Time Phrases
The Present Continuous Vs The Present Simple
We use the present simple tense for usual or repeated actions, facts, future schedules and stative verbs.
| Subject | Verb | |
|---|
| I | play | every Saturday. |
| You | start | tomorrow. |
| He | reads | every day. |
| Tom | runs | every morning. |
| She | knows | the answer. |
| Sara | sings | every day. |
| It | begins | next week. |
| Ice | melts | at zero degrees. |
| We | understand | the question. |
| They | walk | every day. |
| The games | begin | next Monday. |
| The planets | move | around the Sun. |
We use the present continuous tense for temporary actions happening now or around now and for future arrangements:
| Subject | BE | Action/Gerund | | Time Phrase |
|---|
| I | am | working | at home | right now. |
| You | are | playing | well | these days. |
| He | is | meeting | her | tomorrow. |
| Bob | is | swimming | in the pool | right now. |
| She | is | studying | hard | these days. |
| It | is | doing | a check | now. |
| The computer | is | installing | some software | right now. |
| We | are | coming | to visit | tomorrow. |
| They | are | selling | a lot | this month. |
| The dogs | are | eating | dinner | right now. |
| Tom and Jerry | are | running | around | at the moment. |
| Tip! |
|---|
| * Stative Verbs are not usually actions. We use the present simple for state verbs: |
| I am understanding. ✘ |
| I understand. ✔ |
| I am knowing. ✘ |
| I know. ✔ |
| Stative Verbs |
|---|
| agree |
| appear |
| be |
| believe |
| cost |
| feel |
| have (possess) |
| hear |
| imagine |
| include |
| know |
| like |
| look (seem) |
| love |
| mean |
| mind |
| need |
| owe |
| own |
| possess |
| promise |
| realise |
| remember |
| see |
| seem |
| smell |
| sound |
| taste |
| think (have an opinion) |
| understand |
| want |
| weigh |
| wish |
The Present Perfect Vs The Past Simple
We use the present perfect tense for life experiences (at any time up to now) and events occuring at least once in the past. We don't say the time it happened.
We use the past simple tense for completed actions at a specific time in the past.
| Present Perfect Tense | |
|---|
| I've been to the Pyramids | before |
| Past Simple Tense | |
|---|
| I went to the Pyramids | last year |
We usually start with the present perfect tense to discuss life experiences and then use the past simple tense for more information:
| Question | | Answer |
|---|
| Have you ever been to the Pyramids? | ⇒ | Yes, I have. |
| When did you go there? | ⇒ | I went 2 years ago. |
| What did you see? | ⇒ | I saw the Great Pyramid. |
Now try the quiz below!