English Grammar Drills - Mark Lester 2009
Simple category of tenses
9 Verb Tenses
Part 2 Verb Phrases
In this section we examine the three simple category verbs: simple present, simple past, and future.
Present tense
One of the most confusing features of the present tense for nonnative speakers is that the presenttense verb form does not actually mean present time. The two most common uses of the present tense are for making timeless factual statements and for describing habitual actions.
The present tense is used to state timeless (that is, not bound or limited by time) objective facts. For example:
In the Fahrenheit scale, water boils at 212 degrees.
This statement is not tied to any moment of time. It is a universal generalization that is valid forever. Here is another example in which the timeless nature of the factual statement is not so obvious:
My grandmother lives in a nursing home.
The speaker’s grandmother has not always lived in a nursing home, and at some point in the future, she will not be living in the nursing home. The use of the present tense signals that for the foreseeable immediate future, the speaker’s grandmother is expected to stay in a nursing home. If the speaker had used the present progressive tense:
My grandmother is living in a nursing home.
it would change the meaning completely. The sentence is now tied to the present moment. The grandmother is in a nursing home now, but there is no implication that she is expected to stay there indefinitely. Here are more examples of timeless factual statements in the present tense:
Christmas falls on Sunday this year.
The moon and the earth rotate around a common center of gravity.
Cucumbers make my skin itch.
My son lives in Sacramento.
The present tense is also used for making timeless generalizations, assertions, and observations. For example:
Smoking causes cancer.
Everyone hates Mondays.
Airplanes get more crowded every day.
My kids watch too much TV.
The present tense is used to describe habitual or repeated actions. For example, in the following sentence:
Alice checks her e-mail first thing when she gets into the office.
the use of the present tense signals that the sentence is describing Alice’s habitual or normal activity—not what she is doing at this present moment of time. The sentence does not mean that Alice is checking her e-mail now. The present-tense sentence would still be valid even if Alice has been on vacation and hasn’t looked at her e-mail for a month. Typically we use adverbs of frequency (like usually, always, every day, normally) in present-tense sentences used for habitual actions. Here are some more examples of this use of the present tense:
I have oatmeal for breakfast every morning.
He always returns his calls promptly.
They usually stay at the Marriott.
We don’t eat out very often.
Exercise 9.2
In the following sentences, the italic present-tense forms are all correctly used. Above the presenttense verb, indicate the specific reason why the timeless present tense is appropriate. Write timeless to indicate a timeless factual statement or habitual to indicate a habitual action.
1. I usually eat lunch in my office.
2. Obama’s speeches focus on health-care issues.
3. The Nile is one of the few major rivers in the world flowing south to north.
4. We usually lock our doors when we go to bed.
5. Low interest rates tempt many consumers to take on too much debt.
6. Sometimes we go for long walks on the weekend.
7. In America, rental apartments come with all the major kitchen appliances.
8. All too often, debates about global warming totally ignore all the scientific evidence.
9. They rarely watch TV.
10. Mexican food has too much fat and salt for me.
11. Paying cash beats using your credit card all the time.
12. That song certainly sounds familiar.
13. Most Asian restaurants have take-out menus.
14. I sneeze whenever I step into bright sunshine.
15. Many Americans spend part of the winter in the Southwest or Florida.
Past tense
The past tense is used to refer to events that were completed in the past. The key to using the past tense is to remember that the use of the past tense emphasizes that the events are over and done with before the present moment of time. Often the use of the past tense implies that what was true then is not true now. For example, consider the following sentence:
When I was a little boy, I hated girls.
The use of the past tense tells us that the speaker’s childhood attitude toward girls is confined to the past.
The past tense can be used to refer to a single moment in past time. For example:
I graduated in 2004.
The past tense can refer to events that occurred repeatedly in the past. For example:
It rained every day during my vacation in Spain.
The implication is that the vacation was over with at some time prior to the present.
The past tense can refer to a span of time in the past. For example:
I worked for that company for six years.
The use of the past tense also tells us that the speaker no longer works for that company today. If the speaker were still working for that company today, the speaker would have used the present perfect tense:
I have worked for that company for six years.
Future tense
In traditional grammar, the future tense consists of the helping verb will followed by a verb in the base form. For example:
I will see them at the meeting this afternoon.
It will rain all next week.
The company will hire a new personnel director later this year.
The future tense is often combined with a perfect or progressive. For example:
Perfect
My sister will have already left by now.
They will have gotten up early this morning.
The plane will have landed by now.
Progressive
They will be clearing customs by now.
My family will be staying in London over Christmas.
I will be watching the game on TV this afternoon.