The Key to the Present Tenses: Adverbs of Time

The use of the present tenses is described in this material. Expressions in the groups "Adverbs of time" below include
adverbs, adverbial phrases, prepositions, and conjunctions that are often used with these tenses. General information on
English tenses and their adverbs of time is provided in Key to English Tenses. A list of tense forms for memorization is
provided in Formulas of Tenses in the section Grammar.

1) SIMPLE PRESENT

Form: Base form of the verb: I/we/you/they do. Base form of the verb + s/es: he/she/it does. The verb BE: I am; he/she/it
is; we/you/they are.

A) Meaning 1: Habitual, regular action in the present

Adverbs of frequency: usually; regularly; every day; every week; every year; often; frequently; sometimes; occasionally;
seldom; rarely; never (i.e., zero regularity); always (i.e., regularly, usually); on Fridays; on weekends.

I usually work till eight.

He writes two letters every day.

We always go to this store.

He plays tennis on Saturdays.

It often rains in my hometown.

They seldom go to the movies.

B) Meaning 2: Stating a fact, general truth, profession, state or condition.

Adverbs of time: Usually without adverbs of time.

The sun rises in the east.

Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.

What does she do? – She works as a teacher.

He lives in Moscow and works at a hospital

She plays the piano well.

She likes oranges and bananas.

Their house is very small.

Note: The rules of adding the ending s/es to form the third person singular in the simple present tense are described in
Adding the Ending s/es to Nouns and Verbs in the section Writing.
Note: Actions according to schedule

The simple present is used instead of the simple future for future actions according to schedule / timetable (for example,
about public transportation, movies, stores, banks).

The show starts in two hours.

The train arrives at six tomorrow.

The department store opens at 9:00 a.m.

I work next Saturday.

Note: Clauses of time and condition

The simple present is used instead of the simple future in subordinate clauses of time and condition because the future
tense is not allowed in these clauses. (See Word Order in Complex Sentences in the section Grammar.)

He will go there when he finishes his work.

If I find this book, I will give it to you.

2) PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Form: BE + present participle (I am doing; he/she/it is doing; we/you/they are doing).

A) Meaning 1: The action is going on at the present moment, at the moment of speaking.

Adverbs of time: now; right now; at the moment.

You are reading this material now.

I'm drinking coffee at the moment.

Usually, he sits by the window, but now he is sitting near the front door.

Look! An eagle is flying.

Listen! Music is playing.

B) Meaning 2: The action is going on at the present time but not necessarily at the moment of speaking.

Adverbs of time: now; at present; at the present time; at the moment; this year.

He is writing a new novel now.

He is teaching at Redwood this year.

What is she doing these days? – She is working for a newspaper.

I am studying economics at a business school.

They are building their own house.

Prices are rising again.

Note: The rules of adding "ing" to verbs are described in Adding the Endings ed, ing to Verbs in the section Writing.

Note: Stative verbs

Verbs expressing mental or emotional state, mental or sense perception, possession, and other types of state or condition
are generally not used in the continuous tenses. Such verbs are called stative verbs or nonprogressive verbs because they
do not express any action or process of action (as opposed to action verbs).

Stative verbs: understand, know, remember, forget, doubt, believe, suppose, think (in the meaning "assume, suppose"),
mean, recognize, realize, like, love, hate, want, need, prefer, smell (in the meaning "to give off a particular scent"), taste
(i.e., to have a particular flavor), hear, see, feel, appear, seem, look (in the meaning "appear, seem"), be, belong, own,
possess, have (in the meaning "possess"), cost, owe, include, contain, weigh, and some others.

The simple present is used instead of the present continuous with stative verbs.

I see a large dog in the yard.

I understand what you mean.

She prefers bright colors.

He wants to buy a new car.

This flower smells terrible.

This car costs a lot.

The house belongs to his mother.

Some stative verbs, for example, "look, think, see, feel, appear, smell, taste, have, weigh", are also used as action verbs,
which means that as action verbs they can be used in the continuous tenses, with a difference in meaning. Compare these
sentences:

She looks good now. (stative verb)

She is looking at him now. (action verb)

I think he is a good writer. (stative verb)

Quiet! I'm thinking. (action verb)

The soup tastes good. (stative verb)

She is tasting the soup now. (action verb)

This box weighs three kilograms. (stative verb)

He is weighing the apples. (action verb)

He has a nice house near a large park. (stative verb)

We are having dinner now. (action verb)

Note: Preplanned actions

She's leaving on Tuesday.

She's going to leave on Tuesday.

I'm having dinner with Tom tomorrow.

I'm going to have dinner with Tom tomorrow.

He is going to a concert this evening.

We are going to buy a summer house this year.

The phrase "be going to" can be used in reference to events if the situation clearly indicates that they are going to happen.

Look at those dark clouds. It is going to rain soon.

Watch out! That red car is going to turn right.

3) PRESENT PERFECT

Form: HAVE + past participle (I/we/you/they have done; he/she/it has done).

A) Meaning 1: The action has just ended.

Adverbs of time: already; just; yet (in questions and negative sentences).

I have just done it.

