English Tenses The Present

Present Simple Simple present tense is the most commonly used tenses, showing facts, actions taking place one after another, action set by a timetable or schedule and action in the present taking place once, never or several times.

Present Continuous Present continuous tense mainly indicates action taking place in the moment of speaking. It could also be used for action taking place only for a limited period of time and those arranged for the future.

Present Perfect Present perfect tense puts emphasis on the result. It shows action that is still going on or stopped recently. Moreover, it also shows finished action that has influence on the present and has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking.

Present Perfect Continuous Present perfect continuous tense is also used with action that recently stopped or is still going on and finished action that influence the present. However, compared with the above one, present perfect continuous tense pays more attention on the course or duration instead of the result.