This page will help you if you can't remember the difference between the Present Continuous tense ("I am doing"), and the Present Simple tense ("I do").
Which tense you use depends on how you see the state or action. If you use the Present Simple ("I do"), you think something is permanent. This means we often use the Present Simple to talk about general and scientific facts, our routines or habits, to give definitions and to describe things.
The Present Continuous ("I am doing") means the action is happening now (or around now), is unfinished, or temporary. We use it to talk about trends and changes, or about situations happening now that are different from normal.
"I live in London." (This is my home.)
"I am living with my parents." (A temporary situation until I buy my own house.)
"Hot air rises." (A scientific fact.)
"House prices are rising." (A trend happening now.)
"I drive to work every day." (My routine or habit.)
"I am walking to work this week." (My car is being repaired.)
"At work I write letters to customers." (My job routine.)
"I'm writing a difficult letter." (This is what I am doing right now and I haven't finished yet.)
So the most important rule is that you use the Present Simple ("I do") for permanent states and the Present Continuous ("I am doing") for changes and trends.
Some verbs cannot be used in the Present Continuous tense. This is because they already suggest permanence.
These include:
Verbs of possession – own, have, belong. (Although you can say "I am having a party", it doesn't mean you own the party, it means you are hosting a party.)
Verbs of the mind – believe, know, think, forget.
Verbs of emotion – love, hate, detest.
Verbs of the senses – see, hear, smell, taste. ("I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow" means I am going to visit the doctor, but "I see the doctor" means "the doctor is standing in front of me".)
Verbs of geographical location – lie. ("London lies on the River Thames".)
40 comments on “Present tenses in English”
I can't understand these line, plz: explain it.
some verbs can't be used in the present continuous tense.
This is becoz already suggest permanence.
Some "state" verbs such as "be", or "belong" or "own" aren't temporary verbs. They express something which is always true. For example, "This pen belongs to me" means that it always belongs to me: it's not like the pen belongs to me one day, and then to someone else the next. For this reason, we can't use these types of verbs in the continuous form, as the continuous form suggests that something is temporary, rather than permanent.
The verbs "freeze" and "love" are (according to a supplementary grammar chapter in the review "spotlight"
verbs of perception and emotion and cannot be used with -ing.
In my booklet "tenses" the sentence "I freeze" is said to be wrong and corrected by "I am freezing"
And : Is the Mc Donald slogan "I'm loving it" correct?
Thank you for your comments.
In my opinion, in the sentence "I'm freezing", the "freezing" isn't a verb, but an adjective, similar to "I'm cold". You can use the verb "to freeze" to talk about putting something in the freezer:
"In summer we freeze all our uneaten vegetables."
A good question about the McDonald's slogan! I think it's American English: in British English we'd say "I love" or "I like", but in American English, it's possible to use the continuous form.
What is diference between ' We are coming back tomorrow and We will come back tomorrow.
Both sentences are correct.
"We are coming back tomorrow" = fixed arrangement
"We will come back tomorrow" = either a prediction or something decided as you speak
I am confused by the list of verbs that cannot be used with the present continuous eg
Where is Anna? She is seeing her son.
You can use "see" in the continuous form, but it doesn't mean to physically see someone, but that you have an appointment. There's an example on the page: "I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow".
I am thinking of going to visit her tomorrow.
Yes, you can also use "think" in the continuous form, but it suggests a mental activity, rather than an opinion.
I'm forgetting about the work I've still got to do.
No: you either have forgotten, or you have remembered. You can't use "forget" in a continuous form.
They are hating every minute of this interview.
This is also OK, but quite a new use of the verb "hate". To me it seems that it's used to describe a continuous feeling, rather than a permanent opinion.
A similar use is "I'm loving it", the McDonald slogan.
While we are lying on the beach, we are smelling the sea and we are tasting the salt in the air.
You can use smell / taste (and other sense verbs) if they are an activity. But in your example above, they seem more like abilities to me. When you are at the seaside, you can taste the salt in the air. It's not as if you go around with your tongue out trying to taste the salt.
Thanks in anticipation.
I was reading a book and I came across the following structure.
"I am hopping.You can hopping."The second sentence sounds strange,doesn't it ?Because I have heard that after modals like "can" we cannot use ing-forms directly.
Correct. After modals, use the infinitive without "to".
Is it correct to use:
I am study English.
I found this a little strange, but someone told me that it is grammatically right.
Denis » No, it's incorrect. It should be either "I study" or "I'm studying".
I am really impresed by upper comments.
I am wondering for the three different sentenses which one is correct
Since 1980, Jane has married.
or
Since 1980, Jane has been married.
or
Since 1980, Jane has been marring.
