Present simple


  1 Water boils at 100C
  2 He works in a bank.
  3 I (always) take sugar in coffee.

  The present simple form is used to refer to the existence of a situation or
  state of affairs which either is permanent (sentence 1), or is regarded as
  premanent (2), or to refer to repeated or habitual actions (3).

  The verb in 1 is in fact completely timeless: It states what is true for all
  time; while in 2, the verb refers to a constant and unchanging feature of the
  current situation, a situation that is regarded as permanent. The present simple
  used in these ways is particularly characteristic of scientific and technical
  English, and of expository writing generally.

  The verb in 3 refers to one of 'my' habits, which presumably existed before now,
  and which may be assumed to continue to exist in the future.
  Someone who knows me would say, when offering coffee, whether yesterday,
  today, or tomorrow, ' Ah, yes. You take sugar, don't you?'.

  The name 'neutral' present is sometimes given to the verb as used in 1 and
  2, and the name 'iterative' present to the verb as used in 3.

  If we wish to refer to the 'actual' present, we generally use a progressive form
  (but see examples 4, and 5a, and 5b blow). We may thus compare boil and works
  as used in examples 1 and 2 with the progressibe as used in sentences 1a and 2a:

  1 Water boils at 100 C
  1a You can make the tea. The water's boiling.
  2 He works in a bank.
  2a My husband's working in the garden. (at the moment)

  These are, however, some verbs in English that are not normally used in a
  progressive form because they describe states, not events, and their meaning is
  incompatible with the characteristic 'meaning' of the progressive, i.e. uncompleted
  action or series of actions, and limited duration. Two such verbs apper in
  following sentence, and in this case they refer to the 'actual' present.

  4 I know what you mean.

  Examples 1- 4 represent the commoneset uses of the present simple, but it is
  also used in the following ways:

  (a) in descriptions accompanying demonstrations or experiments:
      5a We make sure that the current is switched off, and then
      remove the cover plate.

      and in commentaries on radio or television:

      5b Smith hits that one off the back foot, and the ball goes straight
          to the boundary.

      In the case of commentaries, the speaker may also use the present
      progressive. The choice will depend either on the duration of the
      action, or on the speaker's point of view.

  (b) in announcements (this use is similar to example 2a above):

      6a This park opens half an hour after sunrise and closes half an
      hour before sunset.

      and in headlines:

      6b America puts forward peace plan.

  as the 'historic' or 'dramatic' present, which used to gice immediacy
      to past events (real or fictions):

      7a I rush to the station, and find I've just missed the train!
      (real event, colloquial usage)

         When Hamlet meets his father's ghost, he learns the truth about
         his uncle Claudius. (fictions event)

      and in stage directions:

      7b (Petkoff goes beside Sergius, looks curiously over his left
      shoulder as he signs; and says with childlike envy):

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