The present tense is the tense (form of a verb) that is often used to express:

 

* Action at the present time

* A state of being

* A habitual action

* An occurrence in the near future

* An action that occurred in the past and continues up to the present

There are two common types of present tenses found in most Indo-European languages: the present indicative (in the indicative mood) and the present subjunctive (subjunctive mood). In English, the present tense is subdivided into the following forms:

 

* Present simple: "I go to school every day."

* Present progressive: "You are being rude." (at this moment)

* Present perfect: "I have had two computers."

* Present perfect progressive: "She has been living in London for a year."

The conjugation of the present indicative tense in regular verbs is as follows:

 

to walk

I walk

you walk

he/she/it walks

we walk

you walk

they walk

 

 

Forming the simple present tense

 

How do we make the Simple Present Tense?

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

                     do                  base

 

There are three important exceptions:

 

1) For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.

2) For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary.

3) For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.

Look at these examples with the main verb like:

The simple present tense is one of the most common tenses in English. This page will explain the rules for forming the tense with regular verbs.

 

There are only two basic forms for the simple present tense; one ends with -s and the other doesn't. Here are the rules, using the example verb "sing":

I simple form: I sing

You simple form: You sing

He simple form: + S He sings

She simple form: + S She sings

It simple form: + S It sings

We simple form: We sing

They simple form: They sing

 

In other words, only THIRD PERSON SINGULAR subjects (he, she and it) have to have a verb with -S.

 

-S or -ES?

With most verbs, the third person singular form is created simply by adding -S. However, with some verbs, you need to add -ES or change the ending a little. Here are the rules:

 

 

 

EXAMPLES:

 

* I play tennis.

 

* She does not play tennis.

 

* The train leaves every morning at 8 am.

 

* The train does not leave at 9am.

 

* She always forgets her purse.

 

* He never forgets his wallet.

 

* Every twelve months, the Earth circles the sun.

 

* The sun does not circle the Earth

 

MORE EXAMPLES:

 

* Cats like milk.

 

* Birds do not like milk.

 

* California is in America.

 

* California is not in the United Kingdom.

 

* Windows are made of glass.

 

* Windows are not made of wood.

 

* New York is a small city. (It is not important that this fact is untrue.)

 

 

FORMING A NEGATIVE

 

In the simple present tense, negative and question forms are made using the auxiliary verb "do". This page explains the rules.

Negatives in the simple present are formed by adding don't or doesn't before the simple form of the verb: 

I don't: I don't sing

You don't: You don't sing

He doesn't: He doesn't sing

She doesn't: She doesn't sing

It doesn't: It doesn't sing

We don't: We don't sing

They don't: They don't sing

 

 

Past tense

 

The past tense is a verb tense expressing action, activity, state or being in the past.

 

In English, there are two distinct types of past tense:

 

Present perfect (see perfect tense)

Preterite (or simple past)

Each of these may also be found in the progressive (continuous) aspect.

 

Simple past is formed for regular verbs by adding –ed to the root of a word. Example: He walked to the store. A negation is produced by adding did not and the verb in its infinitive form. Example: He did not walk to the store. Question sentences are started with did as in Did he walk to the store?

 

Simple past is used for describing acts that have already been secluded and whose exact time of occurrence is known. Furthermore, simple past is used for retelling successive events. That is why it is commonly used in storytelling.

 

Estructura:

Sujeto + verbo en "Past Tense" + predicado.

 

 

Ejemplo 1: I woke up at seven o'clock yesterday [aiguokap at sevn oclock iesterdei]. (Yo) me desperté a las siete ayer.

 

Ejemplo 2: She studied [shisstadid] Spanish. Ella estudió/estudiaba español.

 

Ejemplo 3: It worked(Itguorkt]. Funcionó/funcionaba. (Una máquina, por ejemplo).

 

More examples:

 

* I saw a movie yesterday.

 

* I didn't see a movie yesterday.

 

* Last year, I traveled to Japan.

 

* Last year, I didn't travel to Japan.

 

* She washed her car.

 

* She didn't wash her car.

 

 

Change present tense to past tense

 

Present	Past
Example: Where is Jack today?	Where was Jack yesterday?
What day is it today?	What day -- was it yesterday?
Where are they today?	Where -- were they last week?
I am at home this afternoon.	I -- was at home yesterday afternoon.
We aren't in school now.	We -- weren't in school yesterday.
What is that in your hand?	What -- was that in your bag this morning?
When is usually she at home?	When -- was she at home yesterday?
He isn't a teacher.	He -- wasn't a teacher.