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What is a difference between sentences in each of following pairs?

  1. This product ‌ becomes ‌ cheaper.

    This product is becoming cheaper.

  2. I   make   fruit salad.

    I'm making fruit salad.

  3. My friend ‌ makes ‌ fruit salad.

    My friend is making fruit salad.

As with most people asking questions at this Q&A site, English is not my native language. I do not went through any of the course of the language, so my theoretical knowledge about it is negligible. For years, on the Internet I find most valuable content in English, so because of the frequent checking of unfamiliar words in the dictionary, this language automatically came into my head. For this reason, I would like to know whether the answer given is also applicable to the other two examples, which I added only after the appearance of answer. I often find the term "becomes" in a similar context that "is becoming" so I concluded that both means either the same or something similar. Likewise is in the case of terms "makes" / "is making" and "I make" / "I'm making". Are all of given examples follow the same rule?

P.S. Which of the following questions is correct?

Are all of given examples ruled the same principles?

Are all of given examples follow the same rule?

Are all of given examples are subject to the same rule?

If neither, then how this question should be composed?

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  • I added additional examples. Is the answer also relates to them?
    – No name
    Jun 16, 2016 at 19:07

1 Answer 1

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This product is becoming cheaper.

means that, at this time, the price of the product is less than it was in the past, and the price may continue to fall.

This product becomes cheaper.

The simple present is typically used to express habitual, regular, or typical actions or situations, and in that light, the statement above is semantically incomplete. We would expect to find something like

This product becomes cheaper when it is purchased in larger quantities.

This product becomes cheaper when it is purchased in conjunction with an MSDN subscription.

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  • When you edit a key word in the question, you should at least explain it in your answer. It may be part of the OP's misunderstanding. Also the title does not match now.
    – user3169
    Jun 16, 2016 at 18:49
  • I added additional examples to the question. Is the answer also relates to them? @user3169 You're right. Anyway, I made a mistake in my original question. I corrected the title to match the question.
    – No name
    Jun 16, 2016 at 19:16
  • @user3169: I made a judgment that the OP's concern was between simple present and continuous, and that the number-agreement issue was not the source of his confusion. My bad for overlooking the issue in the title.
    – Tᴚoɯɐuo
    Jun 16, 2016 at 20:59

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