Present Tense

Verbs are frequently used in English grammar to show or express the time of an event’s occurrence. Tenses are verbs that take on many forms to convey the time of an activity, incident, or situation by changing their form. The present tense, the past tense, and the future tense are the three basic tenses. We can use tenses in a variety of ways. 

We use the present tense in English grammar to talk about anything happening right now, or that is true now and at any time. To put it another way, we use the present tense to describe an event occurring right now. Let us take a closer look at the present tense and its several varieties.

What is the Present Tense?

The present tense is a verb tense that expresses a current action or state of being. However, we can use the present tense to represent past and future activities, which is unique.

Examples: 

• I am happy.
• She is playing.
• She writes love stories.
• Sita loves Ram.

Different Types of Present Tense

We can divide the present tense into two categories based on whether the action is ongoing or concluded (called the aspect of a verb). The following are the four present tenses:

There are four types of the present tense

• Simple Present Tense
• Present Continuous Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Simple Present Tense

When you use the simple present tense with a verb, you describe events that happen daily, weekly, or monthly. We use the simple present tense to express something that occurs frequently or is true.  The following are a few simple present tense examples:

• She goes to school every day.
• I play outside after studying each day.
• Every Sunday we eat chicken for dinner.

The verbs “go,” “eat,” and “play” are all in the simple present tense in these sentences. They tell about occurrences that repeatedly recur in the present. We can also express basic facts and feelings in the simple present tense.

For example:

• The sun is yellow.

“Is” shows that the sentence is in the simple present tense because it uses the verb to tell a fact.

• I am excited.
• They are so exhausted.

Here, “am” and “are” show that the sentences are in simple present tense and express emotions.

Keep in mind that when you use a simple present tense verb, you express something that keeps happening in the present.

Present Continuous Tense

One often uses the present continuous tense to depict actions that are presently taking place or have not yet reached completion. We also utilise this tense when the action is transient. 

The subject, the main verb’s present particle form (-ing), and the present continuous tense of the helping verb (am, is, and are) make up the present continuous tense.

Examples:

• He is laughing.
• The baby is crying.
• She is using the phone.
• I am watching a marvel movie.
• He is not doing his work.
• Why are you writing on the walls?
• My mom is cooking my favourite food.

Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect is helpful to show a connection between the present and the past. In other words, the action takes place sometime in the past (the exact time may be unknown) but the result of the action lingers at the present.

The auxiliary verb ‘have/has’ + the past participle of the main verb forms this tense. As a result, you will see that the structure of this verb tense is simple. The subject-verb conjugation determines the initial element, whether it is ‘have’ or ‘has.’ Similarly, the main verb is in its past participle form. It is usually formed by adding –ed or –d to the verb’s root.

Examples:

• I have not eaten anything today.
• She has never been to Japan.
• Have I missed the train?
• What has she done?
• We have not slept all night.
• I have studied.
• I have completed all my work.
• I have earned a lot of money today.
• I have brought five fish today.
• She has arrived now.

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

The present perfect continuous tense describes acts that began in the past but continue or persist till the present time. It emphasises the stretch of time till the action persists to happen.

The present perfect continuous tense, as its name suggests, describes an occurrence or action that started sometime in the past and is still happening at the time of writing. The present perfect progressive tense is another name for it. 

This tense uses ‘has’ or ‘have + been+ the present participle’ as its form. When producing the present perfect continuous tense, we use ‘has been’ for singular subjects and ‘have been’ for plural subjects. By adding -ing to the verb’s root, we create the second element which is the present participle.

Examples: 

• I have been studying for 2 hours by lunch.
• My brother has been living in Canada for ten years.
• She has been sleeping for four hours.
• I have been teaching at this university for three years.
• Have you been sleeping properly now?

Conclusion

Present tense has diverse forms depending on the context. For instance, when describing an action happening right now, we rarely employ the present simple. We are more likely to use the current progressive (e.g., I am writing right now). When we state a habit or universal truth, we use the simple present tense. Like: The sun rises in the east. We use the present perfect tense to denote an action that has just recently been completed but still has its effect at the present. Like: Ravi has just arrived. Present perfect continuous tense is used when an action, that had started sometime in the past, continues to happen at the present.