PRESENT TENSES

Simple Present FROM HTTPS://MAGOOSH.COM

Form: Use the base form of a verb, adding an /s/ to the end of the verb if the subject
is singular. (Unless the verb is irregular, in which case other rules may apply.)
Uses:
Use 1: Actions that are habitual or routine
EXAMPLES: The sun rises. I brush my teeth twice a day.
Use 2: General, timeless facts
EXAMPLES: Spiders make webs. Babies drink milk.
Use 3: Narrative style (used when recalling past events or announcing things that are
happening in the moment)
EXAMPLES: So I go to the store yesterday, and the clerk says “We’re closed!” He hits the baseball out of the field and makes a home run!
Use 4: The “real” present (things that are happening right now), but ONLY when the
verb is stative. Stative verbs deal with the way the subject is, instead of what the
subject does.
EXAMPLES: That car looks old. They think that’s a bad idea.
  


Present Perfect

Form: Have or has + past form of a verb
Uses:
Use 1: Actions that started in the past, continue into the present, and may continue
into the future
EXAMPLES: The children have felt sick ever since they ate lunch. My neighbor has lived next door to me for two years.
Use 2: Separate actions that happened in the past and may happen again in the
future
EXAMPLES: That man has traveled overseas several times. We have eaten at that restaurant once or twice.
Use 3: Recently completed actions that still influence things happening in the
present
EXAMPLES: The sun has risen and you need to wake up. They have finished their meeting, so now they can go.
 

Present Continuous

Form: The present tense of “to be” (am/is/are)+ verb + ing
Uses:
Use 1: The “real” present (things that are happening right now), for all verbs except
stative verbs
EXAMPLES: I am sitting down right now. He can’t come to the phone because he is working. You can’t see the children because they are hiding.
Use 2: Temporary actions that may not be happening right now, but have not yet been completed
EXAMPLES: I am taking an English course. The truck is being repaired. Plans are
being made.

EXERCISE ONE
EXERCISE TWO
EXERCISE THREE