What's the difference?
Present Simple and Present Continuous
Present Simple | Present Continuous |
Things which are always true:
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Things which are happening at the moment of speaking:
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Permanent situations (or nearly permanent; true for a few years at least):
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Temporary situations:
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Habits or things we do regularly:
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Temporary or new habits:
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Future events which are part of a timetable:
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Definite future plans:
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To talk about what happens in books, plays and films:
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To talk about people in pictures and photos:
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Remember:
- We use the present simple with stative verbs. We can't use any continuous tense (including the present continuous tense, of course) with stative verbs.
Click here for more information about the present simple tense
Click here for more information about the present continuous tense