BASIC ENGLISH

THE PRESENT TENSE
1. The Present Simple
Used for a habitual or repeated action, that is,
for something that we do always, every day,
often, usually, etc.
Example: He plays football on Sundays.
a. Used for a general truth or a fact, that is, for
something that is true.
Example: Night follows day.
b. Used for something or an action happening
now.
Example: See how she walks.
c. Used instead of the future tense.
Example: He arrives tomorrow.
d. Used instead of the past tense, to make some
thing look more real.
Example: The tiger comes; it catches the boy.
e. Used instead of the present perfect tense.
Example: We hear that the king is dead.
f. Used to introduce a quotation, that is, to repeat
words spoken or written by someone else.
Example: Shakespeare says: “Neither a bor
rower nor a lender be.”
2. The Present Continuous Tense
Used to show that something is still happening,
that is, an action is still going on at the
time of speaking. It shows that the action is
not yet complete.
Example: He is writing a letter.
a. Used instead of the future tense. We usually
say the time when this future action will take
place
Example: He is going to Japan next week.
b. Used to use the phrase ‘is going’ which
means ‘about to’.
Example: It is going to rain.
c. Used to show an action which happens many
times. We often use ‘always’ with this expression.
Example: He is always getting into trouble.
3. The Present Perfect Tense
Used to show an action which has just been
completed or a past action when the time is
not mentioned. The action may be a recent one
or it may be one which happened a long time
ago.