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__________________________________________________________________ © WILLIAM L. MILNES – Enseignement de l’anglais – 2011

GRAMMAR: The Simple Present and the Present Progressive (1)

SIMPLE PRESENT

FORM: For the simple present of all verbs except BE and HAVE, the verb WALK will serve as our model:

Singular Plural

I walk We walk You walk You walk He walks* They walk She walks* It walks*

* Note that the only change is in the third-person singular where it is necessary to add an -s to the root infinitive.1

USE: The simple present is used to describe what is always, sometimes, or never the case. In other words, it is used to describe general facts that are true independently of the present context.2

EXAMPLE SENTENCES:

(1) He smokes cigarettes. (MEANING: It is the case that he smokes cigarettes. This is a general fact about him that is true, even if he is not smoking a cigarette right now.)

(2) It rains a great deal during the spring. (MEANING: It is the case that it rains a great deal during the spring. This is a general fact that is true, even if it is the spring right now and it is not raining.)

(3) Catherine teaches German. (MEANING: It is the case that Catherine teaches German. This is a general fact about her that is true, even if she is not in a classroom teaching German right now.)

(4) John drives a blue Chevrolet. (MEANING: It is the case that John drives a blue Chevrolet. This is a general fact about him that is true, even if he is not in his blue Chevrolet driving right now.)

(5) He studies at the University of Toronto. (MEANING: It is the case the he studies at the University of Toronto. This is a general fact about him that is true even if he is not at the University of Toronto right now – this very minute – studying.)

1 For all verbs that end in -ch, -sh, -s, -x, or -z, you must add -es in the third person singular. For example: "I

watch"/"He watches," "I wish"/"She wishes," "I pass"/"He passes," "I mix"/She mixes," "I buzz"/"It buzzes," The verbs GO and DO also take -es in the third person singular: "I go"/"He goes," "I do"/"He does." All verbs ending in a consonant and a -y drop the -y and take -ies in the third person singular: "I fly"/"He flies," "I study"/"She studies," "I try"/"She tries."

2 This is the most common use of the simple present. However, the simple present is also used with non-progressive verbs to describe stative events in immediately present contexts: "I have a cold right now." See THE SIMPLE PRESENT AND THE PRESENT PROGRESSIVE (9). In addition, the simple present is sometimes used to describe future and past events and activities.



PRESENT PROGRESSIVE

FORM: The present progressive is formed by adding the present participle1

of the main verb to the simple present of the verb BE. Once again, the verb WALK will serve as our model:

Singular Plural

I am walking We are walking You are walking You are walking She is walking They are walking He is walking It is walking

USE: The present progressive is used to describe what is happening right now. In other words, it is used to describe temporary ongoing actions and events in the present.2

EXAMPLE SENTENCES:

(1) He is smoking a cigarette. (MEANING: He is smoking a cigarette right now. His smoking a cigarette is a temporary action that is going on at the present instant.)

(2) Look outside. It is raining. (MEANING: It is raining outside right now. The raining is a temporary event that is going on outside at the present instant.)

(3) This year he is teaching German in Montreal. (MEANING: He is teaching German in Montreal right now.* His teaching in Montreal is an action that is going on this year, a temporary period of present time.)

(4) John is studying at the University of Toronto this semester. (MEANING: John is studying at the University of Toronto right now.* John’s studying at the University of Toronto is an action that is going on this semester, a temporary period of present time.)

(5) Susan Jennings is smiling at Peter Dashwood. (MEANING: Susan Jennings is smiling at Peter Dashwood right now. Susan’s smiling is a temporary action that is going on at the present instant.)

* Note that in examples (3) and (4) right now is a period of present time that extends well beyond the present instant. Nevertheless, the actions described in examples (3) and (4) are still considered as temporary.

1 The present participle is the –ing form of a verb used as an adjective or as part of a progressive verb tense. 2 This is the most common use of the present progressive. However, the present progressive is sometimes used to

describe future and past actions and events.



Complete the sentences by using either the simple present or the present progressive form of the verbs in parentheses.

(a) It _________________________ (rain) outside right now.

(b) George and Susan ______________________ (love) to go camping.

(c) She ______________________ (wear) a beautiful blue dress today.

(d) Peter‘s house __________________ (have) a big roof.

(e) It ______________________ (take) three hours to get there.

(f) My best friend‘s dog __________________ (bite) people all the time.

(g) The dog ____________________ (go) to the vet every week.

(h) Right now my friend and his dog ___________________ (eat) breakfast together.

(i) Every morning I _______________________ (drink) two cups of coffee.

(j) I __________________ (read) a very good book.

(k) Susan ___________________ (live) on Smith Street right now.

(l) She ______________________ (send) a letter to her mother once a week.

(m)Look! The big cat ____________________ (hide) from the little dog.

(n) During the winter in Montreal, the wind _________________ (blow) every day.

(o) Edward __________________ (ride) his bike to work on Tuesdays.

(p) Right now the little girl ____________________ (ride) her bike.

(q) That huge frog ____________________ (sit) on a piece of wood right now.

