Present Indefinite
| Frequency adverbs:
Always, often, usually, sometimes, rarely, never
frequently, normally, occasionally, seldom, hardly ever
Jane rarely listens to jazz.
Do you often visit the doctor?
|
Meaning
|
Habitual actions
| I usually get up at 8.
|
Actions & situations that are generally true
| We like ice-cream.
|
Facts which are always true
| The sun rises in the east.
|
In narratives (summaries, plots)
| A man walks into a bar & asks for a glass of water. The barman says….
|
Stative verbs
| Sense s: appear, hear, look like, see, taste
Feeling: like, hate, love, prefer, want, wish
Thinking: agree, believe, forget, know, think, understand
Possession: belong to, contain, have, own
Being: be, exist
Other: cost, depend on, mean, need
I hate new school!
Do you need some money?
|
Present Continuous
| Frequency adverbs:
now, at the moment, at present, still, this …., around now, continuously
I am washing my hair at the moment.
|
Meaning
|
Actions in progress at the present moment
| I can’t speak with you, sorry. I’m washing my hair now.
|
Actions happening ‘around now’, even though not at the moment of speaking
| I’m reading The Lord of the Rings.
|
With always, continuously, constantly, forever to exaggerate or to complain
| You are always forgetting your keys!
|
To denote changing & developing situations
| More & more people are travelling today.
|
With the words never ….. again
| I am never speaking to you again.
|
| | | |