Present Tenses

Form

verb (+ “s” in third person singular of most verbs – see additional points below)

Meaning

1. Present simple is used to talk about permanent situations.
   • She doesn’t speak English.
   • Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
2. Present simple is used to talk about things that happen repeatedly.
   • I go to school every day.
   • Jack sometimes plays tennis.
3. Present simple is used to ask for and give instructions.
   • How do I get to the bathroom?
   • You go up the stairs and turn right.
4. Present simple is used in narrative (to tell stories).
   • At the start of the film a big spaceship comes to Earth and lands in LA. Then the aliens eat all the people.
5. Present simple is used to talk about future scheduled events.
   • The meeting starts at 10am.
   • The train leaves at 7.32pm.
6. Present simple is used in certain introductory expressions.
   • I hear you went on holiday to Spain this summer.
   • I gather you’re leaving the company.

We often use the Present Continuous tense in English. It is very different from the Present Simple tense, both in structure and in use.

How do we make the Present Continuous tense?

The structure of the Present Continuous tense is:

The auxiliary verb (be) is conjugated in the Present Simple: am, are, is

The main verb is invariable in present participle form: -ing

For negative sentences we insert not between the auxiliary verb and the main verb.

For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the auxiliary verb.

Look at these example sentences with the Present Continuous tense:

Additional points

Third person singular spelling

1. – most verbs: add s.
   • play – plays
   • sleep – sleeps
2. Verbs which end in consonant + y: change y to ies.
   • hurry – hurries
   • reply – replies
3. Verbs which end in s, z, ch, sh or x: add es.
   • push – pushes
   • watch – watches
4. Exceptions
   • do – does
   • go – goes
   • have – has