Present Tenses

We’ll look at how these tenses are structured, when exactly to use them – and of course, include some activities for you to practise them at home.

Let’s get started!

The present tense is used to talk about the present and to talk about the future.

The Present Tenses

These are the four present tenses in English and how they are used in a sentence:

1.Present Simple

The present simple is usually the first tense English students learn. You can use it to talk about yourself and other people – as well as things that occur habitually in the present.

Form

In the present simple, the base form of the verb is the same for every subject pronoun, except the third person, where you add an “s” to the end of the verb.

Let’s take a look at the verb “eat”:

Uses & Examples

• Habits – I sometimes go to the gym. I never eat fish.

• General Truths – London is the capital of England.

• Repeated Actions of Events – We drive to work every day.

• Fixed Arrangements/ Timetables – The bus leaves at 6:30pm.

• Feelings/Opinions/Beliefs – I love sandwiches. I hope to see you soon.

• Instructions – First put the water in the pot, then bring to a boil.

2. Present Continuous

Now you can use the present simple, it is time to look at the present continuous.

Form

Use the verb to be + base verb + ing (sometimes called the gerund or present participle).

Here’s an example using the word “sleep”.

Uses & Examples

• Actions happening in the moment – We are learning grammar. Look! That man is reading a book.

• Fixed arrangements for the future – I’m getting married in July.

• Temporary events – He’s living in Wales for the moment.

• To complain, or emphasize continuous behaviour with words like ‘always’, ‘forever’ and ‘constantly’ – You are always leaving your socks on the floor!

Stative Verbs

There are some verbs we cannot use in the continuous tense. These are called stative verbs. Stative verbs refer to states, feelings, or senses rather than actions. In these cases, we use the present simple instead. Here are some examples of stative verbs:

3. Present Perfect Simple

The present perfect simple is used to connect the past to the present. The time of the action is often unspecified, and the focus is more on the result rather than the action. Let’s look at the form:

Form

Use the auxiliary verb have + the past participle of the main verb.

The past participle of regular verbs end in -ed, for verbs like walked, played, looked and watched. But there are lots of irregular verbs – for example, been (be), eaten (eat), made (make), gone (go), got (get), given (give), read (read), said (say), taken (take).

Note that in 3rd person, we use “has” instead of “have”.

Uses & Examples

• Actions that start in the past and continue to the present – I’ve lived here for 3 years.

• Life experiences, at an unspecified time in the past – I’ve swum with dolphins.

• Repeated action in an unspecified time period – I’ve visited the Eiffel Tower three times.

• Unfinished time (today, this week, this month, this year) – I’ve ridden my bicycle today.

• A finished action with a present result – I’ve lost my keys (so I can’t open the door).

• Recent past with the words ‘just’, ‘recently’, ‘already’ and ‘yet’ – I’ve just spoken to Mark on the phone

4. Present Perfect Continuous

The present perfect continuous is the last of the present tenses. It is used to talk about an action that started in the past but perhaps has still not finished in the present. The focus is on the process as well as the result. The process may be still going, or may have recently finished.

Form

Use the auxiliary verb have/has + been + base verb + ing to form the present perfect continuous. Let’s take a look at the verb “read”:

Note that the verbs “live” and “work” can be used with either present perfect simple, or present perfect continuous without changing the meaning.

Also note you cannot use stative verbs with continuous tenses. For these, we use the present perfect simple.

Uses & Examples

• Actions that started in the past and continue in the present – I’ve been watching Game of Thrones.

• To emphasise the duration or ’how long’ (with for and since) – Henry has been playing the violin since he was eight.

• Recently finished actions, with present results – Why have you been crying? (there are tears in her eyes). It’s been raining (the ground is wet).