Present and Past: Units 1–6 — English Grammar in Use

Introduction

This post covers the Present and Past topic from English Grammar in Use by Raymond Murphy, spanning Units 1–6. These six units build the foundation of English tenses — from what is happening right now, to habits and facts, all the way to finished past events and what was ongoing at a moment in the past.

Understanding these tenses is essential because they appear in almost every conversation and piece of writing in English. The units follow a natural progression: we start with the two present tenses (Units 1–2), compare them in detail (Units 3–4), and then move into the past (Units 5–6).

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Topic Overview

graph TD
    A[Present and Past — Units 1–6] --> B[Present Tenses]
    A --> C[Past Tenses]
    B --> D[Unit 1: Present Continuous]
    B --> E[Unit 2: Present Simple]
    B --> F[Unit 3: Present Continuous vs Simple — Part 1]
    B --> G[Unit 4: Present Continuous vs Simple — Part 2]
    C --> H[Unit 5: Past Simple]
    C --> I[Unit 6: Past Continuous]

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Unit 1: Present Continuous (I am doing)

Grammar Rule

Use the Present Continuous to talk about:

• something happening right now, at the moment of speaking
• something happening around this time (but not necessarily at this exact second)
• a temporary situation that is in progress

It is formed with be (am/is/are) + verb-ing.

Form Table

Subject	Positive	Negative	Question
I	am working	am not working	Am I working?
He / She / It	is working	is not (isn’t) working	Is she working?
You / We / They	are working	are not (aren’t) working	Are they working?

Key Examples

Positive:

• I am reading a book right now.
• She is cooking dinner at the moment.
• They are building a new house this month.

Negative:

• He isn’t watching TV now.
• We aren’t working today — it’s a holiday.

Question:

• Are you listening to me?
• Is it raining outside?
• What are you doing tonight?

When to Use

Situation	Example
Action happening right now	Be quiet — the baby is sleeping.
Temporary situation	She is staying at a hotel this week.
Planned future arrangement	We are meeting them tomorrow.
Changing or developing situation	The weather is getting colder.

Common Mistakes

❌ I am knowing the answer.
✅ I know the answer.
(State verbs like know, like, believe, want are NOT used in continuous form.)

❌ She is have a car.
✅ She has a car.

❌ He is work right now.
✅ He is working right now.

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Unit 2: Present Simple (I do)

Grammar Rule

Use the Present Simple to talk about:

• habits and routines — things you do regularly
• facts and permanent truths — things that are always true
• schedules and timetables — fixed plans

It is formed with the base verb (add -s or -es for he/she/it).

Form Table

Subject	Positive	Negative	Question
I / You / We / They	work	don’t work	Do you work?
He / She / It	works	doesn’t work	Does she work?

Key Examples

Positive:

• I get up at 7 every morning.
• The sun rises in the east.
• She works in a hospital.

Negative:

• He doesn’t drink coffee.
• They don’t live in the city.

Question:

• Do you like spicy food?
• Does he know your name?
• What time does the train leave?

When to Use

Situation	Example
Habits and routines	I go to the gym three times a week.
Permanent facts	Water boils at 100°C.
Timetables / schedules	The bus leaves at 8:30.
State verbs (feelings, etc.)	I love this music.

Common Mistakes

❌ She don’t like spicy food.
✅ She doesn’t like spicy food.

❌ He work in a bank.
✅ He works in a bank.

❌ Do he play football?
✅ Does he play football?

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Unit 3: Present Continuous and Present Simple — Part 1

Grammar Rule

This unit focuses on the core difference between the two present tenses:

• Present Continuous → something happening now or around now (temporary)
• Present Simple → something that is always true or happens regularly (permanent / habitual)

The key question to ask yourself: Is this happening right now / temporarily? Or is it a general truth / habit?

Key Examples

Present Continuous (now/temporary)	Present Simple (habit/fact)
Be quiet! The baby is sleeping.	The baby usually sleeps at 9.
I am reading a great book.	I read every night.
She is living in London now.	She lives in London.
It is raining today.	It rains a lot in England.

When to Use

Use Present Continuous when you see signal words like: now, at the moment, right now, currently, today, this week, this year.

Use Present Simple when you see signal words like: always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never, every day/week/month.

Common Mistakes

❌ I am going to school every day.
✅ I go to school every day.

❌ She works in the garden right now.
✅ She is working in the garden right now.

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Unit 4: Present Continuous and Present Simple — Part 2

Grammar Rule

Unit 4 introduces state verbs — verbs that describe states (not actions) and are almost never used in the continuous form.

Common state verbs:

Category	Verbs
Thinking	know, believe, understand, think (opinion), realise
Feelings	like, love, hate, want, need, prefer, wish
Senses	see, hear, smell, taste, feel (involuntary)
Being	be, seem, appear, consist, contain, belong

Some verbs can be both state and action depending on meaning:

Verb	State (Simple)	Action (Continuous)
think	I think he is right. (opinion)	I am thinking about you. (mental process)
have	She has a car. (possession)	She is having dinner. (activity)
see	I see him. (perceive)	I am seeing the doctor. (appointment)
smell	This smells nice. (state)	He is smelling the flowers. (action)

Key Examples

❌ I am knowing the answer.
✅ I know the answer.

