Simple Present Tense 

It is important to know your tenses well.
Tenses are usually indicated in the verb form.
Tenses show the time an action, situation or event occurs.
The simple present tense is used;

i.

to express a habitual action.
Eg. I walk to school everyday.

ii.

to express a general truth.
Eg. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

iii.

to show a future event.
Eg. Nana leaves for Alor Setar on Tuesday.

iv.

to show a likely event.
Eg. If it rains, they will get wet.

v.

to introduce quotations.
Eg. Suzie says,” Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.”

Use the simple present tense when writing about habitual actions.
Examples of habitual actions are things that you do everyday.  

For example:

1.

I go to school everyday.

2.

I brush my teeth before going to bed every night.

3.

Every Saturday I play badminton with my friends.

4.

Once a month, I go shopping with my mother.

Subject-Verb Agreement 

To make grammatically correct sentences, the verb must agree with the subject of the sentence.

When the subject is singular, the verb is also singular. 

Example:
My mother is watching television upstairs.
Alissa has two sisters.
Ali likes playing badminton.  

When the subject is plural, the verb is also plural. 

Example:
Both Mary and Mei Lin speak English fluently.
Shanie and Laila love watching romantic movies. 

(Note: Singular verbs have ‘s’es at the end of the word, e.g. eats, walks, talks.)

The Simple Future Tense 

The simple future tense shows an action that will take place some time in the future. 

Examples: 

I shall go to Pulau Langkawi this Sunday to visit my aunt. 

We shall wait for you at MidValley Mega Mall at 3.00 p.m. this Tuesday. 

Aunty Esah will show us how to bake coconut tarts next week. 

He will attend softball practice as soon as the rain stops.

Present Perfect Tense 

The present perfect tense is used to show the following; 

Ø      An action that has just happened or happened recently. 

Ø      An action that began in the past but is still continuing. 

Ø      An action that happened at an unspecified time in the past. 

Examples of the present perfect tense; 

• Mary has just arrived from school.

• Lina has lived in Ipoh since 1997.

• Elina has been to New Zealand.