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TEMA 32 “EOI”

LA EXPRESIÓN DEL PRESENTE. FORMAS

Y USOS.

UNIT 32 ‘EOI’

THE EXPRESSION OF PRESENT: FORMS

AND USES.

By Cristóbal Martínez Alfaro

OUTLINE

1. INTRODUCTION.

2. THE SIMPLE PRESENT OF VERBS.

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3. THE SIMPLE PRESENT OF VERBS OTHER THAN THE VERB TO BE.

4. THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS.

5. CONCLUSION.

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

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1. INTRODUCTION.

A verb indicates the time of an action, event or condition by changing its

form. Through the use of a sequence of tenses in a sentence or in a
paragraph, it is possible to indicate the complex temporal relationship of
actions, events, and conditions
There are many ways of categorising the twelve possible verb tenses. The
verb tenses may be categorised according to the time frame: past tenses,
present tenses, and future tenses.
Verbs carry the idea of being or action in the sentence.
 I am a student.
 The students passed all their courses.
As we will see, verbs are classified in many ways. First, some verbs
require an object to complete their meaning: "She gave _____ ?" Gave what?
She gave money to the church. These verbs are called transitive. Verbs that
are intransitive do not require objects: "The building collapsed." In English, you
cannot tell the difference between a transitive and intransitive verb by its form;
you have to see how the verb is functioning within the sentence. In fact, a verb
can be both transitive and intransitive: "The monster collapsed the building by
sitting on it."
Although you will seldom hear the term, a ditransitive verb — such as
cause or give — is one that can take a direct object and an indirect object at the
same time: "That horrid music gave me a headache." Ditransitive verbs are
slightly different, then, from factitive verbs, in that the latter take two objects.
Verbs are also classified as either finite or non-finite. A finite verb makes
an assertion or expresses a state of being and can stand by itself as the main
verb of a sentence.
 The truck demolished the restaurant.
 The leaves were yellow and sickly.
Non-finite verbs (think "unfinished") cannot, by themselves, be main verbs:
 The broken window . . .
 The wheezing gentleman . . .

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Another, more useful term for non-finite verb is verbal. Various verbal
forms: infinitives, gerunds, and participles will be discussed along this unit.
At classroom level, the information included in this unit connects with the
inductive way of learning grammar, that is why a lot of practice is needed.
Everything must be logically sequenced in relation to how simple or complex
something is. Functional concepts are especially emphasised in the current
legislation, they are associated with different communicative situation easily
recognizable by the students. Present is associated to ‘speaking about daily
routines’ (Present Simple) and to ‘actions taking place at present’ (Present
Continuous), however everything gets more complicated when we refer to
actions that will surely take place in a near or certain future (Present continuous
with future meaning). All these values are studied at early levels and are always
being re-used.

2. THE SIMPLE PRESENT OF VERBS.

Tense shows the time of a verb's action or being. There are three inflected
forms reflected by changes in the endings of verbs. There are two present
tenses in English:
1. The Simple Present: I work
2. The Present continuous: I am working.
The present tense indicates that something happens as a daily routine or
something is happening or being now:
"She is a student. She drives a new car."
“She usually gets up at seven. She’s making coffee.”
The simple past tense indicates that something happened in the past:
"She was a student. She drove a new car." And the past participle form is
combined with auxiliary verbs to indicate that something happened in the past
prior to another action: "She has been a student. She had driven a new car."
Unlike most other languages, English does not have inflected forms for the
future tense. Instead, English future forms are created with the use of
auxiliaries: "She will be a student. She is going to drive a new car." English can
even create the future by using the present tense, "The bus arrives later this

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afternoon," or the present progressive, "He is relocating to Portland later next

month."

 The Simple Present of verbs.

