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Present simple

  1. The graph compares the number of imports and exports from 2000 to 2010.
  2. The tables show the proportion of students who live in dorms.
  3. The water passes around the house in metal pipes.

These sentences use the present simple because they describe facts, and they describe things that are permanent. When you describe a process, you are describing something that is a fact - it is always true. It was true in the past, it is true now, and it will be true in the future. For this situation, you can use the present simple, like sentence 3 above. For variety, you can combine this with the passive mood, like sentence b, below. For example:

  1. Steam goes in and mixes with the oil. [present simple]
  2. The steam is cooled down in the cooling coil. [present simple passive]
  3. The oil rises to the top. [present simple]

When you describe a graph, pie chart,or data table,it is a little more complicated. To describe the appearance of the diagram,you can use the present simple, like sentences 1 and 2 above. This is because you are describing something printed on paper. It can't change or move. For example:

These are pie charts. [present simple]
The information highlights the changes in transportation _methods over time. [present simple]
The charts compare three types of transportation. [present simple]

However, when you start describing the data in a graph, you usually can't use the present simple.This is because the data shows past results (e.g. sales in 2003) or is a prediction about the future (e.g. the world population in 2050).
For example, when you talk about the pie charts above, you can't use the present tense because the data is about the past.When you are describing the data you are talking about how things were 'back then'. For example:

The chart shows [present simple] that in 1800, railways were [past simple] the least common method of transport, but by 1900 they were the most common method. [past simple]
It seems [present simple] that in 1900, roads and canals were equally popular. [past simple]

Activity 5.1

Correct the errors in these sentences, or write 'OK' if they are correct.
  1. In 1990, exports drop dramatically.
  2. The graphs compared the increase in global temperatures and CO2 production from 1910 to 2010.
  3. The diagram shows the proposed changes to a public park.
  4. The graph shows that people spend more money on household goods in 1980 than in 2000.
  5. Water boils and produces steam, which rises up through the valve.

- Introduction - Past simple

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