The Present Tense PDF

The Present Tense 1- Simple Present The simple present (also called present simple or present indefinite) is a verb tense which is used to show repetition, habit or generalization. Less commonly, the simple present can be used to talk about scheduled actions in the near future and, in some cases, a...

The Present Tense 1- Simple Present The simple present (also called present simple or present indefinite) is a verb tense which is used to show repetition, habit or generalization. Less commonly, the simple present can be used to talk about scheduled actions in the near future and, in some cases, actions happening now. Simple Present Forms The simple present is just the base form of the verb. Questions are made with do and negative forms are made with do not. Statement: You speak English. Question: Do you speak English? Negative: You do not speak English. In the third person singular, -s or -es is added. Questions are made with does and negative forms are made with does not. Statement: He speaks English. Question: Does he speak English? Negative: He does not speak English. Complete List of Simple Present Forms Most Verbs Most verbs conjugate like the verb "run" below. Notice how you add an "s" to third-person forms. Third-person negative forms and third-person questions are made using "does." Positive Negative Question I run. I do not run. Do I run? You run. You do not run. Do you run? We run. We do not run. Do we run? They run. They do not run. Do they run? He runs. He does not run. Does he run? She runs. She does not run. Does she run? It runs. It does not run. Does it run? Instead of "s," "es" is added to positive, third-person forms of verbs ending with the following sounds: s, z, sh, ch, j or zs (as in Zsa Zsa). These special "es"-forms have been marked below with an asterisk*. Positive Negative Question I rush. I do not rush. Do I rush? You rush. You do not rush. Do you rush? We rush. We do not rush. Do we rush? They rush. They do not rush. Do they rush? He rushes. * He does not rush. Does he rush? She rushes. * She does not rush. Does she rush? It rushes. * It does not rush. Does it rush? 1 To Havve The verrb "have" is irregular in n positive, thhird-person n forms. This irregular fform has beeen marked below withh an asterisk k*. Positivee Negative Question I have. I do not hhave. Do I have?? You havve. You do n not have. Do you havve? We havve. We do noot have. Do we have ve? They haave. They do n not have. Do they haave? He has. * He does n not have. Does he haave? She hass. * She does not have. Does she hhave? It has. * It does noot have. Does it havve? To Be The verrb "be" is irrregular in th he Simple PPresent. It allso has diffeerent questioon forms an nd negativee forms. Positivee Negative Question I am. I am not.. Am I? You aree. You are n not. Are you? We are. We are n not. Are we? They arre. They are not. Are they? He is. He is nott. Is he? She is. She is noot. Is she? It is. It is not. Is it? Modal V Verbs Modal vverbs behavve differentlly from otheer verbs. Nootice that they do not taake "s" in th he third person - there is noo difference between firrst-person, second-persson or third- d-person formms. Like thee verb "be" described above, a modaal verbs also o have diffeerent questioon forms annd negativee forms in simple s preseent. Positivee Negative Question I shouldd go. I should n not go. Should I goo? You shoould go. You shou uld not go. Should youu go? We should go. We shoulld not go. Should wee go? They shhould go. They shoould not go.. Should theey go? He shou uld go. He shoul d not go. Should he go? She shoould go. She shouuld not go. Should shee go? It shoulld go. It should not go. Should it ggo? Simple Present Usses USE 1 R Repeated Actions A Use the simple pressent to exprress the ideaa that an acttion is repeaated or usuaal. The actio on can be a habbit, a hobbyy, a daily eveent, a schedduled event or somethin ng that oftenn happens. It can also be something a person oftten forgets oor usually does d not do. 2 Examplles: I play tenniis. She does no ot play tenn nis. D Does he plaay tennis? T The train leeaves every morning att 8 AM. T The train dooes not leavve at 9 AM.. W When does the train ussually leavee? She always forgets herr purse. H He never foorgets his wallet. w E Every twelvve months, the t Earth ciircles the Su un. D Does the Suun circle thee Earth? USE 2 F Facts or Geeneralizatio ons The simmple presentt can also inndicate the sspeaker beliieves that a fact was truue before, iss true now, annd will be trrue in the fu uture. It is noot importan nt if the speaaker is correect about the fact. It is also uused to makke generalizaations abouut people or things. Examplles: C Cats like milk. m B Birds do noot like milk. D Do pigs like milk? C California is i in Americca. C California is i not in thee United Kinngdom. W Windows are a made off glass. W Windows are a not mad de of wood. N New York is i a small ciity. It is nott important that this facct is untrue. USE 3 S Scheduled Events in the t Near Fu uture Speakerrs occasionaally use sim mple presentt to talk about scheduled events in the near