🔁 Present Simple vs Present Continuous — Form & Meaning

Simple = habits & facts. Continuous = actions happening now or around now. Mind the he/she/it spelling and the stative verbs that don’t take -ing.

Simple: do/does · don’t/doesn’t Continuous: am/is/are + V-ing Adverbs of frequency (always, often…) Signal words: now, at the moment, these days Stative verbs → Simple, not Continuous

🧱Present Simple — Form

AFFIRMATIVE

I/you/we/they + base verb → They study English.
he/she/it + base verb + s/es → She reads every day, He goes to class.

NEGATIVE

do not / don’t + base verb → I don’t study at night.
does not / doesn’t + base verb → He doesn’t speak French. Not: *doesn’t speaks.

QUESTIONS & SHORT ANSWERS

Do/Does + subject + base verb? → Does she study every day?
Yes, she does. / No, she doesn’t.

He/She/It spelling

General	add -s → play→plays, work→works
After s, sh, ch, x, z	add -es → watch→watches, fix→fixes
Consonant + y	y → ies → study→studies, try→tries
After -o	add -es → go→goes, do→does
Irregular	have→has · be→is

🧩Present Continuous — Form

AFFIRMATIVE

am/is/are + V-ing → I am learning, She is reading, They are practicing.

NEGATIVE

am not / isn’t / aren’t + V-ing → He isn’t listening right now.

QUESTIONS & SHORT ANSWERS

Am/Is/Are + subject + V-ing? → Are you studying now?
Yes, I am. / No, I’m not.

-ing spelling

General	add -ing → work→working, study→studying
Drop silent e	make→making, live→living
C-V-C (stressed)	double consonant → run→running, swim→swimming, prefer→preferring
ie → y	lie→lying, die→dying

📘Present Simple — Meaning & Use

HABITS & ROUTINES

I practice English for ten minutes every day.
He usually listens to podcasts in the morning. / We don’t study late.

FACTS & PERMANENT STATES

English has many common words. · I have a small dictionary app. · She is a student.

ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY

always/often/sometimes/rarely/never → mid position: She often watches short videos in English. / after be: I’m never late for class.
Expressions at the end: We have a speaking lesson once a week.

Timetables/schedules (fixed)

The lesson starts at 7 p.m. on Mondays.

📕Present Continuous — Meaning & Use

ACTIONS IN PROGRESS

I can’t talk now — I’m doing a listening exercise.
Be quiet — he’s recording his voice.

AROUND NOW / TEMPORARY

I’m reading a short story in English these days.
I’m studying with a tutor this month.

SIGNAL WORDS

now, right now, at the moment, currently, today, these days, this week/month

Stative (non-action) verbs → use the Simple

senses: see, hear, smell, taste, feel
opinion/feeling: believe, know, like, love, hate, prefer, think (opinion)
possession/being: have, own, belong, be, need, want, mean, seem
❌ I’m knowing this word. → ✅ I know this word.

🎯Spot the difference

I study English. (habit) ↔ I’m studying English now. (at this moment)
He learns new words every day. (in general) ↔ He’s learning a lot of new words this week. (temporary)
She usually writes notes in a notebook. ↔ She’s typing notes on her phone today.
Our teacher speaks slowly in class. ↔ She’s speaking very fast today!

❌ Does she studies? → ✅ Does she study?
❌ He don’t understand. → ✅ He doesn’t understand.
❌ I’m needing a break. → ✅ I need a break.

✅Quick checks

Habit, fact, timetable, or stative? → Present Simple.
Happening now / temporary / around now? → Present Continuous.
He/She/It in the Simple? → add -s/-es.
Negatives & questions: do/does for Simple; am/is/are for Continuous.

🧪Extra natural examples

We don’t often practice speaking in cafés. / I’m not practicing outside this week — I’m busy.
Where do you study? / Where are you studying today?
She studies grammar on Tuesdays, but she’s studying pronunciation today.

Recap: Simple = regular, permanent, or factual; Continuous = in progress or temporary. Keep stative verbs in the Simple and remember the -s for he/she/it. 🌟