Present tense

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The present tense (abbreviated PRES or PRS) is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to locate a situation or event in the present time.[1] The present tense is used for actions which are happening now. In order to explain and understand present tense, it is useful to imagine time as a line on which the past tense, the present and the future tense are positioned. The term present tense is usually used in descriptions of specific languages to refer to a particular grammatical form or set of forms; these may have a variety of uses, not all of which will necessarily refer to present time. For example, in the English sentence "My train leaves tomorrow morning", the verb form leaves is said to be in the present tense, even though in this particular context it refers to an event in future time. Similarly, in the historical present, the present tense is used to narrate events that occurred in the past.

There are two common types of present tense form in most Indo-European languages: the present indicative (the combination of present tense and indicative mood) and the present subjunctive (the combination of present tense and subjunctive mood). The present tense is mainly classified into four parts or subtenses.

  1. Simple present : The simple present tense is employed in a sentence to represent an action or event that takes place in the present regularly.
  2. Present perfect : The present perfect tense is utilized for events that begin in the past and continue to the moment of speaking, or to express the result of a past situation.[2]
  3. Present continuous: The present continuous tense is used to describe an action that is happening right now.
  4. Present perfect continuous

Use[edit]

The present indicative of most verbs in modern English has the same form as the infinitive, except for the third-person singular form, which takes the ending -[e]s. The verb be has the forms am, is, are. For details, see English verbs. For the present subjunctive, see English subjunctive.

A number of multi-word constructions exist to express the combinations of present tense with the basic form of the present tense is called the simple present; there are also constructions known as the present progressive (or present continuous) (e.g. am writing), the present perfect (e.g. have written), and the present perfect progressive (e.g. have been writing).

Use of the present tense does not always imply the present time. In particular, the present tense is often used to refer to future events (I am seeing James tomorrow; My train leaves at 3 o'clock this afternoon). This is particularly the case in condition clauses and many other adverbial subordinate clauses: If you see him,...; As soon as they arrive... There is also the historical present, in which the present tense is used to narrate past events.

For details of the uses of present tense constructions in English, see Uses of English verb forms.

Hellenic languages[edit]

Modern Greek present indicative tense[edit]

In Modern Greek, the present tense is used in a similar way to the present tense in English and can represent the present continuous as well. As with some other conjugations in Greek, some verbs in the present tense accept different (but equivalent) forms of use for the same person. What follows are examples of present tense conjugation in Greek for the verbs βλέπω (see), τρώω (eat) and αγαπώ (love).

  βλέπω τρώω, τρώγω αγαπώ, αγαπάω
εγώ I βλέπω τρώω, τρώγω αγαπώ, αγαπάω
εσύ thou βλέπεις τρως, τρώεις αγαπάς
αυτός/αυτή/αυτό he/she/it βλέπει τρώει, τρώγει αγαπά(ει)
εμείς we βλέπουμε τρώμε, τρώγομε, τρώγουμε αγαπάμε, αγαπούμε
εσείς you (pl.) βλέπετε τρώτε, τρώγετε αγαπάτε
αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά they βλέπουν(ε) τρών(ε), τρώγουν(ε) αγαπούν(ε), αγαπάν(ε)

Romance languages[edit]

The Romance languages are derived from Latin, and in particular western Vulgar Latin. As a result, their usages and forms are similar.

Latin present indicative tense[edit]

The Latin present tense can be translated as progressive or simple present. Here are examples of the present indicative tense conjugation in Latin.

  plicāre debēre dicere cupere scīre
conjugation 1st 2nd 3rd 3rd 4th
ego plicō debeō dīcō cupiō sciō
tu plicās debēs dīcis cupis scīs
is, ea, id plicat debet dicit cupit scit
nos plicāmus debēmus dīcimus cupimus scīmus
vos plicātis debētis dīcitis cupitis scītis
ei, eae, ea plicant debent dīcunt cupiunt sciunt

French present indicative tense[edit]

In French, the present tense is used similarly to that of English. Below is an example of present tense conjugation in French.

  parler perdre finir partir
je parle perds finis pars
tu parles perds finis pars
il/elle/on parle perd finit part
nous parlons perdons finissons partons
vous parlez perdez finissez partez
ils/elles parlent perdent finissent partent

The present indicative is commonly used to express the present continuous. For example, Jean mange may be translated as John eats, John is eating. To emphasise the present continuous, expressions such as "en train de" may be used. For example, Jean est en train de manger may be translated as John is eating, John is in the middle of eating. On est en train de chercher un nouvel appartement may be translated as We are looking for a new apartment, We are in the process of finding a new apartment.

Italian present indicative tense[edit]

In Italian, the present tense is used similarly to that of English. What follows is an example of present indicative tense conjugation in Italian.

  parlare vedere sentire
io parlo vedo sento
tu parli vedi senti
egli/ella parla vede sente
noi parliamo vediamo sentiamo
voi parlate vedete sentite
essi/esse parlano vedono sentono

Portuguese and Spanish present indicative tense[edit]

The present tenses of Portuguese and Spanish are similar in form, and are used in similar ways. What follows are examples of the present indicative conjugation in Portuguese.

