Lesson 26: Present Simple of Action Verbs (1)

Hello, everyone.
Welcome to the English Grammar Refresher Cafe.

What time do you usually
wake up in the morning?

I get up at six every morning.
I wake up at 6 o'clock every morning.

Is that early?

Actually, my cat
has been meowing constantly

"I'm hungry! Give me food!"

from around 5:30.

So, I wake up at 6 o'clock.

My day begins
by petting the cat
and feeding it.

The early bird catches the worm.
The early bird catches the worm.
(Literal translation: The bird that wakes up early catches the worm)

As the proverb says,

let's get energized and
learn English this morning too!

Starting from this lesson,
the present simple of action verbswill be
explained.

☆Review of what we've covered so far☆

All verbs other than be-verbs
are called action verbs, remember?

This time,
I will explain the present tense of
action verbs.

What is tense? What is conjugation?

First,
keep in mind that verbs
conjugate depending on the subject and tense.

I don't really understand tenses...

If you have that concern,
let's try imagining
an arrow like this in your head.

The flow of time is
one-way, moving from the past to the future
.

Somewhere between the past and the future,
there is the present, isn't there?

The three meanings of the present tense

It is often
thought that "present tense = current events," but

strictly speaking,
it is a little different.

The English present tense has,
broadly speaking,
three meanings.

Let's look at them one by one.

1. Actions done regularly

Things like "I go to work by bus every day" or
"I wake up at 6 o'clock every morning"

actions done regularly and
daily habits are expressed using the
present tense.

If you translate the previous sentence into English, it becomes this.

I go to the office by bus every day.

I get up at six every morning.

The difference between the present simple and the present continuous

The present simple is used to express
everyday actions, daily habits.

Instead of that,

actions happening at this very moment
when you want to say
present continuous
is used.

(I will explain the present continuous another time.)

For example,

When you want to say 'I usually learn English'

present simple is used

I learn English.

It becomes this.

Instead of that,

when you want to say 'I am (at this moment)
learning English'

when you want to say,

present continuous is used

I am learning English now.

It becomes this.

Therefore, many people often find it confusing
whether to use the present simple
or the present continuous
when writing English sentences.

It is best to
distinguish between them in this way.

2. Current states and feelings

The second meaning expressed by the present simple is "
current states and feelings
."current states and feelings".

I like cats.
I like cats.

I have a sister.
I have one sister.

I live in Australia.
I live in Australia.

I feel sad.
I feel sad.

* like, have, live, and feel, which are
stative verbs,
are not used in the progressive form.

3. Eternal truths

The present simple also expresses a third meaning: "

eternal truths."

For example,

The sun rises in the east.
The sun rises in the east.

Water freezes at 0 degrees Centigrade.
Water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius.

The earth goes around the sun.
The earth goes around the sun.

These are examples of

truths that never change, no matter how much time passes
, aren't they?

In English, such
immutable truths are expressed using the
present simple.

* I will explain the "-s" and "-es" added to the end of verbs in detail next time.

How was it?

This time,

we learned about the present simple of action verbs.

Next time, I will explain the "third-person singular present s."

I hope you will read it again.

Your likes and follows
are my motivation.

Thank you for reading
until the end.

English Grammar Refresher Cafe