Present Tenses

1.

Present tenses

2.

Present Simple
Use of Present Simple:
regular action, habit (Ben plays basketball twice a
week)
general truths and facts (The sun rises in the east)
permanent situations (Tom works in a travel agent’s)
states (Do you have your plane ticket with you?)-state:
possession
timetable (The plane to Budapest takes off at 3 p.m)

3.

Present Simple
Formation of Present Simple
Noun + V (I, they, you, we). Auxiliary verb – Do (?)
Noun + V+s (he, she, it). Auxiliary verb – Does (?)
+ Ben plays basketball twice a week.
- Ben doesn’t play basketball twice a week
? Does Ben play basketball twice a week?

4.

Present Simple
Key-words:
Always
every day/week/month/year
Often
regularly
Usually
once a week/twice a week
Sometimes
never
Seldom
rarely

5.

Present Continuous
Use of Present Continuous:
action happening now (Mike is driving to work at
the moment)
temporary action or situation (Are the staying at the
Ritz hotel at the moment?)
Annoying habits (Tom is always losing his keys)
Planned action for the nearest future (He is visiting
a dentist next week)

6.

Present Continuous
Formation of Present Continuous:
To be + V+ing
+ Sam is driving to work at the moment
- Sam isn’t driving to work at the moment.
- Is Sam driving to work at the moment?

7.

Present Continuous
Key-words:
now
at the present moment
these days/nowadays
Listen! Look!

8.

Present Continuous
Stative verbs
Stative verbs are not normally used in continuous tenses because
they don’t describe actions, they describe states
thinking
believe, imagine, know,mean,
think,understand
existence
be, exist
emotions
hate, like , love, need, prefer, satisfy,
want
the human senses
hear, see, smell, sound, taste
appearance
Appear, look, resemble, seem
possession
Belong to, consist of, have,
include,involve,own

9.

Present Continuous
Watch out!!!
Some verbs are stative with one meaning and nonstative with another meaning (have, imagine, look, see,
smell, taste, think)
Do you have your ticket with you? (state:
possession)
Are you having lunch at the moment? (action,
process: eating)

10.

Present Perfect
Use of Present Perfect:
Situations and states that started in the past and are
still true
Completed action at a time in the past which is not
mentioned (time is not mentioned!!!)
Completed actions where the important thing is the
present result or experience
Phrases such as It’s the first/second/etc time are
followed by Present Perfect

11.

Present Perfect
Formation of Present Perfect:
Have/has (he,she,it) + Past Participle (V3)
+They have flown in a helicopter.
- They haven’t flown in a helicopter.
? Have they flown in a helicopter?

12.

Present Perfect
Key words:
already
Just
yet (negative and interrogative sentences) - ?/-
never
ever
Recently
e.g Have you ever been to Great Britain?
today
this week/month/year
since

13.

Present Perfect Continuous
Use of Present Perfect Continuous:
Actions continuing up to the present moment
We have been driving for hours.
Actions stopping just before the present moment
I’m out of breath because I’ve been running to get here
in time.

14.

Present Perfect Continuous
Formation of Present Perfect Continuous:
Have/has (he,she,it) + been + V+ing
+ We have been driving for hours
- We haven’t been driving for hours
? Have you been driving for hours?

15.

Present Perfect Continuous
Key words:
for
Since
All day/week/year

16.

Present Perfect/Present
Perfect Continuous
Sometimes there is a very little difference in
meaning between Present Perfect and Present
Perfect Continuous and sometimes there is a
difference in meaning
I have worked at the airport for four years = I have
been working at the airport for four years.
I have read the book about ships (I have finished it)
But !!! I’ve been reading the book about ships (I
haven’t finished it)