Present Tense

What Is the Present Tense?

The present tense is a verb tense that describes a current activity or state of being. For example:

• My parrot sings "The Sun Has Got Its Hat On" every morning.
(This is a current activity.)
• I am happy.
(This is a current state of being.)

Somewhat unusually, the present tense can also be used to describe past and future activities. For example:

• I swim in the sea every Saturday.
(This is a current activity.)
• Aliens exist in outer space.
(This is a current state of being)
• The meeting ends at 6 o'clock.
(This is the present tense, but it describes a future activity. It happens with scheduled times.)
• A man walks into a bar. Ouch!
(This is the present tense, but it describes a past activity. This is rare. It sometimes happens when telling stories or jokes.)

Video Lesson

Here is a 14-minute video summarizing this lesson on the present tense. It is 14 minutes long because the term "present tense" covers the following four present tenses:

• the simple present tense
• the present progressive tense
• the present perfect tense
• the present perfect progressive

Don't worry. The video explains each one simplistically, and there are lots of examples of each tense later in the lesson. video lesson

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer video to text? Here is a list of all our grammar videos.

The Four Present Tenses Explained

The present tense is categorized further depending on whether the action is in progress or completed (called the aspect of a verb). Here are the four present tenses:

The 4 Present Tenses	Examples	Uses
simple present tense	I go. I like chocolate. The train arrives at 5 o'clock. A horse walks into a bar, and the barman says, "why the long face?"	The simple present tense is used: (1) To describe facts and habits. (2) To describe scheduled events in the future. (3) To tell stories to make your listener or reader feel more engaged with the story.
present progressive tense	I am going. Barney is looking for the latest brochure.	The present progressive tense is used for an ongoing action in the present.
present perfect tense	I have gone. David has worked alongside two of the world's finest scientists in the field of entomology.	The present perfect tense is used to describe actions that began in the past and are still continuing into the present.
present perfect progressive tense	I have been going. Julie has been relying on a pay rise to pay her student loan.	The present perfect progressive tense is used for: (1) a continuous activity that began in the past and continues into the present, or (2) a continuous activity that began in past but has now finished (usually very recently).

Simple Present Tense

Here is an infographic summarizing the simple present tense.

Examples of the Simple Present Tense

or

• I play every Tuesday
• Between two evils, I always pick the one I have never tried before.
• Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement. (US President Ronald Reagan)
• I like the word indolence. It makes my laziness seem classy. (Philosopher Bernard Williams)
• I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. (Author Douglas Adams)
• My family goes to France every summer.
(Notice that "go" becomes "goes." There are spelling rules to consider.)
• I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn't itch. (Comedian Gilda Radner)
• War does not determine who is right - only who is left. (Philosopher Bertrand Russell)

Read more about the simple present tense and its spelling rules.

Present Progressive Tense

Here is an infographic summarizing the present progressive tense.

Examples of the Present Progressive Tense

• I am playing at the moment.
• I am not getting any younger!
• My family is emigrating to Australia next June.
• People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing. (Author Dale Carnegie)
• I am not afraid of storms for I am learning how to sail my ship. (Author Louisa May Alcott)
• I am returning this otherwise good typing paper to you because someone has printed gibberish all over it and put your name at the top.
• A lot of good arguments are spoiled by some fool who knows what he is talking about. (Playwright Miguel de Unamuno)
• A fellow who is always declaring he's no fool usually has his suspicions. (Playwright Wilson Mizner)
(Note that adverbs (here, always) sometimes appear between the verb "to be" (here, is) and the present participle (here, declaring).)
• As long as you're having fun, that's the key. The moment it becomes a grind, it's over. (Singer Barry Gibb)
• Middle age is when you're sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings and you hope it isn't for you. (Poet Ogden Nas)
• I'm leaving because the weather is too good. I hate London when it's not raining. (Comedian Groucho Marx)

Read more about the present progressive tense.

Present Perfect Tense

Here is an infographic summarizing the present perfect tense.

Examples of the Present Perfect Tense

• I have played for his team before.
• Don't take the wrong side of an argument just because your opponent has taken the right side.
• Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.
• If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants. (Physicist Isaac Newton)
• Only the dead have seen the end of the war. (Philosopher George Santayana)
• It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues. (US President Abraham Lincoln)
• Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen. (British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli)
• I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.
• I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be. (Author Douglas Adams)
• I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. (Basketball star Michael Jordan)
• Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men. (Activist Martin Luther King Jr)

Read more about the present perfect tense.

Present Perfect Progressive Tense

Here is an infographic summarizing the present perfect progressive tense.

Examples of the Present Perfect Progressive Tense

• I have been playing for a year.
• Fiona has not been playing well for 2 months.
• My grandparents have been living in this house for 50 years.
• Mary has been relying on a pay rise to pay her credit card bills.
• We have been learning since we were children how to make money, buy things, and build things. The whole education system is set up to teach us how to think, not to feel. (Comedian Yakov Smirnoff)
• My son has been laughing at inappropriate situations for the past two years.
• While I thought that I was learning how to live, I have been learning how to die. (Polymath Leonardo da Vinci)
• Well, I think money has been going into political campaigns for a very long time. (Businesswoman Carly Fiorina)
• I have been doing marriage counseling for about 15 years and I realized that what makes one person feel loved, doesn't make another person feel loved. (Author Gary Chapman)
• Either I've been something or nothing has been going on.

Read more about the present perfect progressive tense.

Interactive Verb Conjugation Tables

The tables below show all 12 tenses so you can see the present tenses among the other tenses. (You can change the verb by clicking one of the green buttons.)

Top 10 Regular Verbs

want look use work start try ask need talk help

Top 10 Irregular Verbs

see say go come know get give become find think

All 4 Past Tenses

Person	Simple Past	Past Progressive Tense	Past Perfect Tense	Past Perfect Progressive Tense
I you he/she/it we you they	past tense past tense past tense past tense past tense past tense The simple past tense is for a completed activity that happened in the past.	was present participle were present participle was present participle were present participle were present participle were present participle The past progressive tense is for an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for another action.	had past participle had past participle had past participle had past participle had past participle had past participle The past perfect tense is for emphasizing that an action was completed before another took place.	had been present participle had been present participle had been present participle had been present participle had been present participle had been present participle The past perfect progressive tense is for showing that an ongoing action in the past has ended.

All 4 Present Tenses

Person	Simple Present	Present Progressive Tense	Present Perfect Tense	Present Perfect Progressive Tense
I you he/she/it we you they	base form base form 3rd pers sing present base form base form base form The simple present tense is mostly for a fact or a habit.	am present participle are present participle is present participle are present participle are present participle are present participle The present progressive tense is for an ongoing action in the present.	have past participle have past participle has past participle have past participle have past participle have past participle The present perfect tense is for an action that began in the past. (Often, the action continues into the present.)	have been present participle have been present participle has been present participle have been present participle have been present participle have been present participle The present perfect progressive tense is for a continuous activity that began in the past and continues into the present (or finished very recently).

All 4 Future Tenses

Person	Simple Future	Future Progressive Tense	Future Perfect Tense	Future Perfect Progressive Tense
I you he/she/it we you they	will base form will base form will base form will base form will base form will base form The simple future tense is for an action that will occur in the future.	will be present participle will be present participle will be present participle will be present participle will be present participle will be present participle The future progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will occur in the future.	will have past participle will have past participle will have past participle will have past participle will have past participle will have past participle The future perfect tense is for an action that will have been completed at some point in the future.	will have been present participle will have been present participle will have been present participle will have been present participle will have been present participle will have been present participle The future perfect progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will be completed at some specified time in the future.

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