All my life I was completely confused and did not know what to do to express sentences in the present tense. You unlocked my mind with the release of this very valuable video. Thank you for doing this for free. That is why I prayed that God would unlock a thousand locks of your life for you for free. I love you all.
Thank you for this complete quiz. It's a very informative way to test yourself. It's very instructive to see how my scores are at the different levels. On level 1 and 2, I scored 5/5; on level 3, I scored 4/5, on level 4, I scored 3/5 and on level 5 I scored 8/13. So, I have a lot of work to do to improve my English to a higher level :-).
Thank you very much for this useful information and make us see the difference between present simple and present continuous. For beginners and intermediate learners, I think we should study each tense by itself so that learners won't get confused. Thanks a lot. As a teacher of English in highschool, I learn a lot from you. As a learner, I get much more as far as speaking is concerned. Good luck.
We're so glad to help! We have lessons on the present simple: www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/present-simple-verb-tense, and present continuous: www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/present-continuous to help you as well!
Good evening to both of you, I would like to ask you a question, please. In addition to "always", "constantly" and "continuously", with which other adverbs of frequency can we use the present continuous ?
can someone please answer these questions 1- im usually playing football. A-present continuous or B-present simple 2- she likes playing football. A-present simple or B-present simple pls write to me soon
Great lesson. But you have made a mistake at 8:48 min when you say " in level 3 we say that the verbs of sensing are generally used in the present continuous" but the the correct is the opposite according to level 3.You here are talking about special case of using continuous in the verbs of sensing...
Thanks for watching, Diala. We actually said: 'In level three, you saw that verbs of thinking like 'realise' aren't generally used in the present continuous'. It can be tricky to hear the differences in pronunciation between 'are' and 'aren't' in a sentence. Usually 'aren't' is a bit quicker with a fast stop at the end and 'are' is a bit longer with more emphasis on the 'r' sound. Hope this helps you!
in the section 5 in the sentence 3 in the minute 12:32 the answer was "So I'm sitting minding my own business, and this guy comes up to me and throws a glass of water in my face!" but i think so the answer is "So I sat there ,minding my own business, and this guy comes up to me and throws a glass of water in my face!" so could u say whats wrong
Hi Suad. This is an example of telling a story in the past using the present continuous and then present simple. If you use, 'So I sat there,' you should also use, '...minding my own business and this guy came up to me and threw a glass of water in my face'. If you begin with the past tense, the other verbs should follow. Hope this helps you!
Hi , I would like to review what the video is about. You mentioned that we use the present simple for something that happens permanently and we use the present continuous for something that happens temporarily. In one of your questions, it says "I'm playing tennis every Friday" Every + time is an adverb of frequency. We can use it with the present continuous, but why can we not use it with adverbs of frequency like "Usually, often, sometimes" Why is it like this ? Why it's not possible to say " I'm often talking to her" but it's possible to say " I'm talking to her every day". Aren't 'every day' and 'often' the same ? Both of them are adverbs of frequency. I'm perplexed, because it's possible to use with "every day, every Friday" , but it's not possible to use with "often, seldom, usually". Because 'every day' and 'often, sometimes' are the same because those are Adverbs of frequency Could you explain why in more detail ? This is one of the grammar topics that English teachers rarely explain. Thank you for your effort.
I keep stumbling across present progressive uses that I can't explain. Example (from Longman Dictionary): "Sticking to a healthy diet always makes you feel that you're missing out". Missing out? Why the present continuous? "Missing out" right now? "Missing out" temporally around the time of speaking? Changing situation? Trends? Near future? Plans?
COMO ME DOY CUENTA SI LOS VERBOS(SMELL,HAVE,TASTE...)=STATIVE VERBS NO VAN EN UNA ORACION....QUE PUNTOOS TENGO DE ANALIZAR..ME CONFUNDE??? COMO EN LOS EJEMPLOS QUE USTEDES PUSIERON...YO SE QUE EN SOLO EN ALGUNOS CASOS TU PUEDES PONER LOS STATIVE VERBS CON -ING EN P.CONTINUOUS PERO ESTE CAMBIA SU SIGNIFICADO O EN CASOS ESPECIFICOS.....
