Present tense
The present tense (abbreviated PRES or PRS) is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to locate a situation or event in present time.[1] 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).
English
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 combinations of present tense with aspect. 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 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
Modern Greek present indicative tense
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
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
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
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 |
To express (and emphasise) the present continuous, expressions such as "en train de" or "en cours 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
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
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.
| falar | comer | insistir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | falo | como | insisto |
| tu | falas | comes | insistes |
| ele/ela/você | fala | come | insiste |
| nós | falamos | comemos | insistimos |
| vós | falais | comeis | insistis |
| eles/elas | falam | comem | insistem |
There follow examples of the corresponding conjugation in Spanish.
| hablar | comer | insistir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | como | insisto |
| tú | hablas | comes | insistes |
| él / ella / usted | habla | come | insiste |
| nosotros | hablamos | comemos | insistimos |
| vosotros | habláis | coméis | insistís |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablan | comen | insisten |
Slavic languages
Bulgarian present indicative tense
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
The present tense of the Macedonian language is made of the 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 | зборува zboruva | сака saka | отвaрa otvara | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| јас jas | пишувам pišuvam | зборувам zboruvam | сакам sakam | отвaрам otvaram |
| ти ti | пишуваш pišuvaš | зборуваш zboruvaš | сакаш sakaš | отвaраш otvaraš |
| тој, таа, тоа toj, taa, toa | пишува pišuva | зборува zboruva | сака saka | отвaра otvara |
| ние nie | пишуваме pišuvame | зборуваме zboruvame | сакаме sakame | отвaраме otvarame |
| вие vie | пишувате pišuvate | зборувате zboruvate | сакате sakate | отвaрате otvarate |
| тие tie | пишуваат pišuvaat | зборуваат zboruvaat | сакаат sakaat | отвaраат otvaraat |
See also
References
- ↑ Comrie, Bernard, Tense, Cambridge Univ Press, 1985.