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talking about the present

 

1. We use the present simple:

  • to talk about something happening regularly in the present:

The children come home from school at about four.
We often see your brother at work.

  •  to talk about something happening continually in the present:

They live next door to us.
He works for the Post Office.

  •  to talk about things which are generally true:

Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
The Nile is the longest river in Africa.

2. We use the present continuous:

  • to show that something in the present is temporary:

We are living in a rented flat at present.
My wife usually goes in to the office, but she is working at home today.

  • for something happening regularly in the present before and after a given time:

I’m usually getting ready for work at eight o’clock.
When I see George he’s always reading his newspaper.

  • for something happening before and after the moment of speaking:

I can’t hear you. I’m listening to my iPod.
Be quiet. The children are sleeping.

3. We use modal verbs

  • to talk about the present when we are not sure of something:

I don’t know where Henry is. He might be playing tennis.
Who’s knocking at the door? I don’t know. It could be the police.

 

 

Exercise

Comments

Ebenezer Son's picture
Submitted by Ebenezer Son on 13 April, 2013 - 15:02. Ghana

Hi, teachers.
comment over the following:
- I am agreable with you.

A forum member, asserts that (agreable) mean (ready to agree). And therefore he said it is grammatical in the above which I slightly doubt.
I need your confirmation on this.

Thanks.

Jeremy Bee's picture
LearnEnglish
team
Submitted by Jeremy Bee on 14 April, 2013 - 20:37. Taiwan

Hello Ebenezer!
 
If you type agreeable into the dictionary you will see the example, Bridget is agreeable to the proposal. However, this meaning, ready to agree, is rather formal, and when used with a person as a subject needs a word like 'proposal' or 'solution' after the to.

Your example should use to, but I am agreeable to you sounds like the first meaning of agreeable, nice or pleasant - You think I am nice.
 
Hope that helps!
 
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team

rashed1234's picture
Submitted by rashed1234 on 27 February, 2013 - 19:58. Bangladesh

Dear Admin,
is there any real site where i can write sentences and it automatically identify the grammatical mistakes and suggests possible correction if yes than please give me the address. I will always be  thankful to you.
" I wish it would be true" (like when i am trying to say what u are saying isn't true)
is it correct sentence?.
plz give your feedback
thanks

AdamJK's picture
LearnEnglish
team
Submitted by AdamJK on 27 February, 2013 - 23:51. Poland

Dear Rashed,
There are some programs that try to correct grammar errors, but they aren't perfect in three main ways:

  1. They miss a lot of errors. I tested a few websites (I searched for 'grammar checker') by pasting in a student sentence and they found some, but not all the errors.
  2. They don't understand the meaning. Sometimes the corrections are the right ones, but other times they think that you are trying to say something different from what you really want to say and so give the wrong corrections.
  3. They don't explain why you made a mistake. They might give a rule, but that's not the same as explaining clearly what you don't understand and answering your questions.

I'm afraid the best way is still to find a teacher! As for your example sentence, have a look at our page about sentences with wish. It should answer your question.
Best wishes,
Adam
The LearnEnglish Team
 

Ajjumaestro's picture
Submitted by Ajjumaestro on 24 February, 2013 - 17:36. India

I want to improve my wriitng skill. How can I improve it ?
 

AdamJK's picture
LearnEnglish
team
Submitted by AdamJK on 24 February, 2013 - 19:57. Poland

Hello Ajjumaestro,
There isn't one simple way to improve your writing. Firstly, you need to think about the type of writing you need to do. Is it emails to friends, essays in school, reports for a business etc.? Then, you need to work out which areas of your writing you need to improve. It might be that your sentences are not well connected together or you use vocabulary wrongly or it might be another problem.
When you have a clearer idea of what your goal is and how you need to improve, then you will be able to work on specific areas of your writing.
Best wishes,
Adam
The LearnEnglish Team

anechkaw's picture
Submitted by anechkaw on 17 February, 2013 - 22:14. Italy

Hi there! Hope to find all of you well.

Could you explain me the difference between

"to talk about something happening regularly in the present:

The children come home from school at about four"

and

"something happening regularly in the present before and after a given time:
I’m usually getting ready for work at eight o’clock".

Look forward to hearing from you,

Sincerely your, Anna

parackrama's picture
Submitted by parackrama on 5 December, 2012 - 15:10. Sri Lanka

I need to improve my speaking. how can i practice it ?

Jeremy Bee's picture
LearnEnglish
team
Submitted by Jeremy Bee on 8 December, 2012 - 04:09. Taiwan

Hello parackrama!
 
Practising your spoken English can be tricky, but here are a few suggestions.

  • Use the comments section here to practice grammar and vocabulary. It's writing, but still useful.
  • Try to record yourself. Choose some of the discussion questions and go to a site like www.vocaroo.com, record your answers, and playback your recording – what mistakes did you make? What do you like about your answer?
  • Keep listening to our recordings. One of the best ways to improve speaking... is listening!
  • Finally, remember you don't have to have a native speaker to talk to. Maybe a friend or colleague wants to talk English – ask around, and find someone who wants to practice.

 
Good luck, and keep working on it!
 
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team

saby89's picture
Submitted by saby89 on 15 February, 2012 - 19:08. Algeria

hi every body..
are there any marks which help us to know which tens we use in the sentence?.if we use present simple or present continuous.
thanks