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Present Tense: General Truth vs At the Moment

State facts versus observations

Fact vs. Observation

GENERAL TRUTH — FACT
The simple present tense is used to state fact, how things exist or behave (always/ permanently). Few, if any, adverbs are used for this "timeless tense". The action or state is endless, enduring, everlasting.
The earth turns 360º every day. (fact) The moon orbits the earth. (permanent)
The oceans are deep and cold. The oceans move in circular currents.
The land moves on plates. Earthquakes occur often.
Antarctica is covered with ice. The South Pole has strong winds.
Wind blows across the land. Wind moves because of differences in air pressure.
Rain gives water to life. Rain falls in the winter.
Plants grow in soil. Plants give us oxygen.
People depend on earth's resources. People exercise for good health. (in general)
Time passes quickly. Daylight Savings time begins in spring.

GENERAL TRUTH — FACT

The simple present tense is used to state fact, how things exist or behave (always/ permanently). Few, if any, adverbs are used for this "timeless tense". The action or state is endless, enduring, everlasting.

The earth turns 360º every day. (fact)

The moon orbits the earth. (permanent)

The oceans are deep and cold.

The oceans move in circular currents.

The land moves on plates.

Earthquakes occur often.

Antarctica is covered with ice.

The South Pole has strong winds.

Wind blows across the land.

Wind moves because of differences in air pressure.

Rain gives water to life.

Rain falls in the winter.

Plants grow in soil.

Plants give us oxygen.

People depend on earth's resources.

People exercise for good health. (in general)

Time passes quickly.

Daylight Savings time begins in spring.

AT THE MOMENT—OBSERVATION
The present progressive tense is used to state an observation such as an action happening at the moment or a temporary change from the usual. Timing may be specified with adverbs or understood from context.
The earth is turning right now as we speak. (observation) The earth is changing due to global warming. (a change from the usual)
The oceans are warming. (a change from the usual) The currents are moving farther north.
The plates are constantly moving. Earthquakes are occurring more frequently.
The polar ice is melting fast. Polar bears are struggling to live.
The wind is blowing umbrellas backwards. The wind is coming from the north.
This rain is giving us the water we need. Rain is falling on my head. (observation)
My plants are growing well. (observation) One plant is getting taller.
These people are running for good health. (observation) Some people are wearing silly costumes. (temporarily)
Time is passing slowly. Daylight Savings Time is ending this weekend.

AT THE MOMENT—OBSERVATION

The present progressive tense is used to state an observation such as an action happening at the moment or a temporary change from the usual. Timing may be specified with adverbs or understood from context.

The earth is turning right now as we speak. (observation)

The earth is changing due to global warming. (a change from the usual)

The oceans are warming. (a change from the usual)

The currents are moving farther north.

The plates are constantly moving.

Earthquakes are occurring more frequently.

The polar ice is melting fast.

Polar bears are struggling to live.

The wind is blowing umbrellas backwards.

The wind is coming from the north.

This rain is giving us the water we need.

Rain is falling on my head. (observation)

My plants are growing well. (observation)

One plant is getting taller.

These people are running for good health. (observation)

Some people are wearing silly costumes. (temporarily)

Time is passing slowly.

Daylight Savings Time is ending this weekend.

Present Adverbs (time expressions)

Specify the timing of an action or activity

Present Time Expressions — definite vs. indefinite timing

DEFINITE TIMING "HAPPENING AROUND NOW"
Adverbial expressions with definite timing are used when actions can be marked on a timeline (clock/calendar); they have endpoints/goals. Compare: I am walking to class today. (definite timing, it ends when I arrive at class) to I walk to class. (indefinite timing, "timeless", no endpoint, a routine).
WITH PROGRESSIVE VERBS	WITH PROGRESSIVE VERBS
I am walking to class now. *I walk to class now.¹	I am walking to class today. *I walk to class today.¹
NOW	THIS ...
now (just now, right now) currently (presently)	today / tonight (word origin – this day, this night)
at the moment (for now, for the time being, for now, at present)	this month (time not passed: morning, evening, week, semester, this spring, year, decade, century)
as we speak (expression: now)	these moments (time not passed: weeks, months, semesters, years)
still (with a negative verb: no longer) Used with progressive.	this Tuesday (June 20, June 20, 2020) (in the current week)

