Present Simple VS Continuous/Progressive: the Ultimate Guide

What's the difference between, "I play football.", and "I'm playing football."? When do you use the former (the simple aspect) or the latter (the continuous aspect)?

Understanding the difference and knowing how to use them is essential to mastering the English language.

In this blog, I'm going to completely break it down for you.

Before you get started, it's important to know that the verb 'be' doesn't behave like other verbs in the present tense. If this is news to you, it would be a good idea to start here.

open section:

The Present Tense:
Simple VS Continuous

Introduction

Abbreviation Key

  • PS (Present Simple)
  • PC (Present Continuous)
  • v1 (first verb form, i.e. the bare infinitive)

FYI! Different English teachers use different terms to describe the same thing. I prefer to say ‘Present Simple’, but some people say ‘Simple Present’. Both are ok.

I also use ‘Present Continuous’ instead of ‘Present Progressive’, but they both refer to the same thing.

open section: FORMS of PS & PC

I use the term FORM to refer to the Subject-Verb relationship of a sentence.

I’ll break up the topic of Form into Positive, Negative and Questions. Additionally, I’ll further divide Questions into: Yes/No Questions and Information Questions, along with their corresponding answers.

open section: Positive Sentence Forms: Present Simple (PS)

For positive sentences in PS (Present Simple), you only need ONE verb—a main verb in its bare infinitive form.

Here are examples of verbs in their bare infinitive forms:

go, watch, listen, run, etc.

I refer to these verbs as ‘v1’, meaning 1st verb form.

To form a sentence in the Present Simple tense, the subject/verb relationship is split into 2 pronoun categories:

  1. I/You/We/They
  2. He/She/It

With the first category: ‘I/You/We/They’, you simply use the verb in its v1 form.

For example with the verb (v1) 'run':

  • “I run.”
  • “You run.”
  • “We run.”
  • “They run.”

For the second pronoun category: ‘He/She/It’, you need to add an -s to the verb.

For example, with the verb ‘run’, it changes to:

  • “He runs.”
  • “She runs.”
  • “It runs.”
open section: Spelling Tips (PS): verb+-s

With ‘he/she/it’ there are some spelling exceptions to bear in mind when adding -s:

  1. For verbs ending in -o, -s, -ch, -sh, -x, you add -es instead of only -s
    • do ➜ does
    • miss ➜ misses
    • watch ➜ watches
    • wash ➜ washes
    • fix ➜ fixes
  2. For verbs ending in -y
    1. If you have a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) before the -y, then simply add -s as usual.
      • play ➜ plays
      • buy ➜ buys
    2. However, if you have a consonant (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z) before the -y, replace the -y with -ies.
      • cry ➜ cries
      • study ➜ studies
  3. Last but not least, the verb “have” changes to “has”.

Here are all these spelling rules in a handy chart!

Spelling Tips for Verbs + -s ChartChart containing spelling tips for adding '-s' to verbs in the base form.

open section: Positive Sentence Forms: Present Continuous (PC)

Remember, Present Continuous is also referred to as Present Progressive.

For PC, you need TWO verbs for positive and negative sentences, as well as questions.

  1. The first verb is ‘be’, as a helping verb (auxiliary verb).

    The good news here is that if you know the forms of ‘be’ as a main verb, the PC forms are the same: ‘am’, ‘is’, or ‘are’, depending on the subject.

    Take note: ‘am’, ‘is’, ‘are’ themselves don’t have any meaning!

  2. The second is the main verb in its bare infinitive form (v1), to which you add -ing.

    It's the main verb that carries the meaning of what you're trying to express.

Let's take a closer look:

To form a positive sentence in PC, the subject/verb relationship is split into 3 pronoun categories:

  1. I + am + (v1 + -ing)
  2. You/We/They + are + (v1 + -ing)
  3. He/She/It + is + (v1+ -ing)

’m, ’re, ’s—are the short forms of the verbs am, are, is

I’ll use the main verb ‘v1’ (listen) to demonstrate what I mean:

  • “I am listening.”
    short form ➜ “I'm listening.”
  • “You are listening.” / “We are listening.” / “They are listening.”
    short forms ➜ “You're listening.” / “We're listening.” / “They're listening.”
  • “He is listening.” / “She is listening.” / “It is listening.”
    short forms ➜ “He's listening.” / “She's listening.” / “It's listening.”

Did you know that the verb 'be' can be used as a main verb in PC? This only applies to when 'be' is an active verb with the meaning 'to behave/act'.

In order to build this sentence, we have to use 'be' twice. Once, as a helping verb (am, are, is), and then as the main verb [in it's bare infinitive form v1—'be'+ -ing (being)].

  1. be (v1—'to behave/act') | active verb:
    "He is being childish." (referring to how he's behaving right now, not his personality.)

Compare sentence #1 with the sentence below where 'be' has a totally different meaning:

  1. be (stative verb | 'used in this example as a linking verb to describe a characteristic of the subject')
    "He is childish." (you're describing his personality)
open section: Spelling Tips (PC): verb + -ing

When adding -ing, there are some spelling exceptions to bear in mind.

  1. Verbs Ending in Silent -e
    ➜ drop the -e, then add -ing
      2. Here are some examples:
    • come ➜ coming
      [active verb] 1 to move towards 2 to approach, etc.

      • You don't hear the final -e in the verb ‘come’. The last sound you hear is the ‘m’ sound: /kʌm/

      However, with the meaning 'to come from/to originate from' (stative verb), please don't use the -ing form!

