Primary English: Present Simple vs Present Continuous

Primary English: Present Simple vs Present Continuous — Tutor Lesson Plan

2026-10-27

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Primary English

Students can add -ing but cannot choose the tense. Two questions, “habit?” and “right now?”, do most of the work.

Objectives — the student can choose the tense from time words, add third person -s and -es correctly, and avoid the continuous with state verbs such as like, know and want.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

If any of these fails, fix it before the lesson starts.

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Basic sentence	Write “I go to school.”	Subject, verb, rest
Spelling -ing	run becomes?	running, doubled
Be verbs	Which be verb with he?	is

02 Lesson flow (45 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-6 min	Two questions	Ask “what do you do every day?” and “what are you doing now?”	One answer each
6-16 min	Present simple	Show -s and -es rules with time words	Five gaps
16-26 min	Present continuous	Show am/is/are + -ing	Five gaps
26-36 min	Contrast	Same verb in two situations	Choose for ten sentences
36-42 min	Fix errors	Board “He go” and “She is liking”	Correct their own sentences
42-45 min	Exit check	Three questions marked at once	Finish alone

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Two questions, two tenses

Every day I walk to school: habit, so present simple.
Look! I am walking to school now: happening now, so present continuous.

Repeat: “habit uses simple, right now uses continuous”.

Scene 2: Third person needs -s

I play, you play, we play, but he plays and she plays.
Add -s; verbs ending in -o, -ch, -sh, -ss take -es.

Student does He (go) goes and She (watch) watches.

Scene 3: State verbs stay simple

I like ice cream, never I am liking ice cream.
Like, love, want, know and need describe states, so they avoid the continuous.

Warn: advertising English is not exam English.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Habit	She ___ (go) to school every day.	Third person -es	goes
Right now	Look! They ___ (run) in the park.	be + -ing	are running
Negative	He ___ (not like) carrots.	does not + base verb	does not like
Question	___ you ___ (read) now?	Are you reading?	Are … reading

Sanity check (teach this): Find the time word first: every day, usually and sometimes take the simple; now, look and at the moment take the continuous. With no time word, use the context.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
My brother ___ (watch) TV every night.	watches	-es added
Listen! The baby ___ (cry).	is crying	be + -ing
I ___ (not understand) this question.	do not understand	No continuous with state verbs

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Missing -s	He go to school.	The subject is he, so the verb takes -s.
State verb in the continuous	She is liking the book.	Like is a state verb.
Missing be	He running now.	Continuous needs be + -ing.
Time word ignored	Every day I am going to school.	Every day is a habit.

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

English chapter index — Use the three questions on this page; past simple is next

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
He ___ (go) to school by bus.	goes	All right: move to past simple
Look! It ___ (rain).	is raining	One wrong: re-teach -s
I ___ (not know) the answer.	do not know	Two wrong: repeat the two questions

09 Tutor FAQ

Teach -ing spelling first?

Five minutes is enough: add -ing, drop a final e, double a short vowel.

Students forget be.

Make them write be before -ing every time until it is automatic.

Compare with past simple?

Not in the same lesson; two tenses is enough.

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A TutorZone lesson-prep guide. Written by the TutorZone team; questions and lesson flow are original and are not taken from any school or publisher material.