What Is the Present Tense?

(with Examples)
The present tense predominantly describes a current event or state of being. However, somewhat
unusually, the present tense can also be used to describe past and future events (more on this
below). For example:

I jump in the lake every Saturday.

(present event)

I am happy.
(present state of being)

The meeting ends at 6 o'clock.

(future event)
(See "Uses" for Simple Present Tense in the table below.)

A man walks into a bar. Ouch!

(past event)
(See "Uses" for Simple Present Tense in the table below.)
The tense of a verb is determined by when the action took place. The three main tenses are:

past tense

present tense

future tense

Examples of the Types of Present Tense

The present tense is categorised further depending on whether the action is in progress or
completed. The four present tenses are:
The 4 Present
Tenses
simple present tense

Examples

Uses
The simple present tense is used:

I go.

(1) To describe facts and habits.

(2) To describe scheduled events in

present_progressive
tense

present perfect tense

I like chocolate.

The train gets in at 5 o'clock.

A horse walks into a bar, and

the barman says, "why the
long face?"

I am going.

The present progressive tense is

used for an on-going action in the
Barny is looking for the latest present.
brochure.

I have gone.

present perfect
progressive

the future.
(3) To tell stories to make your
listener or reader feel more
engaged with the story.

David has worked alongside

two of the world's finest
scientists in the field of
entomology.

I have been going.

The present perfect tense is used to

describe actions that began in the
past and are still continuing into
the present.

The present perfect progressive

tense is used for:

(1) a continuous activity that began

Amanda has been relying on a in the past and continues into the
present, or
pay rise to pay her student
(2) a continuous activity that began
loan.
in past but has now finished
(usually very recently).

Diagrams for the Four Present Tenses

The infographics below show how each present tense is formed and a quick overview of how
each one is used:

Simple Present Tense

For example:

I play every Tuesday

Present Progressive Tense

For example:

I am playing at the moment.

Present Perfect Tense

For example:

I have played for his team before.

Present Perfect Progressive Tense

For example:

I have been playing for a year.

Your score:

Click on the verb in the present tense:

A. bake
B. baked
C. was baking

The simple present tense is used:

To express habits, general truths, repeated actions or unchanging situations,

emotions and wishes:
I smoke (habit); I work in London (unchanging situation); London is a
large city (general truth)

To give instructions or directions:

You walk for two hundred meters, then you turn left.

To express fixed arrangements, present or future:

Your exam starts at 09.00

To express future time, after some conjunctions: after, when, before, as

soon as, until:
He'll give it to you when you come next Saturday.

Be careful! The simple present is not used to express actions happening

now.
Examples

For habits
He drinks tea at breakfast.
She only eats fish.
They watch television regularly.

For repeated actions or events

We catch the bus every morning.
It rains every afternoon in the hot season.
They drive to Monaco every summer.

For general truths

Water freezes at zero degrees.
The Earth revolves around the Sun.
Her mother is Peruvian.

For instructions or directions

Open the packet and pour the contents into hot water.
You take the No.6 bus to Watney and then the No.10 to Bedford.

For fixed arrangements

His mother arrives tomorrow.
Our holiday starts on the 26th March

With future constructions

She'll see you before she leaves.
We'll give it to her when she arrives.

Forming the simple present tense: to think

Affirmative
Interrogative

Negative

I think

Do I think?

I do not think

You think

Do you think?

You do not think

He thinks

Does he think?

He does not think

She thinks

Does she think?

She does not think

It thinks

Does it think?

It does not think

We think

Do we think?

We do not think.

They think

Do they think?

They do not think.

Notes on the simple present, third person singular

In the third person singular the verb always ends in -s:

he wants, she needs, he gives, she thinks.

Negative and question forms use DOES (= the third person of the auxiliary
'DO') + the infinitive of the verb.
He wants ice cream. Does he want strawberry? He does not want vanilla.

Verbs ending in -y : the third person changes the -y to -ies:

fly --> flies, cry --> cries
Exception: if there is a vowel before the -y:
play --> plays, pray --> prays

Add -es to verbs ending in:-ss, -x, -sh, -ch:

he passes, she catches, he fixes, it pushes

Examples

He goes to school every morning.

She understands English.

It mixes the sand and the water.

He tries very hard.

She enjoys playing the piano.

When Should I Use The Present Simple

Tense?

Okay, now you know how to make the present simple. But how do we use it? In fact, we use this
tense in several different situations:
(More about the difference between the present simple and the present continuous here.)
My Present Simple Video
1: First, we use the Present Simple when something is generally true:

The sun rises in the east.

People need food.

It snows in winter.

The sky isn't green.

Plants die without water.

Two and two make four.

2: We also need to use this tense for a situation that we think is more or less permanent (see the
present continuous for a temporary situation - one which we think won't last long):

Where do you live?

She works in a bank.

They love coffee.

She has three children.

I am married.

I don't like mushrooms.

3: The next use is for habits or things that we do regularly. We often use adverbs of frequency in
this case (also see the present continuous for new, temporary or annoying habits):

Do you smoke?

I play tennis every Tuesday.

We often go to the cinema.

She gets up at seven o'clock every day.

At the weekend, we usually go to the market.

How often do you study English?

I don't travel very often.

4: Four, we use the simple present to talk about what happens in books, plays, or films:

The hero dies at the end of the film.

A young woman travels through Europe, where she meets different people, and finally
falls in love.

In this book, an army invades Britain.

The main character is very pretty and works in a bookshop.

5: We use it in the first and the zero conditionals:

If it rains, I won't come.

If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils.

6: Strangely, we can use this tense to talk about the future. When you are discussing a timetable
or a fixed plan, you can use this tense. Usually, the timetable is fixed by an organisation, not by
us:

School begins at nine tomorrow.

Our train leaves at eleven.

What time does the film start?

The plane doesn't arrive at seven, it arrives at seven thirty.

When does the class finish?

7: We also use it to talk about the future after words like ' 'when', 'until', 'after', 'before' and 'as
soon as' in a future sentence:

I will call you when I have time. (Not: 'will have')

I won't go out until it stops raining.

She'll come as soon as her babysitter arrives.

I'm going to make dinner after I watch the news.

I'll give you the book before you go.

8: We need to use this simple tense with stative verbs (verbs which we don't use in continuous
tenses), in situations where we'd usually use the present continuous:

This soup tastes great.

You look fabulous.

I think she is very pretty.

I am cold.

I promise I will help you