INDEFINITE TIMING "HAPPENING SOMETIME"
Adverbial expressions with indefinite timing are used when activities or states happen "sometime", not related to a timeline. The precise time is not important. The focus is on the activity or state. These adverbs express duration (a period of time) or repetition (the interval of occurrence).
BOTH PROGRESSIVE & NON	BOTH PROGRESSIVE & NON
I am walking to class temporarily. I walk to class during the week.	I am walking to class often. I walk to class often.
DURATION	REPETITION
temporarily (continuously, briefly, momentarily) [imperfective, ongoing] ⇒ Mostly progressive.	repeatedly(constantly, continuously, again and again, perpetually, eternally)⇒ Switch to "keep" with progressive.³
for a moment (ten minutes, a week, a month, for a while², a little while, a day, forever) ⇒ Often present perfect.	always (routinely, customarily, usually, in general, normally, often, sometimes, hardly ever, never)
during the week (month, year, etc.) ⇒ Mostly nonprogressive.	at night (noon, midnight, sunset) in spring (winter, summer, June, July)
from Monday to Tuesday(1 PM to 2 PM, morning to night) ⇒ Mostly nonprogressive.	on Mondays (Tuesday, Sundays, etc.) most days (nights, weekends, etc.)
while it is warm(a relative time: when, if, whenever, before, after) before lunch (after)	every / each / every other day (hour, day, night, week, month, year, May, spring)

¹ adverbs like today or this month can express (1) a time-frame that includes a time greater than just the present moment. I am vacationing this month. or (2) the interval for a routine or scheduled activity. I go on vacation this month. See Scheduled Events—Routine vs. Near Future.

² for a while (PP) – can be understood in two ways: (1) having some amount of duration, or (2) being very temporary

³ keep + verb+ing – Repetition can be expressed by using the "keep" (I keep walking. He kept smiling.) The progressive with "repeatedly" (*I am walking to class repeatedly. )sounds awkward.

Specific adverbial pages: Frequency Adverbs| Preps for Time—In v. On v. At | During v. In | For-Since

Present Tense

Word Order

AUXILIARY VERB	SUBJECT	AUXILIARY VERB	MAIN VERB	ADVERB
STATEMENT
	He (She)		plants	in the spring.
	They (I, We, You)		plant	in the spring.
QUESTION
Does	he (she)		plant	in the spring?
Do	they (I, we, you)		plant	in the spring?
NEGATIVE
	He (She)	doesn't	plant	in the spring.
	They (I, We, You)	don't	plant	in the spring.
EMPHASIS
	He (She)	does	plant	in the spring!
	They (I, We, You)	do	plant	in the spring!

Related page: 3rd Person Agreement

Common Mistakes

Errors & Solutions

Error and Solution

ERROR
*The wind is blowing during the winter.
*The earth is spinning faster than Mars.

SOLUTION
The wind blows during the winter. ( The progressive verb is not used with during.)
The earth spins faster than Mars. (The progressive verb is not used for a permanent action or state.)

*Yellow highlighted words are examples of incorrect usage.

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Grammar Notes (Advanced)

Traditional and Linguistic Descriptions

Traditional Description and Linguistic

TRADITIONAL DESCRIPTION
Traditional grammar diagrams 'parse' or separate sentences into parts (e.g., subject, verb, object) into mostly linear components. A line's length, position or angle indicates the relative function of the word in the sentence..
REED-KELLOGG SYSTEM DIAGRAM

LINGUISTIC DESCRIPTION
Linguistic tree diagrams are composed of angled brackets which mark the subject and the predicate. The sub-parts are commonly, but not always, divided into two parts.
TREE DIAGRAM

Categories "Parts of Speech": N – noun; NP – noun phrase; V – verb; Aux – auxiliary; VP – verb phrase; Adj – adjective; AdjP – adjective phrase; Adv – adverb; AdvP – adverb phrase; P – preposition; PP – prepositional phrase; Det – determiner; DP – determinative phrase.

Other abbreviations: Ger – gerund; Inf – infinitive; PPart – past participle; NF – nonfinite; F – finite; Cls – clause; Subord – subordinator; Coord – coordinator; DO – direct object; IO – indirect object.

Word Functions: Subj – Subject; Pred – Predicate/Predicator – Pred; Comp – complement: elements required by an expression to complete its meaning ; Adjunct: — adjunct: elements not required by an expression to complete its meaning; Supl – supplement: a clause or phrase added to a clause but not closely related to the central idea or structure of the main clause.

Works Cited

Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar. 4th ed., Pearson Education, 2009.
Huddleston, Rodney D., and Geoffrey K. Pullum. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language. Cambridge UP, 2002.
O'Brien, Elizabeth. "Diagramming Sentences Exercises: Chapter 1." English Grammar Revolution. 2016. english-grammar-revolution.com/english-grammar-exercise.html. Accessed on 10 Oct. 2016.
Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd ed., Oxford UP, 2005.
"Sentence diagram." Wikipedia. 28 Sep. 2016. Accessed on 10 Oct. 2016.

Practice

Fact vs. Observation

Is it a general truth (fact) or an observation (observation at the moment)?

Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "Check" or the "Check 1-8" button.