TENSES

·         Present Tense
I do do, I do

·         Present Continuous Tense
I am doing, I am doing tomorrow

·         Present Perfect Tense
I have done

·         Present Perfect Continuous Tense
I have been doing

A.     PRESEN 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:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I, you, we, they			like	coffee.
	He, she, it			likes	coffee.
-	I, you, we, they	do	not	like	coffee.
	He, she, it	does	not	like	coffee.
?	Do	I, you, we, they		like	coffee?
	Does	he, she, it		like	coffee?

B.     PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE

The structure of the present continuous tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb	+	main verb
		be		base + ing

Look at these examples:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I	am		speaking	to you.
+	You	are		reading	this.
-	She	is	not	staying	in London.
-	We	are	not	playing	football.
?	Is	he		watching	TV?
?	Are	they		waiting	for John?

C.     PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

The structure of the present perfect tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb	+	main verb
		have		past participle

Here are some examples of the present perfect tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I	have		seen	ET.
+	You	have		eaten	mine.
-	She	has	not	been	to Rome.
-	We	have	not	played	football.
?	Have	you		finished?
?	Have	they		done	it?

D.     PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

The structure of the present perfect continuous tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb	+	auxiliary verb	+	main verb
		have has		been		base + ing

Here are some examples of the present perfect continuous tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		auxiliary verb	main verb
+	I	have		been	waiting	for one hour.
+	You	have		been	talking	too much.
-	It	has	not	been	raining.
-	We	have	not	been	playing	football.
?	Have	you		been	seeing	her?
?	Have	they		been	doing	their homework?