Present Continuous (Present Tenses)

EXAMPLE:

• He is sleeping.
• I am visiting grandpa in the afternoon.
• You are always coming late for the meetings!

The Present Continuous is mainly used to express the idea that something is happening at the moment of speaking. Another use of the tense is to talk about what we are planning to do. There are also other uses, listed below.

USE

1. Present actions
2. Temporary actions
3. Longer actions in progress
4. Future (personal) arrangements and plans
5. Irritation over something or somebody in the present

USE 1: Present Actions 
Use the Present Continuous tense to talk about actions happening at the moment of speaking.
Examples:

• He is eating a dinner.
• Mary is talking with her friend.
• They are swimming.

USE 2: Temporary Actions 
This tense is also used for activities continuing for only a limited period of time.
Examples:

• I'm riding a bike to get to work because my car is broken. (It will soon be repaired)
• They are not talking with each other after the last argument. (They will soon make up)

USE 3: Longer Actions in Progress 
We also use the Present Continuous when we are in a middle of doing something time-consuming (i.e. something that takes time to complete). An example of such an activity is writing a book, saving money or studying for an exam.
Examples:

• They are working hard to earn money.
• I am training to become a professional footballer.
• Mike is studying hard to become a doctor.
• Elizabeth is currently writing a children's book titled I am the World.

USE 4: Future (Personal) Arrangements and Plans 
Sometimes we use the Present Continuous to show that something will be done in the near future.
Examples:

• I'm meeting Katie in the evening.
• He's flying to Rome in September.
• We're not going anywhere tomorrow.

USE 5: Irritation or Anger 
And the last use of this tense is to express irritation or anger over somebody or something in the present.
Examples:

• She's always complaining about everything!
• Johny is always asking me stupid questions!
• They are always coming late to meetings!

FORM
To form a sentence in the Present Continuous, you have to:

• know the proper conjugation of the auxiliary verb "to be".
• add the "ing" suffix to the verb (to form the present participle of the verb)

Examples:

• try + ing = trying
• go + ing = going

Contracted forms (more)

• I + am = I'm
• is + not = isn't
• are + not = aren't
• he + is = he's
• she + is = she's
• it + is= it's

Declarative Sentences



Questions



Negative Sentences

Present Simple (Present Tenses)

EXAMPLE

• I live in New York.
• We play football every day.
• The meeting starts at 3 p.m.

The Present Simple is the most basic and common tense in the English language. It is also an interesting tense because it can express both the present and the future.

USE

1. Facts and generalization
2. Habits and routines
3. Permanent situations
4. State verbs (e.g. be, have, think, know)
5. Fixed / official arrangement that we can't change
6. Narrations (e.g. telling a story or a joke)

Note
Apart from the above uses, this tense is also used in:

• Zero Conditional - If it rains, I go play football.
• First Conditional - We won't get our pocket money, if we don't pass this exam.
• In sentences after "when", "before", "till", "after", "as soon as" ("Before you leave, please take the keys").

USE 1: Facts and Generalizations
The first and most important use of the Present Simple is to talk about things we believe are (or are not) true. It's also used to generalize about somebody or something.
Examples:

• It is a big house.
• He talks a lot.
• Berlin is the capital city of Germany.
• Buenos Aires is a large city.
• The Elephant doesn't fly.
• Dogs don't smoke cigarettes.
• A dog is not large than an elephant
• London is the capital city of France. (Remember: the sentence doesn't have to be true)

USE 2: Habits and Routines
We also use this tense to indicate that an activity is a habit or a routine.
Examples:

• We leave for work at 7.30 every morning.
• Susan often meets with her friends after school.
• They usually play football on Sunday.
• Mark rarely visits his sick grandmother.

The Present Simple tense is often used with the frequency adverbs:

Read more...

USE 3: Pernament Situations 
Use the Present Simple to talk about situations in life that last a relatively long time.
Examples:

• I live in Boston
• He works as a fireman.
• Margaret drives a Porshe.
• Jerry doesn't teach maths at highschool.

