3. How is Paco feeling today? (simple or continuous?)

Present Continuous vs. Present Simple.

This song clearly shows the difference between the use of the present simple and the present continuous tenses.

Vídeo de alojado en Youtube.

We get it on most every night
when that moon is big and bright
it's a supernatural delight
everybody's dancing in the moonlight

we get
everybody here is out of sight
they don't bark and they don't bite
they keep things loose they keep it tight
everybody's dancing in the moonlight

dancing in the moonlight
everybody's feeling warm and bright
it's such a fine and natural sight
everybody's dancing in the moonlight

we like our fun and we never fight
you can't dance and stay uptight
it's a supernatural delight
everybody was dancing in the moonlight

dancing in the moonlight
everybody's feeling warm and bright
it's such a fine and natural sight
everybody's dancing in the moonlight

we get in on most every night
and when that moon is big and bright
it's a supernatural delight
everybody's dancing in the moonlight

dancing in the moonlight
everybody's feeling warm and bright
it's such a fine and natural sight
everybody's dancing in the moonlight

Caso práctico

Fill in the blanks with the suitable form using the Present Continuous or the Present Simple

Elaboración propia

This is Antonio, Paco's father, speaking about his family.

My name (to be) Antonio. l (to live) in the centre of Cáceres with my family. Most people (to believe) we (to be) rich because we (to live) in a big house. But our family (to seem) to be like any other one.

     Have a look:

    Isabel, my wife, (to like) cooking. She (to enjoy) being in the kitchen with her friends. At the moment she (to make) a cake and you can't talk to her.

    What really (to worry) her is our daughter who (to prefer) to chat in front of her computer instead of cooking with her. Like many teenagers, Sonia (to think) it (to be) easier to get advice from someone you (not + to go to) see later. It's 5 pm. Paco, my son, (to play) basketball in the garden and I (to watch) TV, I (to wait) for this delicious cake that Isabel (to cook) . I told you, a family like yours. '

Retroalimentación

My name is Antonio. l live in the centre of Cáceres with my family. Most people believe we are rich because we live in a big house. But our family seems to be like any other one.

Have a look:

Isabel, my wife, likes cooking. She enjoys being in the kitchen with her friends. At the moment she is making a cake and you can't talk to her.What really worries her is our daughter who prefers chatting in front of her computer instead of cooking with her. Like many teenagers, Sonia thinks it is easier to get advice from someone you aren't going to see later.

It's 5 pm. Paco, my son, is playing basketball in the garden and I am watching TV, I am waiting for this delicious cake that Isabel is cooking . I told you, a family like yours.

Change these affirmative sentences into interrogative ones, taking into account the interrogative patterns:

PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE	Auxiliary + subject + verb + object?
PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE	To be + subject + verb –ing + object?

Examples: Sonia drinks coffee. >>> Does Sonia drink coffee?

Paco is playing football >>> Is Paco playing football?

Sonia drinks coffee.
Paco is playing football.
I am dreaming about winning the lottery.
Paco and Andrés study in Cáceres.
Antonio and Isabel are watching TV.
Paco's neighbour drives too fast.

Comprueba lo aprendido

Read the sentences below and fill in the missing words.

The train always Rellenar huecos (1): on time. (TO LEAVE)
'What's the matter? Why Rellenar huecos (2): JXUwMDM5JXUwMDEzJXUwMDE3 Rellenar huecos (3): JXUwMDIxJXUwMDE2JXUwMDFh Rellenar huecos (4): ?' (YOU - TO CRY)
That's strange. They Rellenar huecos (5): Rellenar huecos (6): TV now. (NOT TO WATCH)
He Rellenar huecos (7): Rellenar huecos (8): very good English.
Please be quiet! I Rellenar huecos (9): JXUwMDM5JXUwMDBj Rellenar huecos (10): my homework.
Where Rellenar huecos (11): JXUwMDNjJXUwMDBi Rellenar huecos (12): JXUwMDJjJXUwMDFjJXUwMDBkJXUwMDFj Rellenar huecos (13): JXUwMDM0JXUwMDA1JXUwMDFmJXUwMDEz ?
Listen! John Rellenar huecos (14): JXUwMDMxJXUwMDFh Rellenar huecos (15): music!
I never Rellenar huecos (16): JXUwMDNmJXUwMDA4 to the swimming pool.
Harold Black's a famous pianist. He Rellenar huecos (17): two or three concerts every week.
He Rellenar huecos (18): a lot and this week he's in New York.

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Curiosidad

How is Paco feeling today?

Sometimes we find some confusion between the uses of the Present Continuous and the Present Simple Tenses. To avoid these misunderstandings, Spanish learners of English should not translate literally from English into Spanish.

If we translate this sentence into Spanish literally, it does not make any sense: ¿cómo se está sintiendo Paco hoy? A more suitable translation would be using the Simple Present Tense: ¿cómo se siente Paco hoy?, ¿qué tal está Paco hoy?.

Something similar occurs with the expression How are you doing? when it is used as a greeting, and it means How are you?, or What's going on? which means ¿qué ocurre, qué pasa?

Here you have a brief revision about some typical greetings in English.

Vídeo de en Youtube.

Para saber más

If you are still not sure how to distinguish the uses of the Present Simple and the Present Continuous tenses, learn more about them.
In order to revise both the affirmative and the negative forms as well as the interrogative ones, practise here with this test about the Present Simple and the Present Continuous tenses.

In the next section we are going to learn about intonation in English. It is not a difficult matter, but you need to pay attention to it and, above all, open your ears to identify the English intonation patterns.