Present eontinuous and present simple.

(2)
We often use the present si mpl e and present eonti nuous i n stories and jokes i n i nf ormal spoken
Engl i sh to crate the i mpressi on that events are happeni ng now. Thi s can make them more
di rect and exci ti ng and hol d people's attenti on:
She goes up to thi s man and l ooks strai ght i nto his eyes. He's not weari ng his glasses, and
he doesn't recognise her...
Thi s man's pl ayi ng gol f when a kangaroo bounds up to hi m, grabs hiscl ub and hi ts his
bal l about hal f a mi l e...
The mai n events are usual l y described i n sequence usi ng the present si mpl e and l onger
background events are described usi ng the present eonti nuous.
I n narrati ves and anecdotes the present si mpl e can be used to hi ghl i ght an event. Of ten i t isused
after past tenses and wi th a phrase such assuddenl y or al l of a sudden:
I wassi tti ng i n the park, readng a newspaper, when all of asudden thi s dog jumps at me.
We also use the present si mpl e and present eonti nuous i n Uve commentari es (for exampl e, on
sports events) when the report takes place at the same ti me as the acti on:
K i ng serves to the l eft-hand court and A dams makes a wonderf ul return. She'spl ayi ng
magnfi cent tenni s i n thi s match....
We can use the present si mpl e i n phrases such as I t says here, I hear, I gather, I see, I understand
and They say, (Someone) says, (Someone) tells me to i ntroduce news that we have heard, read,
seen (e.g. on tel evi si n), or been tol d. We can also use past tenses (e.g. I t said here, I heard):
I gather you're wor r i ed about K en. Jane tells me you're thi nki ng of emi grati ng.
Professor Otto is at the conference and I hear she's an excellent speaker.
The present si mpl e isoften used i n newspaper headlines to tal k about events that have
recentl y happened:
QUAKE HITSCENTRAL IRAN I FOREI G N MI NI STER RESI GNS j
SCI ENTI STS FI ND BRI GHTEST STA R j FIRE BREAKSOUT IN HOTEL ROOMJ
We can use the present si mpl e to refer to the contents of books, fi l ms, newspapers, etc:
Thompson gives a l i st of the largest European compani es i n Chapter Six.
A t the begi nni ng of the book, three men find $4mi l l i on i n a crashed pl ae.
I n the film, Joan Smi thson takes the rol e of a pri vare detective.
We can use the present eonti nuous wi th adverbs such asal ways, constantl y, conti nual l y or forever
to emphasisc that somethi ng isdone so often that i t ischaracteristic of a person, group or thi ng:
A : I thi nk Ti l stay here after al l . B : You are constantly changi ng your mi nd.
Tony is a real l y ki nd person. He's always offeri ng to help me wi th my wor k.
We ofren use thi s pattern to indcate di sapproval . The past eonti nuous isused i n a si mi l ar way
wi th these adverbs (e.g. WasK ath always aski ng you for money, too?).
We can use the present eonti nuous to describe somethi ng we regul arl y do at a certai n ri me:
A t 8o'cl ock I 'm usual l y dri vi ng to wor k, so phone me on my mobi l e.
7o'cl ock is a bi t early. We're generally eati ng then.
We can use the present (or past) eonti nuous rather than the present (or past) si mpl e wi th rhe
verb wonder i f we wanr to be especially fri endl y or pol i te, parti cul arl y i f we are unsure about
the other person's feelings towards somethi ng or how they wi l l react to what we say:
You said that there were onl y 50books i n the boxes. I 'm just wonderi ng/ I wasjusr
wonderi ng whether you counted them all? (more polite than ' I just wonder...?')
Grammar review: present eontinuous -A 1- A 2; present simple - *A 3-A 5
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
Compl ete these sentences usi ng the verbs i n braekets. Choose the present si mpl e or present
eonti nuous. (A f t B)
1 Beckham to Giggs who just over the bar. Manchester Uni ted
much more i n thi s hal f... (pass - shoot - attack)
2 A man home late one ni ght after the offi ce Chri stmas party. Hi s wi f e
for hi m, and she to hi m. . . (arrive - wait - say)
3 I went to a concert yesterday i n the T own H al l . I n the mi ddl e of i t, whi l e the orchestra
thi s man suddenl y on his seat and to conduct them.
