Shadowing Practice: Learn English Grammar With TV Series | Present Simple vs. Present Continuous Tenses - Learn English Speaking with Video

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What's up?

I'm Ethan, your RealLife English Fluency Coach, and today's lesson is all about mastering the present tenses in English.

Now chances are that you're already kind of familiar with this,

but I challenge you to stick around and get a perfect score on all the quizzes in this lesson.

By the end of this lesson you will probably be quite surprised

that there were many details that you didn't know about the present tenses.

And this is so important because when you use the wrong one, the meaning can actually change and you don't want people to misunderstand you, right?

Now this is the first lesson in our Learn English with TV grammar series,

which alongside the most fun TV series is going to help you to have everything

that you need to speak English more accurately and with so much more confidence.

So if you want to continue to improve your English grammar with us, don't miss a single one.

Uzair told us that for the first time in his life he's actually having fun learning English.

So if you want to make learning English fun and easy too,

all you have to do is hit that subscribe button and the bell down below

So you don't miss any of our new lessons.

Now, are you ready?

Let's start by watching some clips and answering some questions.

Sheldon, I'm working.

I can't take you to the dentist.

Also, and I can't stress this enough, I don't want to take you to the dentist.

Can't help a friend out in a time of need, huh?

See where your therapist was coming from.

Why doesn't he want to take Sheldon to the dentist?

He's cleaning the floor.

He's working.

He's looking for something.

Sheldon, I'm working.

I can't take you to the dentist.

What tense is this?

Present continuous, present simple.

What does this sentence communicate with the present continuous?

An action at the present moment?

It criticizes or complains about something?

A temporary action?

If you chose this option, you're right.

Did you know we can also use the present continuous to express subtle meanings like these two?

We'll explain those other details in just a little bit.

Let's now watch another short clip.

What do you think she says here?

Why is think here in the present simple?

It's a regular verb.

It's a stative verb.

It's a transitive verb.

If you didn't know some of the answers in these quizzes, don't worry, because in this lesson,

we'll explain everything you need to know about the present tenses.

This lesson is divided in the following way.

Test everything you've learned.

Let's start with the present simple and take a look at when we use it.

The first use is to say when things happen, if they take place regularly, or habits that you have.

Our class finishes at 5.

So, when you describe your routine or what someone does regularly, you use this tense.

We often use adverbs of frequency like usually, sometimes, often, always, never, as well as phrases like every day,

or week, month, etc. On Fridays, three times a week, etc.

get it.

This brings us to another use, to talk about situations that are generally or always true.

For something that's generally true, you could say, it's always windy in Chicago, or people in this town are nice.

This is also the tense we use to refer to universal truths.

For example, we say that the sun rises in the west.

It would be strange to say this in the present continuous, the sun is rising in the west.

If we said that, we would be suggesting that's a temporary action, but we know that's impossible.

How come math is easy for Sheldon and hard for me?

I don't know honey, but you have your own gifts.

Like what?

Well, like...

You have very pretty hair.

True.

In either of these two uses of the present simple, meaning can change completely if you decide to use the present continuous.

Let's look at this sentence.

I work from Monday to Friday, but this month I'm working

Saturdays too because it's high season.

In this part, you talk about a regular action, but then here with the present continuous, you mean that this is a temporary action.

You could also say, I like comedy shows, but now I'm watching American Horror Story.

This is always true, and this is true only for now, temporarily.

Here's an example clip.

She says she plays the guitar, always true, present simple, but then she expresses something that she's doing temporarily.

Present continuous.

Watch!

Now, having reviewed these two general aspects of the simple present, something worth pointing out is the following.

These grammar principles are at the base of your knowledge of English.

A native English speaker will use this particular grammar point together with many others,

and then add advanced vocabulary and pronunciation features that make native speech a dynamic collection of words, sentences, and meaning.

So, it's important to have a firm understanding of the most

basic stuff to then be able to figure out all the rest.

We also use the present simple to describe the plots of books and films.

Example.

In the movie

Avatar, a soldier travels to another world where he gets into the body of a blue creature.

Now we can move on to learn more about the present continuous.

