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Simple Present and Continuous, Action and Nonaction Verbs

1. The document discusses the simple present tense and present continuous tense, including how they are used for action and non-action verbs. 2. The simple present is used for habitual or repeated actions, while the present continuous is used for actions happening now or around now. 3. Non-action verbs like love and need are not usually used in the present continuous since they describe a state of being rather than an action. A few verbs like have and think can be either action or non-action depending on the context.

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Denís Anny L A
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2K views5 pages

Simple Present and Continuous, Action and Nonaction Verbs

1. The document discusses the simple present tense and present continuous tense, including how they are used for action and non-action verbs. 2. The simple present is used for habitual or repeated actions, while the present continuous is used for actions happening now or around now. 3. Non-action verbs like love and need are not usually used in the present continuous since they describe a state of being rather than an action. A few verbs like have and think can be either action or non-action depending on the context.

Uploaded by

Denís Anny L A
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1A simple present and continuous, action and nonaction verbs

simple present: I live, he works, etc.

1 I work in a bank. She studies Russian.


We don’t have any pets. Jack doesn’t wear glasses.
Where do you live? Does your brother have a car?
2 She usually has cereal for breakfast.
I’m never late for work.
We only eat out about once a month.

1 We use the simple present for things that are always true or happen
regularly.
• Remember the spelling rules for third person singular, e.g., lives,
studies, watches.
• Remember the word order for questions: (question word),
auxiliary, subject, base form of verb. Do you know David?
What time does the movie start?
1A simple present and continuous, action and nonaction verbs

simple present: I live, he works, etc.

1 I work in a bank. She studies Russian.


We don’t have any pets. Jack doesn’t wear glasses.
Where do you live? Does your brother have a car?
2 She usually has cereal for breakfast.
I’m never late for work.
We only eat out about once a month.

2 We often use the simple present with adverbs of frequency,


e.g., usually, never, or expressions of frequency, e.g., every day,
once a week.
• Adverbs of frequency go before the main verb, and after be.
• Expressions of frequency usually go at the end of the sentence or
verb phrase.
1A simple present and continuous, action and nonaction verbs

present continuous: be + verb + -ing

A Who are you waiting for?


B I’m waiting for a friend.
A Is your sister still going out with Adam?
B No, they broke up. She isn’t going out with anyone right now.

• We use the present continuous (not the simple present) for actions in
progress at the time of speaking, e.g., things that are happening now
or around now. These are usually temporary, not habitual actions.
• Remember the spelling rules, e.g., living, studying, getting.
• We also use the present continuous for future arrangements (see 1B).
1A simple present and continuous, action and nonaction verbs

action and nonaction verbs

A What are you cooking?


B I’m making pasta.
A Great! I love pasta.
A What are you looking for?
B My car keys.
A I’ll help you in a minute.
B But I need them now!
• Verbs that describe actions, e.g., cook, make, can be used in the
simple present or continuous.
I’m making lunch. I usually make lunch on the weekend.
• Verbs that describe states or feelings (not actions), e.g., love,
need, be, are nonaction verbs. They are not usually used in the
present continuous, even if we mean “now”.
1A simple present and continuous, action and nonaction verbs

action and nonaction verbs

• Common nonaction verbs are agree, be, believe, belong, depend,


forget, hate, hear, know, like, love, matter, mean, need, prefer,
realize, recognize, remember, seem, suppose.

Verbs that can be both action and nonaction


A few verbs have an action and a non-action meaning,
e.g., have and think.
I have a cat now. = possession (nonaction)
I can’t talk now. I’m having lunch. = an action
I think this music’s great. = opinion (nonaction)
What are you thinking about? = an action

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