Present Continuous Tense

The common structure of the present continuous tense is as follows:

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

The auxiliary verb is always the simple present tense of the verb to be.

The main verb is constructed with the base of the verb + ing.

Present Continuous Tense Examples

I am eating cupcakes.

• Not: I am eat cupcakes.

• Not: I eat am cupcakes.

• Not: Eat am I cupcakes.

They are cooking dinner tonight.

• Not: They are cook dinner tonight.

• Not: They cook are dinner tonight.

• Not: Cook are they dinner tonight.

He is watching Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.

• Not: He is watch Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.

• Not: He watch is Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.

• Not: Watch is he Shark Week on the Discovery Channel.

Other Forms

Here are some verbs that have bases that change when -ing is added. If the base of the verb ends in a consonant + a stressed vowel + a consonant, then the last letter is doubled and -ing is added:

• stop becomes stopping

• run becomes running

• clap becomes clapping

If the base of the verb ends in an -ie, then the -ie is changed to a -y and -ing is added:

• lie becomes lying

• tie becomes tying

• die becomes dying

If the base of the verb ends in a vowel + a consonant + an -e, then the -e is deleted and -ing is added:

• create becomes creating

• come becomes coming

• type becomes typing

When Do We Use the Present Continuous Tense?

The first situation in which the present continuous tense is used is when you are referring to an action that is happening now.

• I am leaving now because I don't want to be late for the movie.

• She is working at Scribendi.com.

• They are watching a movie.

The Future

The second situation in which a person would use the present continuous tense is when they are referring to an action that is occurring in the future. There has to be a pre-determined plan for this action to take place. In order to refer to something in the future, you have to add a word that refers to the future. Examples of words referring to the future are tomorrow, next year, in September, at Easter, and so on.

• I am playing video games tomorrow.

• I am starting school in September.

• I am watching my weight until my vacation is over in January.

Habitual and Repeated Actions

The present continuous tense can also be used with always, very often, forever, and constantly to describe an action that occurs frequently:

• He is constantly asking me to go out with him.

• The movie theater is always playing something that I like.

Present Perfect Tense

While the structure of the present perfect tense is fairly simple, it is difficult for some ESL learners to determine when and where to use the tense.

When using the present perfect tense, the following structure is used:

subject + auxiliary verb + past participle

Present Perfect Examples

As you can see, the auxiliary verb have is in the present perfect tense. When have is used with the third-person singular subject, it changes to has. The past participle of the main verb is used

Past Participle Verbs

In the present perfect tense, the main verb is the past participle.

• He has delivered bad news.

• Not: He has deliver bad news.

• She has talked to the police.

• Not: She has talk to the police.

• I have heard too much.

• Not: I have hear too much.

Contractions

An auxiliary verb can often contract with the subject of a sentence. The contraction does not change the meaning of the word or sentence. Contractions in the present perfect tense often look like the following:

One thing does need to be mentioned about the third-person singular subject contractions she's, he's, and it's; these can all be contractions for he/she/it has, and he/she/it is. When editing, pay attention to context to determine which one the author means and whether he or she is using the contraction properly.

When Do We Use the Present Perfect Tense?

There are two main situations in which the present perfect tense is used.

1. To describe an action that has occurred and was completed in the past prior to another time or event, either explicit or implied.

2. To describe an action starting in the past and still continuing in the present.

The First Situation

The present perfect tense is used when an action has occurred and was completed in the past prior to another time or event, either explicit or implied. The exact time in the past does not need to be expressed as long as it is obvious that the action has occurred sometime in the past. The first sentence in each of the pairs below is in the present perfect tense. Note how it is different from the sentence with which it is paired (which is in another tense).

• I have seen the Mona Lisa.

• Versus: I saw the Mona Lisa. (simple past)

• She has been in the Louvre for the longest time.

• Versus: She is at the Louvre. (simple present)

The Second Situation

The present perfect tense is used when an action has begun in the past and continues into the present and possibly the future. This applies not only to an action but also to a state. In this situation, for and since are often used in conjunction with the present perfect tense.

• I have been in school since I was four years old.

(I started school when I was four and am still in school now.)

• He has lived in Australia since 2005.

(He started living in Australia in 2005 and still lives there now.)

• She has accomplished a lot since she graduated.

(She graduated in 2006 and is still accomplishing things now.)

Questions

When writing the present perfect tense in question format, the order of the words is slightly different than when it is used in sentence format.

A present perfect tense declarative sentence is written as follows:

subject + auxiliary verb + past participle

A question written in the present perfect tense is written as follows:

auxiliary verb + subject + past participle

Negative Sentences

Negative sentences in the present perfect tense are similar in structure to regular present perfect tense sentences. The biggest difference is that a negative is added after the auxiliary verb have.

Summary

We'll say this in the present perfect continuous tense unit as well, but it bears repeating because of its importance. Continuous tenses offer us something we don't often see in grammar: consistency. Every time a continuous tense is used, you'll see an -ing ending. Not all -ing endings indicate the continuous tense (in some cases, an -ing word can be a participle), but all continuous tenses make use of the -ing ending. And no matter what time period these actions occur in (past, present, or future), they happen for a duration of time. Once you've identified these qualities in a verb, it's only a matter of determining whether it occurs in the past, present, or future, and whether there is an auxiliary verb indicating a perfect tense.

Perfect tenses provide us with the same thing that continuous tenses provide us with: consistency. All perfect tenses use have or has. While each perfect tense has its own set of criteria, all of them use the same auxiliary verb. The present perfect tense is used to describe actions that started in the past but are still happening in the present or have relevance to the present. The past perfect and future perfect tenses both deal with actions that are either already completed or have yet to be completed.

Last Updated: 09/29/2022