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Present Indefinite Tense & Its Uses by Rupjyoti Goswami

   Present Indefinite Tense & Its Uses

āύāĻŋāĻ¤ā§āϝ āĻŦā§°ā§āϤāĻŽāĻžāύ āĻ•āĻžāϞ

         Prepared by Sri Rupjyoti Goswami PGT (English)

          Bhogeswar Hazarika Girls' Higher Secondary School, Bebejia, Nagaon, Assam.

Simple Present/Present Indefinite Tense: This tense refers to events  and affairs of the Present time.

Uses: (a) Universal Truths and Scientific Facts (āϚāĻŋā§°āϏāĻ¤ā§āϝ āϘāϟāύāĻžā§° āĻ•ā§āώ⧇āĻ¤ā§ā§°āϤ) : There are certain facts or truths that  never fail to happen. These can be related to death, birth, planetary movements and Scientific Facts established by experiments. These facts are invariably expressed in the Present Indefinite Tense.

Examples: Man is mortal.Milk is white. The Sun rises in the East. The Earth moves round the Sun.

The Earth is round. Ice floats on water. Water boils at 100° Celsius.

(b) Habitual Actions (āĻ…āĻ­ā§āϝāĻžāϏāĻŦāĻļāϤ āϕ⧰āĻž āĻ•āĻžāĻŽ) : Certain actions take place on a regular day-to-day basis due to practice and habit. These are also expressed in the Present Indefinite Tense.For example,

He always gets up early in the morning and goes for a morning walk.

She always goes to school on foot.

(c) Routine Affairs/Scheduled Activity (āϏāĻŽā§ŸāϏ⧂āĻšā§€ āĻ…āύ⧁āϏ⧰āĻŋ āύāĻŋ⧟āĻŽā§€ā§ŸāĻžāĻ•ā§ˆ āϕ⧰āĻž āĻ•āĻžāĻŽ) : Some actions take place according to an official timetable or routine Present Indefinite Tense is used to express such actions.

The Rajdhani Express always arrives on this platform at 5 PM.Our school starts at 9 am. The summer vacation in Assam starts in July.

(d) In the Subordinate Clause of a Conditional Sentence where 'shall/will' is used : The 

"Subordinate Clause" is that part of a sentence  which cannot express complete meaning in isolation.If "shall/will"is used in one part of the sentence, the other part is written in the Present Indefinite Tense.(If, till, until, unless āĻĨāĻ•āĻž āĻšā§°ā§āϤāϏāĻžāĻĒ⧇āĻ•ā§āώ āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝāĻŦā§‹ā§°ā§° āĻāϟāĻž āĻ…āĻ‚āĻļāϤ āϝāĻĻāĻŋ shall,will āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āĻšā§Ÿ, āϤ⧇āϤāĻŋ⧟āĻž āφāύāĻŸā§‹ āĻ…āĻ‚āĻļ āĻ…ā§°ā§āĻĨāĻžā§Ž āĻ—ā§ŒāĻŖ āĻ–āĻ¨ā§āĻĄāĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝāĻŸā§‹(Subordinate Clause) āĻĨāĻ•āĻž āĻ…āĻ‚āĻļāĻŸā§‹āϤ Present Indefinite Tense āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āϕ⧰āĻž āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤) For example,

If it rains, I shall not go out. Unless he works hard, he will fail.I shall wait until you come back.

(e) If two incidents are mentioned in a sentence written in the Future Perfect Tense, Present Indefinite Tense will be used for the event/action which is expected to take place later. (āĻĻ⧁āϟāĻž āϘāϟāύāĻž āĻŦāĻž āĻ•āĻžā§°ā§āϝ⧰ āωāĻ˛ā§āϞ⧇āĻ– āĻĨāĻ•āĻž Future Perfect Tense ā§° āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝāϤ āĻĒā§ā§°āĻĨāĻŽā§‡ āĻš'āĻŦāϞāĻ—ā§€ā§ŸāĻž āĻ•āĻžā§°ā§āĻ¯ā§āϝāĻŸā§‹ā§° āĻŦāĻžāĻŦ⧇ shall/will have+3rd form  āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āϕ⧰āĻŋ āĻĒāĻžāĻ›āϤ āϏāĻŽā§āĻĒā§‚ā§°ā§āĻŖ āĻš'āĻŦāϞāĻ—ā§€ā§ŸāĻž āĻ•āĻžā§°ā§āĻ¯ā§āϝāĻŸā§‹āĻ• āĻŦ⧁āϜāĻžāĻŦāϞ⧈ Present Indefinite Tense āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āϕ⧰āĻž āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤)

Example:I shall have reached home before it rains. (āĻŦā§°āώ⧁āĻŖ āĻĻāĻŋ⧟āĻžā§° āφāĻ—āϤ⧇ āĻŽāχ āϘ⧰ āĻ—ā§ˆ āĻĒāĻžāĻŽāĨ¤)

The old man will have divided his property before he dies.

