The present tenses

There are two present tenses in English:

The present continuous: I am working.
The present simple: I work.

The present continuous

Form
auxiliary be + present participle
I am we are verb + -ing
you are you are
he is
she is they are
It is
 The spelling of present participle
When a verb ends in e the e is dropped before –ing
hate→hating
love →loving
make → making

*agree →agreeing
see →seeing

When a verb has a short vowel then it is double before -ing

hit →hitting
begin→beginning
admit →admitting

*budget →budgeting
enter →entering
A final l in British English is doubled
signal →signalling
travel →travelling

-ing can be added to a verb without effecting the spelling

carry →carrying
enjoy →enjoying
hurry →hurrying
*
Stative verbs are not normally used in continuous tenses
admire,be, believe,belong, consist, dislike, doubt,fit,
forget,guess,hate,hear,imagine,include,keep,know,
like,love,mean,prefer,realise,recognise,remember,
seem, smell,sound, suppose, taste, understand,
want,wish
(verbs of the senses, verbs expressing emotions,verbs of mental
activity, verbs of possession)
Adverbs
At the moment Now This week/this year

*Always
He is always losing his keys.
 Affirmative
I am working= I’m working
you are working= you’re working
he is working=he’s working
...
Negative
I am not working=I’ m not working
you are not working= you aren’t working
he is not working= he isn’t working
...
Question
Am I working?
Are you working?
Is he working?
 Use
The present continuos is used for
an action happening now:
It is raining.
Why are you sitting at my desk?

An action happening bout this time, not necessarily at the

moment of speaking:
I am reading a play by Shakespeare.
He is learning French.
For two actions happening at the same time and
coordinated:
She is knitting and listening to the radio.
For a definite arrangement in the near future:
I’m meeting Tom tonight.
 The Present Simple Tense
Form
In the affirmative the simple present has the same form as the
infinitive but adds s for the third person singular
Affirmative
I work
You work
He/she/it works
We work
You work
They work
 Negative
I do not work= I don’t work
You do not =you don’t work
He/she/it does not work= he/she/it doesn’t work
We do not work=we don’t work
You do not work=you don’t work
They do not work=they don’t work

Questions
Do I work? Do we work?
Do you work? Do you work?
Does he work? Do they work?
Does she work?
Does it work?
 Spelling notes
Verbs ending in ss, sh, ch, x, o, add es instead of s
kiss→kisses
rush →rushes
watch →watches
box →boxes
go →goes

When y follows a consonant we change y →i and then add es

carry →carries
copy →copies
try →tries

But verbs ending in y following a vowel obey the usual rule

obey →obeys
say →says
 Use
The simple present tense is used
To express habitual action:
He smokes.
I read newspaper every morning.
To quote from books, notices:
What does the notice say? It says: No
parking.
In newspaper headlines
PEACE TALK FAIL
For planned future action:
We leave London at 10 next Friday.
It is used in condional sentences type 1
If I see Ann I ’ll ask her.

In time clauses (as soon as, once, before, when)

As soon as I arrive home, I ’ll call you.

Adverbs
never
hardly ever
ocassionaly
often
sometimes
usually
always
every day, once a month, three times a day.

Frequency adverbs go after to be:

I am always tired on Saturdays.

But before other verbs:

I never have breakfast in bed.

Other adverbs are usually at the end of the sentence:

I play tennis every Friday morning.
My brother lives with us until he finds a flat on his own.
These days we’re always having test in school.
I am not having enough money for a long holiday this year.
Everyone needs a break from work sometimes.
I am liking a good cup of coffee after lunch.
I must lose weight: I’m weighing over 80 kilos.
Maria is going to the shops every Saturday morning.
What period of history are you studying this term?
My father is knowing all about mending cars, but not much
about bikes.
Oh sorry,it looks like mine in this light.