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Overview of present tenses

 

 Verb tense

Use

Form

Examples

- Simple present

- To talk about routines;

- To talk about general truths;

- To talk about future events that are on a definite schedule or timetable.

Affirmative:

I/you/we/they + verb (bare infinitive)

He/she/it + verb + s*/es**/ies***

* Most verbs

** Verbs ending in ss, x, z, o, ch, sh

*** Verbs ending in consonant + y

A study shows the positive effect of mindfulness-based interventions on university students.

 

 

Negative:

I/you/we/they + do not + verb (bare inf.)

He/she/it + does not + verb (bare inf.)

This study does not show the positive effect of mindfulness-based interventions on university students.

Interrogative:

Do + I/you/we/they + verb (bare inf.)

Does + he/she/it + verb (bare inf.)

Does this study show the positive effect of mindfulness-based interventions on university students?

 

 Verb tense

Use

Form

Examples

- Present progressive

- To talk about actions that are in progress at the moment of speaking;

- To talk about future events that were previously planned or definite intention.

Affirmative:

Subject + be (simp. pres.: am/is/are) + verb + ing

Researchers are investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution at the moment.

Negative:

Subject + be not (simp. pres.) + verb + ing

Researchers are not investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution at the moment.

Interrogative:

Be (simp. pres.) + subject + verb + ing

Are researchers investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution at the moment?

 

 Verb tense

Use

Form

Examples

- Present perfect

- To talk about actions that happened some time before now (at an unspecified time);

- To talk about actions that started in the past and continue up to the present.

Affirmative:

Subject + has / have + verb (past participle)

Researchers have investigated the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution for years.

Negative:

Subject + has not / have not + verb (past participle)

Researchers have not investigated the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution for years.

Interrogative:

Has / Have + subject + verb (past participle)

Have researchers investigated the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution for a long time?

 

 Verb tense

Use

Form

Examples

- Present perfect progressive

- To talk about actions that started in the past and continue up to the present.

Affirmative:

Subject + has / have + been + verb + ing

 

Researchers have been investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution for years.

Negative:

Subject + has not / have not + been + verb + ing

Researchers have not been investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution for long.

Interrogative:

Has / Have + subject + been + verb + ing

Have researchers been investigating the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions in this institution for long?

 

Notes:

The examples used were adapted from Galante et al. (2018).

For timelines that illustrate the use of the different verb tenses, please refer to http://www.eslcharts.com/verb-tenses-chart.html

 

References:

Azar, B. S.; & Hagen, S. A. (2009). Understanding and Using English Grammar (4th ed.). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall Regents.

Galante, J.; Dufour, G.; Vainre, M.; Wagner, A; Stochl, J.; Benton, A. (2018). A mindfulness-based intervention to increase resilience to stress in university students (the Mindful Student Study): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Public Health. 3(2), pp.72-81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(17)30231-1