Today another presentation take place, it was Nazira's group. They presented about simple present tense and present continuous tense. Actually, I don really got it at first, but after another explanation then I could understand very well.

Present Continuous Tense

When we talk about events that are actually happening now, we use the present continuous tense. This is formed by using the stem of the verb and adding -ing to the end, for example the verb "work" becomes "working". In some cases you need to alter the spelling a bit for example the verb "die" becomes "dying".

Statements +	Statements -	Questions	Short answer +	Short answer -
I'm working.	I'm not working.	Am I working?	Yes, I am.	No, I'm not.
He's working.	He isn't working.	Is he working?	Yes, he is.	No, he isn't.
She's working.	She isn't working.	Is she working?	Yes, she is.	No, she isn't.
It's working.	It isn't working.	Is it working?	Yes, it is.	No, it isn't.
You're working.	You aren'tt working.	Are you working?	Yes you are.	No, you aren't.
We're working.	We aren't working.	Are we working?	Yes we are.	No, we aren't.
They're working.	They aren't working.	Are they working?	Yes they are.	No, they aren't.

Present Continuous Timeline

For example:
Q) "What are you doing?" A) "I'm building a website."
We also use the present continuous tense to talk about things that are happening around now but are temporary.
For example:
Q) "What are you doing these days?" A) "Unfortunately I'm working a lot."
It is also used to describe trends or situations that are happening but may be temporary.
For example:
"Nowadays more and more people are shopping on the Internet."
...and habitual actions (usually negative).
For example:
"He's always cleaning his car."
The present continuous tense can also be used to discuss future events:
Note:-
The present continuous is usually used with doing verbs (verbs of action) not with verbs of state. The following verbs are notused in the continuous form:-

Conditions: belong, cost, need, own, seem
Feelings: like, love, hate, want, wish
Beliefs: believe, feel, know, mean, remember, think, understand

http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/tenseprescont.htm

Simple Present Tense

I sing

How do we make the Simple Present Tense?

subject	+	auxiliary verb	+	main verb
		do		base

There are three important exceptions:

For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.
For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary.
For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.

Look at these examples with the main verb like:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I, you, we, they			like	coffee.
+	He, she, it			likes	coffee.
-	I, you, we, they	do	not	like	coffee.
-	He, she, it	does	not	like	coffee.
?	Do	I, you, we, they		like	coffee?
?	Does	he, she, it		like	coffee?

Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:

	subject	main verb
+	I	am		French.
	You, we, they	are		French.
	He, she, it	is		French.
-	I	am	not	old.
	You, we, they	are	not	old.
	He, she, it	is	not	old.
?	Am	I		late?
	Are	you, we, they		late?
	Is	he, she, it		late?

How do we use the Simple Present Tense?

We use the simple present tense when:

the action is general
the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future
the action is not only happening now
the statement is always true

John drives a taxi.
past	present	future

It is John's job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future.

Look at these examples:

I live in New York.
The Moon goes round the Earth.
John drives a taxi.
He does not drive a bus.
We meet every Thursday.
We do not work at night.
Do you play football?

Note that with the verb to be, we can also use the simple present tense for situations that are not general. We can use the simple present tense to talk about now. Look at these examples of the verb "to be" in the simple present tense - some of them are general, some of them are now:

Am I right? Tara is not at home. You are happy.
past	present	future

The situation is now.

I am not fat. Why are you so beautiful? Ram is tall.
past	present	future

The situation is general. Past, present and future.

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses_present.htm

Bel 120 Red

Saturday 3 March 2012