(play - stand - start)
Compl ete what eaeh person says about the news they have read or heard using the present
tense phrases i n C. (C)
1
Government gives health service billions
Vegecorp to sack 1000 workers.
I n a surprise move yesterday President Cartman
announced a new publ i c hol i day on his birthday,
August 6th. He made the announcement...
Vegecorp are goi ng to
we're goi ng to have
D i d you hear that Tony's
crashed his car again?
s > ^^I ' v e got a new job.
Scientists f r om N ewtown Uni versi ty
cl ai m to have produced a
vacci nati on to prevent mal ari a.
Expand one of the sets of notes bel ow to compl ete eaeh di al ogue. (E)
conti nual l y/ change/ mi nd forever/ moan/ work forever/ ask me/ money
Tony's
she's
they've f ound
l n n / l . - . n J 4 t mr r
constantl y/ cri ti ci se/ dri vi ng
A : I can't read thi s. B : You're te M-S-^
A : Can I bor r ow 10? B : You're
A : That was a dangerous thi ng to do. B : You're
A : I thi nk FU stay here after al l . B : You're
A : I had a bad day at the offi ce agai n. B : You're
Compl ete the sentences wi th appropri ate verbs, using negati ves or questi ons where necessary.
Use the same verb for eaeh sentence i n the pai r wi th ei ther the present eonti nuous or the
present si mpl e. Use X to add any words outsi de the spaces. (D-F)
1 a I whether you coul d hel p me. You see, my car's broken down outsi de your
house and I need to phone a garage,
b 'D o you thi nk Phi l i p woul d be good at the job?' ' H mm, I '
2 a 'Shal l I phone at 6.00?' ' N o, we usual l y di nner at that ti me.'
b I l amb, thanks. I ' m a vegetaran.
3 a Gi el man Henry V i n the latest producti on at the Royal Theatre.
b They constantl y l oud musi c unti l the early hours of the morni ng.
4 a I normal l y the chi l dren to school at hal f ei ght. Perhaps we coul d meet at ni ne.
b I n his 1954 book, Wal l a controversi al vi ew of Bri tai n's rol e i n the war i n
Europe.
Past simple and present perfect
Ti me expressions that refer to the present, such as thi s morni ng/ week/ month and today, can be
used w i t h ei ther past si mpl e or present perfect verbs. I f we thi nk of thi s morni ng (etc.) as a past,
compl eted ti me peri od, rhen we use the past si mpl e; i f we thi nk of thi s morni ng (etc.) as a ti me
peri od whi ch includes the present moment, then we use the present perfect. Compare:
I di dn't shave this morning. (=the morni ng is over and I di dn' t shave) and
I haven't shaved this morning. (~ i t is sti l l the morni ng and I mi ght shave l ater)
I n news reports, you wi l l often read about or hear recent events i nrroduced wi th the present
perfect, and then the past simple or other past tenses are used to give detai l s:
f
] T he film star J i m Cooper has
di ed of cncer. He was 68 and
K
l i ved i n Texas...'
'The US space shuttl e A tl anti s
has returned safely to earth. I t
l anded i n Fl ori da rhis
morni ng.
' A teacher f r om Osl o has
become the first woman to cross
the A ntarcti c al one. I t took her
42 days to make the crossi ng
wi th her dog team...'
I n a sentence whi ch i ncludes a ti me clause wi th since, we general l y prefer a past si mpl e verb i n
the ti me clause and a present perfect verb i n the mai n clause. The ti me clause refers to a
parti cul ar poi nt i n the past:
Since M r Hassan became presi dent, both taxes and unempl oyment have increased. (rather
than ...has become...)
She hasn't been able to pl ay tennis since she broke her arm. {rather than ...has broken...)
N oti ce, however, that we use the present perfect i n the ti me clause i f the tw*o si tuati ons
described i n the mai n clause and ti me clause extend imti the present:
Have you met any of your nei ghbours since you've l i ved here? (not ...you l i ved...)
A fter the pattern I t/ Thi s/ That is/wiil be the first ti me... we generally use the present perfect i n
the next clause:
That's the first time Tve seen Jan l ook embarrassed. (reporti ng a past event)
It won't be the first time she has voted against the government ir) her l ong careen (tal ki ng
about a future event)
N oti ce, however, that after I t/ Thi s/ That ivas the first ti me... we generally use the past perfect
(see Lnit 5):
It ivas the first time Fd tal ked to El l a outsi de the offi ce.