The grammar of a language is an analysis of the various functions

performed by the words of the language, as they are used by native speakers
and writers.
There are many different ways of analyzing a language. In such an
analysis, words can be given various names, depending on the function which
they perform. For instance, words which perform the function of naming things
are commonly referred to as nouns, and words which perform the function of
expressing states or actions are commonly referred to as verbs.
It should be kept in mind that many English words can perform more than
one function. For instance, in the following sentences, the underlined words can
be referred to as nouns because they perform the function of naming things.
e.g. I have lost my comb.
Water is one of the necessities of life.
However, in the following sentences, the same words can be referred to as
verbs because they perform the function of expressing actions.
e.g. I comb my hair every morning.
Do you water your plants once a week?
In this unit widely used terms such as noun, verb, pronoun and so on, will be
used in order to explain the way in which words function in the English
language.

 Verb forms.

English verbs may have different forms, depending on the subject of

the verb, and depending on when the action expressed by the verb takes place.
In the following sentences, the subjects of the verbs indicate who or what
is performing the actions expressed by the verbs. The verbs in these examples
are underlined.

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e.g. We live in the city.

He lives on Queen Street.
These examples illustrate how the form of a verb may vary, depending on the
subject of the verb. In the first example, the subject is we, and the form of the
verb is live. In the second example, the subject is he, and the form of the verb
is lives.
The different verb forms which indicate when the action expressed by a verb
takes place are usually referred to as tenses.
e.g. We always walk to work.
We walked to work yesterday.
In the first sentence, the verb walk is in the Simple Present tense. In the
second sentence, the verb walked is in the Simple Past tense. Present tenses
are usually used to express actions which are taking place in the present;
whereas past tenses are usually used to express actions which took place in
the past.
The infinitive form of a verb can be used without reference to any
particular subject or any particular time. In English, the infinitive form of a verb
begins with the word to. For instance, to walk is the infinitive of the verb used in
the two preceding examples.

 Uses of the simple present tense.

The Simple Present is one of four present tenses in English, and is used
in various ways. In the examples given below, the verbs in the Simple Present
tense are underlined.
For instance, the Simple Present can be used to refer to actions which
occur at regular intervals.
e.g. We visit our friends every Sunday.
They take a holiday once a year.
Geese fly south every fall.
The Simple Present is also used in stating general truths.
e.g. Gas expands when heated.

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The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world.

Canada lies north of the United States.
In addition, the Simple Present is used when referring to printed material, and
when describing events portrayed in a book, film, or other work of art.
e.g. The report presents the information clearly.
At the end of the film , the hero finds the hidden treasure.
Occasionally, the Simple Present is used to express actions occurring in the
future or the past.
e.g. Our plane leaves at eight o'clock tomorrow night.
Burglar Steals Valuable Paintings
In the first example, the Simple Present is used to refer to something which will
happen in the future. In the second example, which is written in the style of a
newspaper headline, the Simple Present is used to refer to something which
happened in the past.

3. THE SIMPLE PRESENT OF VERBS OTHER THAN THE VERB TO BE.

 Formation of the simple present.

The Simple Present of any verb other than the verb to be is formed from the
bare infinitive of the verb. As shown in the following examples, the bare
infinitive of a verb consists of the infinitive without the word to. The bare
infinitive is the form in which English verbs are usually listed in dictionaries. For
example:
Infinitive Bare Infinitive
to be be
to walk walk
to work work
In the Simple Present of verbs other than the verb to be, the form of the verb
used with the subjects I , you, we and they is the same as the bare infinitive.
The form of the verb used with the subjects he, she and it has the ending s
added to the bare infinitive.
For example, the Simple Present of the verb to work is conjugated as follows:

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I work
you work
he works
she works
it works
we work
they work
The form of the verb used with the subjects he, she and it is generally referred
to as the third person singular.
 The simple present of the verb To Have.
The Simple Present of the verb to have is slightly irregular, since the bare
infinitive is have, whereas the form of the verb used in the third person singular
is has. The Simple Present of the verb to have is conjugated as follows:
I have
you have
he has
she has
it has
we have
they have

 Spelling rules for adding s in the third person singular.

