Present Simple, Present Continuous, and Yes/No Questions
The present simple tense is used for habits, repeated actions, permanent situations, general truths, and scheduled events.
Subject | Affirmative | Negative | Question |
---|---|---|---|
I | I work | I do not (don't) work | Do I work? |
You | You work | You do not (don't) work | Do you work? |
He/She/It | He/She/It works | He/She/It does not (doesn't) work | Does he/she/it work? |
We | We work | We do not (don't) work | Do we work? |
They | They work | They do not (don't) work | Do they work? |
always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never, every day/week, once a week, on Mondays, etc.
The present continuous tense expresses actions in progress at the moment of speaking or temporary actions around the present time.
Subject + be (am/is/are) + verb-ing
Subject | Affirmative | Negative | Question |
---|---|---|---|
I | I am working | I am not ('m not) working | Am I working? |
You | You are working | You are not (aren't) working | Are you working? |
He/She/It | He/She/It is working | He/She/It is not (isn't) working | Is he/she/it working? |
We | We are working | We are not (aren't) working | Are we working? |
They | They are working | They are not (aren't) working | Are they working? |
now, at the moment, today, this week, currently, these days, etc.
State verbs are not usually used in continuous forms: know, understand, believe, love, hate, want, need, prefer, etc.
Yes/No questions require "yes" or "no" as an answer. They don't use question words (what, where, when,