The document provides information on the present simple and present continuous tenses in English. It discusses when to use each tense, including using the present simple for habits and permanent states, and the present continuous for temporary situations happening now. It also covers pronunciation of the third person -s ending, the formation and spelling of the present continuous, and the distinction between action and non-action verbs. Examples are provided throughout to illustrate the different uses of these tenses.

1. FILE 1A
PRESENT SIMPLE
AND CONTINUOUS.
ACTION AND NON-
ACTION VERBS

2. USE THE PRESENT SIMPLE FOR:
1. Habits/routines.
e.g.: John starts work at eight o’clock.
2. Things that are always true/permanent.
e.g.: Spain is a hot country.
3. Describing a state.
e.g.: Dimitri is really happy about his job.
4. With the present simple use the following time expressions:
e.g. every day, once a month, sometimes, never, and
other adverbs of frequency ( before the main verb and after
be)

3. 3RD PERSON PRONUNCIATION
-s can be pronounced in different ways:
 / s/- with verbs ending in an unvoiced consonant.
e.g. cooks, eats
 / z / - with verbs ending in a vowel sound or voiced consonant.
e.g. plays, has
 / iz /- with verbs where you add –es
e.g. watches, finishes

4. USE THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS
FOR:
1. Things that are happening now, at this moment.
e.g. Janet is having a shower.
2. Temporary situations that are happening around now
( but not at this exact moment).
e.g. I am learning Spanish for my job.
3. For future arrangements.
e.g.What are you doing after class?
- I’m going to the cinema.
4. Time expressions used with the present continuous:
e.g. now, at the moment, this week, today…

5. Present continuous: Form and spelling
FORM:
Be + verb + -ing
SPELLING( remember )
Living, studying, getting

6. ACTION AND NON-ACTION VERBS
 Action verbs are verbs which describe
actions. They can be used in the present
simple or continuous.
e.g. make, cook
 Non-action verbs are verbs which describe
states or feelings ( not actions), e.g. like,
want, be are not normally used in the
present continuous.

7. Common non-action verbs are:

Have ( possess), like, love, hate, need,
want, hope, prefer, find, know,
think, realise, believe, understand,
remember, seem, depend,
suppose, mean, see, hear, smell,
taste, agree.

8. have
 Have has action and non-action meaning.
action meaning –( experience)
e.g.
I’m having lunch
we’re having a wonderful holiday
non-action meaning- ( possession)
e.g.
we have a lovely room by the sea

9. Listening
http://www.english-
test.net/esl/lesson-
plans/grammar_tenses.html
Let's practise some more. Listen to the following conversation and
find out which tenses are used:

10. Transcript part 1

- Good morning Darling, how are you feeling today?
- Thanks, I'm feeling OK, thanks. What's that sound? Are our
neighbours testing their new power tools?
- No, this time it's not our neighbours but our kids.
- Our kids? What are they doing?
- Well, you'll be surprised -- they are listening to the CD you bought
them for Christmas.
- Ah, I see. But why aren't they using their headphones?
- Headphones? Do they have headphones?
- Yes, of course they do. They are just not using them to provoke us.

11. Transcript part 2
 Oh, come on. Don't say that. They probably think we
should be listening to their music, too.
- Right. I should be listening to Techno songs at 9
o'clock on a Sunday morning. You must be kidding!
- 9 o'clock? It's 10:30, the sun is shining and your
parents are coming in two hours. How about getting
ready for them?

12. Transcript part 3
 - Why are my parents visiting us today? Did you tell them about my
promotion?
- Well, how did you think I could hide such news from them? Of course
I told your mother about your success. We're are so proud of you!
- Thanks a lot. Maybe, today you are cooking lunch for a change?
- That won't be necessary I suppose. Our kids are already working
hard in the kitchen.
- Is that true? We have wonderful kids, don't we?

13. Thanks to:
 Face2face intermediate
 New English File intermediate
 http://www.english-test.net/esl/lesson-plans/gramm
 By Elena Gómez