    • write ➜ writing

      • For the verb ‘write’, the final -e is silent, and the last sound you hear is the “t” sound: /raɪt/

    • have ➜ having
      [active verb] 1 have fun 2 have a shower 3 have a picnic, etc.

      • For the verb ‘have’, the last sound you hear is the 'v' sound: /hæv/

      Take note: with the definitions 'to have sth'/own sth'—these have a stative meaning and cannot be used in the Present Continuous form!

    The following two verbs are exceptions because if you follow rule #1 above, they look like two other more common verbs with different meanings:

    • ­­­dye /daɪ/ ➜ dyeing:
      would look like ‘dying’ if you followed the rule above, and removed the silent -e.
    • singe /sɪndʒ/ ➜ singeing:
      would look like ‘singing’ if you removed the silent -e.

    So, just leave the silent -e where it is!

    Don’t be confused by these next verbs! As you can see, you keep the final -e because you can hear the "e" sound in the end.

    • see /siː/ ➜ seeing
      [active verb] 1 to meet 2 (regularly) visit, etc.
      Not with the meanings: 'use the eyes'/understand' (stative)
    • be /biː/ ➜ being
      [active verb] 1 act/behave
  2. Verbs ending in CVC (Consonant Vowel Consonant)
    1. One syllable verbs
      ➜ double the final consonant, then add -ing

      2. Here are some examples:

      • shop ➜ shopping
      • run ➜ running
      • sit ➜ sitting
    2. Multi-syllable verbs
      ➜ Similarly, for multi-syllable verbs ending in CVC, you also double the final consonant, and then add -ing. However, this only applies to verbs which have an emphasis ( ˈ ) on the last syllable.
      • for-ˈget ➜ forgetting
      • com-ˈmit ➜ committing
      • be-ˈgin ➜ beginning

      The verb ‘listen’, on the contrary, has the emphasis ( ˈ ) on the first syllable, which is why you don’t double the final consonant ‘n’:

      • ˈlis-ten ➜ listening

    As always, there are exceptions to the exceptions! Luckily, this one is pretty easy to remember:

    Never double the final consonants: w|x|y whether it’s a one syllable or multi-syllable verb. Just imagine how weird it would actually look if you did :)

    1. One syllable verbs:
      • draw ➜ drawing
      • mix ➜ mixing
      • say ➜ saying

    2. Multi-syllable verbs:
      • fol-ˈlow ➜ following
      • re-ˈlax ➜ relaxing
      • en-ˈjoy ➜ enjoying

  3. Multi-syllable verbs ending in CV+L (Consonant Vowel + L)
    ➜ double the ‘L’ and add -ing.

    4. Examples:

    • tra-vel ➜ travelling
    • con-trol ➜ controlling
    • la-bel ➜ labelling

      • Heads up: you might see the -ing forms of these verbs spelled with a single ‘L’. This is because the -L is not doubled in American English.

  4. Verbs ending in -ie
    ➜ simply change -ie into -y and then add -ing.

    5. Examples:

    • lie ➜ lying
    • die ➜ dying
    • tie ➜ tying
  5. Verbs ending in -ic
    ➜ add ‘k‘, and then add -ing

    6. Examples:

    • picnic ➜ picnicking
    • panic ➜ panicking
    • mimic ➜ mimicking

Here are all these spelling rules again in a handy chart!

Spelling Tips for V1 + -ing ChartChart containing spelling tips for adding '-ing' to verbs in the base form.

open section: Negative Sentence Forms: Present Simple (PS)

For PS you need TWO verbs to form a negative sentence:

  1. The helping verbs ‘do‘ or 'does‘, and
  2. A main verb in its bare infinitive form (v1)

Of course, you also need the word ‘not’ to make the sentence negative.

Note! The helping verbs 'do' and 'does' themselves don't have any meaning. It's the main verb that carries the meaning of what you're trying to express. Just like with the helping verbs 'am', 'is', and 'are'.

When do we use 'do', and when is it 'does'?

The subject/verb relationship in PS is split into 2 pronoun categories:

  1. I/You/We/They, which take do + not (don’t is the short form)
  2. He/She/It, which take does + not (doesn't is the short form)

Do you remember why ‘does’ is spelled with -es?
For verbs ending in -o, -s, -ch, -sh, -x, you add -es instead of just -s:
do ➜ does (see: spelling tips)

Let’s look at some examples of negative sentences using the main verb ‘run’ (v1).

For ‘I/You/We/They’, you say:

  • “I do not run.”
  • “You do not run.”
  • “We do not run.”
  • “They do not run.”
  • Short forms:
  • “I don’t run.”
  • “You don’t run.”
  • “We don’t run.”
  • “They don’t run.”

For the pronouns ‘He/She/It’, don't add an -s to the main verb (v1) because you already have the helping verb ‘does’ with -es.

I’ll show you what I mean:

  • “He does not run”
  • “She does not run.”
  • “It does not run.”
  • Short forms:
  • “He doesn’t run.”
  • “She doesn’t run.”
  • “It doesn’t run.”

If you look at the v1 'run' in all the examples above, you’ll see that it remains the same for all the subjects (I, You, We, They, He, She, It). The only thing that changes is ‘do’ & ‘does’. This is the same for PS questions.

This means that you don't have to worry about spelling exceptions for negative sentences and questions. It's only in positive sentences that you have to remember: with he, she, it, tack on an -s.

open section: Negative Sentence Forms: Present Continuous (PC)

The only difference between the positive and the negative forms of PC is the word ‘not’.

