The English Current Tense: Your Important Information

To talk about your likes and dislikes, hobbies and beliefs, you could know one essential factor: the current tense.

Even should you can communicate in current tense and learn current tense, chances are you’ll must be taught extra in regards to the particulars.

Right here, you’ll be taught all the pieces you could know.

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What Is the Current Tense?

In English, a tense is how your listener is aware of what time you’re speaking about.

A tense tells you when an motion occurred.

The phrase even comes from an outdated Latin phrase which means time: tempus.

We use totally different types of verbs—or motion phrases—whether or not we’re speaking about one thing that occurred already, one thing that’s occurring now or one thing that can occur sooner or later. Utilizing the suitable tense is necessary since it might assist stop misunderstandings.

The current tense is used for actions which might be occurring now, or that embody what is going on now.

On this information, we’ll discover all of the alternative ways the current tense can be utilized in English.

Current Tense Varieties in English

There are 4 types of the current tense: easy, steady, excellent easy and excellent steady.

Current Tense	When to Use	Construction	Examples
Easy	Normal or repeated actions	I/we/they + unchanged verb	I communicate, they stroll, we want.
		He/she/it + verb with -s on the finish	He speaks, she walks.
Steady	Ongoing actions	I’m + verb with -ing on the finish	I’m working, I’m talking.
		He/she/it’s + verb with -ing on the finish	He’s consuming, she is smiling.
		We/they/you are + verb with -ing on the finish	We’re waving, they’re speaking, you might be driving.
Excellent easy	Accomplished actions, with a connection to the current	I/we/you/they’ve + previous participle	I’ve seen, they’ve arrived, we’ve got completed.
		He/she/it has + previous participle	He has eaten, she has learn, it has occurred.
Excellent steady	Actions that began up to now and proceed within the current	I/we/you/they’ve been + verb with -ing on the finish	I’ve been working, they’ve been learning, we’ve got been ready.
		He/she/it has been + verb with -ing on the finish	He has been working, she has been sleeping, it has been raining.

Once we discuss in regards to the English current tense, the principle ones you could learn about are the easy and steady tenses. These are simple and speak about actions which might be common (easy) or presently occurring (steady). 

The 2 current excellent tenses (excellent easy and excellent steady) join previous occasions to the current. These previous occasions may be related to the current (excellent easy), or they’re nonetheless ongoing (excellent steady). 

As is true in lots of instances, there are exceptions (particular instances which might be totally different) to the foundations.

There are some irregular verbs that look totally different within the current tense.

To have, to be, to go and to do are the largest examples of irregular verbs. You have to to be taught the remaining, after all, however don’t fear. First, give attention to studying the commonest verbs.

All of this will get simpler as you observe.

To start out training, we are going to discover the alternative ways you should use these various kinds of current tense.

Utilizing the Current Easy and Steady Tenses

The current tense is all about what is going on now.

However additionally it is the suitable tense to make use of if you wish to share your beliefs, normal concepts, hobbies, issues that occur greater than as soon as and some different concepts like these.

Under you’ll discover ways to speak about a few of these issues.

Generalizations and Beliefs

Saying one thing is normal means it’s not particular.

You’re being particular should you say “I’ll eat fish immediately at 5:00.”

You could be normal by saying “I eat fish.”

The second sentence describes a generalization, or one thing that could be a large, non-specific assertion. You utilize the straightforward current tense for this type of talking.

This manner, you’ll be able to share concepts, beliefs that you’ve got, normal details or ideas about your self or others.

In the event you proceed describing your love of fish to somebody, you’ll be able to inform them “fried fish smells scrumptious,” or “fish is the perfect meals on the planet.”

Discover that what you say doesn’t need to be true, it’s simply an thought or a perception.

Hobbies and Habits

What do you love to do in your spare time? The easy current tense might help you reply this query.

“I play the piano, and typically I learn dangerous romance novels earlier than mattress.” You could be as normal or particular as you need together with your hobbies. Do you observe the piano for 3 hours each day? Do you fall asleep together with your nostril in a e-book? You should utilize the current tense to inform somebody about that.

Hobbies are issues that you simply do for enjoyable. Habits, however, are issues that you simply do typically with out selecting to, and typically to make your life higher (or worse).

You possibly can have good habits: “I all the time get up early and train earlier than I begin the day.”

You may also have dangerous habits: “Once I’m nervous, I chew my nails. Once I’m very nervous I make dangerous fish jokes.”

Each hobbies and habits are normal descriptions of issues that somebody does. They won’t be occurring proper at this second (you’re not enjoying the piano and biting your nails as you learn this) however they’re stated within the current tense as a result of they’re actions that embody the present time.

How Typically Issues Occur

You may need observed by now that the current tense is used to explain issues that hold occurring. You may also use the current tense to elucidate how usually this stuff occur.

For instance, should you say “He all the time drinks espresso within the morning,” it isn’t the identical as saying “He by no means drinks espresso within the morning.” In actual fact, these two sentences have reverse meanings.

There are literally two time-related phrases in these sentences: (1) the phrases all the time and by no means clarify how usually your pal drinks espresso, and (2) the phrases within the morning clarify when precisely this ingesting occurs (or doesn’t occur).

Whenever you’re describing the frequency of an motion (how usually one thing occurs), you could be very particular.

For instance: “Each night at 7:00 I research English for 2 hours.” This sentence tells when (7:00 within the night), how usually (each night) and for the way lengthy (two hours) you research English.

