Mastering Present Simple and Continuous Tenses
English Grammar Practice: Present Simple vs. Present Continuous
Exercise 1: Actions and Habits
Put the verbs in brackets into the correct present tense.
- Please be quiet. I AM TRYING (try) to read the paper.
- This is a very quiet town. Where DO PEOPLE GO (people / go) in the evenings?
- John DRINKS (drink) milk every night, but now he IS DRINKING tea.
- What ARE YOU DOING (you / do) with all that paper and glue?
- I AM NOT USING (not / use) the computer at the moment so you can use it.
- DO KAREN AND JOHN EVER WRITE TO YOU (Karen and John / ever / write) to you?
Exercise 2: Dialogue Practice
Read the conversation and note the use of Present Simple and Continuous tenses.
- Laura:
- Hello, George! What ARE YOU DOING (you / do) these days?
- George:
- Hi, Laura. I AM LEARNING (learn) French and Spanish at college. What about you?
- Laura:
- Me? Oh, I AM WORKING (work) at a Travel Agency until August.
- George:
- DO YOU LIKE (you / like) it?
- Laura:
- Yes, I do. I WORK (work) in the shop most mornings, and three afternoons a week the manager TELLS (tell) me about the travel business. I WORK quite long hours. I DON'T GET (not / get) home until six, but I PREFER that to not having enough to do.
- George:
- Yes, I AM WORKING hard too at the moment. It IS BECOMING (become) more and more difficult to get a job using languages. They ASK (ask) for higher and higher exam grades all the time.
- Laura:
- You can do it, George. You ARE clever.
- George:
- Thanks, Laura.
Exercise 3: Present Continuous or Present Simple in Context
Put the verbs in brackets into Present Continuous or Present Simple.
It IS winter and the snow IS FALLING (fall).
It usually SNOWS (snow) in January here. Betty and James ARE PLAYING (play) in the garden. They ARE BUILDING (build) a snowman and they ARE THROWING (throw) snowballs. They DON'T LIKE (like) the snow very much! Their mother and father DON'T LIKE (not / like) it. They always STAY (stay) in the house when it is cold. Mother usually WATCHES (watch) TV and Father LISTENS (listen) to the radio or READS (read) a book. At the moment they ARE SITTING (sit) in the living-room. Mother IS WRITING (write) a letter and Father IS READING (read) a book.