Pronoun falar comer insistir ter ser
eu falo como insisto tenho sou
tu falas comes insistes tens és
ele/ela/você fala come insiste tem é
nós falamos comemos insistimos temos somos
vós falais comeis insistis tendes sois
eles/elas/vocês falam comem insistem têm são

There follow examples of the corresponding conjugation in Spanish.

Pronoun hablar comer insistir tener ser
yo hablo como insisto tengo soy
hablas comes insistes tienes eres
él/ella/usted habla come insiste tiene es
nosotros hablamos comemos insistimos tenemos somos
vosotros habláis coméis insistís tenéis sois
ellos/ellas/ustedes hablan comen insisten tienen son

Slavic languages[edit]

Bulgarian present indicative tense[edit]

In Bulgarian, the present indicative tense of imperfective verbs is used in a very similar way to the present indicative in English. It can also be used as present progressive. Below is an example of present indicative tense conjugation in Bulgarian.

  писати*
pisati
говорити*
govoriti
искати*
iskati
отваряти*
otvarjati
аз
az
пиша
piša
говоря
govorja
искам
iskam
отварям
otvarjam
ти
ti
пишеш
pišeš
говориш
govoriš
искаш
iskaš
отваряш
otvarjaš
той, тя, то
toj, tja, to
пише
piše
говори
govori
иска
iska
отваря
otvarja
ние
nie
пишем
pišem
говорим
govorim
искаме
iskame
отваряме
otvarjame
вие
vie
пишете
pišete
говорите
govorite
искате
iskate
отваряте
otvarjate
те
te
пишат
pišat
говорят
govorjat
искат
iskat
отварят
otvarjat

*Archaic, no infinitive in the modern language.

Macedonian present tense[edit]

The present tense in Macedonian is expressed using imperfective verbs. The following table shows the conjugation of the verbs write (пишува/pišuva), speak (зборува/zboruva), want (сака/saka) and open (отвaра/otvara).

пишува

pišuva

пишува

pišuva

write

зборува

zboruva

зборува

zboruva

speak

сака

saka

сака

saka

want

отвaрa

otvara

отвaрa

otvara

open

јас

jas

1SG

јас

jas

1SG

пишувам

pišuvam

пишувам

pišuvam

зборувам

zboruvam

зборувам

zboruvam

сакам

sakam

сакам

sakam

отвaрам

otvaram

отвaрам

otvaram

ти

ti

2SG

ти

ti

2SG

пишуваш

pišuvaš

пишуваш

pišuvaš

зборуваш

zboruvaš

зборуваш

zboruvaš

сакаш

sakaš

сакаш

sakaš

отвaраш

otvaraš

отвaраш

otvaraš

тој,

toj,

3SG.M

таа,

taa,

3SG.F

тоа

toa

3SG.N

тој, таа, тоа

toj, taa, toa

3SG.M 3SG.F 3SG.N

пишува

pišuva

пишува

pišuva

зборува

zboruva

зборува

zboruva

сака

saka

сака

saka

отвaра

otvara

отвaра

otvara

ние

nie

1PL

ние

nie

1PL

пишуваме

pišuvame

пишуваме

pišuvame

зборуваме

zboruvame

зборуваме

zboruvame

сакаме

sakame

сакаме

sakame

отвaраме

otvarame

отвaраме

otvarame

вие

vie

2PL

вие

vie

2PL

пишувате

pišuvate

пишувате

pišuvate

зборувате

zboruvate

зборувате

zboruvate

сакате

sakate

сакате

sakate

отвaрате

otvarate

отвaрате

otvarate

тие

tie

3PL

тие

tie

3PL

пишуваат

pišuvaat

пишуваат

pišuvaat

зборуваат

zboruvaat

зборуваат

zboruvaat

сакаат

sakaat

сакаат

sakaat

отвaраат

otvaraat

отвaраат

otvaraat

Sinitic languages[edit]

In Wu Chinese, unlike other Sinitic languages (Varieties of Chinese), some tenses can be marked, including the present tense. For instance, in Suzhounese and Old Shanghainese, the word is used. The particle is placed at the end of a clause, and when a tense is referenced, the word order switches to SOV.[3]

In a sentence such as "落雨了", it would be the perfective aspect in Standard Mandarin, whereas this would be analysed as the present tense in contemporary Shanghainese, where has underwent lenition to .

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Comrie, Bernard (1985). Tense. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23652-5.
  2. ^ Chalker, Sylvia; Weiner, Edmund; Weiner, Edmund S. C. (1998). The Oxford dictionary of English grammar. Oxford paperback reference (Reissued, with corr., in new covers ed.). Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-19-280087-9.
  3. ^ Qian, Nairong (錢乃榮) (2010). 《從〈滬語便商〉所見的老上海話時態》 (Tenses and Aspects? Old Shanghainese as Found in the Book Huyu Bian Shang). Shanghai: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press.