Note: This post is aimed primarily at my English as a Foreign Language students, but I hope you might find something of interest if you are English, learning a foreign language.
· What do you do? / What are you doing?
· What do you think? / What are you thinking?
You undoubtedly know the difference between these pairs of questions. A native speaker would never confuse them, because they are asking completely different things.
· What do you do (for a living)? = What is your job?
· What are you doing (right now)?
· What do you think? = What is your opinion?
· What are you thinking? = “A penny for your thoughts…” This is an expression that means “What is on your mind right now?”
There are some subtleties between the present continuous and the present simple tenses. Here is a guide on the difference:
Present Simple: Usage
1. Routine Actions: Actions that happen regularly, habitually.
"My daughter usually walks to school, but I take her in the car when it rains."
2. General Truths: Facts or statements that are always true.
"The sun rises in the east."
“Sugar is sweet.”
3. Timetabled Events: Events that are part of a fixed schedule.
"The train leaves at 6pm."
Here the present simple is being used to refer to the future.
4. State Verbs*: Verbs that describe a state rather than an action, such as 'believe', 'know', 'like', all the verbs referring to the five senses, etc.
"I believe in fairies."
“This tastes amazing!”
“This song reminds me of Paris.”
Present Simple: Formation
Compared to most other European languages, the conjugation of the English present simple verb is very easy:
1. Positive statements:
Subject + base form of the verb
“I play poker.”
(add '—s' or '—es' for third person singular)
"She reads books."
2. Negative statements:
Subject + do/does + not + base form of the verb
"He doesn't play football."
“They don’t live here anymore.”
3. Questions
Do/Does + subject + base form of the verb
"Do you like hip-hop?"
“Does she still work for you?”
Present Continuous: Usage
1. Actions Happening Now, at the moment of speaking. You can test this by putting “right now”, and seeing whether it makes sense.
"She is reading a book (right now)."
2. Temporary Actions: Actions that are temporary or ongoing around the current period.
"They are staying at a hotel for the week."
3. Future Arrangements: Planned future events.
"I am meeting John tomorrow."
4. Changing Situations: Actions that are changing or developing.
"The weather is getting warmer."
Present Continuous: Formation
Positive: Subject + am/is/are + present participle (verb + ing).
"She is eating lunch."
Negative: Subject + am/is/are + not + present participle (verb + ing).
"They aren't coming to the party."
Question: Am/Is/Are + subject + present participle (verb + ing)?
“Are you currently working on a new project?"
Example sentences
Present Simple:
"I go to the gym most Mondays."
"Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius."
"She doesn't like chocolate."
"Does he work here?"
Present Continuous:
"I am going to the gym right now."
"The water is boiling!"
"She is reading a fascinating book."
"They aren't playing football this afternoon."
Depending on the context, this could mean what they are (not) doing right now, or what they are (not) going to be doing later.
"Are you watching TV?"
It's a good rule of thumb* to say that time phrases of frequency (sometimes, usually, never, once a year...) should be used with the present simple:
“I sometimes go bowling on Fridays.”
“We never go to that restaurant anymore.”
However, it is also possible to use the continuous tense with time phrases of frequency, but only if the action implies a change from how the situation was previously:
"I'm going to the gym three times a week now." (I only used to go once a week.)
"They're producing new materials every day now." (Previously, they produced fewer materials.)
In both of these examples it is understood that the situation has developed from how it was before.
Common mistakes to beware of…
…and my reason for writing this post!
Some of these sentences are examples that I have noted down in real-life conversations, either gently correcting the speaker at the time, or not, depending on the situation!
The incorrect sentence is in red, with a corrected version underneath:
· I’m watching the news most evenings.
I watch the news most evenings.
You must use the present simple for habitual actions.
· My daughter is playing the violin.
My daughter plays the violin.
· What’s he doing now?
He does the washing up.
He’s doing the washing up.
You must use the present continuous for actions that are in progress at a given moment.
· We meet our friends tomorrow.
We are meeting our friends tomorrow.
You use the present continuous to refer to a future event that you are sure is going to happen. The present simple can be used for the future, but only for information about timetabled events.
· I’m loving it!
I love it.
You might be surprised to hear that this is incorrect* English, because it is a well-known advertising slogan of McDonalds, that famously English-language purveyor of food-based substances. Strictly speaking, a state verb such as this should not be used in the continuous form, but hey, language evolves!
· Does she is working on the project?
Is she working on the project?
Calm down! There is a tendency amongst some students to overdo the auxiliary verbs. When asking a Yes/No question using "to be", you don't need the extra "do" auxiliary verb.
NB
There are very few other languages that have this continuous form; most have only one present tense, which makes things simpler for English students of foreign languages, as long as we don’t try to complicate things! Attempting to translate “Are you going by train” literally, word for word would not only be wrong, but probably not even understood, because in French and German at least you could end up sounding like you are trying to refer to a past event.
Spanish, however, does have the continuous form, but the rules around its usage are much more blurred than in English:
¿Qué dice? [What does he say?]
This is the present simple form of the verb, but would be used to ask “What is he saying?”
Similarly:
¿Qué haces? [What do you do?]
This is again the present simple form of the verb, but would be used to ask “What are you doing?”
NB 2
For the next-level word-nerd:
The present continuous form of the verb comes, I believe, from Welsh. English has taken very little in terms of vocabulary from our western neighbours, but surprisingly, we adopted a couple of significant grammatical rules. As well as this extra present tense, another borrowing from Welsh is the “meaningless do”. More about this in another post…
*NB 3
"Rule of thumb"
This is a very commonly-heard expression, and is another way of saying “a general rule”, “a basic guideline”, or even “a rough estimate”.
There is a common misconception that the phrase comes from an old English law that allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. However, there is no historical evidence to support this claim, and legal historians have debunked this as a myth. This misconception seems to have gained traction in the late 20th century but does not reflect historical legal practices.
The phrase is believed to have originated from the use of the human thumb as a rough and ready measuring tool. Before precise instruments were widely available, people often used their thumbs to estimate measurements. For example, carpenters would measure approximately an inch by the width of their thumbs.
Example: "An inch or so thick, as measured by the rule of thumb."
First Recorded Use: The earliest documented usage of the phrase dates back to the late 17th century. Sir William Hope’s "The Compleat Fencing-Master" (1692) contains one of the first known instances of the phrase, where he writes, "What he doth, he doth by rule of Thumb, and not by Art."
*4
Remind me also to do posts on State Verbs and “non-standard” English usage.
Andrew Wenger, founder and director of SameSky Languages
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