Editing Present (section)

== Grammar ==
In [[English grammar]], actions are classified according to one of the following twelve verb tenses: past ([[past]], [[Uses of English verb forms#Past progressive/continuous|past continuous]], [[past perfect]], or [[past perfect continuous]]), present (present, [[present continuous]], [[present perfect]], or [[present perfect continuous]]), or future ([[future tense|future]], [[future continuous]], [[future perfect]], or [[future perfect continuous]]).<ref name="auto">{{cite web |author1= |title=Verb tenses |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/grammar/verb-tenses |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023202126/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/grammar/verb-tenses |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 23, 2016 |website=English Oxford Living Dictionaries |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=25 June 2018}}</ref> The present tense refers to things that are currently happening or are always the case.<ref name="auto"/> For example, in the sentence, "she walks home every day," the verb "walks" is in the present tense because it refers to an action that is regularly occurring in the present circumstances.

Verbs in the present continuous tense indicate actions that are currently happening and will continue for a period of time.<ref name="auto"/> In the sentence, "she is walking home," the [[verb phrase]] "is walking" is in the present continuous tense because it refers to a current action that will continue until a certain endpoint (when "she" reaches home). Verbs in the present perfect tense indicate actions that started in the past and is completed at the time of speaking.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Merriam-Webster |title=Present Perfect |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/present%20perfect |website=Merriam-Webster.com |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=27 July 2018 |format=Web |date=n.d.}}</ref> For example, in the sentence, "She has walked home," the verb phrase "has walked" is in the present perfect tense because it describes an action that began in the past and is finished as of the current reference to the action. Finally, verbs in the present perfect continuous tense refer to actions that have been continuing up until the current time, thus combining the characteristics of both the continuous and perfect tenses.<ref name="auto"/> An example of a present perfect continuous verb phrase can be found in the sentence, "she has been walking this route for a week now," where "has been walking" indicates an action that was happening continuously in the past and continues to happen continuously in the present.