present tense

American  

[prez-uhnt tens] / ˈprɛz ənt ˈtɛns /

Also present

noun

Grammar.

1. (in English) the simple present.

2. any verb formation or construction used to express an action or state occurring in the present, such as, in English, the present progressive.

3. an instance or form of a specific verb expressing an action or state that occurs in the present.

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Etymology

Origin of present tense

First recorded in 1400–50

Example Sentences

"In this uncertain world where might triumphs over right, war is in the present tense," said Macron.

From BBC

The author relates her principal story, of the two sisters, in the present tense, while keeping historical context in the past—an idiosyncratic choice that, fortunately, doesn’t derail the book’s narrative momentum.

From The Wall Street Journal

Smith is visibly, almost geologically older in what appears to be the film’s present tense, an interview in her room at the Chelsea Hotel.

From Salon

My son stands for — and I speak of him in present tense — everything that’s beautiful about life and the gifts that we all derive from our source.

From Salon

Morgan Jerkins has given us something magnificent in her second novel, “Zeal“: a sweeping historical novel that plants itself firmly in the present tense of American reckoning.

From Salon