futture. This is mmost commmonly done when w talkinng about pub blic transportation, but it can be ussed with other sccheduled events as welll. Examplles: T The train leeaves tonighht at 6 PM. T The bus does not arriv ve at 11 AM M, it arrivess at 11 PM. W When do wew board thee plane? T The party sttarts at 8 o'clock. W When does class begin n tomorroww? USE 4 N Now (Non--Continuou us Verbs) Speakerrs sometimees use the siimple presennt to expresss the idea that an actioon is happen ning or is not haappening noow. This cann only be doone with no on-continuous verbs (T These verbs are usually things you cannot see somebody ddoing. Thesse verbs are rarely usedd in continuous 3 tenses. T They includde: Abstractt Verbs (to bbe, to want,, to cost, to seem, to neeed, to care, to contain,, to owe, to exist...), Po ossession Veerbs (to posssess, to own, to belongg...) and (Em motion Verbs ((to like, to love, l to hatee, to dislike,, to fear, to envy, to miind... and ceertain mixed d verbs (to appeear, to feel, to have, to hear, to loo ok, to see, tot weigh....)))). Examplles: I am here now. n She is not here h now. H He needs help h right no ow. H He does noot need helpp now. H He has his passport p in his hand. D Do you havve your passsport with yyou? 2- Preesent Con ntinuouss The preesent continuuous (also called c preseent progresssive) is a verb tense whhich is used to show that an ongoing acction is happ pening now w, either at the momen nt of speechh or now in a larger sense. T The present continuous can also bee used to sh how that an action is gooing to take place in the nearr future. Reaad on for deetailed descrriptions, ex xamples, andd present coontinuous exxercises. Presentt Continuou us Forms The preesent contiinuous is formed usiing am/is/arre + present participple. Questiions are indicateed by invertiing the subjject and am//is/are. Neg gatives are made m with nnot. S Statement: You Y are wa atching TV V. Q Question: Are A you wattching TV?? N Negative: You Y are not watching T TV. Compleete List of Present P Conttinuous Form ms Positivee Negative Question I am sp peaking. I am not speaking. Am I speakking? You aree speaking.. You are n not speakin ng. Are you sppeaking? We are speaking. We are n not speaking. Are we speeaking? They arre speakingg. They are not speakiing. Are they sppeaking? He is sp peaking. He is nott speaking. Is he speakking? She is speaking. She is noot speaking.. Is she speaaking? It is speeaking. It is not sspeaking. Is it speakiing? Presentt Continuou us Uses USE 1 NNow Use the present conntinuous wiith normal vverbs to exppress the ideea that some mething is haappening now, at this very moment. m It can also be uused to show w that someething is nott happeningg now. 4 Examplles: YYou are leaarning English now. YYou are noot swimmin ng now. AAre you sleeeping? I am sittingg. I am not standing. IIs he sittingg or standin ng? TThey are reeading theirr books. TThey are not watching g televisionn. WWhat are you y doing? WWhy aren'tt you doing g your homeework? USE 2 L Longer Acttions in Pro ogress Now w In Engllish, now caan mean diifferent thinngs: this seecond, todaay, this moonth, this year, this century,, and so on. Sometimess, we use thhe present co ontinuous to o say that w we are in thee process of doingg a longer action a which h is in proggress; howevver, we migght not be ddoing it at th his exact second. Examplles: (All of these t senten nces can be said while eating dinner in a restaaurant.) I am studyiing to become a doctorr. I am not studying to become b a deentist. I am readinng the book k Tom Sawyyer. I am not reeading any books rightt now. A Are you woorking on any a special pprojects at work? w A Aren't you teaching at a the univerrsity now? USE 3 N Near Futurre Sometim mes, speakeers use the present p conttinuous to in ndicate that something will or willl not happen in the near future. Examplles: I am meeting some friiends after w work. I am not gooing to the party p tonighht. IIs he visitin ng his paren nts next weeekend? IIsn't he comming with us u tonight? 5 USE 4 R Repetition and Irritattion with A Always The preesent continnuous with words succh as alway ys or consttantly exprresses the idea i that somethiing irritatingg or shockin ng often happpens. Notiice that the meaning m is like simple present, but withh negative emotion. e Reemember too put the wo ords alwayss or constanntly betweenn be and verb+inng. Examplles: She is alwaays coming to class latee. H He is consttantly talkin ng. I wish hhe would sh hut up. I don't like them becau use they aree always commplaining. 