Present Tenses: Simple, Continuous, and Perfect

Present perfect continuous:

• Have you been trying hard enough?

• They will have arrived.

Present continous:

• She was smiling at me.

• She is always leaving lights on.

When talking about events or situations that started in

the past and are still true

• Present perfect simple

• Present perfect continuous

• Past perfect simple

• Future perfect continuous

When thinking about the present effects of something

that happened in the past

• Present perfect simple

• Present perfect continuous

• Past perfect simple

• Future perfect continuous

To stress the period of time involved

• Present perfect continuous

• Future perfect simple

• Past perfect simple

• Present perfect simple

To refer to a situation that continues

• Present perfect continuous

• Future perfect simple

• Past perfect simple

• Past perfect continuous

To focus on the present effects of a recent event

• Present perfect continuous

• Future perfect simple

• Past perfect simple

• Present perfect simple

To refer to something that has recently stopped

• Present perfect continuous

• Future perfect continuous

• Past perfect simple

• Present perfect simple

With the Present Perfect we use (_____) to talk about life experiences.

• (ever and never)

• (this month and this week)

• (today and tomorrow)

• (since and for)

What is the Present Continuous used for?

• For things happening at the moment of speaking.

• For future arrangements.

• For habits that continue for a long time.

• For permanent situations.