Present Simple

For:
1. Permanent states.
2. Daily routines, habitual actions.
3. General truth, laws of nature.
4. Timetable, programs.
5. Sporting commentaries, reviews, narrations.
Usually, often, always, every day/week/year/Monday, in the
morning/afternoon/evening, at night, at the weekend, on Friday etc.

Present Continuous
For:
1. Actions taking place at or around the moment of speaking.
2. Fixed arrangement in the near future: I am going to the dentist tomorrow(I have
already booked an appointment)
3. Current changing, developing situations: the number of homeless is increasing.
4. With 'always' to express irritation at a repeated action: You are always forgetting to
close the door.
Now, at the moment, at present, these days, nowadays, still, today, tonight etc.

Non-continuous verbs are verbs that we do not normally use with continuous tenses. These
"stative" verbs are about the state, not action, and they cannot express the continuous or
progressive aspect. Here are some of the most common non-continuous verbs:

● feeling: hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish

● senses: appear, feel, hear, see, seem, smell, sound, taste
● communication: agree, deny, disagree, mean, promise, satisfy, surprise
● thinking: believe, imagine, know, mean, realize, recognize, remember, understand
● other states: be, belong, concern, depend, involve, matter, need, owe, own,
possess

Present Perfect
For:
1. An action that started in the past and continues up to the present: I have known
Dave for years.
2. Recently completed action whose result is visible in the present.
3. An action that happened at an unstated time in the past: I have only visited Portugal
once. (When? Unstated time.)
For, since, already, always, just, ever, never, so far, today, this week/month, how long,
lately, recently, still etc.

Present Perfect Continuous

1. To put emphasis on the duration of an action which started in the past and continues
up to the present, especially with words: for, since, all morning/day/year: the boys
have been playing football for hours.
For, since, how long, lately, recently.
Ex. 1. Make the present simple or present continuous:
1. You (not / like) _________________________________ chocolate.
2. She (not / study) _________________________________ at the moment.
3. We often (go) _________________________________ to the cinema.
4. He usually (not / do) _________________________________ his homework.
5. They (not / eat) _________________________________ rice every day.
6. We (not / study) _________________________________ every night.
7. (You / like) _________________________________ spicy food?
8. (She / go) _________________________________ to Scotland often?
9. (He / eat) _________________________________ now?
10. We (go) _________________________________ to the cinema this weekend.
11. They (study) _________________________________ now.
12. I (clean) _________________________________ the kitchen every day.
13. She (work) _________________________________ every Sunday.
14. We (not / sleep) _________________________________ now.
15. He (not / go) _________________________________ to the park very often.
16. It (rain) _________________________________ a lot here.
17. I (go) _________________________________ on holiday tomorrow.
18. How long (she / stay) _________________________________ in London?
19. I often (read) _________________________________ at night.
20. We (not / drink) _________________________________ much wine.

Ex. 2. PRESENT SIMPLE VS PRESENT CONTINUOUS

EXERCISES

1. Marie-Claude isn't a Canadian. I ________ she comes from France. A. believe B. ? am

believing
2. Look! Junko ________ into the water. A. ? jumps B. ? is jumping
3. I ________ you're crazy! A. ? think B. ? am thinking
4. Don't give Jan any cheese. She ________ it! A. ? hates B. ? is hating
5. I ________ to Toronto next Thursday. Do you want to come? A. ? go B. ? am going
6. Once a week, I ________ to an art class at the college. A. ? go B. ? am going
7. I ________ lunch in the cafeteria every day. A. ? have B. ? am having
8. Salman is rich — he ________ a Mercedes. A. ? drives B. ? is driving
9. You won't find Jerry at home right now. He ________ in the library. A. ? studies B. ? is
studying
10. It ________ quite hard — perhaps we shouldn't go out tonight. A. ? snows B. ? is
snowing

