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Sparky: I want to get a job.
Mr.Maru: That's an excellent idea. What do you want to do?
Sparky: Well, my first choice was dog trainer. I could teach other dogs.
Mr.Maru: That's great! But it WAS your first choice? Did you change it?
Sparky: Um, no, I still want to be a dog trainer. I studied books every day for it.
Mr.Maru: You still study though.
Sparky: Yeah, I'm liking to study.
Mr.Maru: You like to study, you mean.
Sparky: Whatever.
When do you use present tense and when do you use past tense? Today we are going to talk about present vs past tense. There are some very simple rules to remember when deciding which to use.
 Simple Present Tense – permanent situations
The simple present tense can be used for habits, situations that never change, or something that happens all the time. Let's take a look at a few examples,
Habits
He runs in the morning.
He brushes his teeth twice a day.
Situations that never change
My parents live in New York.
London is west of Paris.
Something that happens all the time
Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
The Nile flows south to the Mediterranean sea.
 Present Progressive – things happening around now
The present progressive or continuous can be used to talk about things that are happening around now. The present progressive is formed with be + the ~ing form of a verb. For example,
A: Where is Jane?
B: She is making coffee in the kitchen.
A: Where did Jack go?
B: He is driving to town.
Be careful though! Some verbs can not be used like this. They are sometimes called state verbs or non-progressive verbs. For example,
I like snowboarding. (NOT I am liking snowboarding.)
I believe that Santa Claus is real. (NOT I am believing that Santa Claus is real.)
Past Tense – completed situations
The past tense can be used for completed situations. The action is completed. For example,
I ate the pizza.
We drank a glass of water.
Past vs Present Tense
It is sometimes confusing when to use past or present tense. For example,
My first choice is/was dog training.
You made the choice in the past, but you want to just talk about the choice not the action of 'choosing'. Look at the following example,
I chose dog training. (completed action)
My first choice is dog training. (I am talking about the situation (that doesn't change) of my first choice.)
I won the gold medal. (completed action)
My gold medal is above the fireplace. (I'm talking about the situation (that happens all the time) of my gold medal.)
Do you think you understand? Let's take a quiz.
1) My first achievement ______ passing the test.
A) was
B) is
C) be
2) I _________ a new computer. This one is old.
A) am wanting
B) wanted
C) want
3) He ______ every morning in the pool until he broke his leg.
A) is swimming
B) swam
C) swims
Answers
1) – B) We are talking about the achievement not the completed action.
2) – C) The verb 'want' is a verb that can not be used in the progressive form in formal situations.
3) – B) He stopped swimming because he broke his leg.
Thanks for stopping by. For more information on the present tense and when to use it, please read this post on the present tense. What do you like? What do you want? What is your first achievement? Write it in the comments below.
Until next time, have fun with English! If you have a stumper please email us at
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