You also need two verbs:

  1. A form of the helping verb ‘be’ (‘am’, ‘is’, or ‘are’, depending on the subject).
  2. A main verb in its bare infinitive form (v1), to which you add -ing.

Plus the word ‘not’ in between.

Don't forget the v1 + -ing spelling exceptions!

I’ll use the verb ‘listen’ to demonstrate what that means:

  • + “I am listening.”
    - “I am not listening.”
    • short form ➜ “I’m not listening.”
  • + “You are listening.”
    - “You are not listening.”
    • short form ➜ “You aren’t listening.”
      alternative short form ➜ “You're not listening.”
  • + “He is listening.”
    - “He is not listening.”
    • short form ➜ ”He isn’t listening.”
      alternative short form ➜ “He’s not listening.“
  • + “She is listening.”
    - “She is not listening.”
    • short form ➜ ”She isn’t listening.”
      alternative short form ➜ “She’s not listening.“
  • + “It is listening.”
    - “It is not listening.”
    • short form ➜ ”It isn’t listening.”
      alternative short form ➜ “It’s not listening.“
  • + “We are listening.”
    - “We are not listening.”
    • short form ➜ ”We aren’t listening.”
      alternative short form ➜ “We’re not listening.”
  • + “They are listening.”
    - “They are not listening.”
    • short form ➜ ”They aren’t listening.”
      alternative short form ➜ “They’re not listening.“

Now, let’s move on to questions & short answers.

open section: Questions & Short Answer Forms: Present Simple (PS)

For PS, just as with the negative forms, you need to use the helping verbs ‘do’ with I/You/We/They and ‘does’ with He/She/It plus a main verb (v1), unchanged, in all cases.

Before showing examples, I’d like to mention that there are 2 types of questions:

  1. Yes/No questions
    These are obviously answered with “Yes” or “No”.
  2. Information questions
    The answers to these are not just “Yes”, or “No”, but rather some sort of more complex information.
open section:

Yes/No Questions & Short Answer Forms: Present Simple (PS)

For PS, there are 2 categories of yes/no questions & their short answers.

I’ll use the main verb (v1) ‘run’ to illustrate this:

  • Question:
    • “Do I/you/we/they run?”
  • Answer:
    • “Yes, I/you/we/they do.”
    • “No, I/you/we/they don't.”
  • Question:
    • “Does he/she/it run?”
  • Answer:
    • “Yes, he/she/it does.”
    • “No, he/she/it doesn't.”

That’s it for Yes/No questions!👍

open section:

Information Questions: Present Simple (PS)

Information questions are questions that ask for more information than just "Yes", or "No". They are formed with question words like who, what, when, why, where, which, whose, how, etc.

There are two types:

  1. Subject Information Questions

    2. These are special because they are NOT formed with ‘do’ or ‘does’, and you use question words like who/what which stand in for a subject.

    Also, you simply always use the ‘he/she/it’ PS sentence form of the main verb (v1), which means tack an -s on, except when using question phrases that include a plural noun like “how many doughnuts... ?”, "which flowers... ?", etc.

  2. Object Information Questions

    3. These are formed with ‘do’ or ‘does’, just like in Yes/No questions.

    Simply add any question word of your choice (who, what, when, why, where, which, whose, how, etc.) to the beginning of a Yes/No question, and you have an object information question.

Apart from the FORM, is there any other difference between Subject and Object information questions? The answer is YES!

The easiest way to think about it is to first of all ask yourself, “what is the answer to the question?”. Then, make a full positive sentence with the answer, and observe where the answer is in the sentence.

open section:
Subject Information Questions: Present Simple (PS)

Is the answer at the beginning of the sentence (in other words, before the verb)? Then you need to ask a subject information question because the answer refers to the subject of the question!

Let me demonstrate. I ask:

  • “Who likes Zoe?”

Let’s say that we all know it’s Sam. Now let’s make a positive statement with the answer Sam:

  • “Sam likes Zoe.”

Sam is at the beginning of the sentence, before the verb "likes" and in fact, very easily replaces the question word "who" in the question.

This is of course a very convenient answer because the answer “Sam” is singular and so you use “likes”, just as you do in the question.

He/She/It, tack on an -s!

If the answer were “Sam and Jay” (plural, not singular), then the sentence would read:

  • “Sam and Jay like Zoe.”

The verb has to change to “like” because Sam and Jay can be replaced by “they”.

  • “Sam likes Zoe.”
  • “Sam and Jay like Zoe.”

NOTE: the question is still "Who likes Zoe?", regardless of whether the answer is "Sam" (singular), or "Sam and Jay" (plural).

Here’s another example of a subject information question:

  • “What gets wet as it dries?”

This one is a riddle :) Do you know the answer? It’s “a towel.”

So the full positive sentence is:

  • “A towel gets wet as it dries.”

A towel is the subject of the sentence before the verb "gets" and again, very easily replaces the question word "what" in the question.

  • “Towels get wet as they dry.” (plural)

Here’s another example:

  • “What eats Eucalyptus leaves?”
  • “A koala.”

So the full positive sentence is:

  • “A koala eats Eucalyptus leaves.” (singular)
    “Koalas eat Eucalyptus leaves.” (plural)

Last example:

Imagine that we’re a group of friends hanging out and I’m getting hungry, thinking of ordering a pizza, and I want to know who else would be interested.

