一般现在时(simple present tense)主要表示:
She visits her parents every day.
He smokes a lot.
I know you are busy.
She loves classical music.
The moon goes round the earth.
Shanghai lies in the east of China.
英语中有许多动词,通常表示一种状态,可以称作静态动词,它们多用于一般现在时,而不用于进行时态,如:
She majors in English.
The box contains a necklace.
这类词还包括下表中的词:
还有一些动词表示一个极为短暂的动作,而非延续性,也可用于一般现在时:
The Bible says love of money is the root of all evil.
I regret my ignorance on the subject.
一般现在时可以表示现在时刻发生的动作,其具体使用如下:
Smith passes to Davency, Daveney to Barnes, Barnes to Lucas—and Harriet intercepts ...Harriet to Simons, nice ball—and Smith shoots.
First I put a lump of butter into a frying pan and light the gas; then, while the butter is melting, I break three eggs into the bowl, like this.
There's this Scotsman, you see, and he's walking through the jungle when he meets a gorilla and the gorilla's eating something.So the Scotsman goes up to the gorilla.
In Death on the Nile, Linet Ridgeway is the young and beautiful heiress to an immense fortune, but she has a lot of enemies.
Millison enters.William assumes a business air, picks up two folders, and makes for the door.
“How do I get to the station?”
“You go straight to the traffic lights, then you turn right...”
The Queen arrives for the Opening of Parliament.
The exhibition opens on May 1st and closes at the end of June .
The plane takes off at 11:30 and arrives in Shanghai at 1:20 .
但这样用只限于少数动词,如:
Turn off the lights before you leave.
Tell me in case you get into difficulty.
I hope it keeps fine for a few more days.
He will continue the work no matter what happens .
在少数情况下已发生的动作也可以用一般现在时表示,这是因为讲这些话时这些动作发生的时间在说话人的脑中已经模糊或者不重要,注意说明的是从句所表示的情况。如:
I hear you're moving.
They tell me it's a fascinating film.
在故事描述中突然转而使用现在时态,是为了给人以历历在目的印象。这种用法可以称为戏剧性的现在时(dramatic present)或历史性的现在时(historical present)。如:
I open the door, and I look out into the garden, and I see a man.He is wearing a pink shirt and a policeman's helmet.“Good morning,” he says...
情节自然是已发生的事,但往往用现在时,也是为使标题更生动。
Disarmament Talks Begin in Vienna.
Bank Robbery: Robbers take $100,000.
VII Go to Bristol
Shakespeare says , “All the world is a stage.”
Chaucer writes that love is blind.
有些副词(特别是程度副词)或其他状语常可和一般现在时一起用,如:
She often goes on long walks.
Generally he watches TV for two hours in the evening.
还有许多其他这类状语,如: