Present continuos and simple present

 

Present continuous

The present continuous generally refers to situations or actions that are being carried out at the moment and, as in Spanish, learning this tense is essential to have fluency and expression in any conversation in English.

The present continuous has 5 main uses:

1. Clearly explain actions that happen at the same moment in which they are described.

2. Provide context when expressing current situations. Normally these sentences are accompanied by adverbs such as recently, currently or lately, among others.

3. They express with certainty events or actions of the future.

4. Describe actions or momentary events.

5. Indicate situations that happen frequently. In these sentences it is necessary to add adverbs such as forever, always, constantly, among others, to reinforce their context.

Simple present

It is the present tense, it is part of the vocabulary that allows you to describe the actions that occur at the moment you are speaking or that are part of your daily routine. Within this tense are also activities that can be scheduled, as well as permanent situations that are not questionable.

When is the present simple used?

We can use the simple present to refer to things that are always true, or that we consider as facts:

Chocolate tastes good.

It gets dark at about six o'clock.

It's hot here in summer.

You can also use the present simple to talk about our habits, also because they are things that do not change:

Every day, I get up at 7, have breakfast and then catch the bus to work at 7.45.

I go to dance classes every Thursday evening.