She has already talked to him.

He hasn't returned from work yet.

Have they arrived yet? – Yes, they have. No, they haven't.

B) Meaning 2: Reporting how often something has happened by now.

Adverbs of time: ever; never; once; twice; several times; always; often; sometimes.

I have never seen this film.

Have you ever been to Mexico?

He has visited his aunt twice already.

I have often seen her in the library.

I have sometimes thought of starting my own business.

Adverbs of time: by now; by the present moment; up to now; so far; before (i.e., by the present moment); since; lately.

He has written ten letters by now.

So far, she has read fourteen novels by Stephen King.

Up to now, I haven't found this book.

She hasn't seen him lately.

I've seen this movie before.

He has worked in several companies since he graduated from college.

D) Meaning 4: The action has lasted for some time by now.

Adverbs of time: for an hour; for a week; for a long time; for five years; for years; in years; since; lately.

I have known him for a year by now.

I haven't seen him in years.

He has lived here for six years.

He has been very busy lately.

She has collected coins since she was a child.

In this meaning, the present perfect may be used instead of the present perfect continuous in certain cases. (See "Note:
Present perfect and present perfect continuous" at the end of this material.)

Note: Present perfect and simple past

The present perfect tense is difficult for Russians. We mix it up with the simple past tense. The main difference between
these tenses is that the present perfect expresses an action that comes up to the present moment and always has a
connection with the present moment, while the simple past expresses a completed past action that started and ended in
the past and has no connection with the present moment.

She has worked as a teacher for two years. (This is the situation by the present moment; she is still a teacher.)

She worked as a teacher for two years. She worked as a teacher from 1995 to 1997. (It was in the past; she is no longer a
teacher.)

If the time of the action is indicated as "today, this morning, this month", etc., the present perfect is used if this period of
time is not over yet at the moment of speaking; the simple past is used if the period of time is over or if the time of the
action within the period is indicated as specific time in the past.

Present perfect: I haven't seen him today. (Today is not over yet.) I have talked to him this morning. (It's still morning.)

Simple past: I saw him today in the morning. (The morning is over.) I talked to him at ten o'clock today. (Today is not over
yet, but ten o'clock is in the past.)
Thus, though the action in the present perfect started or happened in the past, it is always viewed as "by now; up to now"
(that is, always in connection with the present moment), so the exact time of the past action is never indicated. If the time
of the past action is indicated, the simple past is used. Compare:

Present perfect: I have already done it. I have seen him before. I have been there twice.

Simple past: I did it yesterday. I saw him about a month ago. I was there in 2006.

In everyday speech, especially in American English, the simple past may be used instead of the present perfect in some
cases.

He has already eaten. He already ate.

We advise you not to do it. Generally, such things mislead you and make it more difficult to develop stable grammar. First,
make your grammar correct and stable; only after that change it a little if you wish.

4) PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Form: HAVE + BEEN + present participle (I/we/you/they have been doing; he/she/it has been doing).

A) Meaning 1: The action has been going on for some time by now and is still going on.

Adverbs of time: for an hour; for a week; for a long time; for five years; for years; all day; all morning; since.

How long have you been waiting?

I've been waiting for about an hour.

I've been writing my report since morning.

It has been raining all day.

He has been living here for three years.

She has been working as a teacher for seven years already.

B) Meaning 2: The action has been going on lately. Additional context may indicate whether the action has been
finished by now.

Adverbs of time: Usually without adverbs of time.

They have been working hard lately.

I have been thinking about buying a new car.

Oh, hello, Anton! We have just been talking about you.

It has been snowing hard, and our garden is still full of snow.

His clothes are wet because he has been playing in the rain.
Her eyes are red. Has she been crying again?

Note: Present perfect and present perfect continuous

Stative verbs are used in the present perfect tense instead of the present perfect continuous.

How long have you known Anna?

I've known her for many years.

She has been here since ten o'clock.

He has loved her ever since they met.

Some stative verbs can be used in the continuous tenses in some cases, including the present perfect continuous tense.
(See "Present Continuous, Note: Stative verbs" above.)

He has been feeling much better lately.

She has been seeing him for two years.

In the meaning "the action has lasted for some time by now", the present perfect may be used instead of the present
perfect continuous with those verbs which already express continued action in their lexical meaning, for example, "live,
sleep, teach, walk, work". (Adverbial modifiers of time indicating periods of time are required with the present perfect
tense in such cases.)

The difference between these tenses in such cases is not very big: the present perfect stresses the result of some continued
activity by now, while the present perfect continuous stresses the duration of such activity by now. Compare:

He has been living here for years.

He has lived here for years.

He has been teaching history since 1995.

He has taught history since 1995.

She has been sleeping for two hours already.

She has slept for two hours already.

However, the difference in meaning between the two tenses may be significant in some cases. For example

What have you been doing since I left

What have you done since I left?

As it is often difficult for language learners to decide whether this or that verb conveys the same meaning if used in the
present perfect instead of the present perfect continuous, it is advisable to apply the rules more strictly and to use the
tense that is indicated in textbooks as the most appropriate for such cases.