Present Simple vs Present Continuous
Present Simple.
The Present Simple tense is used to express habits or routines and facts.
Auxiliaries:
– Do / Don’t (I, You, We, They)
– Does / Doesn’t (He, She, It)
Examples:
- Tom writes letters every morning.
- Alice doesn’t pay checks on Mondays.
- Does Mike take the bus to work?
- George and Karen usually come to the office on weekends.
- We don’t eat snacks during dinner.
- Do Franklin and Barbara live in Canada?
Present Continuous.
The Present Continuous tense is used to express actions now or in the near future.
Auxiliaries:
– am / am not + verb + ing
– is / is not + verb + ing
– are / are not + verb + ing
Examples:
- I am playing a video game now.
- Susan is swimming tomorrow morning.
- My friends and I are running a marathon this summer.
- I am not buying this car today.
- Ben is not coming home for Christmas.
- They are not studying Math now.
- Is Brittany speaking in the meeting tomorrow?
- Are you waiting for the Dr.?