Some verbs change their spelling when s is added in the third person
singular.

* Verbs ending in y

The English letters a, e, i, o and u are generally referred to as vowels.

The other English letters are generally referred to as consonants.

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When a verb ends in y immediately preceded by a consonant, the y is

changed to ie before the ending s is added. In each of the following examples,
the consonant immediately preceding the final y is underlined.
Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular
study studies
fly flies
carry carries

However, when a verb ends in y immediately preceded by a vowel, the y

is not changed before the ending s is added. In each of the following examples,
the vowel immediately preceding the final y is underlined.
Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular
say says
enjoy enjoys
buy buys

* Verbs ending in o.

When a verb ends in o, the letter e is added before the s ending. For
example:
Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular
do does
echo echoes
go goes

* Verbs ending in ch, s, sh, x or z

When a verb ends in a sibilant sound such as ch, s, sh, x or z, the letter
e is added before the s ending. For example:

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular

pass passes
push pushes

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watch watches
fix fixes
buzz buzzes

 Pronunciation of the -(e)s ending.

A syllable is a unit of pronunciation, usually consisting of a vowel sound

which may or may not be accompanied by consonants.
When a verb ends in a sibilant sound such as ch, s, sh, x or z, the es ending of
the third person singular is pronounced as a separate syllable. The reason for
this is that these sounds are so similar to the sound of the es ending, that the
ending must be pronounced as a separate syllable in order to be heard clearly.
In each of the following examples the bare infinitive consists of one syllable,
whereas the form of the verb used in the third person singular consists of two
syllables.

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular

pass passes
push pushes
catch catches
mix mixes

Similarly, when s is added to verbs ending in ce, ge, se or ze, the final
es is usually pronounced as a separate syllable. In each of the following
examples the bare infinitive consists of one syllable, whereas the form of the
verb used in the third person singular consists of two syllables.

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular

race races
rage rages
praise praises
doze dozes

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However, when s is added to a verb ending in e preceded by a letter

other than c, g, s or z, the final es is not pronounced as a separate syllable. In
each of the following examples, both the bare infinitive and the form of the verb
used in the third person singular consist of one syllable.

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular

make makes
smile smiles
dine dines
save saves

Pronunciation

–(e)s ending in 3rd Person Singular of Present Simple

/s/ When the preceding phoneme is: /p, t, k, f, /. Examples: stops, writes, works,
laughs
/z/ When the preceding phoneme is: /b, d, g, v, , l, m, n, , r/ or vowel. Examples:
dogs, reads, cleans, drives, phones, sells, says, does, Tom’s car

/iz/ When the preceding phoneme is: /s, z, , , t, d/. Examples: buses, catches,
washes, crosses, organises, Alice’s house

 The auxiliary Do.

With the exception of the verb to be, verbs in modern English use the auxiliary
do to form questions and negative statements in the Simple Present.
The Simple Present of the verb to do is conjugated as follows:
I do
you do
he does
she does
it does
we do
they do

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Auxiliaries are verbs which are combined with other verbs to form
various tenses. It should be noted that when an auxiliary is combined with
another verb, it is the auxiliary which must agree with the subject, while the form
of the other verb remains invariable.
When the auxiliary do is combined with another verb, the other verb
always has the form of the bare infinitive.

 Questions.

In order to form a question in the Simple Present of any verb other than
the verb to be, the Simple Present of the auxiliary do is added before the
subject, and the bare infinitive of the verb is placed after the subject. For
example:

Affirmative Statement Question

I work. Do I work?
You work. Do you work?
He works. Does he work?
She works. Does she work?
It works. Does it work?
We work. Do we work?
They work. Do they work?

 Negative statements.

In order to form a negative statement, the Simple Present of the auxiliary

do followed by the word not is placed before the bare infinitive of the verb. For
example:
Affirmative Statement Negative Statement
I work. I do not work.
You work. You do not work.
He works. He does not work.

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She works. She does not work.

