Tenses

Tom studies every day. He is studying right now. He studied last night. He was studying when
they came. He will study tomorrow. He will be studying when you come. He has already
studied chapter one. He has been studying for two hours. He had already studied chapter one
before he began studying chapter two. He had been studying for two hours before his friends
came. He will have studied chapter four before he studies chapter five. He will have been
studying for two hours by the time his roommate gets home.
I.

Simple present
a) General statements of fact and timeless truths (always true)
Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen
The average person breathes 21600 times a day
The world is round
It snows in Sweden
b) Habitual or everyday activities (key: sometimes, often,
always) (happens repeatedly)
Tom watches television everyday
I study for two hours every night
I get up at seven every morning
He always eats sandwich for lunch
I play tennis
When does the train usually leave?
She always forgets her purse

II.

Present progressive (in the middle of something) (happening now) (unfinished

present action)

a) In progress at the moment of speaking (It is a temporary activity that began in the past, is
continuing at present, and will probably end at some point in the future) (key: now, at the moment)

He is sleeping right now

I need an umbrella because it is raining
What are you doing?
I am watching television
Why arent you doing your homework?

b) General activity that is in progress for longer time

I am taking five courses this semester
I am trying to improve my work habits
I am working on a project this year
c) Using progressive verbs with always to complain (express annoyance or anger)

Marry is always leaving her dirty socks on the floor

I am always picking up Marys dirty socks

Simple present vs. simple progressive

She cannot come to the phone because she is washing her hair. She
washes her hair every day.
He usually sits in the front row during the class but today she is
setting in the last row
Please be quiet. I am trying to concentrate
I wrote to my friend last week. She hasnt answered my letter yet. I
am waiting for a reply.
After six days of rain, I am glad the sun is shining again today
Every morning, the sun shines in my bedroom window and wakes me
up
Look! It is snowing. Its beautiful! This is the first time Ive ever seen
snow. It does not snow in my country.
Close your eyes. Now listen carefully. What am I doing? You are
rubbing the top of your desk with your hand. Close but not exactly
right. Try again. Aha! You are rubbing your hands together. Right!
Look. It is beginning to rain. Unfortunately I do not have my umbrella
with me. To is lucky. He is wearing a raincoat.
Shhh. Grandpa is taking a nap in the living room. We do not want him
to wake up. He needs his rest.
Right now I am looking at janet. She looks angry. I wonder whats the
matter. She has a frown on her face. She certainly not having any
fun right now.
Right now I am looking around the classroom. Yoko writing in her
book. Carlos is biting his pencil. Wan-Ning is scratching his head.
Ahmed is staring out the window. He seems to be daydreaming, but
perhaps he is thinking hard about verb tenses. What do you think
Ahmed is doing?

Simple past (finished action) (what did you do?)

Began and ended at a particular time in the past
I walked to school yesterday
John lived in Paris for ten years (now he lives in another place)
If a sentence contains when and has the simple past in both
clauses, the action in the when clause happens first.
Rita stood under a tree when it began to rain
When she heard a strange noise, she got up to investigate

*Using progressive verbs with always to complain (express annoyance or anger)

I didn't like having Sam for my roommate last year. He was always
leaving his dirty clothes on the floor.