Page 194 - University English for non-speacalist

- I often drive to work but I'm taking the train this
morning because my car is in for repair.

- I'm thinking about dying my hair blonde but I
don't think my wife will be very happy about it.

- My parents live in New York but I'm just
visiting.

Notice how in all these examples we use the present
continuous to talk about events which are
temporary/limited in time and the present simple to
talk about events which are habits/permanent.

Exercises
1. Put the verbs into the correct tense (present

simple OR present continuous):
The train always ……….. (1: leave) on time. "What's
the matter? Why ………. (2: cry/you)?" That's
strange. They ………. (3: not to watch) TV. He
……….. (4: not to speak) very good English. Please
be quiet! I ………. (5: do) my homework. Where
………. (6: live/they)? Listen! John ………. music!
(7: play) I never ………. (8: go) to the swimming
pool. Harold Black's a famous pianist. He ………. (9:

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