, and then ask each other
the questions. The questions should be in either the Present Simple or Present
Continuous.

e.g. music/listen (What music do you listen to? OR What music are you listening to
at the moment?)

1. get/annual leave
2. read/book
3. where/go/holiday
4. own/rent/apartment
5. museums/city
6. time/get up/Monday
7. how often/exercise
8. work hard
9. sit down
10. what/wear