1. Present continuous (I am doing)
I am doing something = I’ in the middle of doing it; I’ve started doing it and I haven’t finished;
You can use the present continuous with today / this week / this year erc.(periods around now)
We use the present continuous when we talk about changes happening around now, especially with these verbs
get | change | become | increans | rise | fall | grow | improve | begin | start |
Is your English getting better? (not Does your English get better)
2. Present simple (I do)
We use the present simple to talk about things in general. We use it to say that something happens all the time or repeatedly, or that something is true in general
I promise / I apologise etc
Sometimes we do things by saying something. For example, when you peomise to do something, you can say ‘I promise …’, when you suggest something, you can say ‘I suggest …’
In the same way we say: I apologise … / I advise …/ I insist … / I agree …/ I refuse …etc
3. Present continuous and present simple 1 (I am doing and I do)
- We use the continuous for temporary situations
- I’m living with some friends until I find a place of my own
- You’re working hard today
- We use the simple for permanent situations
- My parents live in London. They have lived there all their lives.
- Joe isn’t lazy, He works hard most of the time
I always do and I’m always doing
- I always do (something) = I do it every time
- I always go to work by car. (not I’m always going)
- I’m always losing things = I lose things very often, perhaps too often, or more often than normal
4. Present continuous and present simple 2 (I am doing and I do)
We use continuous forms for actions and happenings that have started but not finished (they are eating / it is raining etc.). Some verbs (for example, know and like) are not normally used in this way. We don’t say ‘I am knowing’ or ‘the are liking’; we say ‘I know’, they like
like | want | need | prefer | |||
know | realise | suppose | mean | understand | believe | remember |
belong | fit | contain | consist | seem |
Think
- When think means ‘believe’ or ‘have an option’, we do not use the continuous
- I think Mary is Canadian, but I’m not sure (not I’m thinking)
- When think means ‘consider’, the continuous is possible
- I’m thinking about what happened. I often think about it.
See hear small taste
- We normally use the present simple (not continuous) with these verbs:
- Do you see that man over there? (not Are you seeing)
- We often use can + see / hear / smell / taste:
- I can hear a strange noise. Can you hear it?
Look feel
- You can use the present ∂∂simple or continuous to say how somebody looks or feels now:
- You look well today. or You’re looking well today
- but
- I usually feel tired in the morning (not I’m usually feeling)
We use am / is / are being to say how somebody is hebaving. It is not usually possible in other sentences.
6. Present continuous (I was doing)
I was doing something = I was in the middle of doing something at a certain time. The action or situation had already started before this time, but had not finished
- Past continuous (in the middle of an action)
- I was walking home then I met Dan (in the middle of walking home when I met Dan)
- Past simple(complete action)
- I walked home after the party last night. (=all the way. completely)
We often use the past simple and the past continuous together to say that something happened in the middle of something else:
- Matt phoned while we were having dinner.
- It was raining when I got up
But we use the past simple to say that one thing happened after another
I was walking along the road then I saw Dan. So I stopped, and we had a chat
Some verbs (for example, know and want) are not normally used in the continuous (see Unit 4A)