Fun Easy English - American English Grammar Present tense.

Learning objectives

In this lesson you will learn the definition of present tense and study examples of present tense.

Definition of present tense

Present tense is an action, event, or condition which occurred or is occurring now and includes the following:
simple present
present perfect
present progressive
present perfect progressive
The table below shows the present tense

tense & aspect		aspect
tense & aspect		simple	perfect	progressive	perfect progressive
tense	past	simple past	past perfect	past progressive	past perfect progressive
	present	simple present	present perfect	present progressive	present perfect progressive
	future	simple future	future perfect	future progressive	future perfect progressive

Examples of present tense

Simple present: "I go." For many verbs, this is used to express habit or ability as in "I play the guitar."
I paint the house.
I eat breakfast this morning.
I go to the bookstore with my best friend.
Present perfect: "I have gone." This is usually used to express that an event happened at an unspecified or unknown time in the past.
I have painted the house.
I have eaten breakfast this morning.
I have gone to the bookstore with my best friend.
Present progressive: "I am going." This is used to express what most other languages use the simple present tense for. Note that this form in English can also be used to express future actions, such as in the phrase "We're going to the movies tonight."
I am painting the house.
I am eating breakfast this morning.
I am going to the bookstore with my best friend.
Present perfect progressive: "I have been going." This is used to express that an event started at some time in the past and continues to the present.
I have been painting the house.
I have been eating breakfast this morning.
I have been going to the bookstore with my best friend.