Present tense:
Present Simple:
This is used to express a habitual action.
Examples:
- Ram eats apple every morning.
- They take tea every evening.
To express a general truth
Examples:
The sun rises in the east.
For things which stay the same for a long time
Examples:
- Sunita works in Dubai.
- Vishal and Kajal live in Ranchi.
Present Continuous and Example:
To express an action going on at the point of speaking
Examples:
- It is raining outside.
- She is reading the newspaper loudly.
To express an action that is planned or organized to take place in near future
For example:
- He is going to meet you tomorrow.
- You are going to the mall today evening.
Note: You should use Present Simple in place of Present Continuous for the actions of the slightly distant future.
For example,
(She is going to the theatre the next week.) – Not Suitable
Rather say,
She goes to the theatre the next week.
Present Perfect
To denote completed activities in the immediate past
Incorrect: She just arrived.
Correct: She has just arrived.
To express those past actions whose time is not given and not definite?
Incorrect: I drank a glass of milk.
Correct: I have drunk a glass of milk.
For actions starting at some time in the past plus going on up to the moment of speaking (with ‘since’ and ‘for’ phrases)
Examples:
- I have worked in this company for fifteen years.
- I have known her since childhood.
Regulation: The present perfect is never applied with adverbs of past time. In such cases the past simple ought to be used.
Incorrect: Anita has visited her parents last week.
Correct: Anita visited her parents last week.
Present Perfect Tense Exercise
To denote completed activities in the immediate past
Incorrect: She just arrived.
Correct: She has just arrived.
To express those past actions whose time is not given and not definite?
Incorrect: I drank a glass of milk.
Correct: I have drunk a glass of milk.
For actions starting at some time in the past plus going on up to the moment of speaking (with ‘since’ and ‘for’ phrases)
Examples:
- I have worked in this company for fifteen years.
- I have known her since childhood.
Regulation: The present perfect is never applied with adverbs of past time. In such cases the past simple ought to be used.
Incorrect: Anita has visited her parents last week.
Correct: Anita visited her parents last wee
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
To express an action which started at some time in the past and is still going on?
For example,
- You have been working on this project since January last.
- Rita has been listening to music for two hours.
For an action already completed and the result of the action takes place in present
For example,
- The car is very hot as it has been running in the sunlight.
- The constable is very tired as he has been running behind the thief.
