[susan53]

Can I use "still" instead "present continuous". For example, He is playing football --> He still play football.


Not as alternatives no.

He is playing football : Be + Ving expresses a current, ongoing event. For example, in a phone conversation :

A : Can I speak to John please?
B : Sorry, he's not here at the moment. He's playing football this morning. Can you phone back this afternoon?

Still emphasises the fact that something which was true in the past continues to be true. If the person phones back an hour later, you might say :

I told you - he's not here. He's still playing football. He won't be here until this afternoon.


He still plays football : (Notice the 3rd person "s" on the verb). The simple present verb form usually expresses a fact which is permanently true, but not connected to the present moment - for example :

Last year John played football three times a week - on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. But this year he has cut down a lot. He still plays football on Saturdays, but not on the other days.