Hi, please clear my confusion. Q. What do you do? What answer should be of this question. A. I do work in post office or B. I am working in post office. Please explain the reson which answer is correct. My first teacher taught me "answer should be in present indefinite but my second teacher taught me answer should be in present continuous
Hi! I have been confused a lot with the use of the present continuous in "I am turning 18 next year". I have asked someone and they said that it doesn't talk about a plan, so, I am confused here. What does it talk about in your view ? Is it about a fact about the future ? If so, how is it possible to use the present continuous for facts about the future ? Because usually the present simple and the future simple are used for facts about the future, as in "I will be 18 tomorrow", or "My birthday is on 14 June", but "I am turning 18" confuses me. If it's a plan, it confuses me even more because how can someone plan on being alive ? No one has control over it. I need help with this, I would be happy if you could help 😊 Thank you!
Hi, Present continous and present simple are sometimes confusing, but you've made it clearer , Thank you. Could i ask you a question ? because I'm really confused. The question is : in level 4, in sentence 4 at 9:45 , you said that using the present simple suggests that it's a permanent situation, but why right after saying that did you say : 'They've been playing tennis on fridays for years and they're really enthusiastic about it'. You just said that the present simple is for permanent situations but why did you use the present perfect continous to mean that the playing tennis has continued for years ? isn't the present perfect continous for temporary situations ? what i'm confused about is that you used the present simple in a present tense to mean a permanent activity but you used the present perfect continous not the present perfect simple in a perfect tense. It's showing contrast. Thank you so much for reading this comment and I would like explanations. Thanks one more time.
Hi Dea. Good question. In short, 'They've been playing tennis on Fridays for years,' emphasizes the fact that playing tennis is still a continuous activity for them now. We have another lesson on these topics that goes more in-depth. You can watch it here: www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/present-perfect-present-perfect-continuous. Hope this helps you!
Madam ...Simple present follows present continuous tense .....Ex: she usually wears white shoes but today she has worn or wore or is wearing black shoes ...Mam I want to know which is right ...And I want to know the rules of them ...Please mam help me
Hi there. They can all be correct, depending on your meaning. Do you want to express the fact that she is currently wearing the shoes, or has decided to wear the shoes, or wore the shoes before this present time in the day? You can learn a bit more in this lesson: www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/english-verb-tenses. Hope this helps you!
Hi Yan. Yes, that can be a bit confusing. 'You have a job...' is a common English phrase to express the fact that someone has an obligation or task to complete. In your example, the task is to answer the questions. Hope this helps you!
Thanks... It just demotivates me to learn English.. There's a rule then some exemptions... Maybe learning grammar is not helpful when you really want to speak English .☹️☹️☹️
The best way is to push through and keep practicing! Work on your speaking, try to speak every day. Everything will come together. Thanks for watching!
Hi Mark, I get u, mate! The best advice, just keep at it, and don't worry too much:) After all, what's crucial is being able to get your message across, those grammar peculiarities aren't essential... Over time, as long as u keep on learning and learning and learning such subtleties are bound to become more and more natural to u🙂 U need to try and immerse yourself in the language though, films, tv shows, books, articles, every damn thing possible, sorry buddy - u know what they say - "through effort to stars"👌☺ I'm not a native myself so I've been there, done that, sth that you at first find annoying and frustrating, later becomes as easy as ... falling off a log😉 Good luck brother🤞🏻☺
I wanna ask in 5:09 you said"use the present simple to talk about future events which follow a timetable. ". So, in sentence 2, it has time. Why don't we use present simple for it?
Hi Tu. In sentence 2, we are meeting people. This meeting is not a timetable event such as when a train departs or arrives on a schedule. It was our choice to meet the people at that time, so it is a plan that we made. Therefore, we use the present continuous. Hope this helps you!
thank you so much for this grate video. I am wondering why we use present continuous after still in the last sentence of the level 5. still already imply that subject does something up to a particular point in time and continuing at that moment. so, why we use present continuous? Is not that a redundant?
