Guru Fisika Bertaraf Internasional

Guru Fisika Bertaraf Internasional

The Present tenses
The Present Simple and the Present Continuous

The Present Simple:

What is it?

It defines an action that happens regularly or as a routine It also defines general truths or scientific facts It is used to express functions of systems in technical English

How is it constructed ?

Take the infinitive of the verb for example 'to work' and remove 'to'. There is no change except for the third person singular which requires the addition of s/es/ies

Positive forms: The verb only changes in the third person singular i.e. he/she/it. We attach 's' or 'es' or 'ies':

I work play read you work play read he/she/it works plays reads we work play read they work play read

Time markers

They mark the regularity of an action. Frequency adverbs: always, usually, often, sometimes, hardly ever, rarely, never. Their position is usually between the subject and the verb in the positive form or before the verb in the negative or question forms. Time expressions: every day/week/month/year, on Sundays, etc. They are at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.

Learn some irregular forms of the third person singular:

have- has

After verbs that end in -s/-ch/-sh, add 'es'. The pronunciation is /iz/

pass - passes watch-watches finish-finishes catch-catches wash-washes kiss-kisses

Note the third person singular of the verbs 'go' and 'do':

go-goes do-does

When a verb ends in 'y', if preceded by a consonant you eliminate 'y' and add '-ies'

study-studies marry-marries carry-carries

If 'y' is preceded by a vowel, you don't eliminate anything. Just add 's' as usual:

play-plays enjoy-enjoys

Negative form

The main scheme for the negative form is: Subject + auxiliary -not/n't + verb i.e.: I don't study It is the same for all persons BUT for the third person singular: He doesn't study

Question form

The main pattern for the question form is: Wh- + auxiliary + subject + verb i.e.: Where DO you come from? The auxiliary DO is used for all persons except the third person singular: Why DOES he always arrive late for work? DOES she like travelling?

When to use the Present Simple: We use the present simple for things that are true in general, general/scientific facts, or for things that happen sometimes or all the time:

- Water boils at 100°C - The Earth goes round the Sun - The speed of light is 300,000 km/sec - Camels store water in their humps - The blue whale is the biggest animal in the world - The Ilama is the only member of the camel family which has no hump - 'Homo sapiens' means 'thinking man' - Water forms clouds when it evaporates from the Earth - Red blood cells are made in the bone marrow - Every living thing contains carbon

We use the present simple with adverbs of frequency to describe habits, routines and regular or rare events: Among these adverbs we find: always/often/usually/sometimes/occasionally/rarely/hardly ever/never etc. These normally come BEFORE the verb, although 'sometimes' and 'occasionally' may change position:

- He always studies after dinner - I usually wear plastic goggles when I perform experiments in the laboratory - Prof. Taylor's lecture normally starts at 11.15, but today it starts at 10.30. - Franco never prepares for his exams and leaves revision until the very last moment. - The weather here is not very good. It often rains. - Dr. Braithwaite usually prepares his presentations using Powerpoint - Sometimes I get headache if I look at the computer screen too long.

Try out a general knowledge quiz based on scientific facts: Click here >>

The Present Continuous (or Progressive):

What is it?

This tense is used to describe what IS HAPPENING NOW. Key time expressions are: 'NOW', 'AT THE MOMENT', 'CURRENTLY'. Note that the adverb ACTUALLY in English is not translated into Italian as 'ATTUALMENTE'. It is a so-called false friend, and means 'really', 'in actual fact'. Translate 'ATTUALMENTE' as 'NOW', 'AT THE MOMENT', 'CURRENTLY' etc. It is also used to describe future plans and intentions. Although grammatically, its construction does not change, using relevant time expressions such as '', 'TONIGHT', 'NEXT WEEK', 'TOMORROW' transforms the sentence into future time. It is particularly used when talking about future arrangements and diary entries.

How is it constructed?

This tense is composed of: the verb "to be" and the present participle form of the verb in -ing:

For example, take the verb "to work": Subject To be Abbreviation Verb in -ing form I am I'm working You are You're working He is He's working She is She's working It is It's working We are We're working They are They're working

To make a negative, just transform the verb "to be" into the negative and add the -ing form of the verb: Subject To be Negative Abbreviation Verb in -ing form I am not I'm not working You are not You're not working He is not He isn't working She is not She isn't working It is not It isn't working We are not We're not working They are not They're not working

To make a question, INVERT the verb "to be" and the subject: Am I working Are you working Is he working hard? Is she working Is it working Are we working Are they working

Try out an amusing listening quiz based on animal sounds using the present continuous: Click here >>
Practise using the present simple when describing general facts and truths:
try out the general knowledge quiz Click here >> and the world knowledge quiz Click here >>