Presente simple vs presente continuo: cuándo usar cada uno

15-12-2025 | English A1 6 min

El objetivo de esta lección es aprender vocabulario relacionado con comidas, bebidas y acciones cotidianas, así como practicar el uso del presente simple y la diferencia entre el presente simple y el presente continuo.

Vocabulary

Este vocabulario debe estudiarse a través de Anki. Todo el material relacionado lo puedes encontrar en My learning journal - Repositorio de GitHub.

Word Example
Drink They like to drink water after exercising
Wave The surfer rode a big wave at the beach
Want I want to learn how to play the guitar
Tear She wiped away a tear from her cheek
Take Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable
Shake He had to shake the bottle before opening it
Order I would like to order a pizza for delivery
Need You need to study hard to pass the exam
Lose I always lose my keys when I'm in a hurry
Like I like reading books in my free time
Kiss They shared a kiss under the mistletoe
Hug She gave her friend a warm hug
Ask Can I ask you a question about your project?
Money He saved enough money to buy a new car
Medicine The doctor prescribed medicine for my cold
Lunch We usually have lunch at noon
Dinner We had a delicious dinner at the new restaurant
Diet She follows a vegetarian diet for health reasons
Breakfast I like to have eggs and toast for breakfast
Bookshelf He organized his books on the new bookshelf
Clothes dryer I put my wet clothes in the clothes dryer
Dishwasher The dishwasher saved us a lot of time after dinner
Refrigerator I store my groceries in the refrigerator
Stove She cooked dinner on the stove
Washing machine I put my dirty clothes in the washing machine
Glass of She poured a glass of water for herself
Diet soda He prefers to drink diet soda instead of regular soda
Orange juice I like to have a glass of orange juice with my breakfast
Apple pie She baked a delicious apple pie for dessert
Baked potatoes He served baked potatoes with sour cream and chives
Beef They grilled some beef steaks for dinner
Boiled potatoes She served boiled potatoes as a side dish
Fish and chips They enjoyed fish and chips at the seaside restaurant
Lamb chops He grilled lamb chops with rosemary and garlic
Mashed potatoes She served mashed potatoes with gravy
Mushrooms They sautéed mushrooms with garlic and butter
Spaghetti She cooked spaghetti with tomato sauce for dinner
Steak He ordered a medium-rare steak at the restaurant
String beans She steamed string beans as a healthy side dish
Trout with almonds They enjoyed trout with almonds at the seafood restaurant
Cheesecake She baked a delicious cheesecake for the party
Chocolate cake He ordered a chocolate cake for his birthday
Raspberry ice cream She enjoyed a scoop of raspberry ice cream on a hot day
To be in love with They are in love with each other
To give a tip We always give a tip to the waiter at restaurants
To go on a diet She decided to go on a diet to improve her health
To pay the bill He offered to pay the bill after dinner

Simple present

The simple present tense is used to describe habits, general truths, and repeated actions.

  • To love:
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
I love I don't love Do I love?
You love You don't love Do you love?
He/She/It loves He/She/It doesn't love Does he/she/it love?
We love We don't love Do we love?
They love They don't love Do they love?
  • To eat:
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
I eat I don't eat Do I eat?
You eat You don't eat Do you eat?
He/She/It eats He/She/It doesn't eat Does he/she/it eat?
We eat We don't eat Do we eat?
They eat They don't eat Do they eat?
  • To go:
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
I go I don't go Do I go?
You go You don't go Do you go?
He/She/It goes He/She/It doesn't go Does he/she/it go?
We go We don't go Do we go?
They go They don't go Do they go?
  • To have:
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
I have I don't have Do I have?
You have You don't have Do you have?
He/She/It has He/She/It doesn't have Does he/she/it have?
We have We don't have Do we have?
They have They don't have Do they have?

Remember to add "s" or "es" to the verb in the third person singular (he, she, it) in affirmative sentences.

Simple present vs present continuous

What's the difference between the simple present and the present continuous?

  • Simple Present: Used for habits, routines, and general truths.
  • Present Continuous: Used for actions happening right now or temporary situations.
Simple Present Present Continuous
I eat breakfast every day I am eating breakfast right now
She goes to school by bus She is going to school by bus today
They play soccer on weekends They are playing soccer in the park now
He works at a bank He is working at the bank this week
We study English every evening We are studying English at the moment

Example:

  1. Do you eat breakfast every day? (Simple Present).
  2. Are you eating breakfast right now? (Present Continuous).

Mini story

I love going to the beach. Every weekend, I go there with my friends. We like to swim in the ocean and ride the big waves. Sometimes, we bring a picnic lunch and eat sandwiches and fruit.

One day, while we were at the beach, I saw a cute dog playing in the sand. I wanted to pet it, so I asked my friends if we could go closer. As I approached the dog, it wagged its tail and licked my hand. I felt so happy that I gave the dog a big hug.

After spending a few hours at the beach, we decided to go to a nearby restaurant for dinner. I ordered a delicious steak with mashed potatoes and a glass of orange juice. My friends ordered fish and chips and a bottle of wine to share. We all enjoyed our meal and talked about our fun day at the beach. I can't wait to go back next weekend!

Última actualización: 02-02-2026

Links

  1. My learning journal ↗ - Repositorio en GitHub

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