When to use "is"

Question

She is usually hungry at 11am.

She usually eats at 11am.

Can you explain when I need to use "is" in a sentence. What is the rule?

Answer 1

There isn't necessarily a situation in which you would need to use an 'is' statement rather than an active verb, but there are situations in which using one tense instead of the other might make writing clearer. The example you've given is simply an example of saying the same thing in two different ways, the simple present tense and the active continous tense. Both examples are in the active tense.

"she eats" simple present tense

This is the simple, shortest way to say this.

He swims.

They jump.

We laugh.

You learn.

"She is eating." active continuous tense

This tense is composed of the appropriate conjugation of the to be verb and a gerund of the action verb.

He is swimming.

They are jumping.

We are laughing.

You are learning.

I can think of one example of when it might be better to use the past continuous tense instead of the simple past: if you are a describing an action that was under way and then interrupted.

For instance:

He was climbing out his bedroom window when his mother walked into the room and caught him.

Versus

He climbed out his bedroom window when his mother walk to head the room and caught him.

The idea that his action was interrupted by his mother walking into the room is more clear in this sentence then if you used simple past. The order of events is not clear in the second example when climbed is in the past simple tense.

The same principle applies to the simple present tense and continuous tense.

For instance that someone is narrating a play or a wildlife program.

The girls are gossiping about Susie, when Susie walks into the room.

The girls gossip about Susie, when Susie walks into the room.

Again the order of events is not clear in the second example. do the girls start gossiping about Susie after she walks into the room or were they already gossiping?

The gazelles are drinking at the watering hole when the lion attacks.

The gazelles drink at the watering hole when the lion attacks.

The order of events is not clear it seems like the gazelles may be drinking in response to the lions attack. The continuous tense allows you to express that the gazelles action is already happening when the lion attacks.

Hope this helps!