Present tense

Key takeaways

Present tense belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Present tense to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Present tense from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The present tense (abbreviated PRES or prs) is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to locate a situation or event in the present time. The present tense is used for actions which are happening now. In order to explain and understand present tense, it is useful to imagine time as a line on which the past tense, the present and the future tense are positioned. The term present tense is usually used in descriptions of specific languages to refer to a particular grammatical form or set of forms; these may have a variety of uses, not all of which will necessarily refer to present time. For example, in the English sentence "My train leaves tomorrow morning", the verb form leaves is said to be in the present tense, even though in this particular context it refers to an event in future time. Similarly, in the historical present, the present tense is used to narrate events that occurred in the past. There are two common types of present tense form in most Indo-European languages: the present indicative (the combination of present tense and indicative mood) and the present subjunctive (the combination of present tense and subjunctive mood). In English, the present tense is mainly classified into four parts or subtenses.

Simple present: The simple present tense is used to talk about states (knowledge, understanding, etc.), or to focus on the frequency of events or actions (e.g. They never bathe.). Present perfect: The present perfect tense is utilized for events or states that began in the past and which continue to the moment of speaking. It is often used to express results. Present continuous: The present continuous tense is used to describe an action or event which is not yet completed. Present perfect continuous: The present perfect continuous tense is used for actions or events that began in the past and continue (or recur) up to the present.

Use The present indicative of most verbs in modern English has the same form as the infinitive, except for the third-person singular form, which takes the ending -[e]s. The verb be has the forms am, is, are. For details, see English verbs. For the present subjunctive, see English subjunctive. A number of multi-word constructions exist to express the combinations of present tense with the basic form of the present tense is called the simple present; there are also constructions known as the present progressive (or present continuous) (e.g. am writing), the present perfect (e.g. have written), and the present perfect progressive (e.g. have been writing). Use of the present tense does not always imply the present time. In particular, the present tense is often used to refer to future events (I am seeing James tomorrow; My train leaves at 3 o'clock this afternoon). This is particularly the case in condition clauses and many other adverbial subordinate clauses: If you see him,...; As soon as they arrive... There is also the historical present, in which the present tense is used to narrate past events. For details of the uses of present tense constructions in English, see Uses of English verb forms.

Hellenic languages

Modern Greek present indicative tense In Modern Greek, the present tense is used in a similar way to the present tense in English and can represent the present continuous as well. As with some other conjugations in Greek, some verbs in the present tense accept different (but equivalent) forms of use for the same person. What follows are examples of present tense conjugation in Greek for the verbs βλέπω (see), τρώω (eat) and αγαπώ (love).

Romance languages The Romance languages are derived from Latin, and in particular western Vulgar Latin. As a result, their usages and forms are similar.

Latin present indicative tense The Latin present tense can be translated as progressive or simple present. Here are examples of the present indicative tense conjugation in Latin.

French present indicative tense In French, the present tense is used similarly to that of English. Below is an example of present tense conjugation in French.

The present indicative is commonly used to express the present continuous. For example, Jean mange may be translated as John eats, John is eating. To emphasise the present continuous, expressions such as "en train de" may be used. For example, Jean est en train de manger may be translated as John is eating, John is in the middle of eating. On est en train de chercher un nouvel appartement may be translated as We are looking for a new apartment, We are in the process of finding a new apartment.

Italian present indicative tense In Italian, the present tense is used similarly to that of English. What follows is an example of present indicative tense conjugation in Italian.

Portuguese and Spanish present indicative tense The present tenses of Portuguese and Spanish are similar in form, and are used in similar ways. What follows are examples of the present indicative conjugation in Portuguese.

There follow examples of the corresponding conjugation in Spanish.

Slavic languages

Bulgarian present indicative tense In Bulgarian, the present indicative tense of imperfective verbs is used in a very similar way to the present indicative in English. It can also be used as present progressive. Below is an example of present indicative tense conjugation in Bulgarian.

*Archaic, no infinitive in the modern language.

Macedonian present tense The present tense in Macedonian is expressed using imperfective verbs. The following table shows the conjugation of the verbs write (пишува/pišuva), speak (зборува/zboruva), want (сака/saka) and open (отвaра/otvara).

Sinitic languages In Wu Chinese, unlike other Sinitic languages (Varieties of Chinese), some tenses can be marked, including the present tense. For instance, in Suzhounese and Old Shanghainese, the word 哉 is used. The particle is placed at the end of a clause, and when a tense is referenced, the word order switches to SOV. In a sentence such as "落雨了", it would be the perfective aspect in Standard Mandarin, whereas this would be analysed as the present tense in contemporary Shanghainese, where 哉 has undergone lenition to 了.

See also Grammatical aspect Tense–aspect–mood Tense confusion

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Present tense

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Present tense claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Present tense before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Present tense ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Present tense

In research: Present tense appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Present tense in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Present tense is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Grammatical tenses, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Present tense outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Present tense in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Present tense means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Present tense out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Present tense in simple terms?

The present tense (abbreviated PRES or prs) is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to locate a situation or event in the present time. The present tense is used for actions which are happening now.

Why does Present tense matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Present tense?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Present tense.