In this case, even though I know there’ll probably be more than one person who wants pizza, I'll still have to ask the question using the ‘he/she/it’ positive sentence form of the main verb:

  • “Who wants pizza?”
  • “Everyone wants pizza!”
Subject Information Questions Using Which/Whose/How Much/How Many

Some question words like which/whose/how much/how many are special because you usually use them with a noun. The form of the verb you use will depend on whether it's a singular or plural noun that follows.

With singular nouns, use the ‘he/she/it’ PS sentence form of the main verb (v1) which means add -s. Otherwise use the ‘I/You/We/They’ positive sentence form of the main verb (v1), which means DON'T ADD -s to v1!

'Which' and 'whose' can both take either a singular or a plural noun:

  • Singular:
    • “Which top goes with my jeans?” ➜ Answer: “Your turquoise top goes with your jeans.”
    • If everybody knows what you're talking about, then you can leave out the noun:
    • “Which goes with my jeans?”
  • Plural:
    • “Which shoes go best with this dress?” ➜ Answer: “The ivory shoes go perfectly with the dress.”
    • Without the noun:
    • “Which go best with this dress?”
  • Singular:
    • “Whose puppy's hairdo looks the cutest?” ➜ Answer: “Their puppy's hairdo looks the cutest.”
    • Without the noun:
    • “Whose looks the cutest?”
  • Plural:
    • “Whose Halloween decorations look the scariest?” ➜ Answer: “Pat's decorations look the scariest.”
    • Without the noun:
    • “Whose look the scariest?”

    'How much' always takes a singular verb form because it refers to uncountable nouns:

    • “How much water fills up the Lake Kariba reservoir?" ➜ Answer: “180 cubic kilometers of water fill up the Lake Kariba reservoir.”
    • Without the subject:
    • “How much fills it up?"

    'How many', on the other hand, always refers to plural nouns:

    • How many doughnuts fit in the box?“ ➜ Answer: "Twelve doughnuts fit in the box"
    • Or simply ask:
    • “How many fit in the box?“
open section:
Object Information Questions: Present Simple (PS)

Just as with subject information questions, you have to ask yourself what the answer to the question is. Then, make a positive sentence with the answer, and observe where the answer is in the sentence.

Is the answer after the verb? Then you have to ask an object information question because the answer refers to the object of the question!

It's important to note that unlike subject information questions, object information questions are formed with ‘do’ or ‘does’.

Now, you don’t have to do that much more to form an object information question. Simply add a question word (who, what, what time, when, why, where, which, whose, how, how much, how many) of your choice at the very beginning of a Yes/No question, to change it into an object information question.

    Yes/No Questions:
  • Do I/you/we/they run?
  • Does he/she/it run?
    Object Information Questions:
  • When do I/you/we/they run?
  • Where doeshe/she/it run?

Let's compare object and subject info questions:

Subject Information Question:
“Who likes Zoe?“
Answer: “Sam.”

Object Information Question:
“Who does Sam like?”
Answer: “Zoe.”

Here's the positive statement with the answer:
“Sam likes Zoe.”

As you can see above, in the positive statement, the subject is 'Sam' (before the main verb 'like'), and the object is 'Zoe' (after the main verb). This is why we have to ask an object question to get the answer 'Zoe', and a subject question to get the answer 'Sam'.

We use the helping verb 'does', because it goes with 'Sam' (he/she/it). For I/you/we/they, use 'do‘ .

Remember! Helping verbs themselves don't have any meaning—they only help you identify the tense and the subject/verb relationship. It's always the main verb that carries the meaning of what you're trying to express.

The next example:

Subject Information Question:
  • “What eats eucalyptus leaves?”
  • Answer: “A koala.” (singular: it) or “Koalas.” (plural: they)
  • Positive statement with the answer:
  • “A koala eats eucalyptus leaves.” (singular)
  • “Koalas eat eucalyptus leaves.” (plural)

Notice that before the verb we have the subject (A koala/Koalas),
and theobject(eucalyptus leaves) comes after the verb.

Object Information Question:
  • “What does a koala eat?”
    [a koala (singular): it]
  • “What do koalas eat?”
    [koalas (plural): they]
  • Answer: “eucalyptus leaves”
  • Full answer (singular): “It (a koala) eats eucalyptus leaves.”
  • Full answer (plural): “They (koalas) eat eucalyptus leaves.”

Again, the answer is after the verb, therefore the object.

open section: Questions & Short Answer Forms: Present Continuous (PC)
open section:

Yes/No Questions & Short Answer Forms: PC

To form a question in the Present Continuous tense, the subjekt/verb relationship is split into 3 pronoun categories, just as with the positive and negative sentence forms:

  1. I + am + (v1 + -ing)
  2. You/We/They + are + (v1 + -ing)
  3. He/She/It + is + (v1 + -ing)

All you have to do is swap the positions of the subjects and the helping verbs to form a question.

