what's up I'm Ethan your real-life
English fluency coach and today's lesson
is all about mastering the present
tenses in English now chances are that
you're already kind of familiar with
this but I challenge you to stick around
and get a perfect score on all the
quizzes in this lesson by the end of
this lesson you will probably be quite
surprised that there were many details
that you didn't know about the present
tenses and this is so important because
when you use the wrong one the meaning
can actually change and you don't want
people to misunderstand you right now
this is the first lesson on learning
English with TV grammar series which
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our new lessons now are you ready let's
start by a watching some clips and
answering some questions I'm working I
can't take you to the dentist also and I
can't stress this enough I don't want to
take you can't help a friend out in a
time of need huh see where your
therapist was coming from why doesn't he
want to take Sheldon to the dentist he's
cleaning the floor he's working he's
looking for something
Sheldon I'm working I can't take you to
the dentist what tense is this present
continuous present simple what does this
sentence communicate with the present
continuous in action at the present
moment it criticizes or complains about
something a temporary action if you
chose this option you're right
did you know we can also use the present
continuous to express subtle meanings
like these two we'll explain those other
details in just a little bit let's now
watch another short clip okay let's
discuss Rachel's birthday I say we throw
a surprise party this weekend whoa but
her birthday's not for like another
month but if we throw a party on her
birthday then it's not a surprise it's a
great idea yeah we could we can have a
dinner party and just invite her close
friends what do you think she says here
I'm thinking present continuous think
present simple
okay but if we throw her a party on her
birthday then it's not a surprise I
think that's a great idea
yeah we can we can have a dinner party
and just to fight her close friends why
is think here in the present simple it's
a regular verb it's a state of verb it's
a transitive verb if you didn't know
some of the answers in these quizzes
don't worry
because in this lesson it will explain
everything you need to know about the
present tenses this lesson is divided in
the following way
present simple present continuous state
of verbs special uses of the verb to be
quiz test everything you learned let's
start with the present simple and take a
look at when we use it the first use is
to say when things happen if they take
place regularly or habits that you have
example our class finishes at 5:00 so
when you describe your routine or what
someone does regularly use this tense we
often use adverbs of frequency like
usually sometimes often always never as
well as phrases like every day or week
month etc on Fridays three times a week
etc Jim it's the same ham and cheese
sandwich every day for lunch put on your
safety vest fun I could just spend
another night in front of our apartment
dressed like one of the Village People
you make that joke every three months I
still don't get it this brings us to
another years to talk about situations
that are generally or always true for
something that's generally true you
could say it's always windy in Chicago
or people in this town are nice this is
also the tense we use to refer to
universal truths for example we say that
the Sun rises in the West it would be
strange to say this in the present
continuous the Sun is rising in the West
if we said that we would be suggesting
that's a temporary action but we know
that's impossible
how come math is easy for Sheldon and
hard for me what you have very pretty
hair in either of these two uses of the
present simple meaning can change
completely if you decide to use the
present continuous let's look at this
sentence I work from Monday to Friday
but this month I'm working Saturdays to
because it's high season in this part
you talk about a regular action but then
here with the present continuous you
mean that this is a temporary action
you could also say I like comedy shows
but now I'm watching American Horror
Story this is always true and this is
true only for now temporarily here's an
example clip she says she plays the
guitar always true present simple but
then she expresses something that she's
doing temporarily present continuous
watch I play a little guitar myself
really that's great yeah kind of music
to play well I'm like acoustic folksy
stuff you know but I'm right now I'm
working on a couple of Iron Maiden
covers now having reviewed these two
general aspects of the simple present
something worth pointing out is the
following these grammar principles are
at the base of your knowledge of English
a native English speaker will use this
particular grammar point together with
many others and then that advanced
vocabulary and pronunciation features
that make native speech I dynamic
collection of words sentences and
meaning so it's important to have a firm
understanding of the most basic stuff to
then be able to figure out all the rest
we also use the present simple to
describe the plots of books and films
example in the movie Avatar
a soldier Travis to another world where
he gets into the body of a blue creature
now we can move on to learn more about
the present continuous we use the
present continuous to talk about actions
taking place right now example I'm
buying some groceries at the supermarket
right now I'm making tea would you like
a cup we can compare this with the first
use of the present simple with the
present simple we talk about actions or
situations that always happen or are
permanent I love it I love this car but
with the present continuous we mentioned
an action that's happening right now we
also use this tense to suggest that an
action is temporary often with words
like now at the moment just etc example
I'm working from home this week this
suggests you usually work from somewhere
else but this week in particular you're
working from home for an action around
the time of speaking which has begun but
it's not finished for example if you say
this I'm studying for an exam depending
on the context you could mean that
you're studying at that precise moment
or that that's an action you're doing
for the duration of that week or another
period of time I'm reading the second
game of Thrones book what can I get for
you today
chemistry quantum mechanics astronomy no
nothing fun today I need to learn how to
make a friend oh honey you haven't hard
