Semestral San Marcos

SEMANA
2

INGLÉS
SEMESTRAL SAN MARCOS

PRESENT SIMPLE AND PRESENT CONTINUOUS

‘I SURF / I AM SURFING.’

What’s the difference between the Present Simple and Present Continuous and how to use them?

We use the present simple tense when we want to talk about fixed habits or routines – things that don’t change.

We use the present continuous to talk about actions which are happening at the present moment, but will soon finish.

COMPARE THESE TWO STATEMENTS:

• (present simple) I play tennis.

• (present continuous/ progressive) I am playing tennis.

(present simple) ‘I play tennis’ tells us that playing tennis is something the speaker always does. It is part of a routine or habit.
We can call this a permanent situation.
(present continuous/ progressive) ‘I am playing tennis’ tells us that the speaker is playing tennis right now. Soon the game will
be over. We call this a temporary situation.

WITH THE PRESENT SIMPLE WE SAY:

I play tennis
You play tennis
We play tennis
They play tennis
He/she/ it plays tennis.

WITH THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS WE SAY:

I am playing tennis
You are playing tennis
We are playing tennis
He/she/it is playing tennis

FREQUENCY ADVERBS WE USE WITH THE PRESENT SIMPLE

With the present simple we use these frequency adverbs:

(Notice that the adverb comes before the main verb in the sentence.)

Always: ‘I always read before I go to bed.’

Often: ‘Her sister often comes shopping with us.’
Frequently:‘Michael frequently visits his family.’
Sometimes:‘You sometimes go to the gym, don’t you?’
Occasionally:‘It occasionally rains in summer.’
Seldom:‘They seldom ask for help.’
Rarely: ‘He rarely goes out without his backpack.’
Hardly ever:‘I hardly ever eat pizza.’
Never: ‘Japanese people never wear shoes inside.’

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TIME EXPRESSIONS WE USE WITH THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS

With the present continuous we use these time expressions:

(Notice that the time expression can come at the start or at the end of the sentence.)
At the moment: ‘I’m watching TV, at the moment.’

These days: ‘Paul’s living in Cardiff, these days.’

Now: ‘What are you doing, now?’

Nowadays: ‘I think you are smoking too much, nowadays.’

STATIVE AND DYNAMIC VERBS

Verbs in English can be classified into two categories: stative verbs and dynamic verbs. Dynamic verbs (sometimes referred to
as “action verbs”) usually describe actions we can take, or things that happen; stative verbs usually refer to a state or condition
which is not changing or likely to change. The difference is important, because stative verbs cannot normally be used in the
continuous (BE + ING) forms. This will explain the differences between the two types of verb, and give lots of examples of
each kind.

DYNAMIC VERBS

There are many types of dynamic verbs, but most of them describe activities or events which can begin and finish. Here are
some examples:

Dynamic Verb Type Examples

play activity She plays tennis every Friday.

She’s playing tennis right now.

Dynamic Verb Type Examples

melt process The snow melts every spring.

The snow is melting right now
hit momentary action When one boxer hits another, brain damage can result.
(This suggests only ONE punch.)
When one boxer is hitting another, brain damage can result.
(This suggests MANY repeated punches.)

STATIVE VERBS
Stative verbs usually refer to a state or condition which is quite static or unchanging. They can be divided into verbs of percep-
tion or cognition (which refer to things in the mind), or verbs of relation (which describe the relationships between things).
Here are some examples:

Stative Verb Type Examples

hate perception I hate chocolate.

believe perception She believes in UFOs.
contain relation The box contains 24 cans of soda.
own relation Yong owns three motorbikes.

Note that we CANNOT use these verbs in the continuous (progressive) forms; you CAN’T say “*Yong is owning three cars.”
Owning is a state, not an action, so it is always in the simple form.

EXAMPLE VERBS

Here some common stative and dynamic verbs. The lists may help you to understand what types of verbs are likely to be stative
and what types are commonly dynamic.

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Stative love; hate; like; see; hear; sound; think (meaning “have an opinion”); mind (meaning “care about”); recognize;
Verbs seem; have (meaning “own”); prefer; doubt; consist of; mean

Dynamic eat; drink; go; type; read; write; listen; speak; watch; say; grow; work; sleep; cook; talk
Verbs

TEXT 1

One of the things I like best about school is my art class. We have a great teacher named Mrs. Hilbert. She is a wonderful artist.
I love to watch her draw and paint. She teaches us how to mix paint to make just the right colors for our paintings. She plays
good music while we draw and paint. We draw and paint almost every day in class. Some days we look at pictures of other
artists. It is interesting to do this. It helps me to think of things that I want to paint or draw. We have an art exhibit in May this
year. Our work will be in one of the banks in our town. We are inviting people from the community to our exhibit. Our parents
are invited to go with us. I have three paintings I am working on now. I hope one of them will be chosen to be in the exhibit. I
like having a goal to work toward.

1.- What is one of the favorite classes of this student?

A) math
B) reading
C) art
D) music
E) science

2.- How does the author describe Mrs. Hilbert?

A) nice lady
B) wonderful artist
C) sweet person
D) beautiful person
E) excellent teacher

3.- What does Mrs. Hilbert teach the class to do?

A) bake chocolate cake

B) write great stories
C) do long division
D) prepare an art exhibit
E) mix paint

4.- Why does it help this student to see the works of other artists?

A) to learn to draw
B) to mix paint
C) to think about what she wants to paint
D) to invite people to an exhibit
E) to chose a painting for the exhibit.

5.- What does this student hope will happen with her paintings?

A) one of them will be sold

B) one of them will be chosen for the exhibit
C) one of them will be of her younger sister
D) one of them will be lost
E) one of them will be of her teacher

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TEXT 2

Eva and Suzzie are twins. They were born on August 5, 2008. They are ten now and in the fourth grade. Eva and Suzzie do
everything together. They are in the same class. They dress alike. They look the same. People always get them confused. This
really makes Eva and Suzzie laugh. Teachers always get them mixed up at school. Even their father has trouble telling them
apart. Their mother doesn’t, though. She always knows which twin is which. Eva and Suzzie often try to confuse her, but it
has never happened. Their older brother, Brad, is fifteen. He never knows which one is which. He doesn’t even try. Eva and
Suzzie have the same friends. Their friends always mix them up. It doesn’t matter to Eva and Suzzie. One day, their father told
their mother to get one of them a different haircut, so that he could tell them apart. Eva and Suzzie were horrified. They didn’t
want to look different. They liked looking the same. Their mother came to the rescue, and refused to make them cut their hair.
The girls were happy just the way they were and didn’t want to change. Their dad just shook his head. He would have to stay
confused. Eva and Suzzie didn’t care. They knew which one was which and that was all that mattered.

1.- How old are Eva and Suzzie in this story?

A) ten
B) eight
C) twelve
D) fifteen
E) nine

2.- Who in their family could tell them apart?

A) their brother
B) their mom
C) their dad
D) their teachers
E) no one

3.- Who in the family wanted them to look different?

A) their mom
B) their dad
C) Brad
D) Eva
E) Suzzie

4.- Who came to their recue when they were supposed to get different haircuts?

A) their dad
B) their friends
C) Brad
D) their teachers
E) their mom

5.- Eva and Suzzie don’t care if people can’t tell them apart. Why do you think they feel this way?

A) Eva and Suzzie are in the fourth grade.

B) Eva and Suzzie know their differences.
C) Eva and Suzzie like wearing blue dresses.
D) Eva and Suzzie like making Brad mad.
E) Eva and Suzzie have the same haircut.