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| The present tense is a verb tense used to describe a current activity or state of being. However, somewhat unusually, the present tense can also be used to describe past and future activities. |
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There are two types of present tenses that you need to be focused on: |
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Simple present tense |
| (b) |
Present continuous tense |
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| The simple present tense is used to: |
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| USES |
EXAMPLES |
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Show habitual actions
- Habitual action is what a person normally does or is the person's habit.
- The sentences usually contain time phrases, like 'every'.
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- Every year, Hindus celebrate a festival called "The Festival of Lights."
- I go to the library after school every day.
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State a general truth
- This refers to a fact or something which is generally true.
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- An ostrich does not bury its head in the sand when it is afraid. When it hears its enemies coming, it runs away.
- The sun rises in the East.
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Describe feelings and senses
- like, know, believe, think, wish.
- feel see, hear, smell.
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- I wish I could fly like a bird.
- Do you hear raindrops outside?
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Give instructions and directions
- It is used to give simple instructions, describe a process, and to give directions.
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- First, go along this corridor until you reach the stairs.
- Take the stairs down to the next floor and turn left.
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| The table below shows questions and sentences in the simple present tense: |
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| POSITIVE SENTENCES |
NEGATIVE SENTENCES |
QUESTIONS |
| I work every day. |
I do not work every day. |
Do you study every day? |
| The stall opens five days a week. |
The stall does not open five days a week. |
When does the stall open? |
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| 8.2 |
Present Continuous Tense |
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(a) Show an action that is happening now
(b) A future planned action
(c) An action that is performed so often that it becomes a habit
(d) Used in the passive form
- But, remember that verbs used for expressing feelings and senses cannot be used in the continuous form (Examples: hear, see, want, wish, etc.)
- The present continuous form is as follows:
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| 'be' verb (is/are/am) |
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verb-ing |
| He is |
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playing. |
| He is not/isn't |
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playing. |
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Examples:
(a) I am writing a letter to my friend.
(b) She is cooking her own lunch.
(c) We are not studying now.
(d) She is always biting her fingernails.
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| 8.3 |
Present Perfect Tense |
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| The present perfect tense is used to: |
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| USES |
EXAMPLES |
| Show an action that has already been performed |
I have prepared lunch for my family. |
| Show an action that has already started and is still going on - time expressions like 'since' and 'for' |
She has not called me since we argued. |
| Used with words like 'just', 'already', 'recently', 'yet', 'seldom', etc. |
I have recently started learning Mandarin. |
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