I’ll use the verb 'listen' (v1) to demonstrate what I mean:

  • + “I am listening.”
    ? “Am I listening?”
    • Short Answer (positive) ➜ “Yes, I am.”
      Short Answer (negative) ➜ “No, I’m not.”
  • + “You are listening.”
    ? “Are you listening?”
    • Short Answer (positive) ➜ “Yes, you are.”
      Short Answers (negative) ➜ “No, you aren’t.”/“No, you’re not.”
  • + “We are listening.”
    ? “Are we listening?”
    • Short Answer (positive) ➜ “Yes, we are.”
      Short Answers (negative) ➜ “No, we aren’t.”/“No, we’re not.”
  • + “They are listening.”
    ? “Are they listening?”
    • Short Answer (positive) ➜ “Yes, they are.”
      Short Answers (negative) ➜ “No, they aren’t.”/“No, they’re not.”
  • + “He is listening.”
    ? “Is he listening?”
    • Short Answer (positive) ➜ “Yes, he is.”
      Short Answers (negative) ➜ “No, he isn’t.”/“No, he’s not.”
  • + “She is listening.”
    ? “Is she listening?”
    • Short Answer (positive) ➜ “Yes, she is.”
      Short Answers (negative) ➜ “No, she isn’t.”/“No, she’s not.”
  • + “It is listening.”
    ? “Is it listening?”
    • Short Answer (positive) ➜ “Yes, it is.”
      Short Answers (negative) ➜ “No, it isn’t.”/“No, it’s not.”
open section:

Information Questions:µ Present Continuous (PC)

In PC, subject and object questions have a similar form. Specifically, the verb form remains the same. The only difference is that you omit the subject pronoun in a subject information question because that's the information you don't know, which is why you're asking!

To form an information question in PC, the good news is that you use the same structure as a Yes/No question, but simply place your question word before the helping verb.

    Let's take a closer look using these 5 different examples :
  1. Yes/No Question ➜ “Is he playing?”
    Answer ➜ “Yes, he is.”
  2. Object Information Question ➜ “When is he playing?”
    Answer ➜ “He is playing tomorrow night.”

    3. The short answer to the question 'When?', is 'tomorrow night'. As you can see in the full answer, 'tomorrow night' comes after the verb. This is why we refer to the question as an object question.

    For subject information questions, don't forget to leave out the subject pronoun:

  3. Subject Information Question ➜ “Who is playing?”
    Answer ➜ “Isaac is playing.”

    4. The short answer to the question 'Who?', is 'Isaac', and as you can see, it's before the verb in the full answer, which makes it the subject of the sentence. That's why we refer to the question as a subject question.

      You could also answer ➜
    • "I am playing."
    • "Isaac and I are playing."
  4. With question words that can take a noun (object question) ➜ “Which song is he playing?”
    Answer ➜ “He is playing Queen of the Night.”

    5. Note that the answer 'Queen of the Night' is the object of the sentence because it comes after the verb.

  5. With question words that can take a noun (subject question) ➜ “Which song is playing?”

    6. Answer ➜ “Queen of the Night is playing.”

    Again, note that the answer 'Queen of the Night' comes before the verb because it is the subject of the sentence.

open section: USAGES & CLUES: Present Simple (PS) & Present Continuous (PC)

Using either the Simple or Continuous/Progressive aspect of a tense can dramatically alter the meaning of the sentence, and make a huge difference in your ability to understand, and communicate effectively in English.

There are a number of factors that can help you determine which to use, and I have broken them down into USAGES and CLUES:

  1. USAGES are real life situations where a tense is used.
  2. CLUES are words and phrases that are usually used with a particular tense and can therefore help you identify which tense to use, or is being used. CLUES help us clarify and better convey our point by giving context and more information to the sentence.

It is equally important to know how to form the PS and PC tenses as it is to know when to use them properly.

open section: USAGES: Present Continuous (PC)

It’s very important to note from the beginning that the PC tense has 2 unique categories of USAGES: present and future.

First of all let’s look at the present.

Present USAGES:

PC USAGE #1: actions in progress right now

When you want to talk about what you are doing at the moment or at the same time you are speaking, you use PC.

So, let’s say I see you on your laptop. You look very engrossed and I’m curious about what you are doing, I ask you:

  • ”What are you doing?”

And you respond with something like:

  • “I’m writing a report.”

PC USAGE #2: ongoing incomplete actions—here and right now

Imagine I see you in the middle of an activity, for example, watching TV, and I want to show you a new game on my phone.

I say:

  • “Hey, check this out!”

You answer:

  • “Later, I’m watching my favourite show right now.”

PC USAGE #3: ongoing, incomplete actions—not necessarily here and right now

This USAGE is similar to #2, but there’s a difference.

Let me explain. Imagine that your favourite author's next book has just come out and you’ve bought it and started reading it. You decide to go out for a coffee with a friend, and they ask you what you've been up to.

You might say:

  • “I’m reading the latest book in ‘The Hunger Games’ series.”

So, even though we’re hanging out, talking, and having coffee right now, you use the PC tense to express that you are in the middle of doing something that you haven’t finished yet, despite the fact that you're not actually reading the book right now.

In other words, it’s still an ongoing activity in your mind, so that’s how you express it.

PC USAGE #4: present, temporary situations

The PC tense is also used to talk about what is going on right now/now/at present/at the moment, but will be over shortly.

Here are some examples:

You’re in the other room and your phone starts ringing. I say:

  • “Hey, your phone is ringing.” (I can hear it ringing right now and it’s probably going to stop soon.)

Or in another situation, I can answer it and say:

  • “Please call back later. He’s having lunch at the moment.”

Here are some more example sentences using other CLUES: "Look!"; "Listen!"; "Shh!":

  • “Look! The soup is boiling over.“
  • “Listen! An owl is hooting.“
  • “Shh! The baby is sleeping.“

Ok, last example:

You hear on the radio that your usual route to work is blocked due to some road construction. This causes you to arrive a tad late to work, so you tell your boss:

  • “I’m sorry I’m late. They’re doing some road repairs on the M9.”

You use the PC tense because it’s currently happening and you know that it’s not going to go on forever.

