Talking about present time - Advanced English Grammar for ESL Learners - PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: Advanced English Grammar for ESL Learners (2011)

6 Talking about present time

In this chapter we will examine the many and complicated ways that English uses to talk about present time. We will focus on (1) the present and present progressive tenses, and (2) the present perfect tense.

The present and present progressive tenses

On the face of it, talking about present time seems obvious: just use the present tense. The problem is that the present tense does not really mean present time as we would define it logically as the present moment or point in time. Instead, the English verb system looks at present time in a different way. Present time is an ongoing existing state.

If we want to express that an action is specific to the present moment in time, we don’t use the present tense at all: instead we use the present progressive. For example, compare the following sentences, the first in the present tense, the second in the present progressive:

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The use of the present tense in the first sentence tells us that Bob’s sister has lived on Elm Street for some time and plans to continue living on Elm Street for a while—the ongoing existing state. The use of the present tense does not mean that she is there at this particular moment. In fact, she could have been away in Florida for the entire winter. In other words, the present tense signals an ongoing, existing, or habitual state, but says nothing about the present moment in time.

The use of the present progressive in the second sentence indicates something else: Bob’s sister is living on Elm Street right now at this moment, but either she has not lived there long or she is planning to move, or both. In other words, the present progressive signals that the action is tied to a particular, limited moment in time and is, therefore, temporary.

The moment in time, however, can be quite lengthy. For example:

Louise is studying economics at Berkeley this year.

Even though a year is a long time, the use of the present progressive signals that the speaker views Louise’s stay in Berkeley as a time-limited (and thus momentary) event. The speaker did not have to set a limit on Louise’s time in Berkeley, as in the following example:

Louise is studying economics at Berkeley.

The use of the present progressive means that the speaker views Louise’s stay in Berkeley as temporary.

EXERCISE 6.1

Each of the following sentences indicates whether the action is an ongoing state or is momentary. Use the present or present progressive of the base-form verb in bold as appropriate. The first question is done as an example.

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The present tense is most commonly used for the following three purposes:

1. To state an objective fact (which, of course, may or may not be correct). For example:

The sun sets at 6:35 tonight.
Christmas falls on a Sunday this year.

2. To make an assertion, generalization, or observation. For example: The American diet contains far too much sugar and fat.

The rug needs to be vacuumed.
My knee always hurts when I walk too far.

3. To describe habitual or repeated actions. For example:

I call my mom every Sunday.
They go skiing nearly every winter.
We stay with friends whenever we are in town.

EXERCISE 6.2

In each of the following sentences, a present-tense verb in bold is correctly used. For each present-tense verb, indicate which of the three meanings of the present tense best describes the meaning of this verb: objective fact, assertion, or habitual action. The first question is done as an example.

I always allow a few extra minutes when I take the train. habitual

1. Exercise reduces the risk of heart disease. __________________________

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2. The moon determines the rise and fall of the tides. ___________________

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3. Health insurance costs too much. __________________________

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4. We always get popcorn when we go to the movies. ____________________

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5. Water covers 80 percent of the earth’s surface. _____________________________

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6. In Japan they drive on the left side of the road. ______________________

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7. People seldom save enough for their retirement. _______________________

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8. The recent increase in inflation proves that the government is spending too much. ____________________________________

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9. Every night we watch a little TV before we go to bed. __________________________

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10. A decision by the supreme court binds all decisions by lower courts._____________

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While most verbs can be used in either the present tense or the present perfect tense depending on the situation, a number of verbs in English are not normally used in the progressive tenses. These verbs are called stative verbs. To see the difference between normal verbs (nonstative) and stative verbs, compare the following sentences with the verbs drive and own:

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The verb drive shows the normal distinction between an ongoing state in the first example (present tense) and a temporary condition in the second example (present progressive). In other words, the verb drive can be used either way depending on the situation and the speaker’s intention.

The verb own, however, is different. English treats all verbs of possession as inherently being in an ongoing state. Accordingly, they cannot normally be used in the progressive tenses. The use of the progressive with the stative verb own is ungrammatical. Using the progressive tenses with stative verbs is a very common error that even advanced nonnative speakers make.