(r) I __________________ (like) to go swimming.

(s) She ___________________ (begin) to feel better this morning.

(t) The CBC ____________________ (broadcast) the news every day at six o‘clock.

(u) Where is Kate? She _____________________ (smoke) a cigarette outside.

(v) She ________________________ (smoke) two packs of cigarettes a day.

(w) Every Saturday night, Allan ______________________ (rent) a couple of movies.

(x) After work, he usually _________________ (have) a beer.




(a) David Smith _______________________ (drive) down the street right now.

(b) He and his wife both ____________________ (smoke) two packs a day.

(c) They _______________________ (love) to smoke.

(d) Their daughter Mary ____________________ (take) swimming lessons right now.

(e) You ________________________ (do) a grammar exercise right now.

(f) My cat and dog ______________________ (like) each other.

(g) They ____________________ (eat) together out of the same bowl every morning.

(h) It is springtime and the flowers ___________________________ (bloom).

(i) In the wintertime, it always ________________________ (snow) in Montreal.

(j) Look, there‘s Kurt! He ______________________ (come) around the corner.

(k) The Webster‘s Dictionary _____________________ (contain) a lot of words.

(l) Oh my God! That man ______________________ (hold) a gun.

(m)I finished the laundry and now my clothes ________________________ (hang) outside on the clothesline.

(n) Right now she ___________________________ (build) a new house.

(o) My mother and father _______________________________ (vacation) in Florida right now.

(p) Every morning the sun _______________________ (shine) through my window.

(q) He often _____________________________ (use) his cellular phone.

(r) The big man always ______________________ (tell) the little man to calm down, but the little man never ____________________________ (listen).

(s) I ___________________________ (do) grammar exercises everyday.

(t) We ______________________________ (study) German right now.

(u) Peter ___________________________ (walk) to school on Fridays.

(v) Elizabeth Lawrence always ______________________ (smile) at John when she ________________________ (see) him.




(a) I will be at the table in a minute Mom. I ______________________ (wash) my hands.

(b) John and Pierre _______________________ (look) for a new apartment right now.

(c) Steven rarely ____________________ (watch) TV on the weekend.

(d) Serge _________________________ (study) to become a doctor. He will probably finish medical school at the end of next year.

(e) Sue Mires from the French department always ______________________ (wear) something purple. Purple ______________________ (be) her favourite colour. Have you seen her yet today? She _________________________ (wear) little purple earrings.

(f) Look outside Cindy. It _______________________ (rain) again. What a dreary day! I _________________________ (hate) rain.

(g) At the present time, a lot of people _______________________ (lose) their jobs. The unemployment rate ___________________________ (increase) rapidly.

(h) The two men on the corner over there _________________________ (shake) hands.

(i) Julie Clinton _______________________ (take) a philosophy course right now. She ________________________ (love) to read philosophy books.

(j) The wind __________________________ (blow) from the north, and big black clouds __________________________ (form) on the horizon. The storm will arrive soon.

(k) Listen to John and Linda! They __________________________ (yell) at each other again. They _________________________ (have) another argument.

(l) My neighbour Joseph Lancia __________________________ (have) an excellent job. He ____________________ (work) for the City Planning Department. One of the other neighbours told me that Joseph _______________________ (make) over $100,000 a year.

(m)Fred usually ___________________ (do) the dishes right after supper, but tonight he ____________________ (watch) TV instead of doing the dishes. His favourite movie, The Terminator, _______________________ (play) on Channel Three.

(n) Margaret _____________________ (sit) in the chair in the corner. You should go over and talk to her. She ______________________ (be) a really interesting woman.




(a) The two doctors in the corner over there ________________________ (discuss) my case. The one who ___________________________ (hold) the yellow folder in his hand _______________________ (be) my doctor.

(b) My friend Pierre Michaud never _________________________ (take) a vacation.

He ___________________________ (work) all the time. (c) Most of the students in the class __________________________ (speak) English

with a French accent. (d) The students ______________________________ (study) the verb tenses and the

prepositions right now. English grammar ______________________ (be) more difficult than some of them think.

(e) In our office, we ________________________ (waste) a lot of paper. Every week

we ___________________________ (throw) away at least a thousand pages. (f) Several students in our class __________________________ (be) from Chicoutimi. (g) Look at that man over there! He ___________________________ (wear) the

strangest hat that I have ever seen in my life. (h) Pete always __________________________ (arrive) for class on time. (i) The English teacher ___________________________ (come) from Toronto, but

he ___________________________ (like) Quebec better than Ontario. (j) The left-winger from Scarborough ______________________ (be) the best player in

the league. He __________________________ (score) at least one goal every game.

(k) The wind ____________________________ (howl) outside my window. A big

storm _______________________________ (come). It will help the farmers. They need some rain for their crops.

(l) Cindy ____________________________ (read) a book at the library right now.

She _____________________________ (spend) almost every afternoon at the library. She _____________________________ (love) to read.

(m) Frank Meyers and his wife usually _________________________ (have) a cup of

coffee together every morning before they ____________________________ (leave) for the office.

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