The Full Audio Episode

You can listen to the whole episode, but to get the best out of this episode, listen to the audio parts below and do the exercises before listening to the rest of the episode.

—Danny

Introduction

What Do You Already Know

Don’t panic if you don’t have a clue because that is what we are here to learn. And if you happen to know all the answers with confidence, you might still listen to the parts you like from this lesson, or just do the exercises. However, I do recommend that you listen to the whole lesson in sequence to get the best of it and not to miss a thing.

— Danny

Choose Correct or Incorrect and try to fix the incorrect sentences. Then listen to the explanation to check your answers.

Air is consisting of oxygen, nitrogen and other gases.

I am working overtime this week.

Does the copy machine working right now?

We aren't knowing Sami's wife.

My cell phone network is always dropping calls.

Gloria canceled her doctor's appointment because she felt better.

I turned on the stove, am boiling the water, and forget to put in the rice.

A few children drawed some pictures this morning while the teacher was talking.

When I turned the key, the car wasn't starting.

I was going to call you, but my phone died.


Simple Present and Present Progressive

So the main ideas we can take after talking about the difference between the present simple and the present progressive is that the simple talks about facts, habitual actions, things in general and more importantly, permanent things, while the progressive talks about what is happening at the moment of speaking or about temporary actions.

— Danny

Assignment 1

Try to find someone to talk or write to. You can use the comments below if you don’t have anyone. I would like you to contribute one sentence for each of the three topics below to put the main concepts of the present simple and progressive into practice.

  1. Talk about one daily habit you have.
  2. Look around the room. Make a sentence about one activity that is happening right now.
  3. In one sentence, state a general truth about the world.

Exercise 1

Choose the correct tense to complete the sentences.

Kristin is in the shower. She ______ her hair.

Kristin ______ her hair every other day or so.

Tony usually ______ in the front row during class.

Today Tony ______ in the last row.

Lars ______ the night shift on weekends.

Lars is not home now. He ______ a double shift.

After six days of rain, I'm glad that the sun ______.

Every morning, the sun ______ in my bedroom window and wakes me up.

Babies ______ very quickly. Newborn babies are very different from three-month olds.

Your baby ______ so fast. She isn't a newborn anymore!

Please be quiet. I ______ to concentrate on my math homework.

Each day, our math teacher ______ to explain the material clearly, but I am very confused.


Exercise 2

Choose the correct completion(s). Try to think about the answers and explain your choice.

In early summer, the sun ______ around 9:00 P.M. in my hometown.

It's a beautiful evening. I'm sitting outside. The sun ______ behind the mountains.

Rice ______ in about 15 minutes.

Hurry! The rice ______ over onto the stove.

Dr. Costa ______ his hospital patients before office hours.

Leo ______ his bike through downtown traffic every day to work.

Jenna ______ for her granparents at their hotel.

Francine and Marco ______ each other several times a day.


Simple Present and Present Progressive: Affirmative, Negative, Question Forms

So it seems pretty simple, no? The progressive always uses the -ing form for the main verb and we need to add verb to be in its present form. However, the simple present is a little trickier because we don’t usually use the auxiliary verb do in the affirmative; instead we add an -s to he/she/it, but when we use do/does as an auxiliary verb in negative and questions, we don’t worry about the main verb anymore because it always comes in zero form or infinitive.

—Danny

Exercise 3

Complete the sentences with Do, Does, Is, or Are.


Exercise 4

Challenge your grammar skills and knowledge by completing these sentences using the present simple or progressive based on real facts. Use the verb in parentheses.


Stative Verbs

So there is nothing concrete about stative verbs. Some of them are almost always used as stative verbs, but you need to remember that some of these verbs may have a stative meaning and an progressive active meaning in which we can use them in progressive if we want.

— Danny

Assignment 2

Think about the differences between the two uses of the same verb in the sentence pairs below. There is no right and wrong answers, but this is very good to have a deeper understanding of grammar and a step closer to mastery. You can discuss what you think in the comments below or with your fellow learners.

  1. These flowers smell good.
    Jane is smelling the flowers.
  2. I think this park is beautiful.
    I need to relax. I am thinking about all the homework I have.
  3. I see a colorful kite. It’s over there.
    Alex is coming later. He is seeing a doctor about his headaches.
    Jack and Ann come here every weekend. They are seeing each other.
  4. I remember my first time here. Do you remember yours?
    I‘m remembering a family picnic here with my cousins. It’s a happy memory.
  5. The children want a snack. They‘re hungry.
    The children are being awfully quiet. What are they doing?
  6. You look cold. I’ll lend you my coat.
    I‘m looking at the sky. A storm is coming.
  7. Every weekend there is an outdoor play here. Some of my friends are appearing in it.
    There is a man coming toward us. He’s smiling. He appears to know us.
  8. Gabriel is being rude. He’s just sitting there, not talking to anyone.
    No, he isn’t rude. He‘s just shy.
  9. The baby is feeling the grass.
    The grass feels soft.
    I need to sit down. I‘m not feeling well right now,
    I feel that it is important to take care of our parks.

Exercise 5

Choose the correct completions.

This isn't my book. It ______ to Mai.

Ask Ahmed for your book. He ______ it.

Your book is over there. Ahmed ______ it.

Olga is smiling. She ______ a good time.

Relax. Everything is OK. I ______ you.

My computer says my file no longer ______.


Exercise 6

Complete the sentences. Use the simple present or the present progressive of the verbs in parentheses. DO NOT USE CONTRACTIONS (e.g. Use do not have instead of don't have)

Fill in the blanks.

Look! It (begin) to rain. Unfortunately, I (have, not) an umbrella with me. I (own, not) an umbrella. Spiro is lucky. He (wear) a raincoat. I (wear) a waterproof hat on rainy days.

Fill in the blanks.

Martha is in science class. The chemistry experiment she (do) is dangerous, so right now she (be) very careful. She (want, not) to spill any of the chemical. She (be, always) careful when she does a chemistry experiment.

Fill in the blanks.

Right now I (look) at Nicole. She (look) angry. I wonder what's the matter. She (have) a frown face. She certainly (have, not) any fun right now.

Fill in the blanks.

A: How (you, like) the soup? (it, need) more garlic?
B: No, it (taste) delicious. It (remind) me of my mom's soup.


Finally

I hope you found this new way useful and please let me know what you think in the comments below. See you next time in part 2 of this chapter!

—Danny
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