present tense

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

For referencing in Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:Citing sources.

The present tense is the tense (that is, the form of the verb) that may be used to express:

• action at the present
• a state of being;
• an occurrence in the (very) near future; or
• an action that occurred in the past and continues up to the present.

There are two common types of present tenses to be found in most Indo-European languages: the present indicative (i.e., the combination of present tense and indicative mood) and the present subjunctive (i.e., the combination of present tense and subjunctive mood).

Germanic Languages

English

English, like other Germanic languages, has two tenses, past and non-past. These tenses have several aspects. The present tense aspects comprise:

• present simple, which is used to describe both habits and or routines (I eat breakfast every morning at 6:30. I go to work every day), and general facts or the truth (The earth revolves around the sun);

English speakers use the present simple for thoughts and feelings. (Ex. I think so, I like it.)

In the present simple, they use the verb without an ending. (Ex. I get the lunch ready at one o'clock, usually.) In the third person singular, (after he, she, it, your friend and etc.,) however, the verb ends in -s or -es. (Ex. It gets busy on the weekends. Sarah catches the early train.)

• present progressive or present continuous, which is used to describe events happening now, e.g. I am reading this wiki article, and I am thinking about editing it;

The present simple tense is very often used with adverbs of repeated time. Look at these examples (the adverbs are shown in bold):

• - I always come to school by cycle.
• - She frequently arrives here before me.
• - He never forgets to do his homework.
• - I often catch the late bus home.

When we want to state a fact or ask a question without any time reference, we use the present simple tense.

• - I live in Frankfurt.
• - She plays football but she does not play tennis.
• - For breakfast, he eats rice and drinks cold milk.

Statements about rules of nature and the way the world is are in the present simple tense.

• - The sun sets in the Occident.
• - Most babies learn to speak when they are about two years old.
• - Water boils at 100° Celsius.

• present perfect progressive, which is used to describe events or actions that have begun at some point in the past and continue through the present, e.g. I have been reading this article for some time now.

The conjugation of the present indicative tense in regular verbs is as follows:

Romance Languages

The Romance languages are derived from Latin, and in particular western Vulgate Latin. As a result, their usages and forms are similar.

Latin present indicative tense

In Latin, the present tense can be translated as being progressive or simple. Below is an example of present indicative tense conjugation in Latin.

French present indicative tense

In French, the present tense is used similarly to that of English. Below is an example of present tense conjugation in French.

To express (and emphasise) the present continuous, expressions such as "en train de" or "en cours de" may be used. For example, Jean est en train de manger, may be translated as John is eating, John is in the middle of eating. On est en train de chercher un nouvel appartement may be translated as We are looking for a new apartment, we are in the process of finding a new apartment.

Italian present indicative tense

In Italian, the present tense is used almost identically to that of English. What follows is an example of present indicative tense conjugation in Italian.

Spanish present indicative tense

In Spanish, the present tense is used similarly to that of English. What follows is an example of present tense conjugation in Spanish.

Slavic Languages

Bulgarian present indicative tense

In Bulgarian, the present indicative tense of imperfective verbs is used very similarly to that of English. It can also be used as present progressive. Below is an example of present indicative tense conjugation in Bulgarian.

*Archaic, no infinitive in the modern language.

Finno-Ugric Languages

Finnish present indicative tense

In Finnish, the pronouns have their own ending in the verb. These verbs may be used by themselves, without the pronoun (except he/she=hän).

Altaic Languages

Turkish present indicative tense

In the Turkish language, the pronouns have their own ending according to vowel harmony. Present tense suffix is "r".

See also

• Historical present
• Future tense
• Past tense
• Grammatical aspect

External links

• English Page
• Simple Present Tense
• 4 Present Tenses Explained
• Using the present tenses in English
• English Grammar Worksheets
• Simple Present Tense