Grammar Present simple, present continuous, stative verbs negative Vyou/we/they do not (don't) play ... He/she/it plays .. He/she/it does not (doesn't) play .. question Do /you/we/they play .. Does he/she/it play ... Use Example Present habits Marsha gaas to dance lessons every Saturday. Permanent situations Does Dan work at the cinema? like the new James Bond film. You play chess with 32 pieces. General truths The verbs be and have have irregular present forms. ‘See page 182. ous negative am not ('m not} playing ... He/she/it is not (isn't /’s not) playing .. You/we/they are ('re) playing ... Use Actions happening now Temporary situations Example Jan is watohing 0 OVD upstairs lend of the month. My brother is always borrowing my CDs without asking! ‘Annoying habits (usually with always) Stative v Stative verbs do not usually describe actions. They describe states (feelings, thoughts, etc). They are not normally used in continuous tenses. ¥ Ilike reading books in my free time. x incl nos like appear ‘She is working at the museum until the love need Tai— The present simple is often used with the following words and phrases: adverbs ‘= always « usually » often ‘* sometimes « rarely + never phrases every Monday/week/etc ‘each Monday/week/etc once/twice a week/month/etc three times a week/montivetc Remember that these adverbs usually go before the verb, but after the verb be. +s Loften play football wth my friends. ‘+ |am often late for my piano lessons. question You/ne/they are not aren't /'re not) playing... ‘The present continuous is often used with the following words and phrases: ‘© now « right now » at the moment * today » this week/monthyetc ‘Some common stative verbs: lude we see seem taste think understand want prefer describe actions. ~¥ What do you think about his new song? ¥ I'm thinking about last night's match. Some of these verbs (such as be, have and think) are used in continuous tenses when theyat the pictures of Helen and use the prompts to write sentences. Use the correct form of the present simple. 1 Every. day. Helen, [Link] half past seven. —_ ‘every day/get up/ot half once a week /watch a fim ast seven ‘ot the cinema | Ree 4 cox lunch 5 6 inthe evening usualy? Nave a ving lesson/ rmacthertiends{or cafes twicea weet You may have to use some negative forms. 1 Gordon? | think he (write) a letter at the moment. 2 Yes, the match is on TV now, but we (lose). 3. Right now, Margaret (have) a shower. Do you want toring later? 4. Sly snsssnnonnsnnssnsn (Stay) with her aunt for a few days. 51 (lie)! Its true! | did see Madonna at the supermarket. 6 Josh (always / use) my bike! It's so annoying. vies (have) lunch, but can come round and help you later. 8. (you / play) music up there? its really noisy! Rewrite correctly. Change the words or phrases in bold. Are top musicians studying for many years? What's going on? | hope you don’t touch my things! Its a small business, so each person is doing lots of different jobs. Does Christine listen to the radio, or is that the TV | can hear? am usually buying a special ticket each week for the bus because it’s cheaper. Our washing machine is starting when you press this button. Hows the match going? Does our team win? : Many people are enjoying spending time on the beach on holiday. OI H AkerUnit 1 Grammar Circle the correct word or phrase. 1 I work / am working at the local library for the summer. 2 We don’t go / aren’t going to the theatre very often, 3 Stacy gets / is getting ready for school, so she can't come to the phone. 4 Does Gary ever talk / Is Gary ever talking about his expedition to the Amazon jungle? 5 In squash, you hit / are hitting a ball against a wall. 6 | read / am reading a newspaper at least once a week. 7 Do you practise / Are you practising the piano for two hours every day? 8 Nadine and Claire do / are doing quite well at school at the moment. 9 A good friend knows / is knowing when you're upset about something. 10 How do you spell / are you spelling your name? E] Complete using the correct present simple or present continuous form of the jerbs in the box. You may have to use some negative forms. have « help old move * use * watch 1 In Monopoly, you around the board, buying houses and hotels. 2 you this programme or can | turn the TV off? 3. Regular exercise conse YOU to stay healthy, 4 my brother's guitar until | get a new one. 5 Simon AMWAYS .eonnnnn the washing-up after lunch? 6 you... any sweaters in a larger size? 7 You the kite right. Let me show you. 8 Dad to the local astronomy club. Underline ten verbs in the wrong tense and rewrite them correctly. “One game | am loving is backgammon. You are throwing the dice and then you move your pieces around the board. It is seeming quite easy, but in fact you are needing to be quite careful. When your piece lands on one of the other person’s pieces, you are taking it off the board and you send it back to the beginning. You are winning by getting all your pieces to the end and off the board. Some people are preferring chess, but | am not understanding that game. Right now, | wait to have a game with my brother. He does his homework. | usually win, so | think he doesn’t want to play a game with me!” won 10.