Simple present or present progressive

1. Simple Present
or
Present Progressive?

2. Simple Present –
how to build it
I
you
he/she/it
we
you
they
speak
speaks
speak
speak
speak
speak
verb: to speak

3. Particularities
 Modal verbs like can, may and must don‘t need a “s“
 (e.g. You may go to dance class.)
 After sounds like ch, sh or s there has to be a “es“
 (e.g. He watches a movie at night.)
 If the last consonant is a “y“ it changes to a “ie“
 (e.g. She flies to the United States.)
→ however, this rule does not apply if the letter
before the „y“ is a vowel (e.g. She plays a video game.)

4. Present
Progressive –
how to build it
I
you
he/she/it
we
you
they
are speaking
are speaking
is speaking
are speaking
are speaking
am speaking

5. Particularities
 If the verb is ending in “e“ it disappears
(e.g. to come: She is coming to see him.)
→ however, this rule does not apply if the verb ends in ”ee”
(e.g. to agree: I’m agreeing with her opinion.)
 After a short and stressed vowel, the last consonant needs to be doubled
(e.g. to sit: He is sitting next to her.)
(e.g. to travel: She is travelling to Spain.)
 If the verb is ending in a “ie” it changes to “y”
(e.g. to lie: The student is lying to its teacher.)

6. What do you
think?
 When do we use the Simple
Present and when do we use the
Present Progressive?

7. Usage of the Simple Present
 If you want to express something that happens in general
 e.g. Bauti plays soccer every Tuesday.
 Signal words:
 always (100%)
 usually (90%)
 regularly (80%)
 normally (80%)
 generally (80%)
 often/frequently (70%)
 sometimes (50%)
 occasionally (30%)
 seldom (10%)
 rarely/hardly ever (5%)
 never (0%)
 every …
 every other …
 Sequential actions:
 e.g. First, Alicia plays soccer, then he watches TV.
 Signal words:
 first
 next
 then
 after that
 finally

8. Usage of the Present Progressive
 If an action happens right now
 e.g. Look! Alicia is playing soccer now.
 If there are several actions happening at the same time
 e.g. Alicia is playing soccer and Talita is watching.
 Signal words:
 at the moment
 at this moment
 right now
 now
 today
 Listen!
 Look!

9. Simple Present: Exercises
Past Present Future
1. Lucas ______ (like) to play basketball.
2. Sindame ______ (to meet) her friend Carmen every Sunday.
3. Usually Rafael ______ (to read) a book before going to sleep.
4. Daniel often ______ (to go) to visit his family in Colombia.
5. Anastasija never ______ (to walk) from the school to her house.
6. Pablo and Mauro usually ______ (to practice) their instruments on the weekends.
7. You ______ (to take) the bus early in the morning to go to school.
8. Nicolas ______ (to swim) three times a week after school.
9. After school Gonzalo ______ (to go) home, ______ (to pack) his bag, ______ (to put) on his jersey and
then he ______ (to go) to soccer training.
10. Usually the train ______ (to leave) at 4 pm.
Simple Present

10. Present Progressive: Exercises
Past Moment of speaking Future
1. Sophia ___________ (to brush) her teeth.
2. Nicolas and Sebastian ___________ (to read) a book together.
3. The kids ___________ (to run) home from school.
4. The English teacher ___________ (to come) late to class.
5. Nicolas ___________ (to get) a new hair cut.
6. Liam and his best friend ___________ (to chat) with each other right now.
7. Kassi ___________ (to write) a letter to her friend who lives in Ireland.
8. Ruben ___________ (to fall) down a tree.
9. They ___________ (to go) to see a movie in the center of the city.
10. The cat ___________ (to chase) the mouse.
Present Progressive

11. Simple Present or Present Progressive?
1. Look! Lucas ___________ (to leave) the house.
2. Quiet please! I ___________ (to write) a test.
3. She usually ___________ (to walk) to school.
4. But look! Today she ___________ (to go) by bike.
5. Every Sunday we ___________ (to go) to see my grandparents.
6. He often ___________ (to go) to the cinema.
7. We ___________ (to play) Monopoly at the moment.
8. The children seldom ___________ (to cry)
9. I ___________ (not to do) anything at the moment.
10. He ___________ (to watch) the news regularly.