(f) With Non-Conclusive Verbs denoting an Ongoing Action(āĻ…āϏāĻŽāĻžāĻĒāĻŋāĻ•āĻž āĻ•ā§ā§°āĻŋ⧟āĻžā§° āĻ•ā§āώ⧇āĻ¤ā§ā§°āϤ):The verbs which are associated with our five sense organs and our mental activity are generally classified as 'Non-Conclusive Verbs'.Present Indefinite Tense is used for such verbs that denote an action of the Present time.(āĻŦā§°ā§āϤāĻŽāĻžāύ āϚāϞāĻŋ āĻĨāĻ•āĻž āĻ•āĻžā§°ā§āĻ¯ā§āϝ āĻāϟāĻžāĻ• āĻĒā§ā§°āĻ•āĻžāĻļ āϕ⧰āĻŋāĻŦāϞ⧈ āϏāĻžāϧāĻžā§°āĻŖāϤ⧇ āĻāχ am/is/are+Verb-ing formāĻŸā§‹ āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āϕ⧰āĻž āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤āĻ•āĻŋāĻ¨ā§āϤ⧁ āĻāύ⧇āĻ•ā§ā§ąāĻž āĻ•āĻŋāϛ⧁āĻŽāĻžāύ āĻ•ā§ā§°āĻŋ⧟āĻžāĻĒāĻĻ (Verb)āφāϛ⧇ āϝāĻŋāĻŦāĻŋāϞāĻžāĻ•āĻ• āϚāϞāĻŋ āĻĨāĻ•āĻž āĻ•āĻžā§°ā§āĻ¯ā§āϝ āĻāϟāĻžāĻ• āĻŦ⧁āϜāĻžāĻŦāϞ⧈āĻ“ Verb+ing formāϤ āĻĒā§ā§°āĻ•āĻžāĻļ āϕ⧰āĻŋāĻŦ āĻ¨ā§‹ā§ąāĻžā§°āĻŋāĨ¤āĻāχ Verb āϏāĻŽā§‚āĻš āϏāĻžāϧāĻžā§°āĻŖāϤ⧇ āφāĻŽāĻžā§° āĻĒāĻžā§āϚ āχāĻ¨ā§āĻĻā§ā§°āĻŋ⧟ (five sense organs)āφ⧰⧁ āĻŽāĻžāύāϏāĻŋāĻ• āĻ•āĻžā§°ā§āĻ¯ā§āϝāĻ•āϞāĻžāĻĒ(mental activity)ā§° āϞāĻ—āϤ āϜ⧜āĻŋāϤāĨ¤āĻāχ āϏāĻŽā§‚āĻš Verb āĻ• āĻ…āϏāĻŽāĻžāĻĒāĻŋāĻ•āĻž āĻ•ā§ā§°āĻŋ⧟āĻž āĻŦāĻž Non-Conclusive Verb āĻŦā§‹āϞāĻž āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤āĻŦā§°ā§āϤāĻŽāĻžāύ āϚāϞāĻŋ āĻ•āĻžāĻŽāĻ• āĻŦ⧁āϜāĻžāĻŦāϞ⧈ āĻāχ VerbāϏāĻŽā§‚āĻšāĻ• Present Indefinite Tense āϤ āϞāĻŋāĻ–āĻž āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤)

For example, I see a bird. I feel a headache. I hear a strange sound.

The continuous form of these verbs is not used in spite of the fact that the action is going on at the moment of speaking.

(g) If two incidents of the Present time show a" cause and effect relationship" in a sentence one incident is written in the Present Perfect Tense and the other is written in the Present Indefinite Tense(āĻ•āĻžā§°ā§āĻ¯ā§āϝ āĻ•āĻžā§°āύ āĻŦ⧁āĻœā§‹ā§ąāĻž āĻŦā§°ā§āϤāĻŽāĻžāύ āĻ•āĻžāϞ⧰  āĻĻ⧁āϟāĻž āĻŦā§āϝāĻžāĻ•āĻžāĻ‚āĻļāĻ• āĻāϟāĻž āĻŦāĻžāĻ•ā§āϝāϤ āĻĒā§ā§°āĻ•āĻžāĻļ āϕ⧰āĻŋāĻŦāϞ⧈ āĻāϟāĻž āĻ…āĻ‚āĻļāϤ Present Perfect āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āϕ⧰āĻŋ āφāύāĻŸā§‹ āĻ…āĻ‚āĻļ Present Indefinite Tense āϤ āϞāĻŋāĻ–āĻž āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤).For example:My father is not at home;he has gone out.

He cannot play in the match as he has injured his foot. He cannot apply for the post as he has not got his certificate yet.