We use the present continuous to talk about actions taking place right now.

Example, I'm buying some groceries at the supermarket right now.

I'm making tea.

Would you like a cup?

Hey, Skylar.

I'm, uh, cooking dinner.

Pot roast.

We can compare this with the first use of the present simple.

With the present simple, we talk about actions or situations that always happen or are permanent.

I love it.

I love this car.

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But with the present continuous, we mention an action that's happening right now.

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What are you doing?

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Just, you know, moving something upstairs.

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We also use this tense to suggest that an action is temporary, often with words like now, at the moment, just, etc. Example,

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I'm working from home this week.

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This suggests you usually work from somewhere else, but this week in particular, you're working from home for an action around the time of speaking,

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which has begun, but it's not finished.

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For example, if you say this, I'm studying for an exam.

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Depending on the context, you could mean that you're studying at that precise moment,

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or that that's an action you are doing for the duration of that week or another period of time.

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I'm reading the second

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Game of Thrones book.

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quantum mechanics, astronomy.

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No, nothing fun today.

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I need to learn how to make a friend.

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Oh honey, you having a hard time adjusting to high school?

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I'm having a hard time adjusting to earth.

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Yeah, you and me both.

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This woman's living my life.

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What?

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She's living my life and she's doing it better than me.

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For changing or developing situations.

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Example, fortunately the weather's getting better.

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When we use the sense with always, we often mean that we're annoyed at someone or something,

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or that we want to criticize or complain about something.

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Example, You're always eating my food.

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Note that you can say this in the present simple, Which, depending on your tone, could also imply that you're angry,

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but if you say it in the present continuous, you'll sound more emphatic.

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129

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You will learn the way that natives really speak, not at all like how you learned in school.

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139

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144

loving science fiction movies, sounds a bit weird, state of verbs are verbs that are nearly always used in the simple rather than the continuous tense.

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With these verbs, the rules are just as interesting as the exceptions.

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We'll talk about them in just a moment.

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We have state verbs of thought.

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These include verbs such as know, mean, suppose, think.

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For example, we say, I know the words of this song.

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Saying I'm knowing in this case would not make sense.

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The verb think can be used in both ways.

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We use the present simple when we mean believe.

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When we use the continuous form, we describe what someone is doing.

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The verb mean is also interesting.

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In questions, we say...

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Then, as a phrase to explain yourself...

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This is pretty fun, right?

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I mean, we're actually bonding.

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We always use the present simple.

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In some other cases, we say meaning.

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Another type of state verbs are those that describe feelings.

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Some of these are the following.

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Pull my arm off just so I have something to throw at her.

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Man, I wish we looked as cool dancing in clubs as we do right now.

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Don't worry, this is exactly how you look when you're dancing in clubs.

166

Oh, pardon moi, I prefer the champagne Dijon to the standard Jell -O.

167

Love is often the exception to the rule because, in a colloquial way, you can say you're loving something to express that you find something enjoyable.

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Natives use this quite often to talk about something that they are obsessed about right now.

169

The next type is senses.

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These are the verbs smell, taste, hear, see.

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Example, this food tastes great.

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We also often use see or hear to show that we understand someone's point, but we might not agree with it.

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For this, we use these phrases.

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I hear what you're saying, but...

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I can see where you're coming from, but...

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I hear what you're saying.

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I'm with you.

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But I'm trying really hard, and I think I'm doing better.

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I really do.

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Now, which of these two options do you think is the correct one?

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I can't see anything.

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I don't see anything.

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Something worth noting is the use of CAN together with these verbs can implies your momentary ability to, for example, see or hear something.

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Example, I can hear someone in the next room.

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That sounds more natural than saying, I'm hearing someone in the next room.

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Let's now talk about some exceptions to the rule.

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The verb have is a state verb when it means to possess.

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Clearly, you can see which sentence below is incorrect.

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I have two brothers.

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I'm having two brothers.

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However, when it's not used as such, it can be used in the ing form.

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Excuse me, we're having some trouble with our TV.

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Or as a synonym of eat or drink.

