The
Simple Present Tense and The Present Progressive Tense
The
king of animals is very lazy and sleeps a lot.
He
sleeps 20 hours a day.
Look
at the photo, he isn´t sleeping.
THE SIMPLE
PRESENT TENSE
1. We
form affirmative statements in the simple present tense with a subject + a verb
+ or a verb + -s or –es. We form negative statements with a subject + do not/
don’t or does not/doesn’t + a verb.
I
like football.
Tom
likes football.
We
don’t like tennis.
Tom
doesn’t like baseball.
2. We
form yes/no questions in the simple present tense with do or does + a subject +
a verb. In short answers, we use a pronoun subject + do/don’t or does/doesn’t.
A:
Do you like soccer?
B:
Yes, I do./ No, I don’t.
A:
Does Sue like tennis?
B:
Yes, she does./No, she doesn’t.
3. We
use the wh- words what, where, when, how, which, why, who, and whom to form wh-
questions in the simple present tense. We form these questions in two ways.
a. If
the wh- word is the subject of the question, we do not use the auxiliary verbs
do or does, and we do not change the word order of the subject and the verb.
Who wants to
play basketball?
b. If
the wh- word is not the subject of the question, we use the wh- word + do or
does + the subject + the base verb.
Why do you like baseball?
What does the
catcher do in baseball?
THE PRESENT PROGRESSIVE
TENSE
4. We
form affirmative statements in the present progressive tense with a subject +
the present tense of be + a verb + -ing. We form negative statements with the
present tense of be + not + a verb + -ing.
The
players are trying to score.
They
aren’t succeeding.
5. We
form yes/no questions with the present tense of be + a subject + a verb + -ing.
In affirmative short answers, we use a pronoun subject + the present tense of
be. In negative short answers, we use a pronoun subject + the present tense of
be + not. We usually contract negative short answers.
A:
Is our team winning?
B.
Yes, it is./No, it isn’t.
A:
Are you enjoying the game?
B:
Yes, I am./ No, I’m not.
6. We
form wh- questions in the present progressive tense in the same two ways as in
the simple present tense, but we use present progressive verb forms.
Who is winning?
Why is
that player running now?
In
speech and in informal writing, we often contract is with the wh- word.
In
speech, we also contract are with the wh- word, but we do not usually write
this form.
Who’s
speaking?
Where’s
he going?
How’s
your car running?
Function
1.
Here are the
uses of the simple present and the present progressive tenses when we are
referring to present time.
The Simple Present Tense
|
The Present Progressive Tense
|
a. To describe repeated actions or habits.
|
a. To talk about something which is in progress at the
moment of speaking.
It is
raining right now.
|
b. To talk about things that are always or generally true
The sun sets in the west.
It snows
a lot in the winter here.
|
b. To talk about something which is in progress around the
present, but not exactly at the time of speaking
Tony is
looking for a new job these days.
|
c. To describe a permanent situation or a condition with
no definite start or finish but that is true now.
They live
in Panama city.
|
c. To talk about situations which are developing or
temporary
Computers are becoming more and more important in our lives.
|
d. With adverbs of frequency such as always, usually,
often, sometimes, seldom/rarely, and never to say how often we do something.
If the verb is be, we put the adverb after
the verb. If the verb is not be, we put the adverb before the verb.
They are seldom late.
She often
studies in the library.
|
d. With adverbs such as always or constantly to express
complaints or annoyance.
He is
always calling me late at night.
|
e. With time expressions such as every day/week/year, in
the morning/afternoon/evening, and or night. We can put these time
expressions at the beginning or the end of a sentence.
I go to the store once a week.
On weekends, we have
dinner at seven.
|
e. With time expressions such as now, at the moment, at
present, these days, nowadays, and today. We can put these time expressions
at the beginning or the end of a sentence.
I’m writing and e-mail message right now.
These days, I’m using
e-mail to keep in touch with my friends.
|
2.
We also use
the simple present and the present progressive tenses to refer to future time.
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