Mr.Maru: What are you doing?

Sparky: I make curry.

Mr.Maru: You are making curry? Smells delcious.

Sparky: Thank you! We eat at 6.

Mr.Maru: We are eating at 6? Great! I'm hungry.

Sparky: I'm loving cooking. It's so fun.

Mr.Maru: You are a great chef!

When do we use the simple present and when do we use simple progressive? How do we use the simple present? Let's talk about some examples and some simple rules.

How to Use Simple Present

We use simple present to talk about a situation that is always true. For example,

The train leaves at 6 am. (The train always leaves at 6 am every day. The schedule doesn't change.)

Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. (Water always boils at 100 degrees Celsius. This fact doesn't change.)
Jenny works for an import export company. (Jenny always works at an import export company. This fact doesn't change.)

We can also use simple present to talk about habits. For example,

George plays tennis every weekend.
Taro brushes his teeth every morning.

How to Use Present Progressive or Continuous

We use present progressive/continuous to talk about activities that are going on around the present time. For example,

A: Where is Ken?
B: He is playing tennis now. He'll be back in an hour.

Bring an umbrella. It's raining.

We can also use the present progressive/continuous to talk about the future. When we use the present progressive/continuous for the future, it is for a definite (100% sure) plan. For example,

I'm having a party tonight. (I invited everyone. I cleaned my house. I cooked the food. I'm ready for the party.)
We're going to Disneyland this weekend. (I bought tickets to Disneyland. I packed the car. We're ready for Disneyland.)

Do you think you understand? Let's take a short quiz.

1) I'll buy the new iPhone when it ________ out on Friday.

A) comes

B) come

C) is coming

2) The movie _______ at 9pm.

A) start

B) is starting

C) starts

3) I just bought two tickets to Wicked! We ____________ it on Saturday.

A) watch

B) are watching

C) watches

Answers

1) – A) when talking about the future in a subordinate clause we should use simple present.

2) – C) we are talking about a scheduled event, so we should use simple present.

3) – B) we should use present progressive/continuous for definite future events.

Thanks for stopping by. If you have any grammar questions, please send me an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it