Hope for your explanation to my confuse.
Thanks & rgds
panchar » Since 1980, Jane has been married.
please tell me about the exceptions of adding s of the third person singular and give me example of some verbs
I can't think of any exceptions, except for when you add -es for verbs ending in a vowel, such as "go".
laila: you talked about simple present tense which happens every day. Example:-She prays five times every day , He plays soccer. Thank you
i usually hear a question like this" do you bring a camera?" is that right?? comparing with "are u bringing a camera?" which one is right??
and there's one more sentence
"I come here to visit your mom" why we use simple present here, isn't the activities still happening at this moment of the speaking??
thank u, i'll be waiting for your reply…
The first doesn't sound right, unless you are asking about someone's habits. "Do you bring a camera when you visit a different city?" Use the second if you are asking about someone's future plans: "Are you bringing a camera to the party?" (The party hasn't happened yet.)
In the third, the sentence means that someone habitually comes here to visit – it's not happened at the time of speaking.
Firstly,, i'm greatly glad of finding this web. Thanks you so much providing this web. I have a question. This isn't really related to the topic. What're the differences between a gerund and a verb+ing that's used in a simple continous tense? Thanx's before n after !!
They look the same (although with present continuous you have the verb "to be" as the auxiliary), but they function in different ways. See the page on gerunds in the grammar section for more information about how we use gerunds.
I've heard about another use of will for present tense. Tell me if the definition is right. Its used to talk about routines, sth that eventually happens.e.g . Rose invited me to her party, but I know that my father won't let me go ( my father is very strict).thaks in advance.
Yes, it's correct. We can use "will" to talk about what people habitually do.
"She will insist on wearing that awful old fur coat whenever we go to the theatre."
It often shows irritation with the person's habit.
Is this sentence correct
"Now you have done it."
My teacher said that sentence but I dont understand why did he use now?
What is the meaning of "now" here.
Thanks
I also feel confused when I hear this sentence:
he goes to the store now.
Why is "now' used here??
Thanks alot
The sentence is incorrect. It should be "He's going to the store now".
It means that you have done something (correctly) now – as he / she is talking to you.
It can also be a sort of warning that you say to someone when they do something that is wrong or which will cause repercussions.
Hi,
How about the verb "possess"?
Is it a verb of possession or not?
Thanks.
Hello,
There's something else related to this lesson.
I have a grammar book called "Grammar in Use Intermediate" and I turn to the page that discusses the verbs that can't be in the continuous form.
But, there's this verb "want". I didn't find it in this lesson but why not be a continuous verb?
Yes, it is, but we're more likely to use "own" instead of "possess".
Yes, it's also a verb that we don't use in the continuous form, because it's a verb of emotion.
About Rudy's opinion and Clare's explaination, I have an idea. I suppose a situation, two friends, A and B, come together to an attraction. Standing in front of it, A suddenly wants to know whether B has camera or not(maybe, he wants to get a photo of the amazing one and realised he doesn't take camera with him). So,in this case, how should A ask B to get appropriate information?
Many thanks.
Have you got your camera with you?
Hello,
How can the verbs of senses suggest permenance?
Abdulelah
Because if you have a sense, the sense is permanent. When you open your eyes and see, you always see – it's not as if you see one second and not the next.
Hi all,
I just would like you to know that there is other verbs that only suggest permenance:
agree
suppose
realize
contain
consist
and there are other verbs.
Also, I want you to know that if you want to use this website effectively, use a book with it called "Grammar in Use Intermediate". They complement each other and can help you learn this beautiful organized language more quickly.
And I would like you to know that if you would like to know whether a verb only suggests permenance or not, you have to keep in mind whether the verb you use is not an action or happening.
If it is not, then that verb only suggest permenance (paraphrased from the book I mentioned above").
Hi Clare!
Is correct if I say a statement like -Issues will be "discuss" or "discussed" concerning….please can you help me with that
"Issues will be discussed" is correct.
Hi!
I'm wandering which tense to use in such situation: There's a projects and I know that this project will last for 10 years. Should I say: I'm working on this project or I work on this project ?
"I'm working on" would probably be better, but you can also say "I work for X company and for the next ten years I'll be working on…"
Thank you very much for your answer :) Here comes another question :)
If something is happening right now we use present continous: 'She is sleeping at the moment' but as far as I remember one can use 'She is asleep now' – is that correct? If it is then why present simple for current action?
"Asleep" is an adjective, not a verb.
Is this sentence correct?
- It's been 6 months now that I'm having a vacation but still, my wife and I had no luck of having a baby.
If its ungrammatical, can you please help correct it. I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much in advance.
I've been on holiday for six months, but my wife and I still haven't had any luck in trying for a baby.