It works. It does not work.
We work. We do not work.
They work. They do not work.

In spoken English, the following contractions are often used:

Without contractions With contractions

do not don't
does not doesn't

 Negative questions.

To form a negative question, the Simple Present of the auxiliary do is

placed before the subject, and the word not followed by the bare infinitive is
placed after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted
form of not follows immediately after the Simple Present of the auxiliary do. For
example:

Without contractions With contractions

Do I not work? Don't I work?
Do you not work? Don't you work?
Does he not work? Doesn't he work?
Does she not work? Doesn't she work?
Does it not work? Doesn't it work?
Do we not work? Don't we work?
Do they not work? Don't they work?

 Tag questions

The auxiliary do or does is used for a tag question which follows a

statement containing the Simple Present of a verb other than the verb to be. In

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the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. Contractions
are usually used in negative tag questions.
Affirmative Statement Affirmative Statement with Tag Question
I work. I work, don't I?
You work. You work, don't you?
He works. He works, doesn't he?
She works. She works, doesn't she?
It works. It works, doesn't it?
We work. We work, don't we?
They work. They work, don't they?

 The verb To Have.

It should be noted that, particularly in British English, in the case of the

Simple Present and Simple Past of the verb to have, questions and negative
statements are sometimes formed in the same way as for the verb to be,
without the use of the auxiliary do.
e.g. He has a sister, hasn't he?

4. PRESENT CONTINUOUS.

 Form.

The present continuous is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary
verb to be + the present participle (the infinitive + ing):

Present Continuous
Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I'm sleeping I'm not sleeping Am I sleeping?

You're sleeping You aren't sleeping Are you sleeping?
He's sleeping He isn't sleeping Is he sleeping?
She's sleeping She isn't sleeping Is she sleeping?
It's sleeping It isn't sleeping Is it sleeping?

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We're sleeping We aren't sleeping Are we sleeping?

You're sleeping You aren't sleeping Are you sleeping?
They're sleeping They aren't sleeping Are they sleeping?

Contractions: to be can be contracted in the present affirmative, negative

and negative interrogative, so the present continuous tense of any verb can be
contracted:

I’m working you’re working he’s working

I’m not working you aren’t working he isn’t working

 Spelling.

When a verb ends in a single e, this is dropped before ing:

Love, loving hate, hating argue, arguing
This does not happen when the verb ends in ee:
Agree, agreeing see, seeing
When a verb of one syllable has one vowel and ends is a single consonant,
this consonant is doubled before ing:
Hit, hitting run, running stop, topping
Verbs of more syllables whose last syllable contains only one vowel and
ends in a single consonant, double this consonant if the stress falls on the last
syllable:
be´gin, be’ginning pre´fer, pre’ferring ad’mit, ad’mitting
* stress not on the last syllable: enter, entering
A final l after a single vowel is, however, always doubled in BrE:
Travel, travelling signal. signalling
 Uses.
1. It is used for an action happening now:
It is raining (now) I’m not wearing a coat since it isn’t cold
Why are you sitting at my desk? What is the baby doing? He’s tearing
up a £5 note

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2. For an action happening about this time but not necessarily at the
moment of speaking:
I am reading a play by Shaw (this may mean ‘at the moment of speaking’ but
may also mean ‘now’ in a more general sense).
He’s teaching French and learning English (he may not be doing either at
the moment of speaking). The auxiliary may be dropped before the second verb
when there are two continuous tenses, having the same subject, and joined by
and.
3. For a definite arrangement in the near future (and is the most usual way
of expressing one’s immediate plans):
I’m going to the theatre tonight (this would almost certainly imply that the
tickets have been bought.
4. With a point in time to indicate an action which begins before this point
and probably continues after it:
At 6.0 I am bathing the baby (I start bathing him before 6.0).
It can be used similarly with a verb in the simple present:
They are flying over the desert when one of the engines fails.
The present continuous is rarely used in this way except on descriptions
of daily routine and in dramatic narrative, but with the past continuous such
combinations are very useful.
5. With always fir a frequently repeated action, often one which annoys the
speaker or seems unreasonable to him:
Tom is always going away for weekends. This implies that he goes away
very often, probably too often, but it does not necessarily mean that he goes
away every weekend.

