School life and choices
A teenager makes many choices at school: subjects, clubs, friends, how to use free time. Useful words: timetable (the list of lessons), subject, club, homework, exam, stress, balance.
Useful phrases for choosing: I prefer art to science. I would like to join the music club. I have decided to learn the guitar. I cannot decide between football and chess.
A good choice uses facts (time, interest, skills) and a calm mind. Ask people, compare, then decide. Balance study, sleep, sports and friends.
Present simple: habits, facts, timetables
Form: I/you/we/they + base verb; he/she/it + verb with -s. Examples: I walk. She walks.
Spelling for he/she/it: most verbs add -s (plays); verbs ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -o add -es (watches, goes); consonant + y becomes -ies (study → studies).
Questions and negatives: do/does + subject + base verb. Does she play football? She does not (doesn't) play football. After does, the verb has no -s.
Uses: habits (I get up at six), facts (Water boils at 100°C), timetables (The bus leaves at 7:30).
Time words: every day, usually, often, sometimes, never, on Mondays.
Present continuous: now and around now
Form: am/is/are + verb-ing. I am reading. She is reading. They are reading.
Spelling of -ing: most verbs add -ing (play → playing); drop silent e (make → making); double the last consonant after one short vowel (run → running).
Questions and negatives: Are you listening? I am not (I'm not) listening.
Uses: something happening at this moment (Look! It is raining), a temporary situation around now (This week I am staying with my uncle), and a changing situation (My English is getting better).
Time words: now, right now, at the moment, today, this week, Look!, Listen!
Simple or continuous? State verbs and tricky cases
Ask: is it a habit or fact (simple) or an action in progress (continuous)?
State verbs describe thoughts, feelings and having, not actions in progress. They normally stay simple: know, understand, believe, like, love, hate, want, need, prefer, have (own), belong. Say "I know the answer", not "I am knowing".
Some verbs can do both with a change of meaning: I have a bike (own). I am having lunch (eating). She thinks it is easy (opinion). She is thinking about the club (an action in the mind).
You can mix them: "I usually walk, but today I am taking the bus."
Key formulas and definitions
- Present simple: S + V / V-s (he, she, it)
- Negative: do not / does not + base verb
- Question: Do / Does + S + base verb?
- Present continuous: S + am / is / are + V-ing
- Habit words: every day, usually, often · Now words: now, at the moment, Look!
Worked examples
1. Fill the blank: Li Hua ____ (walk) to school every day.
walks. "Every day" shows a habit, and Li Hua is she, so add -s.
2. Fill the blank: Look! Li Hua ____ (walk) to school.
is walking. "Look!" points to now, so use is + verb-ing.
3. Make a question and a negative from "She plays chess."
Question: Does she play chess? Negative: She does not play chess. After does, the verb goes back to the base form.
4. Correct the error: "I am knowing the answer."
"I know the answer." Know is a state verb, so it stays in the present simple.
5. Join two ideas: usually walk / today take the bus (use I).
"I usually walk to school, but today I am taking the bus." Usually shows the habit; today shows the temporary change.
6. Write the correct form: He ____ (study) science and he ____ (study) now.
studies (habit or fact, consonant + y becomes -ies) and is studying (now). Full: "He studies science and he is studying now."
Common mistakes
- Forgetting the -s: "She walk". Correct: "She walks."
- Using -s after does: "Does she plays?" Correct: "Does she play?"
- Using the continuous for state verbs: "I am wanting". Correct: "I want."
- Missing the helper: "He reading now". Correct: "He is reading now."