PC USAGE #5: recent trends

Talking about not going on forever, we all know how trends come and go. They have a fleeting nature, so they go in and out of fashion.

For example:

  • “Clogs are coming back in fashion.”
  • “More and more people are wearing lots of colour.”

You can talk about any other sort of trend, for instance in technology:

  • “Shops are now using motion sensor software to monitor the number of customers in the shop at any given time.”

PC USAGE #6: current developments

You use PC to talk about things that have just started and are in motion as we speak.

For example:

  • “The hurricane is currently passing over the Caribbean.”
  • “The tornado is gaining speed.”
  • “The number of cases is decreasing.”

PC USAGE #7: Picture Description

Usually, for the Speaking part of most English exams you are given a set of pictures and asked to talk about them. For example, you may be asked to compare and contrast the pictures.

In such a situation, you should use the PC tense to talk about what is happening in the picture as if it’s happening right at this moment.

So, you might say something like:

  • “The girl in the first picture is walking her dog on the beach while in the second picture there are some teenagers playing beach volleyball.”
  • “The girl is listening to music and enjoying her stroll.”
  • “The people are having a good time.”

PC USAGE #8: book/film/theatre plots—background details

The same logic we used in USAGE #7 above is why we use PC for book/film/theatre plots to give background details. It’s like you’re trying to paint a picture for me to visualise and imagine what you're describing.

To set the scene on the beach, you say:

  • "The sun is shining, the waves are washing up on the shore, birds are gliding in the sky, people are paddle-boarding on the water, and there are children building sand castles.

This helps the reader picture the scene in their imagination.

PC USAGE #9: annoying/amusing/odd habits

These usually go with the CLUES: constantly/always/forever.

Here are some examples of annoying habits:

  • “You’re always interrupting me!”
  • “She’s forever looking for her keys!”

Here’s an example of an amusing habit:

  • “My dog is always hiding from the postman.”

Here are a couple odd habits:

  • “He’s constantly checking his watch.”
  • “The cat is always sniffing its paws!”
Future USAGES:

PC USAGE #10: future plans and arrangements

Keep in mind: to show that you're talking about the future, it's necessary to add a CLUE related to the future time. Without a clue, it would mean that the action is happening right now!

For example:

  • “The principal is meeting with the school board next week.“
  • “School is breaking up on Friday.”
  • “They’re joining us later.”
  • “He’s leaving soon.”
  • “We’re having a party at the weekend.”
  • “I’m working tomorrow.”
open section: Notes on CLUES: PC
Some words and phrases can refer to either the present or the future depending on where you are on the timeline:

”today” can refer to right now (the present) or later during the current day (the future).

”today” (the present):

Let's say I normally drive to work, but the weather is beautiful today so I've decided to take my bike. On the way, my neighbour might see me and say:

  • “Oh, you're riding your bike today!”

Here ”today” means now.

”today” (the future):

Imagine it’s morning, and you’re expecting the Stone family later in the afternoon. You're baking a cake and you remind your family:

  • “The Stones are arriving today.”

Here ”today” is still in the future (later in the afternoon).

The same applies to “tonight” and also “this” (as in: “this week”, “this month”, “this summer”, etc.)

  • “We’re flying to New York this week.” ➜ later this week (future)
  • “We’re staying in a tree house this summer.” ➜ It's summer and we're currently there (present), or we're planning to go there in the upcoming summer (future)
  • “She’s going to the cinema tonight.” ➜ later tonight
The word “now” is usually a PC clue. It's used to say what activity you’re doing at the time of speaking.

For example, you might say:

  • “I’m doing my homework now.”
  • “I’m making dinner now.”

However, there is a situation when “now” is used with the PS tense—when it is to show that someone has changed their behaviour or preference from what it used to be.

Like in these examples:

  • “He now drinks coffee.”/“He drinks coffee now.”

So, in this example, in the past he used to drink only tea, but that has changed. The present reality is that he drinks coffee.

Another example:

  • “He now watches the show with me.”/“He watches the show with me now.”

In this second example, he wasn't interested in the show at first, but I kept telling him all the plot twists and cool stuff. The present-day reality is that we watch it together.

If you want to express this USAGE, then you should use PS instead of PC. Remember! PC is used to refer to the ongoing activity itself.

open section: USAGES: Present Simple (PS)

Did you know that Present Simple can also be used to refer to the future? You'll see it in USAGE #12, but first of all, let's look at all the present USAGES.

PS USAGE #1: routines or repeated actions

If you want to talk about a routine or repeated action, which usually includes how often, or when something regularly happens, then use Present Simple (also called Simple Present).

  • “I eat an apple every day.“
  • “I eat dinner at 6 pm.“

There are some other USAGES that share the characteristics of USAGE #1 above (routines and repeated actions) and are therefore PS USAGES. These include:

PS USAGE #2: daily activities

  • “I wake up at 6 am.”
  • “You have a shower.”
  • “He walks the dog.”
  • “She makes breakfast.”
  • “We have dinner together.”
  • “It beeps every hour.”
  • “They go to school and do their homework.”

PS USAGE #3: hobbies

  • “They play football 3 times a week.”
  • “She takes piano lessons once a week.”
  • “I listen to music and paint.”
  • “You play the drums.”

PS USAGE #4: likes and dislikes

This is kind of logically related to hobbies, as you’ll most likely have hobbies that you like.

For example:

  • “I love music.”