Most stative verbs fall into the following three semantic categories (withexamples):

Mental activity or state: believe, doubt, imagine, know, mean

I believe that you are right.
X I am believing that you are right.

Emotional condition: appreciate, care, envy, fear, hate, like, love, prefer, want

I appreciate your help.
X I am appreciating your help.

Possession: belong, consist of, contain, hold, own, possess

That house belongs to my parents.
X That house is belonging to my parents.

Some verbs can be used as either stative or nonstative verbs, but with a difference in meaning. For example the verb care in the sense of “being concerned” is stative, but in the sense of “tend or take care of” it is nonstative:

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Sometimes native speakers deliberately use a stative verb in a progressive tense for extra emphasis. Advertisers deliberately misuse stative verbs to get our attention. For example, here is a recent ad for McDonald’s:

I’m loving it!

Since we would normally say I love it, the use of the progressive makes us notice the ad.

EXERCISE 6.3

Replace the present-tense verbs in bold with the present progressive, UNLESS the verb is a stative verb. In that case, write “stative” on the line. The first two questions are done as examples.

This paint dries too quickly.

This paint dries too quickly. is drying

I prefer my coffee with cream.

I prefer my coffee with cream. Stative

1. I count to ten.____________________

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2. He dislikes having to repeat himself. ____________________

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3. The rebel advance threatens the capital. ____________________

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4. We want to leave after work as soon as we can. ____________________

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5. The boss always finds more jobs for us to do. ____________________

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6. The office examines everyone’s expense account. ____________________

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7. Our stock portfolio consists of bonds. ____________________

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8. The publisher reviews her latest book. ____________________

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9. Our pool contains 5,000 gallons of water. ____________________

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10. I know what you mean! ____________________

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We also use the present tense for certain kinds of narratives or descriptions that really stand outside of time. The most common of these are reviews or reports, or when summarizing the words of someone else. Here are some examples:

Review: The 1975 Australian movie Picnic at Hanging Rock tells of the mysterious disappearance of three schoolchildren and their teacher on a school outing in the Australian Bush in 1900. Four children wander away from the main group. One of the teachers goes to search for them and also disappears. . . .

Report: The 401(k) plans of comparable midsized companies allow employees almost total freedom to invest in any way they see fit. Most employees, however, opt to use whatever default investment that is created by the employer. Sometimes these default investments are not well suited to the individual needs of the employee. . . .

Summary: Our current policy manual gives first-year salaried employees two weeks of paid leave annually. The amount of paid leave rises with seniority to a maximum of three weeks’ vacation. The policy manual does not distinguish between vacation time, sick leave, or leave for family emergencies. . . .

We also use the present tense in casual conversation for telling jokes. For example:

This guy goes into a bar and sees a kangaroo drinking a fancy mixed drink with a little umbrella in it. He walks up to the kangaroo and says, “We don’t see many talking kangaroos in here.” The kangaroo replies, “Well, at these prices, I’m not surprised.”

EXERCISE 6.4

The following sentences all use the present tense in an unusual way. If the present tense is used for talking about the foreseeable future, write “future.” If the present tense is used for narrative, write “narrative.” The first two questions are done as examples.

The plot of the movie seems somewhat artifi cial. narrative

The play gets over at 10:15. future

1. Section 312 clearly states eligibility for overtime pay. ____________________

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2. The book begins with the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1849. ____________________

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3. The cafeteria closes today at 5:00. ____________________

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4. The play ends with the Prince calling for the families to reconcile. ____________________

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5. All major decisions of the CEO are submitted to the board for approval. __________

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6. We spend Christmas with my husband’s family this year. ____________________

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7. In case of a major accident involving hazardous materials, the police close the freeway to all traffic.________________________

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8. Our wake-up call is at 6:30 tomorrow morning. ____________________

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9. In 1959, Hawaii is admitted to the Union as the fi ftieth state. ____________________

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10. The sun sets around 8:00 on Saturday. ____________________

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The present perfect tense

The present perfect consists of the helping verb have (in the present-tense form has or have) plus a following verb in the past participle form. The present perfect is used in several ways, but all of these uses share this core meaning: the present perfect describes actions or conditions that began at some point in the past and that have continued in an unbroken, continuous, repeated, or habitual manner up to the present moment of time. Here are some examples that illustrate this basic meaning:

I have known him since we were in grade school.
She has always lived in Los Angles.
We have shopped at Ralph’s grocery store for years.

