Present Tense
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The Four Present Tenses Explained
The present tense is categorized further depending on whether the action is in progress or completed (called the aspect of a verb). Here are the four present tenses:
- I go .
- I like chocolate.
- The train arrives at 5 o'clock.
- A horse walks into a bar, and the barman says , "why the long face?"
- I am going .
- Barney is looking for the latest brochure.
- I have gone .
- David has worked alongside two of the world's finest scientists in the field of entomology.
- I have been going .
- Julie has been relying on a pay rise to pay her student loan.
Simple Present Tense
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Here is an infographic summarizing the simple present tense.
- I play every Tuesday
- Between two evils, I always pick the one I have never tried before.
- Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement. (US President Ronald Reagan)
- I like the word indolence. It makes my laziness seem classy. (Philosopher Bernard Williams)
- I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by . (Author Douglas Adams)
- My family goes to France every summer. (Notice that "go" becomes "goes." There are spelling rules to consider.)
- I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn't itch . (Comedian Gilda Radner)
- War does not determine who is right - only who is left. (Philosopher Bertrand Russell)
Present Progressive Tense
Here is an infographic summarizing the present progressive tense.
"am," "is," or "are"
[present participle]
- I am playing at the moment.
- I am not getting any younger!
- My family is emigrating to Australia next June.
- People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing . (Author Dale Carnegie)
- I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship. (Author Louisa May Alcott)
- I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top.
- A lot of good arguments are spoiled by some fool who knows what he is talking about. (Playwright Miguel de Unamuno)
- A fellow who is always declaring he's no fool usually has his suspicions. (Playwright Wilson Mizner) (Note that adverbs (here, always) sometimes appear between the verb "to be" (here, is) and the present participle (here, declaring).)
- As long as you 're having fun, that's the key. The moment it becomes a grind, it's over. (Singer Barry Gibb)
- Middle age is when you 're sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings and you hope it isn't for you. (Poet Ogden Nas)
- I 'm leaving because the weather is too good. I hate London when it 's not raining . (Comedian Groucho Marx)
Present Perfect Tense
Here is an infographic summarizing the present perfect tense.
"has" or "have"
[past participle]
- I have played for his team before.
- Don't take the wrong side of an argument just because your opponent has taken the right side.
- Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.
- If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants. (Physicist Isaac Newton)
- Only the dead have seen the end of the war. (Philosopher George Santayana)
- It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues. (US President Abraham Lincoln)
- Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen . (British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli)
- I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.
- I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be. (Author Douglas Adams)
- I 've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. (Basketball star Michael Jordan)
- Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men. (Activist Martin Luther King Jr)
Present Perfect Progressive Tense
Here is an infographic summarizing the present perfect progressive tense.
Examples of the Present Perfect Progressive Tense
"has been" or "have been"
[present participle]
- I have been playing for a year.
- Fiona has not been playing well for 2 months.
- My grandparents have been living in this house for 50 years.
- Mary has been relying on a pay rise to pay her credit card bills.
- We have been learning since we were children how to make money, buy things, and build things. The whole education system is set up to teach us how to think, not to feel. (Comedian Yakov Smirnoff)
- My son has been laughing at inappropriate situations for the past two years.
- While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die. (Polymath Leonardo da Vinci)
- Well, I think money has been going into political campaigns for a very long time. (Businesswoman Carly Fiorina)
- I have been doing marriage counseling for about 15 years and I realized that what makes one person feel loved, doesn't make another person feel loved. (Author Gary Chapman)
- Either I 've been something or nothing has been going on .
Interactive Verb Conjugation Tables
The tables below show all 12 tenses so you can see the present tenses among the other tenses. (You can change the verb by clicking one of the green buttons.)
Top 10 Regular Verbs
want look use work start try ask need talk help
Top 10 Irregular Verbs
see say go come know get give become find think
All 4 Past Tenses
- I
- you
- he/she/it
- we
- you
- they
- past tense
- past tense
- past tense
- past tense
- past tense
- past tense
The simple past tense is for a completed activity that happened in the past.
- was present participle
- were present participle
- was present participle
- were present participle
- were present participle
- were present participle
The past progressive tense is for an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for another action.
- had past participle
- had past participle
- had past participle
- had past participle
- had past participle
- had past participle
The past perfect tense is for emphasizing that an action was completed before another took place.
- had been present participle
- had been present participle
- had been present participle
- had been present participle
- had been present participle
- had been present participle
The past perfect progressive tense is for showing that an ongoing action in the past has ended.
All 4 Present Tenses
- I
- you
- he/she/it
- we
- you
- they
- base form
- base form
- 3rd pers sing present
- base form
- base form
- base form
The simple present tense is mostly for a fact or a habit.
- am present participle
- are present participle
- is present participle
- are present participle
- are present participle
- are present participle
The present progressive tense is for an ongoing action in the present.
- have past participle
- have past participle
- has past participle
- have past participle
- have past participle
- have past participle
The present perfect tense is for an action that began in the past. (Often, the action continues into the present.)
- have been present participle
- have been present participle
- has been present participle
- have been present participle
- have been present participle
- have been present participle
The present perfect progressive tense is for a continuous activity that began in the past and continues into the present (or finished very recently).
All 4 Future Tenses
- I
- you
- he/she/it
- we
- you
- they
- will base form
- will base form
- will base form
- will base form
- will base form
- will base form
The simple future tense is for an action that will occur in the future.
- will be present participle
- will be present participle
- will be present participle
- will be present participle
- will be present participle
- will be present participle
The future progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will occur in the future.
- will have past participle
- will have past participle
- will have past participle
- will have past participle
- will have past participle
- will have past participle
The future perfect tense is for an action that will have been completed at some point in the future.
- will have been present participle
- will have been present participle
- will have been present participle
- will have been present participle
- will have been present participle
- will have been present participle
The future perfect progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will be completed at some specified time in the future.
This page was written by Craig Shrives.