There are other likes and dislikes that we have regarding our choices on absolutely everything:

  • “You prefer tea to coffee.”
  • “She likes oranges.”
  • ”It hates sour fruit.”

Note: If you use the verbs that express your preference, you can use the gerund (verb + ing), which can replace a noun.

For example:

  • "We enjoy listening to music."
  • "It loves swimming."
  • "They hate waiting."
  • "I like riding my bicycle."
  • "He prefers reading to writing."

PS USAGE #5: job descriptions

  • "A pilot flies planes."
  • "Vets take care of sick animals."
  • “Greengrocers sell fruit and vegetables.”
  • “A waitress serves food and drinks.”

PS USAGE #6: customs

  • “Americans eat Turkey on Thanksgiving.”
  • “Germans celebrate Christmas on 24th December.”

PS USAGE #7: habits

  • “They have a nap after lunch.”
  • “He bites his fingernails when he’s nervous.”

The next set of USAGES are fairly similar, so I have bundled them together!

PS USAGE #8: permanent situations/science facts/timeless general truths/present-day reality

  • Permanent situations (things that are highly likely to remain the same throughout someone or something’s lifetime):
    • “They live in the countryside.” ➜ They don’t have any intentions of living anywhere else—they like their house and home and don’t intend to move.
    • “He works at the library.” ➜ He loves his job and plans to keep working there until he retires.
    • “This printer makes two-sided copies.”
  • Science facts:
    • “Bees have five eyes.”
    • “The sun rises in the East and sets in the West.”
    • “Horses and cows sleep standing up.”
    • “Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.”
    • “Kangaroos carry their babies in their pouch.”
    • “The earth goes around the sun.”
    • “Apples float on water.”
    • “Water covers about 70% of earth.”
    • “An octopus has three hearts and bluish coloured blood.”
  • Timeless general truths:
    • “A stitch in time saves nine.”
    • “Time waits for noone.”
    • “Regular exercise alone doesn't always keep you fit.”
  • Present-day reality:
    • “Almost everyone owns a smartphone.”
    • “Normally, people don’t speak Klingon at work.”
    • “People self-checkout in supermarkets.”
    • “Cars run on electricity.”
    • “We communicate through social media.”

PS USAGE #9: book/film/theatre plots [main storyline/plot elements]

  • “Princess Despina falls in love with a fairy and they travel far and wide to get away from the evil king who wants to kill them.”

PS USAGE #10: sports commentaries

As you know, sports commentators have to speak very fast because the game is in motion and things change by the second. So, it’s kind of like the main storyline above, they want to give us the gist as briefly as possible.

Like in this example:

  • “Messi passes the ball to Alaba, he heads it to Ronaldo, Ronaldo tackles Ibrahimovic, shoots, and... GOAL!!!”

PS USAGE #11: news headlines

For example:

  • “ZOO WELCOMES NEW PANDA CUBS”
  • “JAD STONE DIES AT THE AGE OF 104”

Future USAGES:

PS USAGE #12: timetables [public transport/opening hours, etc.]/fixed calendar events [holidays/festivals, etc.]

  • “The next train to Luton leaves at 4 pm.”
  • “Does the 2 o'clock bus to Paris leave from platform 9?”
  • “The shop opens at 8 am and closes at midnight.”
  • “We have Geography on Wednesday.”
  • “The summer holidays end next week.”
  • “The World Cup starts in 2 weeks.”

Note: The CLUES 'at 4 pm', 'at 8 am', 'at midnight', 'on Wednesday' could also be used to say when things regularly happen. For example, “School starts at 8 am.”

open section: Notes on CLUES: PS

Adverbs of frequency tell us how often something happens. You should be careful to position them correctly in a sentence. They come directly before the main verb (‘v1’), but after the verb 'be' (am/is/are).

Adverbs of frequency are also PS CLUES!

“always” ➜ 100%

“usually” ➜ 75%

“often” ➜ 50%

“sometimes” ➜ 25%

“seldom/rarely” ➜ 10%

“hardly ever” ➜ 5%

“never” ➜ 0%

For example:

  • “I always help.”
  • “He is usually on time.”
  • “She hardly ever misses an episode of her favourite show.”
  • “They are never late.”

Take note: 'always' is also used with the PC tense, but only to express an annoying, amusing or odd habit. (see PC USAGE #9)

open section: USAGE: Active & Stative Verbs: PS or PC

Let's talk about the kinds of verbs you can use with PS or PC, or with both!

    Let's put them into 3 categories:
  1. Active verbs
  2. Stative verbs
  3. Verbs that can express either an action, or a state, depending on the meaning.
open section:

Active Verbs

Active verbs express an action. Generally with some sort of physical movement, that you can see, feel, or hear.

Active Verbs can be used with either PS or PC, depending on the USAGE. In fact, it is the USAGE which determines which tense you'll use.

Compare these two sentences:
  1. “They drink coffee in the morning.“ (PS USAGE #1: routines or repeated actions)
  2. “They’re drinking coffee at the moment.” (PC USAGE #1–4: present, ongoing, incomplete actions as well as temporary situations)
open section:

Stative Verbs

Stative verbs are verbs that express a state with no visible movement or physical evidence.

With stative verbs, you should only use PS! This is because they don't express movement, and would sound awkward when used with the continuous/progressive tense.

Don’t use -ing with stative verbs!

