QualityTime-ESL Podcast No. 13.1:
“The Present Tense – Simple and Continuous Forms” Part 2
Hi! I am Marianne Raynaud from QualityTime-ESL located in Grenoble in the South-Eastern part of France. We spend the winter here and in the summer with my family we go down to the South-Western part of France to a sea side resort on the Mediterranean.
I know very many French people, who would like to learn how to “speak” English. That is why I started this series. But I hope people all over the world will find these podcasts useful too.
I recommend you do the exercises of “Better Speaking Skills” WITHOUT looking at the script. If you feel lost or confused you can tap the center of the control pad of your iPod three times, and the first part of the script will be displayed. However, you can also download the complete written script by going to our website QualityTime-ESL.com.
Last time we started to work on the different forms of the present tense. We saw that the simple present is used to describe “habits”, “opinions” or “actions that occur regularly”. For instance to describe habits we say, “Every morning he listens to the radio” or “I play tennis once a week”. To describe opinions we say, “He thinks it is time to cut the grass” or “I believe we must stop destroying our environment.” We also use the simple present to describe actions that occur regularly”. We say for example, “I speak several foreign languages fluently” or “They want us to work together.”
Finally, we learned that the present continuous describes both actions taking place while the speaker is talking and actions that willoccur in the very near future.
So let us first practice with the present continuous used to describe what is happening right now and what will happen in the very near future.
Listen to the examples.
I say: They are playing tennis right now.
You say: And they are playing tennis tomorrow too.
I say: They are working together right now.
You say: And they are working together tomorrow too.
“Right now” means “at this moment
Now you go on in the same way.
They are playing tennis right now.
And they are playing tennis tomorrow too!
They are working together right now.
And they are working together tomorrow too!
We are eating fish right now
And we are eating fish tomorrow too!
We are drinking wine right now.
And we are drinking wine tomorrow too!
Now let us go from the continuous present to the simple present. Listen to the examples.
I say: They are playing tennis right now.
You say: And they play tennis very often.
I say: They are working together right now.
You say: And they work together very often.
Now you go on in the same way.
They are playing tennis right now.
And they play tennis very often.
They are working together right now.
And they work together very often.
We are eating fish right now
And we eat fish very often.
We are drinking wine right now.
And we drink wine very often.
Finally, it is important to know that certain verbs are normally NOT used in the continuous tenses. So listen and repeat these verbs and the examples given.
Believe`
I believe you are right.
Belong
I belong to a club.
Forget
I often forget to close the door.
Hate
I hate to be in the dark.
Hear
I often hear the birds singing.
Know
I know what is best
Like
I like ice cream.
Love
I love my ski instructor!
Now let us turn this into a memory exercise. I will give you a couple of words and you will say the complete sentence. Start each sentence with “I”, and remember to use only the simple present.
Listen to the examples.
I say: Believe - you - right.
You say: I believe you are right.
I say: Belong - club.
You say: I belong to a club.
Now you go on in the same way. Don't forget to start each sentence with “I”.
Believe - you - right.
I believe you are right.
Belong - club.
I belong to a club.
Often – forget - close - door.
I often forget to close the door.
Hate - be - dark.
I hate to be in the dark.
Often – hear – birds- singing.
I often hear the birds singing.
Know - what - best
I know what is best
Like - ice cream - much.
I like ice cream very much.
Love – ski – instructor!
I love my ski-instructor!
Now let us do another memory exercise. Listen and repeat:
Need
He needs a new pen.
Mean
He means he will come.
Prefer
He prefers tea to coffee.
Realize
He realizes it is hard for you.
Remember
He remembers he said that once before.
See
He sees you have done your work.
Seem
He seems to be late.
Suppose
He supposes they are away.
Understand
He understands you are angry.
Want
He wants you to know the truth.
Now I will give you a few words and you will say the complete sentence in the present tense. Start each sentence with “He”. Listen to the examples.
I say: Need – new - pen.
You say: He needs a new pen.
I say: Mean - will - come
You say: He means he will come.
Now you go on in the same way. Start each sentence with “he”.
Need - new - pen.
He needs a new pen.
Mean - will - come
He means he will come.
Prefer - tea - coffee
He prefers tea to coffee.
Realize - it - hard - you
He realizes it is hard for you.
Remember - said - that - once - before
He remembers he said that once before.
See - you - done - work.
He sees you have done your work.
Seem - late.
He seems to be late.
Suppose - they - away.
He supposes they are away.
Understand - you - angry.
He understands you are angry.
Want - you - know - truth.
He wants you to know the truth.
There are two verbs that can be used in both the simple and continuous forms, but the meaning in each case is different. These verbs are “Have” and “Think”
Note the following distinctions:
“Have” when the meaning is "possess" requires the simple form, for instance: "I have a car"
“Have" can be used in the continuous tenses for actions for example. "I'm having a bath."
“Think:” when the meaning is "believe" requires the simple form: "I think I will do it."
“Think" can also be used in the continuous tenses to express a mental action for example "I'm thinking of taking the plane."
Now let us do a memory exercise. Listen and repeat.
I have a car.
I'm having a bath.
I think I will do it.
I'm thinking of taking the plane.
Again listen and repeat
Car
I have a car.
Bath
I'm having a bath.
Think – do - it
I think I will do it.
Think – take - plane
I'm thinking of taking the plane.
Now I will give either one or a couple of words and you will give the sentence we just repeated.
Listen to the examples.
I say: Car
You say: I have a car.
I say: Bath
You say: I’m having a bath.
Now you go on in the same way.Remember to start each sentence with “I”.
Car
I have a car.
Bath
I'm having a bath.
Think - do - it
I think I will do it.
Think - take - plane
I'm thinking of taking the plane.
Listen and repeat:
That was quite easy. Now I understand that “to have a car” and “having a bath” do not mean the same thing. I know that by practicing a lot with QualityTime-ESL exercises I am going to speak English correctly in the very near future.
That is the end of today’s podcast. Thank you for listening. If you have any comments or suggestions or information to submit please contact us through our website Bye for now. See you soon and don’t forget to keep smiling!
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