Present Simple vs Continuous

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

When someone emigrates as a child, their first language often enters a kind of suspension. Vocabulary erodes. The language is still embedded in emotional memory — it is the language of comfort — yet it no longer functions as a reliable tool.

Grammar Reference · Present Simple vs Continuous

Present simple =

She speaks Mandarin at home. — fixed, stable truth about identity or habit

Present continuous =

She is speaking English more and more. — a trend or change currently in progress

Both together —

I speak Arabic, but I am speaking French more these days. — permanent identity + current drift

Common error

I am knowing this word. ✗ → I know this word. ✓ — stative verbs take simple, not continuous

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Present Simple vs Continuous

1.Marco Italian every weekend with his grandmother, but he ... English more and more at the office.

2.Linguists that emotional memory is deeply embedded in the first language.

3.The number of heritage language schools in Canada steadily as immigrant communities grow.

4.Many bilingual adults that they argue more naturally in their mother tongue.

5.Sociolinguists the concept of language grief with renewed interest this decade.

6.Fatima Arabic at home and ... French more frequently since starting her new job in Paris.

02Exercise 2 — Transform

rewrite with the new structure

1.She speaks less Welsh now — it is a gradual change since university.

2.He is knowing that language grief is a recognised psychological phenomenon.

3.The data is suggesting a strong link between language erosion and loss of identity.

4.Many immigrants are switching between two languages as a permanent daily habit.

5.Researchers study how the dominant language displaces heritage languages right now.

6.She is belonging to a community where code-switching is entirely normal.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

Present Simple vs Continuous01EnglishPlans.com