English Present Tenses Comparison

Present tenses in English grammar

The present tenses in English Grammar are: the simple present, the present progressive (present continuous), the present perfect simple and the present perfect progressive (also present perfect continuous).

We can also use the future simple and progressive to make assumptions about something happening in the present.

Learn the difference between the present tenses in English grammar and how to use them correctly in a sentence. Put your knowledge to the test in the interactive exercises.

Contents

—Look! Buster is hiding behind the computer!

—I know. He goes there almost every day.

—I have been looking for him outside for half an hour, you know. When I couldn’t find him, I thought, “He will probably be inside, hiding somewhere.”

—Well, now you’ve found him.

—How long has he been lying there?

—For about an hour. Look, he is chewing the cables!

—Oh no! Buster, stop that!

When to use the English present tenses

The table below shows how to use the different English present tenses: simple present, present progressive, present perfect simple and present perfect progressive.

Tense Use
Simple Present

facts, general truths and regularly occurring actions

Example:
He goes there every day.
Buster is two years old.
Present Progressive

actions in progress at the moment of speaking

Example:
Look! Buster is hiding behind the computer!
He is chewing the cables!
Present Perfect Simple

recently completed actions (signal word: just)

Example:
Now you have found him.
He’s just fallen asleep.

whether/how many times up to now (signal words: ever/never, how much/many)

Example:
How many cables has he destroyed?

completed action with a connection to the present

Example:
He has destroyed the cables, the computer isn’t working.
action: destroyed cables; present result: broken computer
Present Perfect Progressive

duration of an action that started in the past and is still ongoing at the moment of speaking (signal words: how long, for, since)

Example:
How long has he been lying there?
will future

assumption about a condition/process in the present (signal word: probably)

Example:
He will probably be inside.
future progressive

assumption about what is currently happening (signal word: probably)

Example:
He will probably be hiding somewhere inside.

Conjugation

For information on the conjugation of these tenses, see:

For information about verbs the can’t be used in the progressive form, see: