#Ep. 14 The Present Tense Part 1: Simple Present and Present Continuous Made Easy

Unlock the mysteries of English tenses and elevate your language skills with our latest episode of Learn English with Natalie. Ever wondered how to distinguish between actions happening now versus habitual routines? Join us as we promise to demystify the complexities of the present tense, focusing on both the simple present and present continuous. Through engaging examples and interactive practice, you'll master the art of forming sentences that accurately convey facts, habits, and ongoing actions. Whether you struggle with the basics or just need a refresher, this episode is designed to boost your confidence and precision in everyday conversations.

As part of our mini-series on English tenses, we continue our journey by dissecting sentence structures and verb usage. Learn how to apply the simple present tense for facts and routines, and transition smoothly into the present continuous to describe actions unfolding right now. We offer practical tips and linguistic insights that cater to both independent learners and classroom settings. So, tune in and transform your English communication skills with clarity and assurance, one tense at a time.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Are you somebody who's trying to improve your English but you just can't quite grasp the use of tenses correctly? Then you are in the right place. Welcome to Learn English with Natalie. Today we are going to be covering the present tense. This is part of a mini-series that I am creating where I cover the different tenses in the English language. Make sure you subscribe so that you don't miss out on any further learning. Let's get into the lesson.

Speaker 1: 0:32

So the present tense is essential for discussing facts, habits, routines and ongoing actions. Mastering the present tense helps you to communicate clearly and confidently in your spoken English. Last episode and the episode before that, we discussed the past tense, so make sure you check those episodes out so that you get a good coverage on the different tenses of the English language. Today we will learn about the simple present tense, which will help us to describe facts, habits and routines, and the present continuous tense, which will help us to describe actions happening now or temporary actions. So the simple present tense we're going to talk about the structure of the simple present tense. A simple present tense sentence structure will look like this you will have the subject, the person you are talking about, he, she, you, I, they, plus the base verb, then you will add S or es for the third person singular. Now if that doesn't make sense to you, don't worry, I'm going to explain it in this episode. Here are some examples I work at a school. I work at a school. My verb is work. Notice it does not have an S or an ES on the end. I'm talking about me in the first person. I work at a school. We enjoy playing sports. We enjoy playing sports. So I'm talking about myself and somebody else. We enjoy. I do not add an S to the end of the base verb. This one's a bit different. She reads every evening. She reads every evening. So if I'm talking about somebody else in the third person where I'm not involved, I add an S to the end of the base verb. So that is my learning English top tip for this week Add S or ES when you are talking about he, she or it. Let's practice some sentences. I read a book every evening. I read a book every evening. Your turn. Wonderful. Now we're going to go on to sentence two. This one's a bit different. One's a bit different. My turn. She goes to the gym three times a week. She goes to the gym three times a week. Your turn, wonderful. And did you notice that on the end of go, I added es to make it goes, because I'm talking in the third person? She goes to the gym three times a week. Next sentence my turn. They play football on weekends. Your turn, fantastic. Now my subject is the word they they play, so I don't need to add the s, because they is talking about more than one person. It is not the third person singular, it is a third person plural. There is more than one person, so I don't need to add s or es. Next sentence my turn. He watches tv after dinner. He watches tv after dinner. Your turn, fantastic. And we added ES on the end of watch, because we are talking in the third person singular. And finally, my turn we study English every day. Your turn, wonderful. Well done. Now we're going to look at a different form of the present tense, which is the present continuous tense. We use this to describe actions that are happening now, or temporary actions. Here's an example of the sentence structure we have our subject, who we're talking about I, you, she, he, it, they and then we add another word. We add am, is or are, am, is or are, and then we add the verb plus ing, the suffix ing. Now, this might not make sense if you're listening to the podcast and you can't see the visual in front of you. But don't worry, I'm going to explain this further. So here's an example sentence the subject is I and then I use the word am, I am and my verb is study. But because I'm talking in the present continuous tense, I add the suffix ing, so it becomes I am studying, I am studying. Can you say that Wonderful? I am studying for my exam. Let me give you another example sentence she is watching TV. My subject is she, so I don't use am now. That doesn't make sense. She am watching TV. That doesn't make sense. If I'm talking about she, I use the word is. She is watching TV, she is watching TV. And the next sentence is they are playing football outside. So if I'm talking about they as my subject, I use the word are. They are playing football outside. And a top tip for learning English this week is that you can use time markers like now, currently or at the moment to finish these sentences as well. So you could say I am studying for my exam right now, she is watching TV currently, or they are playing football outside at the moment. So you can. You can improve your sentences further by adding some time markers. Okay, let's practice. First of all, we're going to practice some sentences where we talk about ongoing actions that are happening right now. Here we go. He is cooking dinner right now. He is cooking dinner right now. Your turn, lovely. We are talking on the phone. We are talking on the phone. Your turn, perfect. Now we're going to look at some temporary action sentences. I am staying at a hotel this week. Your turn, brilliant. She is working on a new project. She is working on a new project. Your turn, lovely. And now we're going to practice some sentences where we talk about future plans on an informal basis. If you're interested about informal versus formal language, I did an episode on this a couple of weeks ago, so make sure you check that out. Okay, so let's practice our future plan sentences. I am meeting my friends later. I am meeting my friends later. Your turn, perfect. Next one they are travelling to London next month. They are travelling to London next month. Your turn, perfect. Perfect. Activity time this week. I would love it if you could practice talking to yourself in the present tense. Describe to yourself what you are doing in the present tense. I am playing my piano, I am writing in my journal and then maybe, if you want to challenge yourself, you could observe others and think in your head about what they are doing, but think in English. She is filing the papers, she is typing on the laptop. If you want me to have a look over your work, I would love to. Please can you tag me at Learn English with Natalie on TikTok and YouTube, and I'm also available on Patreon For those of you who are looking to improve your English further. You can check out my Patreon, which is where I host my book club, where I receive exclusive content diving into English novels, both modern and classic. Now, this is only for people that are going to be taking their English learning seriously and who want to learn English through stories, so if you're a reading fanatic, like I am, please check it out. All of my information is available in the show notes. Thank you so much for joining me today and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss next week's episode on the tenses. See you later.