Category: Verb Usage

One of the most difficult things for fledgling writers and English learners is verb tenses. Most...

In English, we use the present perfect to describe things that are happening currently. We use the present simple for habits and actions that are repeated frequently, and for states. These two tenses can be used together.

There are different purposes for writing about the future, and different verb types are used for these different purposes. Be careful to think about the reason behind your writing about the future, and choose the tense which both effectively communicates that reason.

Both of these tenses are used to focus on the past, but the meaning is different. The simple past is used to describe things in the past that are completed and happened at a known time, while the present perfect is used to describe: 1) things that happened in the past at an unknown or nonspecific time, and 2) things that began in the past and have continued until the present.

These two tenses have some overlap in use, but a difference in emphasis. Present perfect focuses on what has been completed, while present perfect progressive emphasizes that the action has not yet been completed.