Ex. 3. PRESENT SIMPLE VS PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Next week, my friends and I _________ (go) camping in the woods. I ____________
(organize) the food, because I _____________ (like) cooking. Dave ________________
(have) a big car with a trailer, so he _____________ (plan) the transportation. Sam
______________ (bring) the tent — he ___________ (go) camping every year, so he
_________ (have) a great tent and lots of other equipment. My wife _______ (think) we're
crazy. She (like) _______________ holidays in comfortable hotels, so she ______________
(take) a trip to Paris instead.
Ex. 4. Present Perfect or Past Simple 4

Choose the present perfect or past simple:

1. I ___________________ (never / go) to Vienna.
2. My great great grandfather ___________________ (have) five sisters
3. He ___________________ (live) in Manila for a year when he was a student.
4. Oh no! I ___________________ (lose) my wallet!
5. ___________________ (you / see) Julie today?
6. At the weekend, they ___________________ (play) football, then they
___________________ (go) to a restaurant.
7. I ___________________ (read) six books this week.
8. Amy ___________________ (live) in Portugal when she was young.
9. She ___________________ (visit) her grandmother last month.
10. The Vandals ___________________ (invade) Rome in the year 455.
11. She ___________________ (live) in seven different countries, so she knows a
lot about different cultures.
12. I ___________________ (go) to the cinema last night.
13. Ow! I ___________________ (cut) my finger!
14. ___________________ (you / see) ‘The King’s Speech’?
15. John ___________________ (never / understand) the present perfect.
16. She ___________________ (break) her leg the day before her exam.
17. We ___________________ (see) Oliver yesterday.
18. He ___________________ (be) here all morning.
19. They ___________________ (live) here for many years (and they still do).
20. King Henry the Eighth of England ___________________ (have) six wives.

Ex. 5. Present Perfect Simple or Present Perfect Continuous Exercise 1

1. ___________________ (they / arrive) already?
2. Lucy ___________________ (run) 2000 metres today.
3. I ___________________ (clean) all morning – I’m fed up!
4. How long ___________________ (you / know) Simon?
5. I ___________________ (drink) more water lately, and I feel better.
6. Sorry about the mess! I ___________________ (bake).
7. How many times ___________________ (you / take) this exam?
8. He ___________________ (eat) six bars of chocolate today!
9. Julie ___________________ (cook) dinner. Let’s go and eat!
10. The students ___________________ (finish) their exams. They’re very happy.
11. The baby’s face is really dirty! What ___________________ (he / eat)?
12. Iona is exhausted these days. She ___________________ (work) too hard recently. 13.
Luke ___________________ (never / be) abroad.
14. I ___________________ (wait) for three hours already !
15. ___________________ (you / finish) your homework yet?
16. How long ___________________ (you / be) a lawyer?
17. I ___________________ (read) your book all day. It’s very interesting, but I’m only on
chapter 2.
18. She ___________________ (drink) ten glasses of water!
19. I ___________________ (have) my dog for sixteen years.
20. Help, I ___________________ (lose) my wallet! How can I get home?

Ex. 6. Present Perfect Simple or Present Perfect Continuous Exercise 2

1. I ___________________ (not / do) the housework yet.
2. They ___________________ (study) very hard recently.
3. She ___________________ (promise) to help many times.
4. He ___________________ (clean) the kitchen. Everything is sparkling clean.
5. She ___________________ (write) her essay and ___________________ (send) it to her
professor.
6. He ___________________ (see) the film ‘The King’s Speech’ about six times.
7. We ___________________ (paint) our living room. I think it looks a lot better.
8. She ___________________ (take) French lessons lately.
9. It ___________________ (not / rain) for three hours! Only about one hour.
10. Lucy ___________________ (already / leave).
11. How many times ___________________ (you / visit) Scotland?
12. I ___________________ (call) John for hours and hours and he hasn’t answered. I’m
really angry with him!
13. I ___________________ (be) in London for three years.
14. We ___________________ (know) James for ages.
15. It’s really smelly in here. ___________________ (somebody / smoke)?
16. How much petrol ___________________ (she / buy)?
17. She ___________________ (eat) chocolate all morning, so she feels sick.
18. I ___________________ (paint) my house all day, but it’s not finished yet.
19. Julie ___________________ (be) at the office since 6 am.
20. The writer ___________________ (deserve) this award for a long time.