- •The verb
- •§ 1. The General Notion
- •§ 2. The Classification of Verbs
- •§ 3. The Grammatical Categories of the Verb
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Present Indefinite
- •§ 2. The Use of the Present Indefinite
- •In demonstrations, instructions, commentaries and itineraries.
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Present Continuous
- •§ 2. The Use of the Present Continuous
- •An action in progress
- •A temporary characteristic of a person
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Present Perfect
- •§ 2. The Use of the Present Perfect
- •A series of actions which have happened up to now and can be continued
- •An action completed before a definite moment in the future
- •An action which began in the past and is still in progress
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Present Perfect Continuous
- •§ 2. The Use of the Present Perfect Continuous
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Past Indefinite
- •§ 2. The Use of the Past Indefinite
- •An action performed in the past
- •A general characteristic of a person in the past
- •An action in progress at a definite moment in the past or a past state
- •A succession of past actions
- •A repeated action in the past
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Past Continuous
- •§ 2. The Use of the Past Continuous
- •An action in progress at a definite moment in the past
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Past Perfect
- •§ 2. The Use of the Past Perfect
- •An action completed before a definite moment in the past
- •An action prior to another past action
- •An action which began before a definite moment in the past, continued up to that moment and was still in progress at that moment
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Past Perfect Continuous
- •§ 2. The Use of the Past Perfect Continuous
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Future Indefinite
- •§ 2. The Use of the Future Indefinite
- •A future action or an official arrangement
- •A prediction based on our opinion or past experience
- •A polite inquiry
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Future Continuous
- •§ 2. The Use of the Future Continuous
- •An action in progress at a definite moment in the future
- •A fixed arrangement seen as a part of routine
- •An anticipated future action
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Future Perfect
- •§ 2. The Use of the Future Perfect
- •An action completed before a definite moment in the future
- •An action which begins before a definite moment in the future, will continue up to that moment and will still be in progress at that moment
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Future Perfect Continuous
- •§ 2. The Use of the Future Perfect Continuous
- •An action which begins before a definite moment in the future, will continue up to that moment and will still be in progress at that moment
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Future Indefinite in the Past
- •§ 2. The Use of the Future Indefinite in the Past
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Future Continuous in the Past
- •§ 2. The Use of the Future Continuous in the Past
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Future Perfect in the Past
- •§ 2. The Use of the Future Perfect in the Past
- •§ 1. The Formation of the Future Perfect Continuous in the Past
- •§ 2. The Use of the Future Perfect Continuous in the Past
- •§ 1. The General Notion
- •§ 2. The Formation of the Passive Voice
- •§ 3. The Ways of Translation of the Passive Voice into Ukrainian
- •Combinations of the verb бути with the Past Participle Passive
- •§ 4. The Use of the Passive Voice
- •Informal English
- •Formal notices and announcements
- •Press reports
- •§ 1. The General Notion
- •§ 2. The Rules of the Sequence of Tenses
- •§ 3. The Exceptions to the Rules of the Sequence of Tenses
- •§ 1. The General Notion
- •§ 2. Tense, Time, Pronoun and Place Changes
- •§ 3. Indirect Statements
- •§ 4. Indirect Questions
- •§ 5. Indirect Orders and Requests
- •§ 6. Indirect Offers, Suggestions and Advice
- •§ 7. Indirect Exclamations
- •§ 8. Greetings and Leave-taking
- •§ 9. Modal Verbs
- •§ 10. The Subjunctive Mood in Indirect Speech
- •Exercises the verb
- •The present indefinite
- •The present continuous
- •The present perfect
- •The present perfect continuous
- •The past indefinite
- •The past continuous
- •The past perfect
- •The past perfect continuous
- •The future tenses
- •The passive voice
- •The sequence of tenses direct and indirect speech
- •Revision exercises
- •The table of irregular verbs
- •Bibliography
§ 2. The Use of the Present Indefinite
We use the Present Indefinite:
to denote a habitual repeated action
The regularity of the action can be indicated by the adverbials: always, never, often, seldom, sometimes, now and then, time and again, usually, as usual, every day (week, month, etc.), every other day, as a rule, etc.
E.g. I get up at 7 every morning.
He leaves work at 5 o’clock most days.
to denote a universal truth
E.g. Summer follows spring.
Water boils at 100 degrees.
to express a general (permanent) characteristic of a person or thing
E.g. He is an obedient boy.
She speaks English well.
with stative verbs
to denote a present state
E.g. She is ill.
This house belongs to my parents.
to introduce a person’s opinion
E.g. I think you’re right.
He supposes you know it.
to denote a future action or event due to a timetable, a schedule, a programme, a calendar
Mostly the verbs of motion are used (to arrive, to come, to land, to leave, to take off, etc.).
E.g. The train arrives at 7.30.
The next meeting is on 14th September.
Christmas is on Monday next year.
to denote a future action in:
adverbial clauses of time after the conjunctions: when, after, before, till/until, as soon as, as long as
E.g. I’ll go for a walk when I translate the article.
Wait here till he calls you.
adverbial clauses of condition after the conjunctions: if, in case, on condition that, providing that, unless
E.g. We’ll go for a walk if the weather is fine.
If I find the book, I’ll give it to you.
to denote a nearest future action in questions
E.g. What do we do next?
Where do we go now?
to denote a past action with the verbs to forget, to hear, to understand, to be informed, to be told
E.g. I forget your address.
I hear he has come back.
We are told she lives in Dublin.
in summaries of past events in newspapers, books, films, etc.
E.g. This reference book explains the correct use of punctuation marks in Modern English.
NOTE 4. In informal English we can use ‘historic present’ to describe past events so as to make the narration seem more immediate and dramatic.
E.g. ‘Once an Englishman was travelling in France. He comes into a bar and asks a barman to give him mushrooms, but the barman doesn’t understand him. So he takes a pencil and a piece of paper and begins to draw...’
In demonstrations, instructions, commentaries and itineraries.
The style in this case is more personal, because the imperative can sound more abrupt.
E.g. ‘First I put a lump of butter into a frying pan. Then while the butter is melting I break two eggs…’
‘You pour some water into a pot and add the potatoes.’
‘You go down the street to the traffic lights and then turn right, …’
‘Brown passes to Johnson, Johnson to Smith, Smith shoots – and it’s a goal!’
On day four we visit London.
THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE |
(THE PRESENT PROGRESSIVE) |