❌ She is wanting a coffee.
✅ She wants a coffee.

✅ I am thinking about my future. (mental activity — OK)
✅ I think it’s a good idea. (opinion — simple)

✅ We are having a great time. (activity — OK)
✅ He has two sisters. (possession — simple)

Common Mistakes

❌ I am loving this song!
✅ I love this song!

❌ She is believing in ghosts.
✅ She believes in ghosts.

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Unit 5: Past Simple (I did)

Grammar Rule

Use the Past Simple to talk about a completed action at a specific time in the past. The time is finished and the action is over.

It is formed with the past form of the verb (regular: add -ed; irregular: learn the form).

Form Table

Subject	Positive (regular)	Positive (irregular)	Negative	Question
All	worked / walked	went / saw / had	didn’t work / go	Did you work / go?

Key Examples

Positive:

• I worked late last night.
• She went to Paris last summer.
• We had a great time at the party.

Negative:

• He didn’t come to the meeting.
• They didn’t know the answer.

Question:

• Did you see that film?
• When did she arrive?
• Did it rain yesterday?

When to Use

Situation	Example
Completed action at a specific time	I visited Rome in 2022.
Series of past events	She opened the door, walked in, and sat down.
Past habit or repeated action	He played football every Saturday.

Signal words: yesterday, last week/month/year, ago, in 2020, when I was young.

Common Mistakes

❌ I did go to the shop yesterday.
✅ I went to the shop yesterday. (Don’t use “did” in positive sentences.)

❌ She didn’t went home.
✅ She didn’t go home. (Use base verb after did/didn’t.)

❌ Did he went to school?
✅ Did he go to school?

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Unit 6: Past Continuous (I was doing)

Grammar Rule

Use the Past Continuous to describe:

• an action that was in progress at a specific moment in the past
• an action that was ongoing when another (shorter) action happened
• two actions that were happening at the same time in the past

It is formed with was/were + verb-ing.

Form Table

Subject	Positive	Negative	Question
I / He / She / It	was working	was not (wasn’t) working	Was she working?
You / We / They	were working	were not (weren’t) working	Were they working?

Key Examples

Action in progress at a past moment:

• At 8 o’clock last night, I was watching TV.
• What were you doing at this time yesterday?

Ongoing action interrupted by a shorter one (with Past Simple):

• I was walking home when it started to rain.
• She was reading when her phone rang.
• They were eating dinner when we arrived.

Two actions happening at the same time:

• While she was cooking, he was setting the table.
• I was studying while my sister was playing games.

When to Use

Situation	Example
In progress at a past moment	At midnight, she was still working.
Interrupted by another action	He was sleeping when the alarm went off.
Parallel past actions	While I was cooking, she was reading.
Background description in a story	The sun was shining and the birds were singing.

Signal words: while, when, at that time, at 8 o’clock last night, all morning.

Common Mistakes

❌ When I arrived, she was cooked dinner.
✅ When I arrived, she was cooking dinner.

❌ I was see him yesterday.
✅ I saw him yesterday. (State verbs don’t use continuous form.)

❌ They were knowing the truth.
✅ They knew the truth.

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Topic Comparison Table

Tense	Use	Signal Words
Present Continuous	Action happening now / temporary / arrangement	now, at the moment, right now, this week
Present Simple	Habits, routines, facts, state verbs	always, usually, every day, never
Past Simple	Completed action at a specific past time	yesterday, last week, ago, in 2020
Past Continuous	Action in progress at a past time / interrupted	while, when, at that time, all morning

Present vs Past at a Glance

Tense	Now / Habit?	Past?	In Progress?
Present Continuous	Now / temporary	✗	✅
Present Simple	Habit / fact	✗	✗
Past Simple	✗	✅ (done)	✗
Past Continuous	✗	✅	✅

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📝 Quick Summary

Unit 1 — Present Continuous (I am doing):

• Use am/is/are + verb-ing for actions happening now or around now.
• Don’t forget: state verbs (know, like, want) cannot be used in continuous form.

Unit 2 — Present Simple (I do):

• Use the base verb for habits, routines, and permanent facts.
• Don’t forget: add -s/-es for he/she/it, and use doesn’t/don’t for negatives.

Unit 3 — Present Continuous vs Simple (Part 1):

• Continuous = happening now / temporary. Simple = habit / permanent.
• Don’t forget: signal words help — right now → continuous, every day → simple.

Unit 4 — Present Continuous vs Simple (Part 2):

• Some verbs are state verbs and are NEVER used in continuous form (know, love, want, believe).
• Don’t forget: some verbs (think, have, see) change meaning depending on continuous or simple form.

Unit 5 — Past Simple (I did):

• Use the past form of the verb for completed actions at a specific time in the past.
• Don’t forget: use base verb after didn’t and did in questions and negatives.

Unit 6 — Past Continuous (I was doing):

• Use was/were + verb-ing for an action in progress at a past moment or interrupted by another past action.
• Don’t forget: use Past Continuous for the background action and Past Simple for the interrupting action: I was cooking when she arrived.