S1 English | Present Simple and Present Continuous Prep Guide (for tutors) | 12 items and adverb position in 60 minutes

2026-11-06

Tutor lesson-prep guides · Secondary English

S1 students write “I am knowing the answer”, not because they do not know the word, but because they read “now” as “at this moment”. English present simple is habit; present continuous is this moment. The boundary is the time marker, not the feeling.

Objectives — Students can: (1) choose the tense from time markers (every day, usually against now, at the moment) and score at least 10 of 12; (2) explain why four stative verbs (know, like, want, believe) take no -ing; (3) place six frequency adverbs correctly, after be and before other verbs.

01 Prerequisites (3-minute check)

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

Skill	Quick check	Pass mark
Be and auxiliary verbs	Fill in: I ___ a student	am
Third person -s	What does go become after he?	goes
Basic word order	Order of subject, verb and object	Subject plus verb plus object

02 Lesson flow (60 minutes)

Time	Stage	Tutor does	Student does
0-5 min	Entry: two sentences	I play football every Sunday against I am playing football now	Name habit versus this moment
5-17 min	Time markers	Build two columns of markers and model circling markers before choosing a tense	Circle markers in twelve sentences and choose tenses
17-30 min	Stative verbs	Model know, like, want and believe with no -ing, and explain why: they are not actions	Correct six wrong sentences
30-45 min	Adverb position	Model always after be and before a main verb, and never already negative	Put six adverbs back in place
45-55 min	Twelve timed items	Forty-five seconds each, two errors allowed	Complete and note the reason for each error
55-60 min	Exit check	Three sentences collected and marked at once	Complete independently

03 Teaching script (read it out)

Scene 1: Find the time marker first, then choose the tense

Students choose by feel, so “I like it now” becomes “I am liking it”. Exam items almost always carry a marker: every day, usually, on Sundays means habit, so present simple; now, at the moment, look, listen means this moment, so present continuous.
Teach a fixed routine: circle the marker, write “habit” or “now” beside it, then write the verb. The routine lifts accuracy from about half to well over eight in ten.
If a sentence carries no marker at all, use the surrounding context; if there truly is none, present simple is the default.

Students do: circle every marker in twelve sentences, sort them into habit and now, then fill the verbs.

Scene 2: Stative verbs are states, so they have no continuous form

Know, like, want, believe, need and understand describe states, not actions in progress, so they take no -ing. Students write “I am wanting” because the Chinese equivalent sounds natural.
Explain it this way: a continuous form needs a picture with a beginning, a middle and an end. You can be running; you cannot be knowing, because knowing has no process.
State the exception clearly: have meaning possess takes no continuous, but have lunch and have a shower are actions, so “I am having lunch” is correct. Contrasting the same verb is what students remember.

Students say: why “I am having a car” is wrong but “I am having lunch” is right.

Scene 3: Frequency adverbs have only two rules

After be: she is always late. Before a main verb: she always arrives late. After an auxiliary: she has never been there.
Most errors put always at the end of the sentence, or after the subject in a be sentence. Remember it as: the adverb hugs the verb, behind be and in front of everything else.
Never and seldom are already negative, so no extra not: “I never go”, never “I don’t never go”.

Students do: restore six adverbs and name which rule they used out loud.

04 Question types and worked steps

Type	Example	Steps	Answer
Choose the tense	She ___ (go) to school by bus every day.	Circle every day, it is a habit	goes
Correct the error	I am knowing the answer.	Know is stative	I know the answer.
Adverb position	He is (always) tired after PE.	After be	He is always tired after PE.
Context gap fill	Look! The baby ___ (cry).	Look signals this moment	is crying

Sanity check (teach this): Sanity check: every item must have a circled marker or a stated context reason; stative verbs take no -ing, including knowing, liking, wanting, believing; check adverb position twice, after be and before main verbs; never and seldom sentences carry no extra not; check third person -s separately on every sentence.

05 Independent practice (3 questions)

Question	Answer	What to watch
Circle markers	Twelve sentences sorted	Check no now or usually was missed
Fix stative verbs	Six wrong sentences corrected	Check no -ing survived
Place adverbs	Six adverbs restored	Check be sentences did not take a front position

06 Common mistakes and what to say

Mistake	Student writes	Say this
Reading “now” as continuous always	Writing “I am liking this song”	“You like it, you are not liking it. Like has no process, so it cannot be in progress.”
Missing third person -s	Writing “She go to school every day”	“Every day is a habit, so the verb needs -s after she. You circled the marker but did not act on it.”
Adverb at the end	Writing “I go always to the library”	“Always hugs the verb, so it goes in front: I always go to the library.”
Double negative	Writing “I don’t never eat beef”	“Never is already negative. Adding don’t makes it a double negative, which means the opposite.”

07 Homework (paper, section and question numbers)

Secondary English chapter index — All chapters for this subject
All prep guides — Matching chapters in other subjects
Redo this chapter — Write twelve sentences about your day, six simple and six continuous, circling the marker in each

08 Exit check (last 5 minutes)

Question	Answer	Decision
Which tense goes with every day?	Present simple	Answering continuous sends you back to act two
Can know take -ing?	No, it is stative	Answering yes sends you back to act three
Where does always go in a be sentence?	After be	Answering at the end sends you back to act four

09 Tutor FAQ

Must S1 memorise every stative verb?

Four is enough to start: know, like, want, believe. Add need and understand for school papers.

Can the continuous express the future?

Yes, as in “I am meeting him tomorrow”, but keep it out until the two basic uses are secure.

Can a frequency adverb start a sentence?

Sometimes and usually can, with a comma. School papers mostly test mid-position, so teach that first.

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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.