habits and routines

Habits and actions at the moment (present simple vs. present continuous)

Talking about routines - Present simple

The present simple is used to describe actions that you do on a daily basis (routines) or for things that are always true or happen regularly. Eg. I play tennis on Sundays.

In the third person singular of the present simple we add -s to the verb. She (lives, goes, studies, plays, does) He (lives, goes, studies, plays, does) It (lives, goes, studies, plays, does)

Talking about routines - Present simple

Affirmative: I live in California. Alex plays the piano. Negative: I don't live in California. Alex doesn't play the piano. Interrogative: Do I live in California? Does he play the piano?

Talking about routines - Present simple

Spelling rules: live - lives open - opens get - gets play - plays We add -es to verbs that end in -s, -x, -sh, -ch, or -o. pass - passes watch - watches fix - fixes go - goes finish - finishes

We change the -y to -ies for verbs that end in a consonant + -y. study - studies hurry - hurries

Present simple time expressions

Question words:

When do you do your homework?

I do my homework in the evenings.

How often do you go to school?

I go to school every day.

What time do you get up?

I get up at 6 am

Talking about routines - Present simple

-At what time

I go to school at 7 am

at (specific time) - at 9 pm in (for months, years or long periods) - in 2003 / in the morning on (days or specific dates) - on April 17th - on Tuesdays

I get up in the morning

I watch TV on Saturdays

Talking about routines

-Activity.

-What are your weekday routines? (from Monday to Friday) -What are your weekend routines? (from Saturday to Sunday)

Make a chart about routines for each day from Monday to Sunday and ask 3 different people about their routines. Then, compare how different they are from yours.

Talking about routines

Averbs of frequency

Fri

Sun

Sat

Thru

Tue

Wed

Mon

ALWAYS

100%

USUALLY

70%

SOMETIMES

50%

NEVER

0%

Talking about routines

-How often do you...?

100%

She always practises the piano in the evenings.

ALWAYS

70%

We usually go to the park on Sundays.

USUALLY

50%

They sometimes make a cake. Just for special days!

SOMETIMES

NEVER

He never forgets his homework.

0%

HOW OFTEN DO YOU...?

Take a shower

Make your bed

Have breakfast/dinner/ a meal

Wake up early

Walk the dog

Brush your teeth

Wash your clothes

Present Continuous

We use the present continuous to talk about actions that are taking place at the moment of speaking. These are temporary, not habitual actions. Eg. What are you cooking? I'm making pasta.

NOTE: We do not use the present continuous with the following verbs: like, know, want, hate, understand and remember, only for present simple. Even if we mean now, these are feelings or states.

Present Continuous

We form the present continuous with the verb to be + the -ing form of the verb. I'm writing a letter. You're eating a pizza.

Spelling rules: -ing

Many verbs change when -ing is added

-With verbs of one syllabe that end in a vowel + consonant, we double the consonant and add -ing

get - getting swim - swimming

-With verbs that end in -e, we omit the -e and add -ing dance - dancing write - writing

-With verbs that end in -ie, we change the -ie to -y and add -ing lie - lying die - dying

Question forms:

What are they doing?

They are having a party.

Where is Mary?

She's doing her homework.

Time expressions

We use now / at the moment to show that the action is happening at the current time. The following expressions are for extended periods of time:

Today I'm studying English.I'm travelling around Europe this month.

Activity. Act out!

What are they doing?

Instructions. Each student is going to have an action card and he/she is going to act out the action without speaking, or use mimic, the other classmates are going to guess what they are doing using the present continuous tense.

QUIZ

TRIVIAL

BAD AND GOOD HABITS

start

QUESTION 1/6

Question 1/6

GO TO BED!

CORRECT. The habit is "go to bed"

QUESTION 2/6

QUESTION 2/6

WATCH TV

CORRECT!They're watching TV or they are watching TV.

QUESTION 3/6

QUESTION 3/6

EAT HEALTHY FOOD

CORRECT!the habit is "eat healthy food"

QUESTION 4/6

QUESTION 4/6 - science

DOING EXERCISE

CORRECT! I'm doing exercise or I am doing exercise.

QUESTION 5/6

QUESTION 5/6

THEY ARE GOING TO SCHOOL

Correct!They are going to school is the right option. It is something that is happening at the current time.

QUESTION 6/6

QUESTION 6/6

STUDY

CORRECT!The habit is: "study"

End of the quiz!

Here you can include a text to congratulate and wish your audience luck at the end of the quiz.

To sum up:

Present simple VS. present continuous

Simple present for: routines, habits or facts. Present continuous: actions in progress, actions that are happening now. (ing verbs)