I just watched two IELTS speaking videos. The first one's result is 8.5-9.0 and the second one's result is 9.0.
IELTS speaking Band Score 8.5-9.0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzzOowpCryw
IELTS speaking Band Score 9.0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjrlnyFKVKU
In the first video, there is this simple question:
A: ...Do you work or study?
B: I am still studying in my final year
In the second video, there is more or less the same kind of question:
A: ...Where do you live in your country?
B: I live in Hyderabad....
I asked my two British native friends. One said it should be "I am working" or "I am living", but the other one said both of those are fine.
So my question is which one is better to answer such question?
- "I work" vs "I am working" ?
- "I live" vs "I am living" ?
Best Answer
You question is about the differences between the present tense (I work) and the present progressive (I am working). Both are acceptable in both instances. The present progressive tense implies that you have been doing the activity for some period of time, and in the examples given (work, life), could imply that you are doing something in contrast to either what you did just before (I am living in New York [these days]), or what you plan to do afterwards (I am studying literature [but I plan to graduate and do other things with my life]).
These subtleties are minor, though, and highly contextual.