The present perfect focuses on what has happened up to the present moment in time with little or no implication about the future. In this respect, the present perfect is very different from the present tense. To see the difference, compare the following sentences:

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The present perfect sentence focuses on the duration that the speaker has lived in River City. There is no implication that the speaker will continue to live there in the future (although that may be the case). In contrast, the sentence with the present tense strongly implies that the speaker will continue to live in River City into the future.

Notice that all the examples of the present perfect have an adverbial expression of duration. Here are the four examples with the expression of duration underlined:

I have known him since we were in grade school.
She has always lived in Los Angles.
We have shopped at Ralph’s grocery store for years.
We have lived in River City for five years.

Unless there were some context that supplied an implied period of duration, these sentences would sound odd if the expressions of duration were deleted:

? I have known him.
? She has lived in Los Angles.
? We have shopped at Ralph’s grocery store.
? We have lived in River City.

The present tense, however, is incompatible with an adverbial expression of duration. For example:

X I know him since we were in grade school.
X She always lives in Los Angeles.
X We shop at Ralph’s grocery store for years.
X We live in River City for five years.

EXERCISE 6.5

The sentences below contain either a present-tense verb or a present perfect verb in bold. Following each sentence is an adverbial expression of duration in parenthesis. Add the adverbial expression to the appropriate place in the sentence if it is grammatically correct to do so. If it is grammatically incorrect to add the adverbial expression, write “ungrammatical.” The first two questions are done as examples.

I have driven to that airport. (a hundred times)

I have driven to that airport a hundred times.

I work near the airport. (for a couple of years)

ungrammatical

1. He stays with some friends. (since Christmas)

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2. They have studied together. (all this semester)

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3. The company has lost money. (ever since the recession began)

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4. The tomatoes grow rapidly. (since we started fertilized them)

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5. We have discussed our differences openly. (always)

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6. They have worked on the project. (ever since it was first approved)

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7. Senator Brown fights against corruption. (since she was first elected)

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8. He suff ers a skin condition. (from childhood)

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9. She is away from home. (since she was seventeen)

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10. They have argued over it. (always)

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There are two other uses of the present perfect, neither of which requires an overt expression of duration. The most important of these uses describes an event or situation that has just occurred in the immediate past and that directly affects the present.

To see how this is different from the ordinary past tense, compare the following sentences:

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The implication of the present perfect sentence is that Marvin’s losing his keys directly affects the present moment. In fact, we should probably all help Marvin find his keys. On the other hand, the past-tense sentence is telling us something about a past event that has no implication for us in the present time. It is used for an event that is over and done with.

The immediacy of the present perfect is shown by the fact that we can use the adverb just (which refers to something that happened only moments ago) with the present perfect, but not with the past tense. For example:

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As you might expect, we cannot use a past-time adverb yesterday with the present perfect, while it is perfectly normal with past tense. For example:

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The other use of the present perfect that does not require an adverbial phrase of duration has the meaning of “to do something or complete some action over a span of time before the present moment.” For example:

Our son has read every one of the Harry Potter books.
We have accumulated nearly 100,000 frequent flyer miles.
How much money have you saved?

EXERCISE 6.6

All of the sentences below are in the present perfect. Identify which use of the present perfect best describes the sentence: (1) continuous activity, (2) immediate past action, or (3) completed action. The first question is done as an example.

Sherlock Holmes has just discovered the murderer.

(2) immediate past action

1. He has collected every U.S. stamp issued before 1900.

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2. She has administered the program for many years.

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3. I have just spoken to the manager about the problem.

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4. He has fixed that door a dozen times and it still sticks.

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5. She has just stepped away from her desk and will be back in a minute.

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6. They have accomplished the impossible.

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7. It has rained every weekend this summer.

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8. He has kept every penny he ever earned.

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9. I have repeatedly urged him to slow down when he drives through town.

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10. I have just figured out the answer.

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