(c) Certain words and phrases denote the Present time and the sentences that contain these words are written in the Present Indefinite Tense on most occasions.(āϏāĻŽā§ŸāĻŦāĻžāϚāĻ• āĻ•āĻŋāϛ⧁āĻŽāĻžāύ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻā§° āϞāĻ—āϤ āĻĒā§ā§°āĻžā§Ÿā§‡āχ Present Indefinite Tense āĻŦā§āĻ¯ā§ąāĻšāĻžā§° āϕ⧰āĻž āĻšā§ŸāĨ¤āĻāχ āĻļāĻŦā§āĻĻāĻŦā§‹ā§° āĻš'āϞ--always, usually, generally, never, sometimes, often, regularly, frequently, rarely, barely, seldomāĨ¤) Some of these words are:always, usually, generally, never, sometimes, often, regularly, frequently, rarely,barely,seldom etc.

Formation:1.Subject+1st Form of the verb-Object.e.g.I eat rice.He plays tennis.

2.Do/Does+Subject+verb1+Object.-e.g;Do you play chess ?

3.Subject+am/is/are+Noun(preceded by a,an)/Adjective.-e.g;He is a doctor.She is beautiful.

4.Am/Is/Are+Subject+adjective/Noun(preceded by a, an).-e.g;Is he a doctor ?Is she beautiful?

5.Do/does+Subject+Not+Verb1?-e.g; Do they not work hard?Does she not go to school?

6. Don't/Doesn't+Subject+Verb1?-e.g; Doesn't she have any friend?

7. Am/Is/Are+Subject+not+Adjective/Nouns (preceded by a,an) ?e.g;Is she not happy? Is he not a good person? Is she not tall?

8. Subject+have/has+complement.-e.g;I have many friends here.She has several diplomas.

9. Do/Does+Subject+have+Noun plus other appropriate words?--e.g; Do you have a car? 

Does she have a laptop?

10. Sub+have/has+nobody/nothing+to+verb1.--e g;She has nobody to talk to.I have nothing to do.

11.How many+Countable Noun+are there+preposition+appropriate phrase?-e.g;How many students are there in your school?

12. How much+Uncountable Noun+is there+preposition+appropriate phrase?-e.g;How much milk is there in the glass?

13.There is+Singular Countable Noun+Preposition+appropriate phrase.--e.g;There is a potato in the basket.

14. There is+little/a little/much+Uncountable Noun+Preposition+appropriate phrase.-e.g; There is a little milk in the pot. There is little kindness in this world.

15. There are+few/a few/many+Countable Noun+Preposition+Appropriate phrase.-e.g; There are many people in the market.

16. There is+not+much/a little+Uncountable Noun+Preposition+Appropriate Phrase.-e.g; There is not much honesty in the world.

17. There are+not+many/a few+Countable Noun+Preposition+Appropriate Phrase.-e.g; There are not many students in the school.

18. Wh-word+do/does+Subject+Verb1?-e.g; Where does the man live? What do you eat at breakfast? Where do you want to go? Whom do you want to meet?

19. Why+am/is/are+Subject+Adjective ?-e.g;Why is he angry? Why is she so sad? Why is he so thin?

20. Why+is/are/am+Subject+not+Adjective?e.g; Why are you not attentive in the class?

Homework: Write 5 sentences using each of the patterns given above.


1. Click here for Report Writing by Rupjyoti Goswami

2. Click here for Letter writing by Rupjyoti Goswami

3. Click here for Poster writing

4. Click here for A few important Letter writing

5. Click here for Degree of comparison by Rupjyoti Goswami

6. Rules for Transforming Sentences

7. Click here for fully solved HS Correct Tenses

8. Click here for fully solved Hs Narration

9. Click here for fully solved HS Voice Change

10. Click here for fully solved HS Preposition

11. Click here for fully solved HS transformation of sentences.

12. Click here for Notice Writing by Mr. Rupjyoti Goswami.

13. Click here for Unseen Passage

14. Click here for Usage Present Indefinite Tense

15. Click here for Simple Complex and compound sentence.


Mr. Rupjyoti Goswami
Post Graduate Teacher (English)
Bhogeswar Hazarika Girls' Higher Secondary School, Bebejia, Nagaon, Assam.
Email: rupjyotigoswami983@gmail.com
Mobile: 9864425896.
Contact us (whatsapp no-7020477396) for free notes on English, Political Science, Logic & Philosophy, MIL Assamese, Advanced Assamese, Swadesh Adhyayan, Economics, Education, History.

7 Comments

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June 19, 2022 at 9:39 AM ×

Your hard work is helping the students a lot. Keep it up

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Mini S
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June 19, 2022 at 9:52 AM ×

Sir, thanks for being so dedicated and hard-working.

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June 22, 2022 at 10:04 PM ×

Thank you so much for your inspiring feedback

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Manila
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June 23, 2022 at 12:52 PM ×

Extensive and Well prepared to learn about tense.

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August 2, 2022 at 5:34 AM ×

Thank you very much for pinpoint observation.

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Unknown
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October 18, 2022 at 9:42 AM ×

Detailed and Very good explanation on Present Indefinite tense. Thank you so much.

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Unknown
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December 23, 2022 at 12:48 PM ×

Useful to learn about the present indefinite tense. It is really good about the tense.

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