USE 4: State Verbs
You should use the Present Simple with state verbs.
Examples:

• I like swimming.
• We know this man.
• Margaret drives a Porshe.
• Jerry doesn't teach maths at highschool.

USE 5: Fixed / Official arrangements 
Use the Present Simple to talk about events that we can't change (for example, an official meeting or a train departure).
Examples:

• The meeting starts at 4 pm.
• The train leaves at the noon.
• When does the plane take off?
• Jerry doesn't teach maths at highschool.

USE 6: Narrations 
The Present Simple is also used in narrations (e.g. to tell a story or a joke).
Examples:

• A man goes to visit a friend and is amazed to find him playing chess with his dog. He watches the game in astonishment for a while [...]

(read more)

Good to know...
Some of the verbs used in the simple form can also appear in the continuous form. This is typically when they have an active meaning or exphasize change.
Examples:
- I'm thinking of moving to San Francisco
- I'm loving your new hairdo!
(read more)

FORM
Forming a sentence in the Present Simple is easy. To form a declarative sentence, all you need is the subject of the sentence (e.g. I, you, he, a dog) and the verb (e.g. be, talk, swim). Questions and negative sentences are only a little more difficult, because they require an auxiliary verb.

Declarative Sentences



Questions

Questions require the auxiliary verb to do or, in the third person singular, does.
Compare these examples:

• A: Does she like going to the mountains?
• B: Yes, she does.
• A: Does John have a dog?
• B: No, he doesn't.

Keep in mind that when you ask a question, the verb does not conjugate:

• Does she have a dog?
• Does she has a dog?

For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary:

• Is he tall?
• Does he be tall?

Negative Sentences

Present Perfect (Present Tenses)

EXAMPLE:

• I have read this book.
• The man has gone away.
• John has worked as a teacher for over 25 years.

The Present Perfect is used to express actions that happened at an indefinite time or that began in the past and continue in the present. This tense is also used when an activity has an effect on the present moment.

USE

1. Actions which happened at an indefinite (unknown) time before now
2. Actions in the past which have an effect on the present moment
3. Actions which began in the past and continue in the present

USE 1: Indefinite (unknown) time before now 
Use the Present Perfect to talk about actions that happened at some point in the past. It does not matter when exactly they happened.
Examples:

• I have already had a breakfast.
• He has been to England.

You should not use this tense with time expressions like "yesterday", "a week ago", "last year", etc.
Examples:

• I have seen it yesterday.
• We have gone to Paris last year

USE 2: Effect on the present moment 
We also use this tense to when an activity has an effect on the present moment.
Examples:

• He has finished his work. (so he can now rest)
• I have already eaten the dinner. (so I'm not hungry)
• He has had a car accident. (that's why he is in the hospital)

USE 3: Continuation in the present 
We often use the Present Perfect when we want to emphasize that an event continues in the present.
Examples:

• Mary has worked as a teacher for over 25 years.
• Patrick has achieved a lot in his life.

FORM
To form a sentence in the Present Perfect, what you need is:

1. The proper conjugation of the auxiliary verb "to have".
2. The Past Participle of your verb.

1. Auxiliary Verb "to have"
We conjugate the auxiliary verb "to have" the same way we would conjugate the normal verb "to have".

As you can see, the third person singular is irregular.
examples:

• She has never seen my brother.
• Neither of my brothers has ever driven a truck.

2. The Past Participle

The past participle of a verb is a verb form that appears with the perfect tenses. The past participle can be either regular or irregular.

• The regular verbs are formed by adding -ed to the verb:
  
• The formation of the irregular verbs does not follow one rule. Therefore, they should be memorized.
  

Declarative Sentences



Questions


Trivia
In sentences with adverbials such as ever, already or yet, American-English speakers may use the Past Simple rather than the Present Perfect. So, an American would say:

• Did you go to the post office yet? (Past Simple)

rather than:

• Have you gone to the post office yet? (Present Perfect)

Negative Sentences