Teaching Technique – Present Simple

Teaching Technique is our latest guide series that focuses on ways to teach students English tenses using a combination of timelines and concept checking questions. Each week we’ll take a look at a different English tense, analyse their uses and concepts and outline the best method for delivering the lesson. This week we start off with the Present Simple tense. We take a look at its various uses, suitable timelines to explain its concepts, and the best concept checking questions we can use to deliver the lesson. Let’s get started!

Present Simple: Habits & Routines

We use the Present Simple to talk about routines or habits.

Sentence – I have a cup of coffee at 5.00 every evening.

Timeline: Present Simple – Habits & Routines

Concept Questions

Is this something I do every day? (Yes)
Is it a routine/habit? (Yes)

Present Simple: Timetable Future

We use the Present Simple to talk about future events on a timetable.

Sentence – The show starts at 7.00 on Tuesday.

Concept Questions

Is it on a timetable? (Yes)
Does this happen at the same time every Tuesday? (Yes)

Did you find our guide helpful? Were you able to explain the tense better using our recommended timelines and concept checking questions? Let us know in the comment section below. Don’t forget to bookmark this page for more Tense guides and if have any suggestions for future topics, feel free to let us know in the section below. Happy teaching!