to draw attention to someone arriving or living, with here comes or there goes - Here comes the postman. There goes the last bus., to give directions or instructions, often with impersonal you - From here you cross the road, go through an iron gate and follow the path west., to express the immediacy of an event, e.g. in sports commentaries, particularly when the action is over before the description finishes - France kicks off, Viera passes to Henry, Henry cuts inside... and it's a goal!, to describe the beginning of books, films or plays in order to make up a narrative - At the start of the play, Hamlet is walking along the castle walls when he hears a strange voice., for newspaper headlines to express a past event, which gives more immediacy to the event - UK jobless total climbs to 2.4 million., for temporary situations with common adverbs such as now, just, still, currently, at the moment - The students are currently studying the writings of Gunter Grass on the German course., to describe a series of actions that are more frequent than we would normally expect - Now that I've bought a Toyota Prius, I'm seeing them everywhere!, to add emphasis with adverbs such as always, forever and continually for frequently repeated actions. Sometimes these adverbs are stressed and express annoyance with the peson who is doing the action - The baby is always making cute little gurgling noises. The neighbours are continually slamming doors and shouting during the night., for sport commentaries, when the action is in progress throughout the time of speaking - They are now entering the back straight and Bekele is starting to pull away from the other runners., to describe pictures - Our head of the department is the one who is standing slightly apart in the college photo., to describe the beginning of books, films or plays in order to form a background - At the start of the play, Hamlet is walking along the castle walls when he hears a strange voice. (He started walking before the action of the narrative),

Present simple vs Present continuous, examples (advanced)

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