USE THE PRESENT SIMPLE ...

a)  to talk about the general present.

b) to talk about a present habit, something that happens repeatedly at regular intervals.

c)  to talk about a natural law or something that is always true.

USE THE PRESENT PROGRESSIVE ...

a) to talk about something that is happening at the moment you are speaking.

b)  to talk about an activity that is current but not necessarily happening at the moment you are speaking .

c)  to talk about changes and developments in progress.

VERBS NOT USED IN THE PROGRESSIVE FORMS

Some verbs are not usually used in the progressive form of the verb:

Kim Jones seems fitter than Paulo Soares.
I know sugary, salty and fatty foods aren't good for me.
This cough medicine tastes horrible !!

Verbs not usually used in the progressive form are:

VERBS OF "LIKING" AND "DISLIKING":
like, hate, love, dislike, want, wish, prefer, don't mind

VERBS OF "THINKING":
think, mean, know, believe, remember, suppose, understand

VERBS OF "PERCEPTION":
taste, smell, see, hear

VERBS OF "APPEARANCE":
seem, look, appear, measure, weigh

VERBS OF "POSSESSION":
have, belong to, own, contain, need

ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY WITH PRESENT SIMPLE

When you use the present simple tense to describe a habit, you often use it with an adverb of frequency:

always   usually   often   sometimes   occasionally
hardly ever   rarely   seldom   never

Can you remember where an adverb of frequency usually goes?
Look at the following examples:

AN ADVERB OF FREQUENCY USUALLY GOES ...

–  BEFORE THE VERB:
     Do you usually take the lift?

–  BETWEEN THE AUXILIARY (OR MODAL) AND THE VERB:
     We don't often have them in Santos.

–  BUT THEY MAY COME EITHER AT THE BEGINNING OR END
    OF THE CLAUSE FOR EMPHASIS:
     My mother usually fries things and hardly ever grills.

At the bottom of this page you will be able to practise all these basic rules !!