Walt Whitman
Member
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2012
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- Italian
- Home Country
- Italy
- Current Location
- Italy
English teacher
My students already know that the simple present can be used to express habitual actions. They also know that this tense is often used with adverbs and expressions of frequency. So, they clearly understand the meaning of the sentence
(1) I usually bathe Tommy at nine in the morning.
The next step will be the present continuous and I’m a bit worried about its use with a point in time and an adverb of frequency.
(2) At nine in the morning I’m usually bathing Tom.
Do you think these explanations will be effective and easy to understand?
(1) At nine in the morning I’m in the habit of bathing Tommy. I usually start at nine because Tommy is always very hungry in the morning and wants to have breakfast soon after he wakes up.
(2) The bathing began before the point in time and probably continues after it. It is still a habit [as I understand it], but with (2) I want to point out that at nine in the morning the action is going on.
Could you please suggest some more examples + explanation?
Thanks a lot.
WW
My students already know that the simple present can be used to express habitual actions. They also know that this tense is often used with adverbs and expressions of frequency. So, they clearly understand the meaning of the sentence
(1) I usually bathe Tommy at nine in the morning.
The next step will be the present continuous and I’m a bit worried about its use with a point in time and an adverb of frequency.
(2) At nine in the morning I’m usually bathing Tom.
Do you think these explanations will be effective and easy to understand?
(1) At nine in the morning I’m in the habit of bathing Tommy. I usually start at nine because Tommy is always very hungry in the morning and wants to have breakfast soon after he wakes up.
(2) The bathing began before the point in time and probably continues after it. It is still a habit [as I understand it], but with (2) I want to point out that at nine in the morning the action is going on.
Could you please suggest some more examples + explanation?
Thanks a lot.
WW
Last edited: