PRESENT tenses CONTINUOUS Action happening now or around now (started and not finished yet) Changing situation Action planned for the future Emphatic: Irritation, anger (always, never) I AM DOING You,we,they ARE DOING He, she, it IS DOING Look! now, at the moment at present, these days SIMPLE Regular action General fact Time-tables Narration Instructions or directions I, you, we, they DO He, she, it DOES usually, often, always every day/week/year on Mondays/Sundays PERFECT Action happened at an unstated time in the past Action happened at a specific period which is not over I,you,we,they HAVE DONE He, she, it HAS DONE just, already, yet, so far today, this year/week lately, recently, never PERFECT CONTINUOUS Action started in the past, lasted for some time and the results are visible now Emphatic: Action started in the past and still goes on Emphatic: irritation, anger I,you,we,they HAVE BEEN DOING He, she, it HAS BEEN DOING