Present Simple and Progressive- Trends and Meetings Practice

Present Simple and Continuous trends and meetings practice

Work in groups of two to four students. Pretend that you all work for the same company. Choose three topics from the list below, then hold a meeting to find solutions to all three issues. Roleplay the whole meeting, starting from greetings and small talk at the beginning and continuing until you say goodbye at the end. 

Agenda points/ Topics to choose and talk about in the meeting

• A typical staff member still does over 25 hours’ overtime every week, even though they are told not to.
• According to today’s news, the Chinese stockmarket is crashing.
• Only older consumers usually buy our products.
• As we speak, our stock price is slipping behind the rest of the market.
• At this very moment many employees are thinking about quitting.
• Brand recognition is only creeping up at the present time, despite a lot of spending on marketing.
• Commercial rents grow by at least ten percent every single year.
• Costs are currently escalating.
• Costs of supplies climb every time that the exchange rate drops.
• Demand for luxury products is dropping due to the current recession.
• Demand for our products almost always peaks when the economy is doing badly. The current economic outlook is good.
• Hacking attacks are shooting up at the moment.
• In the present market, wages are soaring even though economic growth isn’t so high.
• Many employees leave in March every year.
• Our brand image is getting worse these days due to some recent scandals.
• Our company’s share price is presently declining.
• Our competitors are now becoming bigger and bigger through M&A.
• Our competitors launch new products twice as often as we do every year.
• Our main competitor is currently developing something similar to our bestselling product.
• Our market share is shrinking at this time.
• Raw material prices are rising at the present time.
• Sales of our most successful product are now plateauing.
• Sales of our new products always fall back within two months of their launch.
• Sales plummet every January after the Xmas boom.
• Staff generally complain when they are asked to move to regional branches.
• Staff often complain about bad work/ life balance.
• Staff turnover is increasing in the current employment climate.
• The cost of systems maintenance is rocketing in the present situation.
• The economy isn’t improving at the moment.
• The population in our main market is falling at present.
• The temperature in the office goes up too much every summer.
• Unlike in other companies, our workforce hardly ever socialise with each other.

Share some of your solutions with the class. Do they agree that those ideas will work?

Ask about anything above you don’t understand, discussing solutions together each time.

Present Simple and Continuous grammar presentation

Without looking above for now, try to put all the sentences below into the correct present tense. Usually only one tense is possible.

• A typical staff member still ________________________ (do) over 25 hours’ overtime every week, even though they are told not to.
• According to today’s news, the Chinese stockmarket ___________________ (crash).
• Only older consumers usually _____________________________ (buy) our products.
• As we speak, our stock price _________________ (slip) behind the rest of the market.
• At this very moment many employees _____________________ (think) about quitting.
• Brand recognition ______________________________________ (only creep up) at the present time, despite a lot of spending on marketing.
• Commercial rents _________________________________________________ (grow) by at least ten percent every single year.
• Costs _______________________________________________ (currently escalate).
• Costs of supplies ________________ (climb) every time that the exchange rate drops.
• Demand for luxury products _________________ (drop) due to the current recession.
• Demand for our products almost always _________________ (peak) when the economy is doing badly. The current economic outlook is good.
• Hacking attacks __________________________________ (shoot up) at the moment.
• In the present market, wages _____________________________________________ (soar) even though economic growth isn’t so high.
• Many employees ________________________________ (leave) in March every year.
• Our brand image _______________________________________________________ (get worse) these days due to some recent scandals.
• Our company’s share price _______________________________ (presently decline).
• Our competitors _________________ (now become) bigger and bigger through M&A.
• Our competitors ___________________________________________________ (launch) new products twice as often as we do every year.
• Our main competitor ______________________________________________ (currently develop) something similar to our bestselling product.
• Our market share ______________________________________ (shrink) at this time.
• Raw material prices ________________________________ (rise) at the present time.
• Sales of our most successful product ___________________________ (now plateau).
• Sales of our new products always _________________________________________ (fall back) within two months of their launch.
• Sales _________________________ (plummet) every January after the Xmas boom.
• Staff generally __________________________________________________ (complain) when they are asked to move to regional branches.
• Staff often ____________________________ (complain) about bad work/ life balance.
• Staff turnover _____________________ (increase) in the current employment climate.
• The cost of systems maintenance ________________ (rocket) in the present situation.
• The economy __________________________________ (not improve) at the moment.
• The population in our main market ____________________________ (fall) at present.
• The temperature in the office ___________________ (go up) too much every summer.
• Unlike in other companies, our workforce hardly ever __________________________ (socialise) with each other.

Check back with the previous page.

What are the names of the two forms above? What are the differences in meaning between the two tenses?

Without looking above for now, brainstorm words such as time expressions which usually go with the two tenses:

Words which often go with Present Simple	Words which often go with Present Continuous

 

Without looking above for now, put the words below the fold into one of the spaces above.

-----------------------fold, cover or cut---------------------

 

almost always                 always                as we speak                    at present

at the moment                 at the present time         at this time                       at this very moment

currently                                         every…              generally                          hardly ever

in the present…                            now                                   often                                 presently

the current…                                 today                                usually              

 

Look back at the first page to check your answers and use that to help you think of more possible words to go in the table.

 

Put these words into the table above:

almost never                                 in general                                      just now                           mainly

most of the time                            mostly                                             never                                occasionally

once a…                                        once every two…s                       rarely…              right now

seldom                             sometimes                                     this…                                three times a…

twice a…                                        very often

 

Trends language

Without looking above for now, brainstorm phrases which have the meanings given into the columns below.

Up	Down	Up and down	Flat/ Becoming flat

 

Put the words below the fold into the right places above.

-----------------------fold, cover or cut---------------------

become bigger and bigger                        climb                                 crash                                creep up

drop                                                              escalate                           fall                                     fall back

go up                                                            grow                                 increase                           peak

plateau                                           plummet                           rise                                    rocket

shoot up                                                       shrink                               slip behind                       soar

 

Look at the first page to help and start checking your answers. Then try to think of more suitable phrases, e.g. the opposites of the phrases there.
Add these phrases to the right places in the table above:

• accelerate
• be stable
• be unstable
• boom
• bottom out
• bounce back
• collapse
• decline
• decrease
• dip/ dipped
• dive
• double
• expand
• experience some turbulence
• explode
• flatten out
• fluctuate
• halve
• level off
• not vary
• pick up
• quadruple
• rebound
• recover
• regain lost ground
• remain constant
• remain steady
• sink/ sank/ sunk
• slump
• triple