W i th ti me ciauses i ntroduced by after, when, unti l , as soon as, once, by the ti me and the ti me
expressions the minute/ second/ moment the past si mpl e refers to past, compl eted events and the
present perfect refers to future events. Compare these examples:
After she l eft hospi tal (past), she had a l ong hol i day. and
O After Domi ni c has l eft school (future), he wi l l be spendi ng six months i n I ndi a.
The minute I got the news about Sue (past) I tel ephoned my parents. and
FU contact you the minute Fve got my exam results. (future)
I n the ti me clause i n sentences l i ke thi s i t is possi be to use the past perfect instead of the past
simple (e.g. A fter she had l eft...) and the present si mple instead of the present perfect (e.g. A fter
Domi ni c leaves...) wi th the same meani ng (sce also Unt 5).
Grammar review: past simple - * A 6- A 8; present perfect - A 9-A 12
3.1 Choose a verb to compl ete the sentenee. Use the present perfect or past si mpl e. (A)
have go overslcep read spend wear
1 I a l ot thi s week, but I have to get the book compl etel y fi ni shed by thi s weekend.
2 A : Shall I make us some di nner? I t's al ready 8 o'cl ock. 13: N o thanks. I to the
denti st thi s afternoon and my mouth hurts too much to eat anythi ng.
3 I three lectures today and I sti l l have two more l ater thi s afternoon.
4 I t was so hot today that I shorts and a T-shi rt at wor k.
5 We 200 on f ood thi s month and there's another week to go before I get pai d.
6 A : Do you want a l i f t home? B : N o, I this morni ng because my al arm dock
di dn't go off, so I need to wor k l ate.
3.2 Compl ete the sentences wi th these pai rs of verbs. (Note that the verb pairs are not always in
sentenee order.) Choose the most appropri ate tense present perfect or past si mpl e. (C)
be able - feel happen - speak i mprove - be not want - fal l rescue - be
wor k - not have
1 Mar i a to go swi mmi ng since she i n the river.
2 Since she at the company she a day of f through illness.
3 Since he the gi rl f r om the frozen pond, he on T V al most every day.
4 A l ot since I last to you.
5 Since I to dri ve I much more i ndependent
6 Robert's readi ng cnormousl y since he at school .
3.3 Choose a verb that can compl ete both sentences in eaeh pair. Use the present perfect i n one and
the past si mpl e i n the other. Use Xto add any words outsi de the spaces. (t)
finish get hear sign
1 a Remember that after you the contract you won't be able to change your mi nd.
b Carl o's i nj ury onl y became apparent after he to pl ay for Real M adr i d.
2 a As soon as I collcge I want to travel around A ustral i a.
b I di dn't have ti me to check the composi ti on. I handed i t i n as soon as I i t.
3 a By the ti me Sarah to wor k the meeti ng had finished.
b I ' l l probabl y have fi ni shed breakfast by the ti me the chi l dren up.
4 a I recognised her the moment I her l augh.
b FU tcl l you what ti me we're comi ng the moment I f r om Frank.
3.4 Here are some extrai s f rom a televisin news report. Choose the more appropri ate tense -
present perfect. or past si mpl e for the verbs gi ven. (B fD)
1 I n toni ght's Wor l d Cup match, France are currentl y beati ng Gcrmany 2- 1 wi th five mi nutes of
the match to go. I f the score remai ns the same i t wi l l be the first ti me Germany
(lose) to France since 1998.
2 The Vi ctori a Hospi tal i n M i l l t own (cise) to new pati ents after more cases of
f ood poi soni ng. Three el derl y pati ents (die) last week i n the outbreak.
3 I n last ni ght's final M ar k Peters (defeat) Ed Myers i n three sets. I t was the first
ti me i n si x attempts that Peters (beat) the wor l d champi on.
4 Nearl y 600 l aptops (steal) f rom Mi ni stry of Dcfence staff over the past five
years. However, a spokesperson (insist) that there had been no securi ty probl ems
as none of the computers (hold) secret i nf ormati on.