The Simple Present

The Simple Present describes what usually happens; actions that are routinary:

I get up at 5:30 am every weekday.

Patty goes to work by bus.

My brothers have lunch in the cafeteria at school.

Refresh your memory:

Pronouns:  I, you (singular), he, she, it, we, you (plural),and they.

Remember:  The third person singular( He, She, It) makes the verb change:

go---goes          I go to school by bus.   /  Linda goes to school by car.
eat---eats          You eat rice every day.  /  Spencer eats vegetables regularly.
have---  has       These books have information about Peru.   /  This book has pictures of Peru.
speak---speaks  They speak French.   /  Alex speaks English and Spanish fluently.
walk---walks      I walk to school every morning.  /  Melissa usually walks to work.

Practice and Use your Memory !!!

The present perfect

Let's remember the use of the present perfect ...

The most common use is expressed in these examples:

I have lived in Lima for ten years.                                  

I have worked at ICPNA since 2000.

The present perfect tells you that an action began in the past and continues up to
The present.To clarify this idea, we use it with for + a period of time ( ten years) or
since + a point in time ( 2000)

Here is a link to a video and exercises with the present perfect :

http://www.real-english.com/reo/48/unit48.html


Now let`s remember other uses of the present perfect:

Sheila has read " One hundred years of solitude" by Gabriel Garcìa Màrquez.


My father has traveled abroad.

In both cases the present perfect expresses that the action is completed or finished but the time is not specified.When we want to specify the time, we use the simple past:   Sheila read the book last week.




Finally,  we use the present perfect when we talk about the number of things we have done, used, consumed,etc:




I have read five novels in my life.


Terry has drunk three cups of coffee this morning.


My brother has already lost two cellphones this year.


Or when we talk about the number of times we have done something:




My father has traveled abroad five times in his life.


I have already passed three courses  at the university.

The present perfect and the present perfect progressive

Compare these two sentences:

I have worked at Gold's gym since 2000. (present perfect)

I have been working at Gold's gym since 2000. (present perfect progressive)

Both sentences mean that the action began in the past and continues into the present.However, only the present perfect progressive means that the action will probably continue in the future.This is a difference between the two tenses.

Now what happens if an action that began in the past and continues into the present is not finished? It will probably continue in the future, right? That's a situation when we use the present perfect progressive:

Jan has been working in her office all day.             (her Job is not finished,so she will continue working)

My mom has been preparing a new dish for two hours.     (the preparation is difficult,so it's not finished)

Now let`s see another difference between these two tenses:


I have read an interesting book about UFOs.        ( the action is completed. It`s finished )

Tony has been reading a book about UFOs.         ( the action is not completed. It`s not finished)


This is a very clear difference in meaning between the present perfect and the present perfect progressive.

   Remember: if you want to specify when the action finished, use the simple past and a time expression:

   I read a good book  about aliens last month.

Finally, let`s see other uses of  the present perfect progressive and the present perfect:

Present perfect Progressive
Look, it has been raining.The streets are wet.      ( the action finished recently and you can see the result)

Oh no, the children have been fighting again. They are crying.

Present perfect
My cousins have traveled to Miami five times.               ( number of times you have done something)

I`ve had three cups of coffee this morning.                     ( number of things; in this case the cups of coffee the person has drunk)