Present Simple vs Present Continuous
Read the following examples comparing the present simple and continuous.
A Routine vs Moment of Speaking
- James works for an investment magazine. Every month he writes articles about new investment opportunities.
- Take these figures to James. He needs them for an article he´s writing.
In 1, we are talking about something that James does as a routine.
In 2, we are talking about something he is doing at the moment of speaking.
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B General Activities vs Current Projects
- I work for ´Teletraining´. We make training videos.
- At the moment we´re making a training video for British Telecom.
In 1, we are talking about general activity.
In 2, we are talking about a specific current project.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
C Permanent vs Temporary Situations
- Peter deals with enquires about our car fleet sales.
- I am dealing with enquires about fleet sales while Peter is always on Holiday.
In 1, this is seen as permanently true.
In 2, this is seen as temporary situation.
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D Facts vs Slow Changes
- As a rule, cheap imports lead to greater competition.
- Cheap imports are leading to closure of a number of inefficient factories.
In 1, we are making a statement about a general fact that is always true.
In 2, we are talking about a change that is taking place at the moment.
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E State / Stative Verbs
There are a number of verbs, which describe states rather than actions. They are not normally used in the continuous form. Common examples are:
Verbs of thinking: believe, doubt, guess, imagine, know, realize, suppose, understand.
Verbs of the senses: hear, smell, sound, taste.
Verbs of possession: belong to, have (meaning possess), own, possess.
Verbs of emotion: dislike, hate, like, love, prefer, regret, want, wish.
Verbs of appearance: appear, seem.
Others: contain, depend on, include, involve, mean, measure, weight, require.
These are usually found in the simple form because they do not refer to actions:
I´m sorry, I don´t understand what you mean.
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Exercise 1 – Routine vs Moment of Speaking
Decide if the speaker is talking about routine activities or activities going on at the moment of speaking. Put the verbs into the present simple or the present continuous.
A: How do you usually organize (you/usually organize) the delivery of milk to the factory?
_______________________________________ (the farmers/bring) it here themselves?
B: No, __________________________________ (we/always collect) the milk ourselves, and the
tankers ____________________ (deliver) it to the pasteurization plant twice a day.
A: What sort of safety procedures _____________________________ (you/have)?
B: As a rule we _____________________________ (test) samples of every consignment, and then
the milk ___________________ (pass) down insulated pipes to the bottling plant, which
_____________________ (operate) 24 hours a day. I´ll show you round a bit later, but the
production line ___________________________ (not/work) at the moment because the
employees ____________________________ (change) shifts.
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Exercise 2 – General Activities vs Current Projects
Decide whether the verbs refer to general activities or current projects. Put the verbs into the present simple or present continuous.
Our company was founded fifteen years ago, and we manufacture (manufacture) and
__________________ (supply) clothing to large organizations such as the police, hospitals and so
on. We always _________________ (spend) a long time talking to the customers to find out their
needs. At the moment we ________________ (produce) an order for 18.000 shirts for the police.
The next order is for a local electronics factory, and our head designer _________________ (have)
discussions with them to find out what sort of clothes they ________________ (require).
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Exercise 3 – Permanent vs Temporary Situations
In the following exercise, decide whether the situations are permanent or temporary. Put the verbs into the present simple or present continuous.
1. He joined the company 25 years ago and he still works (work) for us.
2. We _________________ (not/send) out any orders this week because we´re waiting for the new lists.
3. I ______________________ (deal) with Mr Jarman´s clients this week because he´s away.
4. Go down this road, turn right, and the road _______________ (lead) straight to the industrial estate.
5. Because of the high cost of sterling, exports ________________________ (not/do) very well.
6. The stock market can be risky because the price of shares _____________ (vary) according to economic conditions.
7. She would be excellent as the European sales rep because she ___________ (speak) French fluently.
8. I´m Heinrich Brandt. I´m German, and I __________________ (come) from a small town in Munich.
9. We _________________ (spend) a great deal on phone calls due to a postal strike.
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Exercise 4 – Facts vs Slow Changes
A In the following passage, decide whether the verbs refer to general statement about change, or
changes that are currently taking place. Put the verbs into the present or present continuous.
Political parties cannot last forever. Normally they enjoy (enjoy) a period of great popularity in
their early years; then they ___________ (go) though a period of stability and _______ (put) their
ideas into practice. After that, they _________ (run) out of ideas, and the opposition ___________
(take) power. Now the present government ___________ (become) old and tired. It ___________
(make) mistakes and it ___________ (lose) popularity, and the opposition party _________ (start)
to look like a possible alternative.
B Fill in the blanks with the verbs in the box, using the present simple or present continuous.
| fall | grow | begin | go | demand | make |
In many ways, the economic outlook is good. Unemployment is falling and is now down to 8%
from 14%. The economy ___________________ at a rate of 2.5%. However, the real danger is that
inflation _________________ to rise. This is dangerous because every time that inflation
________________ up, people always ______________ higher wages, and this in turn
_____________ the problem worse.
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Exercise 5 – State Verbs
In each of the following sentences, put one of the verbs into the present simple and the other into the present continuous.
1. We are interviewing (interview) people from outside the company for the new post in the export department, but I think (think) we ought to give the job to Mr Jackson.
2. At the moment we _______________________ (carry) out a survey to find out what sort of
offer-sales service our customers ________________ (want).
3. We´ve got a competition on at work to do with our new range of cosmetics. The marketing
people _______________ (try) to find a brand name that ____________ (sound) natural and
4. ______________ (you/know) what Mrs Ericson ___________________ (do)? She´s not in her
office and nobody has seen her since lunch.
5. Could you help me? I _______________ (try) to translate this letter from a Spanish client and I
don´t know what this word ______________ (means).
6. I _____________________ (apply) for a transfer to our London office, but I don´t know if I´ll be
successful. It all ________________ (depend) on whether or not they have any vacancies.
7. The new ´Own brand` instant coffee ________________ (tastes) very good, so it´s not surprising
that it ___________________ (become) more and more popular.
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Task 1
Make up sentences using the following prompts. The first verb should be in the present simple, and the second verb in the present continuous.
1. come form/but/live
I come from Austria, but at the moment I´m leaving in Switzerland.
2. speak/and/learn
__________________________________________________________________________
3. normally/like my work/but/not enjoy
__________________________________________________________________________
4. go on a lot of training courses/and/do a course in CAD
__________________________________________________________________________
5. work from 9 to 5/but/stay late
_________________________________________________________________________
6. travel a lot/and visit/Australia
_________________________________________________________________________
7. have several subsidiaries in Europe/and/set up another one in Brussels
_________________________________________________________________________
8. normally/export a lot to Greece/but/not get many orders
_________________________________________________________________________
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Task 2
Make questions to go with the answers. Use either the present simple or continuous.
1. Where do you come from?
I come from a little town called Zug, near Zurich.
2. ____________________________________________________________________
I´m writing to Markesan’s to ask for an up-to-date catalogue.
3. ____________________________________________________________________
I think he´s a consultant.
4. ____________________________________________________________________
I usually cycle in, but sometimes I bring the car.
5. ____________________________________________________________________
Our Sales Director goes abroad three or four time a year.
6. ____________________________________________________________________
No, not at all, well in fact, the factory is doing a three day week.
7. ____________________________________________________________________
Yes, very well. We met in 1980.
8. ____________________________________________________________________
No, not at the moment. But we´ll start taking on new staff again in May.
professorca 