Grammar (simple present, present continuous and action / non-action)

Simple present

We use the present tense:

1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period.

• I take the train to the office.
• John sleeps eight hours every night during the week.

2. For facts.

• The President of The USA lives in The White House.
• A dog has four legs.

3. For habits.

• I get up early every day.
• Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.

4. For things that are always / generally true.

• It rains a lot in winter.
• The Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace.

We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO). In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person.

1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person.

go – goes

catch – catches

wash – washes

kiss – kisses

fix – fixes

buzz – buzzes

2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES.

marry – marries

study – studies

carry – carries

worry – worries

NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S.

play – plays

enjoy – enjoys

say – says

Negative sentences:

To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don't or Doesn't with all verbs EXCEPT To Beand Modal verbs (can, might, should etc.).

• You don't speak French.
• He doesn't speak German.

When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn't between the subject and the verb to make a negative sentence. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the negative sentence.

Questions:

To make a question in English we normally use Do or Does. It has no translation in Spanish though it is essential to show we are making a question. It is normally put at the beginning of the question.

• Do you speak English? Yes, I do.
• Does he speak English? No, he doesn’t.

Present Continuous

1: we use it for things that are happening at the moment of speaking.

• I'm working at the moment.
• Please call back as– we are eating dinner now.
• Julie is sleeping.

2: We can use this tense for temporary situations, when we feel something won't continue for a long time.

• She's staying with her friend for a week.
• I'm living in London for a few months.
• John's working in a bar until he finds a job in his field.
• I'm reading a really great book.

Compare this with the present simple , which is used for permanent situations that we feel will continue for a long time.

3: We can use the present continuous for habits but they have to be temporary or new habits (for normal habits that continue for a long time, we use the present simple).

• He's eating a lot these days.
• She's swimming every morning (she didn't use to do this).
• You're smoking too much.
• They're working late every night.

4: for annoying habits, when we want to show that something happens too often and we don't like it. In this case we usually use an adverb like 'always', 'forever' or 'constantly'.

• You're always losing your keys!
• She's constantly missing the train.
• He's always sleeping in.
• They're forever being late.

5: definite future arrangements (with a future time word). In this case we have already made a plan and we are pretty sure that the event will happen in the future.

• I'm meeting my father tomorrow.
• We're going to the beach at the weekend.
• I'm leaving at three.
• They're coming to the party at the weekend.

6: we use this tense to talk about a situation which is slowly changing.

• I'm getting better at playing the piano.
• The weather is improving.

Action and non-action

We do not normally use some verbs with present continuous because these verbs are not normally action verbs. These verbs include:
believe, belong, depend, hate, know, like, love, mean, need, prefer, realise, suppose, want, understand.

• They know each other very well - Correct
• They are knowing each other very well – Incorrect

ABSTRACT	be, believe,know, need, understand, remember, think,  imagine, forget, mean, exist...
FEELINGS	like, dislike, love, hate, fear, envy, care...
SENSES	hear, see, feel, smell, taste,  sound,  seem
BELONGINGS	own, have, belong, possess