B1 / B2 Level | Grammar Lesson & Practice Exercises
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| Habits and routines | She checks her emails every morning. |
| Permanent situations | He works for a large pharmaceutical company. |
| Facts and general truths | The Amazon flows into the Atlantic Ocean. |
| Timetables and schedules | The conference starts at 9 a.m. on Monday. |
| Narrative / sports commentary | He passes to Messi, who shoots and scores! |
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| Actions happening at this moment | The CEO is currently negotiating a new deal. |
| Temporary situations | I am staying with colleagues while my flat is being renovated. |
| Changing or developing situations | Global temperatures are rising every year. |
| Planned future arrangements | We are meeting the clients in Berlin next Tuesday. |
| Repeated actions with "always" (irritation) | He is always interrupting people in meetings! |
Some verbs are not normally used in the continuous form. These are called stative verbs and include verbs of thinking, feeling, perception, and possession.
| Category | Examples | Correct sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Thinking | know, believe, understand, realise | I know the answer. (NOT: I am knowing) |
| Feeling / emotion | love, hate, prefer, want, need | She wants a promotion. (NOT: She is wanting) |
| Perception | see, hear, smell, taste | It smells delicious. (NOT: It is smelling) |
| Possession | have, own, belong, contain | He owns three properties. (NOT: He is owning) |
| Verb | Simple present (stative) | Present continuous (active) |
|---|---|---|
| have | She has a car. (possession) | She is having lunch. (activity) |
| think | I think it is a good idea. (opinion) | I am thinking about the proposal. (mental process) |
| see | I see what you mean. (understand) | I am seeing the doctor tomorrow. (appointment) |
Read each statement. Click True or False.
Choose the correct answer for each sentence.
Match each sentence to its correct grammatical use.
Click the words in the correct order to build each sentence.