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six minutes grammar from BBC Learning english dot com.
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Hello and welcome to six minute grammar with me Katherine and me Finn.
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Hello in this program we're talking about present tenses.
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Let's get started.
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The first thing we need to know is that the present simple tense is mainly for facts, habits and truths.
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Now.
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Katherine give me a true fact about you.
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A true fact about me is that I like gardening wow.
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Great love it.
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Thanks Catherine.
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And can you tell me one of your habits?
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I drink a cup of coffee every morning.
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I drink one at home and I drink another one when I get to work so far so good.
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We make the present simple with a subject and base verb and we add s to the verb for he she and it so I work.
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You work.
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He works, she works and so on.
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We make questions and negatives with do or does so Catherine.
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Do you take milk in your coffee?
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I do take milk in my coffee.
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Finn do you take milk in your coffee?
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I don't like it.
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Black.
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And what about mrs Finn, does she take milk in her coffee?
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She doesn't drink coffee.
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What is she doing all the time?
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Very british.
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Yes good.
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So that's present simple for facts and habits now when we're talking about activities, temporary situations and things that are happening now or around now we use am is or are plus an I N.
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G verb to make the present continuous.
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So Finn what are you doing now now?
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Right now?
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Right at this minute I'm sitting in the studio chair talking to you.
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But often on I'm also reading a novel called the Un consoled by Kazuo Ishiguro.
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It's great.
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Well pronounced.
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Thank you.
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And are you reading anything right now Katherine?
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Yes, I am.
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I am reading a novel also.
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It's a comedy about Adrian mole and it's really good.
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I'm enjoying it sounds great.
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I'd like to borrow it.
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You can we can also use the present continuous for future arrangements.
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And so Finn, what are you doing tonight tonight?
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I'm taking my wife to dinner.
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Don't tell her.
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That's right.
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So present, simple for facts and habits present continuous for activities and future arrangements and now for the present.
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Perfect.
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We make it with have or has plus a past participle.
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It connects the past to the present.
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And it's useful for asking about life experiences.
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So life experience, question coming in, have you ever eaten insects?
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I have, yes, I've eaten ants and beetles in cambodia.
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So in the question, the word ever means at any time in your life never means at no time in your life.
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So Catherine, tell us about an experience that you have never had.
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Well, I've never eaten insects, Fin and I've never been on safari but I'm sure that our colleague rob has been to many places.
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Other words we can use with present.
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Perfect are just already.
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And yet we use just already and yet a lot when we're using the present perfect tense to talk about the present effect of a past event already means something has happened perhaps earlier than expected.
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So Fin give us an example of already.
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Right.
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I've already had breakfast today and coffee.
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Have you had coffee?
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I've just had a cup of coffee.
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Just means recently and I haven't had lunch yet.
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I should think not.
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It's only half for lunch and yet means something like not until now.
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Good.
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And if a past situation has continued until now, use four or since to say how long it's continued like this.
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I've lived in London for five years.
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I've been married since 2003 and we also use the present.
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Perfect.
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To give news things that happened a short time ago and are important now.
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So have you got any news for us?
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Catherine?
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Yes, I have actually.
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Okay, I've won the lottery.
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I don't believe you.
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That's because I'm not telling the truth.
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It's just an example bullishness to BBC learning english dot com And we're talking about present tenses and it's quiz.
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Time question one, which of these sentences best describes a habit.
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A I have smoked 20 cigarettes a day.
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BI Smoke 20 cigarettes a day and the answer's B.
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I smoke 20 cigarettes a day.
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Question two is this sentence grammatically correct or wrong.
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Humans have not visited the planet mars yet, but they have already been to the moon.
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It's correct.
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It is now last one, which sentence is correct.
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A.
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Catherine has never eaten insects, be Catherine never eats insects, or C.
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Catherine is never eating insects, and the answer is that both A and B.
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Are correct as a life experience.
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It's true to say that I have never eaten insects and as a fact I can say, I never eat insects.
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So that brings us to the end of the quiz and well done to you if you got them.
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All right, free insect for everyone who got all of those right now, there's more about this on our website at BBC Learning english dot com, join us again for more six minute grammar.
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Bye bye.