3-Preesent Perrfect The preesent perfect is a verb tense t whichh is used to show that an a action haas taken plaace once or manny times beefore now. The preseent perfect is most frequently f uused to tallk about experiennces or channges that haave taken pllace, but theere are otherr less comm mon uses as well. Presentt Perfect Foorms The preesent perfectt is formed using has/h have + past participle.. Questions are indicateed by invertinng the subjecct and has/h have. Negattives are maade with nott. Statement: You have seen s that moovie many times. t Q Question: Have H you seeen that movvie many times? N Negative: You Y have no ot seen thatt movie man ny times. Compleete List of Present P Perrfect Form ms Positivee Negative Question I have ttraveled. I have noot traveled. Have I travveled? You havve traveledd. You havee not travelled. Have you ttraveled? We havve traveled.. We have not traveleed. Have we trraveled? They haave traveled They havve not traveeled. Have they traveled? He has traveled. He has noot traveledd. Has he traaveled? She hass traveled. She has nnot traveled d. Has she traaveled? It has trraveled. It has nott traveled. Has it travveled? Presentt Perfect Uses USE 1 U Unspecified d Time Beffore Now 6 We use the present perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. You CANNOT use the present perfect with specific time expressions such as yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN use the present perfect with unspecific expressions such as ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc. Examples: I have seen that movie twenty times. I think I have met him once before. There have been many earthquakes in California. People have traveled to the Moon. People have not traveled to Mars. Have you read the book yet? Nobody has ever climbed that mountain. A: Has there ever been a war in the United States? B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States. How Do You Actually Use the Present Perfect? The concept of "unspecified time" can be very confusing to English learners. It is best to associate present perfect with the following topics: TOPIC 1 Experience You can use the present perfect to describe your experience. It is like saying, "I have the experience of...." You can also use this tense to say that you have never had a certain experience. The present perfect is NOT used to describe a specific event. Examples: I have been to France. This sentence means that you have had the experience of being in France. Maybe you have been there once, or several times. I have been to France three times. You can add the number of times at the end of the sentence. I have never been to France. This sentence means that you have not had the experience of going to France. I think I have seen that movie before. He has never traveled by train. Joan has studied two foreign languages. A: Have you ever met him? B: No, I have not met him. TOPIC 2 Change Over Time We often use the present perfect to talk about change that has happened over a period of time. 7 Examples: You have grown since the last time I saw you. The government has become more interested in arts education. Japanese has become one of the most popular courses at the university since the Asian studies program was established. My English has really improved since I moved to Australia. TOPIC 3 Accomplishments We often use the present perfect to list the accomplishments of individuals and humanity. You cannot mention a specific time. Examples: Man has walked on the Moon. Our son has learned how to read. Doctors have cured many deadly diseases. Scientists have split the atom. TOPIC 4 An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting We often use the present perfect to say that an action which we expected has not happened. Using the present perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the action to happen. Examples: James has not finished his homework yet. Susan hasn't mastered Japanese, but she can communicate. Bill has still not arrived. The rain hasn't stopped. TOPIC 5 Multiple Actions at Different Times We also use the present perfect to talk about several different actions which have occurred in the past at different times. Present perfect suggests the process is not complete and more actions are possible. Examples: The army has attacked that city five times. I have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester. We have had many major problems while working on this project. She has talked to several specialists about her problem, but nobody knows why she is sick. Time Expressions with Present Perfect When we use the present perfect it means that something has happened at some point in our lives before now. Remember, the exact time the action happened is not important. 8 Sometimmes, we waant to limit the time w we are lookiing in for an a experiennce. We can n do this with exppressions suuch as in th he last weekk, in the last year, this week, this m month, so far, fa up to now, etcc. Examplles: HHave you been b to Mexxico in the llast year? I have seen n that moviee six times iin the last month. m TThey have had three teests in the llast week. She graduatted from unniversity les s than threee years ago. She has woorked for th hree ddifferent coompanies so o far. MMy car has broken do own three tim mes this weeek. NOTIC CE Last yeaar and in the last year are a very diffferent in meeaning. Lasst year meanns the year before b now, annd it is consiidered a speecific time w which requiires simple past. p In the last year means m from 3665 days ago until now. It is not connsidered a specific timee, so it requuires presentt perfect. Examplles: I went to Mexico M last year. y