• The point of this quiz is to provide practice in applying one of the most important basic verb tense contrasts BETWEEN:
:: the simple present used to refer to a habitual activity or a regular event
AND
:: the present continuous used to refer to an event that is happening at the time of speaking or writing
• This contrast operates with event verbs such as "play" — the verb that is to be used in doing this quiz. There is another contrast. There is another contrast between meaning ofthe simple present and the present continuous when these tenses are used with state verbs. This contrast is the subject of Tense Quiz 2.
• Four of the items in the quiz require the simple present and the remaining six the present continuous. In each of the items requiring the present simple, the missing verb is modified by a frequency adverbial.(In three cases these are single-word adverbials ("frequency adverbs") and in one case an adverbial clause introduced by "whenever." The association between frequency adverbials and this central use of the present simple is something that should probably be emphasized by teachers when preparing students for the quiz and when correcting and explaining it after it has been done.
• In the six items requiring the present continuous, direct quotation has been used in order to create a plausible context. Of course this should not be mentioned to students before they do the quiz, but it might usefully be pointed out in later discussion. Four of these items contain an adverbial which is intended to emphasize the "nowness" of quoted statement from the speaker's point of view. Three of these adverbials are point-of-time clauses, introduced by "when" and the fourth is a prepositional phrase.
• All the relevant adverbials are lightly outlined in the key. There are entries for the simple present and the present continuous in the Grammar Glossary.
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