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Course: Grammar > Unit 2
Lesson 2: Verb tensesThe present tense
The present tense is a verb tense used to talk about events happening in the present moment. It explains that the present tense can be formed in two ways: with the verb unadorned (e.g. "I eat a donut") or with the word “is” and “ing” (e.g. “Bertie is singing in the shower”).
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- Please explain "I eat a doughnut" being present tense. I can see "I am eating a doughnut" or "I eat doughnuts," but not this example. Thanks.(57 votes)
- Think of it as being habitual:
Every morning, at precisely 9 AM, I eat a doughnut.
I don't see a difference betweenI eat a doughnut
andI eat doughnuts
, except for the inevitable upset stomach. ;)(68 votes)
- wouldn't it be i am eating a donut instead of i eat a donut(16 votes)
- They are both forms of the present tense, but "I am eating" is the present continuous, while "I eat a donut" is the present simple. In a situation and sentence like that, it's more common to hear the continuous form. Both are right.(16 votes)
- i love khan academy i just started using it(3 votes)
- Yes. Khan Academy is a very good platform for learning things. You could post this in tips and thanks section. And anyway I think David is the best teacher on khan. Upvote if you feel I am right.5(39 votes)
- These videos are very helpful, and help me gain a better understanding of grammar, BUT why did we make this language so complicated, I don't have any issues with it I guess, I just wonder why.(9 votes)
- Well, English is so complicated because it was formed when a whole bunch of languages converged, with a couple of those languages mostly taking over with their rules. Still, there are some cases where little irregularities from other languages popped out of the cracks in a few places, or irregularities just because of how those languages came together. If you want a better explanation, I recommend that you (re)watch the following videos from lessons 4 & 5 of Unit 1 of this course:
Irregular plural nouns: -en plurals
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar/parts-of-speech-the-noun/irregular-plural-nouns-base-plurals-and-irregular-endings/v/irregular-plural-nouns-part-ii-the-parts-of-speech-grammar-khan-academy
BONUS VIDEO – Origin of the mutant plural (this is just the name, I am not saying it's a bonus)
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar/parts-of-speech-the-noun/irregular-plural-nouns-mutant-and-foreign-plurals/v/bonus-video-origin-of-the-mutant-plural-the-parts-of-speech-grammar(8 votes)
- how come it is not eated but it is ate(9 votes)
- Must be a mistake(0 votes)
- At0:13, the tense "I eat a Donut" is grammatically incorrect. Isn't the correct PT "I'm eating a Donut"? Because, I happen to be a grammar person, so I'm very particular.(7 votes)
- “I eat a donut” is in the present tense, specifically the aspect called the simple present. “I am eating a donut “ is the present progressive/ present continuous aspect.
While “I eat a donut” may sound odd on its own, it works as an example of a verb being in the present tense. Also, consider something like “I eat a donut every Sunday.” It sounds more like a normal sentence, but if you take away the adverbial phrase “every Sunday”, you’re left with the same subject and verb (and article “a”): “I eat a donut.”
Does that help?(7 votes)
- the video already has voiceover though?(6 votes)
- I like you videos thay are not so boring.(6 votes)
- It should be "I'm eating a donut"(4 votes)
- In the simple aspect, present tense, the sentence is "I eat a donut." As in: Every day I eat a diffent snack. On Sunday I eat a wafer. On Monday I eat a plum. On Tuesday I eat a donut. (etc.)
Your suggestion, "I'm eating a donut." is in the progressive aspect, present tense. It speaks to what you are doing at the time you utter it.(4 votes)
Video transcript
- [Voiceover] Hello, grammarians! Welcome to the present tense, or that which is happening right now. The present tense is how we talk about things that are happening
in the present moment. Like, "I eat a donut." If I say it that way, it means it's happening right now in the present as opposed to happening
later, in the future, or before now, in the past. The present tense is
what's happening right now. If you can just imagine, just put the words "right now" at the end of anything that takes
place in the present. "I eat a donut right now." "Louise doesn't want
a catapult right now." "The water is super cold right now." "Bertie is singing in
the shower right now." All of these sentences are taking place in what we call the present. There are a couple of ways
to form the present tense, and I demonstrated two of them here. So we can say "eat" or "doesn't" or "is". We can also say "is singing". So when you generally have something that has "is" and "ing" in it, means it's happening right now. It's happening in the present tense. So yeah, those are two of
the ways to form the present. If the verb is kind of unadorned, if it's kind of plain, "I eat a donut.", not "I was eating a donut." or "I ate a donut." or "I will eat a donut." if it's just kind of on its own like this, it's probably gonna be
in the present tense. Likewise, if you see the
word "is" and then "ing", that also means it's in the present tense. That's what you gotta know
about the present tense. It's happening now. You can learn anything. David, out.