Simple present vs. present progressive tense

A common confusion for people learning English is when to use the simple present tense and when to use the present progressive tense. It's easy to understand WHY this is a problem -- most languages simply do not make this distinction and use the same tense for both cases.

Here's how it works.

Use the simple present tense to talk about habits, the way things are in the world in general, without much (if any) reference to time:

     Chris works for Google.
     Kim frequently travels to various countries in Europe.
     We usually take out vacation in the summer.

On the other hand, use the present progressive tense to talk about what is happening now or about current projects:

     Chris is working on an improved browser.
     Kim is traveling around Europe this week.
     We are taking our vacation this month.

The present progressive is also used to talk about the future sometimes:

     Chris is working late next Friday to finish a report.
     Kim is traveling to Russia tomorrow.
     We are taking our vacation next month.

On final note: the progressive tenses are formed by taking the corresponding simple tense of the verb to be and adding the main verb with the -ing ending.

Now it's your turn

Complete each of the following, using the given verb in either the simple present or the present progressive tense:

1. Yael and Yossi often ___________ to music on Friday night. Tonight they ____________ to European pop music. (listen)

2. Yair ___________ the Galil this month. He often ___________ the North in August. (visit)

3. Nurit ___________ to exercise at least three times a week. She ___________ to lose weight. (try)

4. I ___________ a new swimsuit this weekend. I usually ___________ my swimsuits at Castro. (buy)

5. Me’ir ___________ his brother right now. He often ___________ his brother on Friday morning. (call)

6. Trains never ___________ on time from this station. We ___________ more than 20 minutes late. (leave)

7. I ___________ in the sales department. (work)

8. Elad ___________ to visit Thailand after he is released from the army. (want)

9. Flight 54 ___________ . The passengers ___________ through the final security check. (board, go)

10. She ___________ to buy her clothes at Sacks. (prefer)

11. He’s a project manager. He ___________ schedules and budgets. (manage)

12. This week, they ___________ on the final phase of the project. (work)

13. Dan ___________ two or three days every week to visit clients. (travel)

14. I ___________ Tal and Gur’s wedding and how nice it was. (remember)

Finally, write several sentences of your own, using the simple present and the present progressive tenses correctly.