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Revision as of 14:56, 29 August 2007

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#redirect [[Tense]]

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The '''present tense''', and, more precisely, the present tense in one of its [[aspect]]s, the '''simple present''', is one of only two [[tense]]s in English (that is, genuine [[inflect]]ed tenses). (Other constructions that look like tenses are really [[verb phrase]]s.) In the [[[active voice]] the two easy forms of the present aspects are these.

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*The '''simple present tense''' is a single word. It is the [[base form]] of the [[verb]], except in the [[3rd person]] [[singular]], where it regularly adds ''''-s'''' (or ''''-es'''' etc, according to certain rules).

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*The '''continuous present tense''' is formed with the [[Auxiliary verb]] 'to be' + the [[-ing participle]]. Examples are "I <u>am</u> writ<u>ing</u>", "you <u>are</u> read<u>ing</u>" and "she <u>is</u> do<u>ing</u> something else".

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It is a characteristic of some forms of English from outside Britain that they are inclined to use the two aspects of the present tense in ways that native British speakers do not. Some south Asian speakers have a tendency, for example, to use the continuous "I <u>am</u> think<u>ing</u>" where the British tend to say "I think"; in some forms of [[Black Vernacular English]] the continuous present is formed by the -ing participle alone, with no auxiliary verb.

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[[category:Grammar concepts]][[category:grammar]][[category:Verb attributes]]

Present tense - Revision history

PeterWilson at 14:56, 29 August 2007

PeterWilson at 14:05, 29 August 2007