Present simple and present continuous

The aim of this post is to give you a set of materials to help you teach the difference between the present simple and continuous tenses. You can find several other resources on this topic here and here. Moreover, there is a great video by BBC called Grammar Gameshow.

Here I will share a presentation, a mind map, an online exercises and a worksheet that should help your students learn the grammar either at school or at home.

Presentation

Honestly, I don’t like using presentations which were created by someone else, but I often find an idea or two which I copy into my own presentation. Thus, feel free to use the presentation below and use any part of it in your own work.

In the first part, explain the form of the two tenses. In the second part, explain the usage. If the students can see or imagine the action, then they should use the present continuous tense. If the subject does the action all the time, students should describe it using the present simple tense.

In the last part of the presentation, there is a set of slides which I use to revise the grammar. Students see the slide and they should create the correct sentences – either in the present simple or continuous tense.

Present simple and continuous – Mind map

One of the things that might help your students distinguish between the two tenses is the following mind map.

On the left, there is the explanation when students should use the given tense. On the right, the form is explained.

Online exercise

During the corona crisis, many students had to stay at home. Then online exercises were the best option to practise the grammar. During the six months, I have created many online exercises and I hope to share them with you soon.

Here is one of them:

Present simple and continuous – worksheet

The following worksheet contains 4 exercises. In the first exercise, students put the verbs into the present simple tense. In the second exercise, students put the verbs into the present continuous tense. In the third and fourth exercise, students decide whether they should use the present simple or continuous tense.

Online exercises

You can practise the grammar online at the following links:

Gap fill exercise 1
Gap fill exercise 2
Gap fill exercise 3
Gap fill exercise 4
Gap fill exercise 5
Gap fill exercise 6
Drag and drop exercise 1
Choose the correct option 1
Choose the correct option 2

If you would like to practise more grammar, you will find many online grammar exercises at https://grammarlane.com/