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Table. 2 Simple present tense: rules of use (from The Grammar Book and Advanced Learners’ Grammar)

From: Dr. Mosaik: a holistic framework for understanding the English tense–aspect system based on ontology engineering

The Grammar Book

Advanced Learners’ Grammar

Simple aspect: describes events conceptualized as complete wholes, not allowing for further development

[Main uses]

Tense core meanings:

Complete and unchanging nature, immediate factuality

 

Habitual actions in the present

Repeated events and actions:

To describe things that happen on a regular basis;

Often used with adverbs of frequency

General timeless truths, such as physical laws or customs

General truths and facts:

To state truths and to describe things which we feel are facts or permanent situations

Series of events/actions:

To describe a series of events or actions (e.g., to give directions or instructions), often with impersonal you

With be and other stative verbs to indicate states, or even the inception of states

Rarely used in the continuous (= progressive):

Verbs expressing states are rarely used in the continuous tenses

Present speech acts (where the action is accomplished in the speaking of it)

Performative verbs (apologize)

In subordinate clauses of time or condition when the main clause contains a future-time verb

Other uses

To express the future after conjunctions of time (when, after, as soon as)

Expresses future (scheduled event), usually with a future-time adverbial

Fixed events in the future (timetabled events)

Present event/action (sporting events or demonstrations/procedures of some sort)

To express the immediacy of an event (e.g., in sports commentaries)

Newspaper headlines (more immediacy)

Conversational historical present

To give the events of a past narrative or an anecdote more immediacy (especially in speech)

Formal speech or writing for certain actions (look forward to)