Here are some examples of stative verbs:

  1. Verbs that express preferences, feelings and emotions ➜ 'like/dislike', 'love/hate', 'prefer', etc.

    • “I like/dislike apples.“ NOT “I'm liking/disliking apples.“

    The same goes for love/hate. When you want to share your feelings about how you feel towards something or someone, you say, for example:

    • “I love jazz.“ NOT “I'm loving jazz.“
    • “I love you.“ NOT “I'm loving you.“
    • “She hates peanuts.“ NOT “She's hating peanuts.“

I would like to mention here that since languages evolve, you may sometimes hear people using the PC/-ing form of the verb 'love' colloquially, in an informal environment. You can simply think of it as meaning that they are really enjoying whatever they are doing or consuming right at that moment."

To be on the safe side, for tests and standard examinations, use the verb 'love' without -ing!

  1. Verbs we use to express states like understanding; knowledge; opinions; belief ➜ 'understand', 'know', 'believe', etc.

    • “She understands Portuguese.“ NOT “She's understanding Portuguese.“
    • “You know the lyrics.“ NOT “You're knowing the lyrics.“
    • “We believe in God.“ NOT “We're believing in God.“

  2. Verbs that express states like wishes/desires; appearance; possession ➜ 'want', 'need', 'look (like)', 'own', 'belong', etc.

    • “She wants pizza.“ NOT “She's wanting pizza.“
    • “You need a new laptop.“ NOT “You're needing a laptop.“
    • “He looks like his dog.“ NOT “He's looking like his dog.“
    • “They own an orchard.“ NOT “They're owning an orchard.“
    • “It belongs to us.“ NOT “It's belonging to us.“

Here's a quick reminder of the PS forms:

  • + “I/You/We/They need a new laptop.“
    - “I/You/We/They don't need a new laptop.“
    ? “Do I/you/we/they need a new laptop?“
  • + “He/She/It wants pizza.“
    - “He/She/It doesn't want pizza.“
    ? “Does he/she/it want pizza?“
open section:

Verbs That Can Be Either Stative, or Active

There are some verbs that have more than one meaning. These verbs can express either an action or a state, depending on the meaning. I'll split them up into two categories:

  1. Verbs with related meanings
  2. Verbs that have two completely different definitions
Part 1: Verbs with related meanings

  • Verbs that help us express measurements ➜ 'cost', 'weigh', etc.

    • In the following examples, 'cost' and 'weigh' are stative because they don't refer to actions.

    • “The oranges cost 2.99€.“
    • “The watermelon weighs five kilograms.“

    Remember that you only use PS with stative verbs.

    However, when you are referring to putting a pineapple on a scale to determine the weight, this is the active meaning of the verb 'weigh'. Since it's an active verb, you could use either PS or PC (depending on the USAGE):

    • "The greengrocer weighs fruit and vegetables every day." (PS USAGE #1: routines and repeated actions)
    • “The greengrocer is weighing the pineapple.“ (PC USAGES #1, #2 and #4: actions happening right now)

  • Verbs that help us express the senses ➜ 'taste', 'smell', etc.

    • In the example below, the verbs 'taste' and 'smell' are both stative:

    • “This durian tastes a lot better than it smells.“

Active or Stative?

An easy way to tell if a verb is either stative or active (in this case) is to ask yourself if the subject is doing anything. In other words, either smelling or tasting something. If yes, it's the active definition. If you're only describing the subject, then you're referring to a state, and the verb is stative.

In the above example, the verbs 'taste' and 'smell' are both stative and here's a funny way I explain it to my students: I ask them if a durian has a nose (for smelling) or a mouth (for tasting). They laugh and answer "no"!

Don’t use PC (the -ing form) with stative verbs!

  • In the examples below, 'taste' is an active verb:
    • “The chef is tasting the soup."(PC USAGES #1, #2 and #4: actions happening right now)
    • "The chef tastes the soup whenever he adds salt and pepper."(PS USAGE #7: habits)

Here’s a quick reminder of the PC forms:

  • + “I am tasting the soup. “
    - “I am not tasting the soup.“
    ?“Am I tasting the soup?“
  • + “You/We/They are tasting the soup.“
    - “You/We/They are not tasting the soup.“
    ? “Are you/we/they tasting the soup?“
  • + “He/She/It is tasting the soup.“
    - “He/She/It is not tasting the soup.“
    ? “Is he/she/it tasting the soup?“
Part 2: Verbs that have two or more completely different definitions, and can therefore be either active or stative

have ➜ active definition: E.g. 'have fun'/'have a shower'/'have a picnic', etc.

  • PS: “I have a shower every morning.”
  • PC: “I'm having a shower right now.”

have ➜ stative definition: 'possess/own'

  • PS: “I have a shower in my flat, not a bath tub.”

Don’t use the -ing form with stative verbs!

come ➜ active definition: move/approach

  • PS: “It comes out at night.”
  • PC: “Look! It's coming out of a hole.”

come ➜ stative definition: come from (place of origin/native to)

  • PS: “This species comes from Madagascar.”

see ➜ active definition: meet (regularly)/visit, etc.

  • PS: “She sees her therapist once a week.”
  • PC: “She's seeing her therapist on Thursday.”

see ➜ stative definition: understand/use your eyes

  • PS: “I see what you mean.”
  • PS: “Of all of us, he sees the best.”

think ➜ active definition: consider sth./contemplate

  • PS: “They think of backpacking around the world all the time.”
  • PC: “They're thinking of travelling next year.”

think ➜ stative definition: to have as an opinion

  • PS: “She thinks Pink is a great singer and dancer.”

Why not learn everything you need to know about PS and PC quickly by simply playing card games?

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