Otherwise you could be very normal:

“Typically I research English.” This sentence solely exhibits how usually you research (typically).

What Is Occurring Now

What are you doing proper now? Perhaps you are studying this text, ingesting some tea and listening to some good music.

Something that’s occurring proper at this second could be expressed with the continual current tense.

Consider this as the way in which to precise an motion that hasn’t ended but.

For instance: “I am nonetheless ready for this lengthy winter to finish.” If the winter was already over, this sentence wouldn’t be within the current tense! It will be up to now tense.

Scheduled Occasions

We hold saying that the current is one thing that occurs now. Nevertheless, it’s also possible to use it for scheduled occasions.

In case your pal is coming to go to, you may say: “Annie’s practice leaves New York immediately. She arrives right here tomorrow at 5.”

You utilize the current tense right here as a result of some preparation for this occasion has already occurred. The easy current tense is normally used for occasions which might be on a timetable or schedule or are occurring very quickly.

You should utilize the continual current tense to say the identical factor: “Annie’s practice is leaving New York immediately. She is arriving right here tomorrow at 5.”

There is no such thing as a distinction between the 2 tenses on this case, so use whichever tense you’re extra snug with!

Utilizing the Current Excellent Tenses

The current excellent tenses are fashioned with has or have (relying on whether or not the topic is singular or plural) plus the principle verb, they usually’re used a bit in a different way:  

Previous Actions that Have an effect on the Current

You may be used to pondering of the current tense as getting used for actions which might be occurring proper now or frequently. However the current excellent tense is especially used for previous occasions which might be related to the current.

For instance: “I’ve completed my report.” This assertion signifies that you’ve already completed doing all of your report up to now, and that is related to the current—possibly you’re able to submit your report now, or you have already got time to do different issues. 

Listed here are different sentences with the current excellent: “They haven’t cooked dinner but” or “She has purchased a brand new laptop computer.”

If an occasion simply occurred, it’s also possible to use the current excellent tense for that. Bear in mind to mix it with an adverb of time, like simply, just lately, or these days: “I’ve simply completed watching the film.” “I’ve just lately visited that espresso store.” 

Experiences

One other operate of the current excellent tense is to speak about experiences: “I have gone to Japan two instances.” “I’ve taken guitar classes.”

These are experiences that you simply’ve had up to now, and now they’ve added to your perspective of the world or affected how you might be within the current.  

The current excellent tense can even describe experiences that you simply haven’t tried. Simply use its unfavorable type, like in “I’ve by no means used a relationship app earlier than” and “I’ve by no means gone sky-diving.”

Previous Actions which might be Ongoing

If one thing occurred up to now and also you need to emphasize that it’s nonetheless occurring now, then that’s the place the current excellent steady tense is available in. 

For instance, you’ll be able to say: “I’ve been learning English for six years.” Which means you began learning English up to now, and till now you’re persevering with to check it.  Typically it’s also possible to take away the time reference: “She has been going to the gymnasium.” 

In some conditions (however much less generally), the current excellent tense works for this too: “I’ve labored on this firm since Could final yr” or “I’ve lived right here for six months.” This normally contains since or for adopted by the point length. 

Telling Time with Current Tense

As we talked about earlier than, English tenses inform you when one thing occurs.

However these tenses alone don’t present a lot info. When used alone, with none additional phrases to assist the outline, a tense can solely inform you that the motion occurred now, occurred earlier than or has not occurred but.

Many instances, you need to get info that’s extra particular than that.

To do this, you’ll be able to add particular time-related phrases that reply these questions:

1. How lengthy does the motion occur for?
2. How usually does the motion happen?
3. When does the motion occur?

Some examples of those time-telling phrases are:

1. How lengthy: All day, for hours, since this morning
2. How usually: By no means, all the time, always
3. When: At the moment, final yr, at 5 within the afternoon

There are a lot of extra phrases that assist describe the time of an motion. Are you able to assume of some extra?

Abstract of the Current Tense

It is best to now have a good suggestion of when to make use of the current tense. Right here’s a abstract of what you realized on this article:

Sort of Current Tense	Makes use of
Current Easy	Generalizations and beliefs	Actions occurring within the close to future
	Hobbies and habits	Scheduled occasions
	Frequency of an motion
Current Steady	Actions occurring proper now
Current Excellent Easy	Previous actions that have an effect on the current	Length of an ongoing previous motion
	Current occasions
	Experiences
Current Excellent Steady	Previous actions which might be nonetheless ongoing

 

How effectively did you perceive how you can use the current tense?

Now that you simply’ve learn this information, you’ll be able to attempt testing your self.

You could find some current tense workouts on the English Web page web site, or select from a big number of workouts on this German English-learning web site.

However don’t simply memorize grammar guidelines and do observe workouts to grasp the current tense: be sure to have a lot of genuine English audio and video that can assist you hearken to the English current tense in context. 

Whenever you learn English books, hearken to English podcasts and music or watch English movies, look rigorously for the current tense. Examine why or how sure phrases use the current tense, taking note of the conjugated verbs and the phrases that observe it.

Some language studying applications can even present when the current tense is anticipated for use. FluentU, for instance, makes use of genuine English movies so as to be taught vocabulary and sentence construction in context. Every video has interactive subtitles that present phrase definitions and grammar particulars, so you’ll be able to simply see and research situations of the current tense.

Now go on the market and take a look at your new expertise in the actual world!

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