I went to Mexico M in thee calendar yyear before this one. I have beenn to Mexicoo in the lastt year. I have beenn to Mexico at least oncce at some point p betweeen 365 dayss ago and now. USE 2 D Duration From F the Pa ast Until N Now (Non-C Continuous Verbs) With noon-continuoous verbs an nd non-conntinuous usses of mixeed verbs, wwe use the present perfect to show that somethinng started inn the past and a has conntinued up until now. For five minutess, for two weeks, w and since Tuessday are all durations which cann be used with w the present perfect. Examplles: I have had a cold for two t weeks. She has beeen in Englaand for six m months. M Mary has looved chocolate since shhe was a litttle girl. 9 Althouggh the abovve use of prresent perfeect is norm mally limitedd to non-coontinuous veerbs and non-conntinuous usses of mixeed verbs, thhe words liive, work, teeach, and sttudy are sometimes used in this way evven though they t are NO OT non-conttinuous verb bs. ADVER RB PLACE EMENT The exaamples below show thee placement for grammar adverbs such s as alwayys, only, never, ever, sttill, just, etcc. Examplles: Y You have only o seen that movie onne time. H Have you only o seen that movie onne time? 4-Preesent Perrfect Con ntinuouss The preesent perfecct continuou us (also callled present perfect progressive) iss a verb tensse which is used to show thaat an action started in tthe past andd has contin nued up to thhe present moment. m The preesent perfecct continuou us usually eemphasizess duration, oro the amouunt of timee that an action hhas been takking place. Presentt Perfect Continuous Forms F The preesent perfectt continuous is formed using has/h have + beenn + presentt participle. Questioons are indiccated by inv verting the ssubject and has/have. Negatives N arre made witth not. Statement: You have been b waitin ng here for two t hours. Q Question: Have H you beeen waitingg here for tw wo hours? N Negative: You Y have no ot been waiiting here for f two hourrs. Compleete List of Present P Perrfect Contiinuous Form ms Positivee Negative Question I have bbeen sleepinng. I have noot been sleepping. Have I beenn sleeping? You havve been sleeeping. You havee not been sleeping. Have you bbeen sleepin ng? We havve been sleepping. We have not been sleeeping. Have we beeen sleeping g? They haave been sleeeping. They havve not been sleeping. s Have they bbeen sleeping? He has bbeen sleepinng. He has noot been sleeeping. Has he beeen sleeping?? She has been sleeping. She has nnot been sleeeping. Has she beeen sleepingg? It has beeen sleepingg. It has nott been sleeping. Has it beenn sleeping? Presentt Perfect Continuous Uses U USE 1 DDuration frrom the Pa ast Until Noow 10 We use the presentt perfect conntinuous to show that something s sttarted in thee past and has h continueed up until now. For fiive minutes,, for two weeeks, and sin nce Tuesdayy are all durrations which ccan be used with the preesent perfecct continuouus. Examplles: TThey have been talkinng for the laast hour. She has beeen workingg at that commpany for thhree years. WWhat have you been doing d for thhe last 30 miinutes? JJames has been b teachiing at the unniversity sinnce June. WWe have beeen waitingg here for ovver two hou urs! WWhy has Nancy N not beeen taking her medicin ne for the laast three dayys? USE 2 R Recently, Lately L You cann also use thhe present perfect p contiinuous WITTHOUT a du uration suchh as for two o weeks. Withoutt the duratioon, the tensee has a morre general meaning m of lately. We ooften use thee words laately or recently to emp phasize thiss meaning. Examplles: R Recently, I have been feeling reallly tired. She has beeen watchin ng too muchh television lately. H Have you been b exercising lately?? M Mary has been b feeling g a little deppressed. L Lisa has noot been praacticing her English. W What have you been doing? d IMPOR RTANT Remem mber that thee present perrfect continnuous has th he meaning of lately or recently. Iff you use the pressent perfectt continuouss in a questtion such ass "Have youu been feeliing alright??", it can suggest that the person p look ks sick or unhealthy. A questio on such ass "Have yo ou been smokingg?" can sugggest that yo ou smell thee smoke on the person.. Using thiss tense in a question suggestss you can see, smell, hear or feeel the resu ults of the action. a It iss possible to t insult someonne by using this t tense in ncorrectly. REMEM MBER Non n-Continuo ous Verbs/ Mixed Verrbs It is im mportant to remember that non-coontinuous verbsv canno ot be used in any con ntinuous tenses. AAlso, certaiin non-conttinuous meaanings for mixed m verbss cannot be used in con ntinuous tenses. Instead of using preseent perfect continuouss with thesee verbs, yoou must usee present perfect. 11 Examples: Sam has been having his car for two years. Not Correct Sam has had his car for two years. Correct ADVERB PLACEMENT The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc. Examples: You have only been waiting here for one hour. Have you only been waiting here for one hour? References: http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/ 12