Top 10 common mistakes in usage of present tenses

In the previous article we have already discussed main rules about Present tenses in English. What if you still have questions? Let us analyze in detail the most frequently made mistakes.

Present tenses are considered to be easy to learn in the English language. Despite their simplicity, students continue to make mistakes in Present Simple and Present Continuous. For this reason, GetEssayEditor.com picked the most frequent mistakes students make. It is always better to look backward over earlier mistakes and try to avoid them in future.

There are several common mistakes students usually make:

• Students forget to add –s ending to the 3rd person singular in the present simple:

Right: Kid’s health depends on eating enough fruits.

Wrong: Kid’s health depend on eating enough fruits.

• Students tend to use the present simple for actions that are happening at the moment of speaking instead of the present continuous:

Right: She is running so quickly.

Wrong: She runs so quickly.

• Students can use will instead of the present simple to denote a future action after such words as if, as soon as, before, when, whether:

Right: If the weather is good, we will go to the picnic.

Wrong: If the weather will be good, we will go to the picnic.

• When talking about well-known facts and permanent situations students may use the present continuous instead of the present simple:

Right: Sun goes around the Earth.

Wrong: Sun is going around the Earth.

• Students forget that we should not use the present continuous after words that express feelings, senses and emotions:

Right: Mother loves you to the moon and back.

Wrong: Mother is loving you to the moon and back.

• When students talk about something that was not finished until the moment of speaking, they forget to use the present perfect. They should not use the present simple or the present continuous:

Right: I have been waiting for you since 6 o’clock.

Wrong: I am waiting for you since 6 o’clock.

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