PRESENT SIMPLE vs. PRESENT PROGRESSIVE
| Present Simple | Present Progressive |
|---|---|
| USE: | USE: |
| - General truth and facts | - Actions or events happening at the moment |
| ➤ A lot of doctors work in that hospital. | ➤ Nurse Rook is waiting for a patient getting out of the operating room at the moment. |
| - Routines and habits | - Temporary events or situations |
| ➤ A nurse usually works in contact with patients. | ➤ Maintenance staff are working to redecorate the waiting room this week. |
| - Describing places | - Describing pictures or images |
| ➤ At the triage, nurses register patients. | ➤ In the picture, the nurse is checking vital signs. |
| - Future scheduled events (not dependent on our will) | - Future events which are already planned and organised |
| ➤ The night shift starts at 8 o’clock. | ➤ A new nurse is starting work at the E.D. tomorrow. |
| - Complaining about something annoying that often happens | |
| ➤ That patient is always complaining about the quality of hospital food. | |
| TIME INDICATORS: | TIME INDICATORS: |
| - frequency adverbs: always, often, usually, generally, sometimes, rarely, seldom, hardly ever, never | - expressions that indicate temporariness: at the moment, at present, now, today, while, this + time expression, these + time expression |
| - frequency expressions: every day/month/..., twice a day/month/... | |
| - expressions that indicate habits: on Sunday, at Halloween, in winter, ... | |
| ! | ! |
| Stative verbs can only have the simple form: | Action verbs can have either the simple or the progressive form. |
| - possession: belong, own, have, possess, ... | ➤ Every day nurses look after patients. |
| - status: consist, contain, include, matter, ... | ➤ At the moment the nurse is looking after a patient. |
| - needs and wants: need, want, wish, ... | |
| - activities of the mind: believe, forget, know, mean, realise, remember, think, understand, ... | |
| - preference (the verbs that follow require the -ing form): enjoy, love, like, don’t mind, hate, prefer, ... | |
| ➤ Nurses enjoy having a nice cup of coffee every now and then. |
11. Complete with either the Present Simple or the Present Progressive of the verbs in brackets.
The doctors cannot speak to you now.
They ......................... (operate).The paediatrician ......................... (see) your son at 9.30 a.m. next Monday.
The nurses ......................... (check) patients’ temperatures at 6.30 every morning.
The hospital pharmacy ......................... (open) at 7.30 a.m.
You ......................... (always forget) to take your medication, this will not help you!
This hospital ......................... (have) 80 rooms.
The doctor ......................... (do) his best to help that boy.
Vaccines ......................... (protect) the body from some diseases.
That lady ......................... (wait) for her turn at the E.D., she’s a green code.
In the operating room, specialised nurses ......................... (pass) the surgeons the instrument they ask for.