Good question, Raziye. 'Seeing someone' is the phrase used to mean actively dating another person. For example: 'I'm seeing someone new now'. So it's also used after 'still' in the same way. Hope this helps you!
If let me write, maybe I could pay attention to grammar. But I totally would forget the grammar when speaking. So, some grammar mistakes make others confuse and make some jokes sometimes. How do I can improve my grammar in spoken English? By the way, Gina's so beautiful and her voice sounds great.
Thanks for watching and sharing your comment, Shuai. The best way to improve is to practice conversation every day. Consistent speaking practice will help you become more comfortable and aware of grammar mistakes, which will help you learn from them.
@@Oxfordonlineenglish1 But，you know, I don't have a friend of a native speaker. For me, the most things I do are watching Videos and Reading articles. My spoken English sucks. So, how do you improve your spoken English if you don't have a friend or other person who could chat with you?
I wasn't sure about two points. I wouldn't say I'm realizing but I'm beginning to realize. Also when there's every, like every Friday, that suggests to me some permanence justifying the simple present tense rather than the continuous form. But in all, it's a very informative video. I watched it because I'm curious if you can see some change in the use of the Present Continuous tense - to my ear, it has become more often used than it used to be, let's say some 30 years ago. By that I mean forms like "I'm loving it" or even "I'm understanding it" that I've heard from native speakers. Am I right about it? Can you confirm this trend?
Hi there. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. - Yes, you can say 'I'm beginning to realize...' - If we used the present continuous form with 'every Friday' that suggests repetition each week, but perhaps the activity happening every Friday just became a habit recently and perhaps will not last for very long. It is more temporary as opposed to something that is well-established. - Yes, some native speakers will say 'I'm loving + thing' if it is something that has become loved recently and perhaps will be temporary. - Yes, some native speakers will say 'I'm understanding...' if they are beginning to feel this in themselves. Perhaps it is a developing feeling and they don't fully understand yet. Hope this helps you!
good lesson but very sad for me. I made a lot of mistakes: 1st task - 1 mistake, 2nd task -2 mistakes, 3d task - 2 mistakes, 4th task - 3 mistakes, 5th task - 4 mistakes!!!
Hi Mubashir. A better question might be, 'Can you come here?' as it seems like you're not asking about their present simple habits, but you are making a request. Hope this helps you!
I don't understand how to use the simple continuous like a complaining with "specific adverbs" (except "never"). Which are these specific adverbs? I enjoy the video and I took a lot of tips. Thanks for the video it was very useful for me.
The most common adverbs for this usage are 'always' and 'constantly'. If you remember these two, you'll be able to use the form in a natural-sounding way. Other adverbs are possible but are less commonly used and might sound weird in certain collocations.
Level 5 is tricky! If you want more practice we have teachers who can help: www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/about-our-online-english-teachers and other lessons on these topics: www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/present-simple-verb-tense, www.oxfordonlineenglish.com/present-continuous.
Hi Mohammad, I'm not sure what your context is. If you're using it as a greeting, the phrase is: 'How is it going?'. If you're using it as a question about a situation, the phrase is: 'What is going on?'. Hope this helps you!
Thank you for the lesson. I'm studying about how the present continuous is used for a temporary habit. I have one question about habit and the present perfect. Can we use "present perfect" to talk about habit when it's connected to the when-clause ? For example: _"I have done my homework when my sister uses her laptop"._ Here I'm using the present perfect to show that in general when my sister uses her laptop, I have done my homework or my homework is already done/completed. Is it possible to use the present perfect in that way ? I'm not asking about this kind of use of present perfect : _"I have gone to the gym for years"_ to talk about a habit that has been going on for years. But I'm talking about the present perfect being used to talk about a habit and connected to the when-clause, as in: _"I have done my homework when my sister uses her laptop"_ to mean that in general my homework is already completed or done when my sister uses her laptop. Is it possible ? Thank you a lot in advance.
Thank you,I will try to improve my grammer.Although I am weak at English,I will try my best.I am a Hongkonger.Hope you can make more about grammer videos.😊😊😊🙏🙏🙏
