An overview of present tense grammar in English

The English language, like any other, has its own peculiarities, in particular regarding the use of tenses. One of the basic constructions is the present tense, which includes Present Simple, Present Continuous, Present Perfect, and Present Perfect Continuous. Let’s look at the basic rules of these times.

Let’s take a detailed look at the basic grammar that is needed for beginners (it does not include all verb tenses, such as the Present Perfect Continuous, which is a more complex tense and is studied at higher levels of English):

1. Present Simple:

   • Used to indicate ongoing actions, facts, habits, or states.

   • When forming questions or negative forms, the auxiliary verb “do/does” is used.

   • Verbs with the third person singular (he, she, it) take the ending “-s” or “-es”.

   • Examples:

     • “I read a book every evening.”
     • “Does he like apples?”
     • “She doesn’t eat meat.”

2. Present Continuous:

   • Used to indicate current actions, temporary states, etc.

   • Is formed using the auxiliary verb “be” (am/is/are) + verb + “-ing”.

   • Examples:

     • “I am reading a book right now.”
     • “He is not watching TV right now.”
     • “Are they playing football?”

3. Present Perfect:

   • Is used for actions that happened in the past but are important to the current moment.

   • Is formed using the auxiliary verb “have/has” + Past Participle (3rd form of the verb).

   • Examples:

     • “I have read the book (before).”
     • “He has just arrived.”
     • “They have never been to France.”

4. Using “Have” and “Has”:

   • “Has” is used with the third person singular (he, she, it): “She has a fever.”
   • “Have” is used with I/you/we/they: “I have a fever.”

5. Structure of questions from “How much”:

   • Used in the context of uncountable nouns: “How much is an egg sandwich?”

6. Using “like” and “want”:

   • Structure with “like” and “want”: They are followed by an infinitive with “to”: “I want to go.”

7. Use of the verb with the third person plural (they, we):

   • The verb does not change, as in the case of the third person singular: “They like slow music.”

These grammar rules will help you better understand how the basic tenses are formed and used in English.

Practice using the present tense in English

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Present Tense in English. Choose the best answer (ELEMENTARY/PRE-INTERMEDIATE)

Tom ______ mathematics. He ______ it at school.

likes / studies

likes / studying

to like / studies

like / study

Peter has a pocket calculator. He ______ it almost every day.

use

using

is using

uses

I ______ a fever but I ______ have sore throat.

have / don’t

am / not

don’t / got

have / don’t

How much ______ bananas ?

is

are

do

was

Has he______ flu?

got

does

has

have

Sally has a headache but she ______ have a fever.

don’t

haven’t

not got

doesn’t

Mr. and Mrs. Taylor ______ to watch horror films.

like

doesn’t like

not like

likes

Robert reads sports magazines. He wants ______ them now.

reads

read

is reading

to read

She ______ her homework at night.

does

doing

is doing

do

A: What is wrong with Lisa?

B: She ______ a fever.

has

is

does

got

______ Tom and Betty have measles?

Have

Do

Are

Has

______ they have an old car?

Are

Have

Aren’t

Do

I ______ walk to school. I take a bus.

haven’t

doesn’t

am not

don’t

How much ______ an egg sandwich ?

is

were

are

does

______ Tom a test today?

Is there

Has

Is

Does

She wants to go to the park. She ______ want to go to the zoo.

wasn’t

isn’t

doesn’t

don’t

They like slow music. They ______ like fast music.

don’t

not

doesn’t

are

It is 8.30. Let’s ______ on the TV.

to turn

turning

turn

is turning

They ______ never late.

aren’t

be

don’t

are

My brother ______ like Indian films.

doesn’t

isn’t

not

don’t

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Learning the present tense in English is the key to understanding and using the language in different contexts. Remember these rules and improve your skills by doing exercises and practice tests.