 Verbs not normally used in the continuous form.

a. Verbs of the senses: see, hear, smell, notice, recognize.

b. Verbs of emotion: want, desire, refuse, forgive, with, care, live, hate, adore,
like, dislike.

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c. Verbs of thinking: think (when an opinion is expressed), feel (= think),

realize, understand, know, mean, suppose, believe, expect, remember,
recollect, forget, recall, trust (= believe), mind.
d. Verbs of possessing: own, owe, belong, possess.
e. The auxiliaries except be and have in certain uses.
f. Seem, signify, appear (= seem), contain, consist, keep (= continue),
concern, matter.
These a. to f. verbs therefore have only one possible present tense, the
simple present: I don’t believe; I want to go home; I smell something burning.

5. CONCLUSION.
The verb is perhaps the most important part of the sentence. A verb or
compound verb asserts something about the subject of the sentence and
expresses actions, events, or states of being. The verb or compound verb is the
critical element of the predicate of a sentence.
Along the present unit the formation of the simple present and the
present continuous has been deeply analysed, and it can be summarised as
follows:
 The simple present has the same form as the infinitive but adds an -s or
–es for the third person singular.
 The negative is formed with the present tense negative of the verb to do
+ the infinitive (without to) of the main verb.
 The interrogative is formed with the present tense interrogative of to do
+ the infinitive (without to) of the main verb.
 The simple present tense of irregular verbs is formed in exactly the same
way.
It has also been examined when the simple present is used, depending on
the action being performed, such as:
 Habitual actions. This tense does not tell us whether or not the action is
being performed at the moment of speaking, and if we want to make this
clear we must add a verb in the present continuous tense.

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 The simple present tense is often used with adverbs or adverb phrases
such as: often, usually, sometimes, seldom, never, always, occasionally,
on Mondays, twice a year, every week.
 The simple present tense is also used to introduce quotations:
Rabelais says, ‘Appetite comes with eating.’
 It can be used for dramatic narrative. This is particularly useful when
describing the action of a play, opera, and it is often used by radio
commentators at sports events, public functions, and the like.
 It can be used for a planned future action or series of actions, particularly
when those refer to a journey. Travel agents use it a great deal:
We leave London at 10 a.m. next Tuesday and arrive in Paris at 1.0
o’clock. We spend two hours in Paris and leave again at 3.30. We arrive
in Rome at 7.30, spend four hours in Rome…
 It must be used instead of the present continuous with those verbs which
cannot be used in the continuous form: love, believe…, so that we can
say, ‘I love you’, but not ‘I am loving you’.
 It is used in conditional sentences, type I or Real Conditional sentences.
 It is also used in time clauses.
Finally, in section 4, the Present Continuous has also been fully studied: its
formation, spelling, uses, as a contrast with the Present Simple.

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

 Christophersen, P. & Sandved, A. O., An Advanced English Grammar,

MACMILLAN, Hong Kong, 1972.
 GREENBAUM, S., & SVARTIK, J., STONE, L. New Lower Cambridge
Certificate, Macmillan, London, 1969.
 Kolln, Martha, Understanding English Grammar, 4th Edition. MacMillan
Publishing Company: New York. 1994. (89-90).
 Quirk, Randolph and Greenbaum, Sidney, University Grammar of English.
Longman Group: Essex, England. 1993. (46-47). Contemporary English,
fourth impression, William Clowes & Sons, Ltd., London, 1974.

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 Swan. M., Practical English Usage, new edition, Oxford University Press,
Oxford, 1995.
 Thomson, A. J. & Martinet, A Practical English Grammar, fifth impression,
OUP, Oxford, 1972.

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