to have it just in the household I'm
having a hard time adjusting to earth
yeah you and me both
this woman is living my life what she's
living my life and she's doing it better
than me
for changing or developing situations
example fortunately the weather is
getting better this company is getting
younger faster more efficient oh can you
believe it Claire our little girls
growing up when we use the sense with
always we often mean that we're annoyed
at someone or something or that we want
to criticize or complain about something
example you're always eating my food it
was my sandwich note that you can say
this in the present simple you always
eat my food which depending on your tone
could also imply that you're angry but
if you say it in the present continuous
you'll sound more and Phatak we're
always doing what you guys want just
once it'd be nice if you did something
we wanted juries always told me to write
this down I don't always catch
everything he says something something
firm handshake hey real quick do you
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have you ever wondered why you can say
for example I love science fiction books
but then saying I'm loving science
fiction movies sounds a bit weird
stative verbs are verbs that are nearly
always used in the simple rather than
the continuous tense with these verbs
the rules are just as interesting as the
exceptions we'll talk about them in just
a moment we have state verbs of thought
these include verbs such as know mean
suppose think for example we say I know
the words of this song saying I'm
knowing in this case would not make
sense you know ever since I ran out on
Barry at the wedding I have wondered
whether I made the right choice oh now I
know you have a robust sense of self and
are well suited to leadership positions
characteristics strength determination
tenacity yes I suppose that's accurate
the verb think can be used in both ways
we use the present simple when we mean
believe I think I'm gonna do it right
when we use the continuous form we
describe what someone is doing he's not
thinking about you know I'm thinking
about you yeah
the verb mean is also interesting in
questions we say I told my mom I would
do something with her well what do you
mean the games about to start sorry then
as opposed to explain yourself this is
pretty fun right I mean we're actually
bonding we always use the present simple
in some other cases we say meaning I've
been meaning to thank you by the way you
didn't lose a single customer in the
merger and you still managed to trim the
budget that is nice work
[Music]
another type of state verbs are those
that describe feelings some of these are
the following what do you want me to say
I want you to say that you like her I
can't it's like this chemical thing you
know every time she starts laughing I
just wanna pull my arm off just so I
have something to throw at it
[Music]
don't worry this is exactly how you look
when you're dancing in clubs oh pardon
moi I prefer the champagne dijon to the
standard yellow love is often the
exception to the rule because in a
colloquial way you can say you're loving
something to express that you find
something enjoyable natives use this
quite often to talk about something that
they are obsessed about right now how is
your employee if she's doing something
that's making Leonard uncomfortable you
should talk to her oh no he's not
uncomfortable at all no he's loving it
yeah he's strutting around like he's
five foot six Alex right away the next
type is census these are the verbs smell
taste here see example this food tastes
great we also often use C or here to
show that we understand someone's point
but we might not agree with it for this
we use these phrases I hear what you're
saying but I can see where you're coming
from but you're a terrible terrible
waitress really really awful okay
I hear what you're saying I'm with you
but but I'm trying really hard and I
think I'm doing better I really do know
which of these two options do you think
is the correct one I can't see anything
I don't see anything something worth
noting is the use of can together with
these verbs can implies your momentary
ability to for example see or hear
something example I can hear someone in
the next room that sounds more natural
than saying I'm hearing someone in the
next room let's now talk about some
exceptions to the rule the verb have is
a state verb when it means to possess
clearly you can see which sentence below
is incorrect I have two brothers I'm
having two brothers however when it's
not used as such it can be used in the
ing
form excuse me we're having some trouble
with our TV or as a synonym of eat or
drink example I'm having a coke with
lunch she's having lunch with him lunch
with him to taste and smell can be
continuous when they describe what
someone is doing that is the action
example I'm tasting this wine she's
smelling a rose egg but they can't be
used in the continuous form when you are
describing the presence of a smell or
taste example do you smell something
burning you could probably think it
would be okay to say it as are you
smelling something burning but it's not
you often see the verb be conjugated as
M is an R in the present tense but how
about when it's being as in this example
I do think it's better this way
yeah we're being smart in another lesson
we'll see why and when we say being when
we use passive voice but in this case in
the active voice we use being to
emphasize that a situation is temporary
and it often describes a person's
behavior example he's being so impatient
oh my god I'm sorry I'm being so rude
perhaps I should sleep here so you don't
miss Leonard as much because you're
being kind of a baby about it
Sheldon is being reasonable yeah it's
freaking me out I'm gonna go
Manny I think we should talk about this
Cali girl isn't she great edition Manny
I think we should talk about this Cali
girl isn't she great I think she really
likes me
and I really appreciate it but now I
don't need it so this is silly so you
don't need the car but you could use it
by yourself something else like a new
purse to put all this money so yeah I
can buy my own stuff so yeah I can buy
my own stuff I have a good job now
[Music]
you're in a house of horrors being held
against your will
yeah why are you being I know I hate
being left out of things won't cease
whoa
okay mr. navorski I'm gonna need to see
your return ticket please in this lesson
we're focusing on situations related to
air travel you learn vocabulary that
will help you better understand your
next experience at the airport and
flying before we start let's take a look
at the structure of this less