194

Example, I'm having a coke with lunch.

195

She's having lunch with him, lunch with him.

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To taste and smell can be continuous when they describe what someone is doing, that is, the action.

197

I'm tasting this wine.

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She's smelling a rosé.

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But they can't be used in the continuous form when you are describing the presence of a smell or taste.

200

Do you smell something burning?

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You could probably think it would be okay to say it as, are you smelling something burning?

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But it's not.

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You often see the verb be conjugated as am, is, and are in the present tense.

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But how about when it's being, as in this example?

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In another lesson, we'll see why and when we say being when we use passive voice.

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But in this case, in the active voice, we use being to emphasize that a situation is temporary, and it often describes a person's behavior.

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Example, he's being so impatient.

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Oh my God, I'm sorry.

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I am being so rude.

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Perhaps I should sleep here so you don't miss Leonard as much because you're being kind of a baby about it.

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Sheldon's being reasonable.

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Yeah, it's freaking me out.

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I'm gonna go.

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Manny, I think we should talk about this Kelly girl.

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Isn't she great?

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I think she...

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Manny, I think we should talk about this Kelly girl.

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Isn't she great?

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I think she really likes me.

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Howie, stop that!

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NASA's watching this!

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Howie, stop that!

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NASA's watching this!

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Put your pants back on!

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Whee!

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I was happy to help you out.

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And I really appreciate it, but now I don't need it.

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So, here you go.

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This is silly.

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So you don't need the car, but you could use it to buy yourself something else.

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Like a new purse to put all this money in.

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Sweetie, I can buy my own stuff.

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Sweetie, I can buy my own stuff.

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I have a good job now.

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You're in a house of horrors being held against your will.

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Why are you being so bossy?

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Why are you being a baby?

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I know, I hate being left out of things.

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Okay, Mr. Noworski, I'm going to need to see your return ticket, please.

240

In this lesson, we're focusing on situations related to air travel.

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You'll learn vocabulary that will help you better understand your next experience at the airport and flying.

242

Before we start, let's take a look at the structure of this lesson.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Learn English Grammar With TV Series”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: English, vocabulary, lesson, learning, master. This video has 3 sentences and 438 words to shadow. The speech runs for 10:43. 90% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.

Key vocabulary in this video

14 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
lesson noun	/ˈlɛs.ən/	A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided.
vocabulary noun	/vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/	A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning.
grammar noun	/ˈɡɹæm.ə(ɹ)/	A system of rules and principles for the structure of a language, or of languages in general.
tense noun	/tɛns/	The property of indicating the point in time at which an action or state of being occurs or exists.
fluent adjective	/ˈfluənt/	That flows; flowing, liquid.
pronunciation noun	/pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/	The formal or informal way in which a word is made to sound when spoken.
alongside	/əˌlɔŋˈsaɪd/	Side by side with.
ton noun	/tʌn/	The short ton of 2000 pounds (about 907 kg), 20 hundredweights of 100 pounds avoirdupois each.
subscribe verb	/səbˈskɹaɪb/	To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name).
accurately adverb	/ˈæk.jə.ɹɪt.li/	In an accurate manner; exactly; precisely; without error or defect.
quiz noun	/kwɪz/	A competition in the answering of questions.
fluency noun	/ˈfluːənsi/	The quality of smoothness of flow.
learner noun	/ˈlɜɹnəɹ/	One who is learning; one receiving instruction.
misunderstand verb	/mɪs.ʌn.də(ɹ)ˈstænd/	To understand incorrectly, while believing one has understood correctly.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
stick around verb	To stay; to linger; to remain.
try out verb	To test (something) to see how it works or whether it is suitable.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result	If we said that, we would be
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is hit · is divided · be conjugated
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	you've learned · has begun
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea	should try · should sleep · should talk

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, didn't, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

Long words — get the stress right: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, accurately /ˈæk.jə.ɹɪt.li/, misunderstand /mɪs.ʌn.də(ɹ)ˈstænd/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like lesson, vocabulary, grammar.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Learn English Grammar With TV Series | Present Simple vs. Present Continuous Tenses - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?