Wiki Page, Basic English Grammar: 2. How is Your Day? General Statements

Wiki Page
2016-07-05T16:10:42-06:00

In this lesson, we are going to learn how to communicate to someone using the present tense. Although speaking in the future tense or the past tense is more common, it is still important to know how to communicate in the present tense. Here are some example sentences:

"I see Bob over there by the newspaper stand."
"I'm going to the library."
"I'm on my way home."
"I'm going to the bus stop."

"Jack is going to the store."
"Jill is stopping by now."
"The meeting is starting now."
"The manager is waiting for you in her office."
"Tell the receptionist that you are here to see Mr. Hwang."

Questions:

A very common question you will run into is,
"How are you doing?"
"How is your day going?"
"What are you doing now?"

To answer these types of question, you must remember that you are talking about what is currently going on now, so you must use the present tense.

Here are some ways to answer the above question.

"I'm enjoying the beautiful weather without any worries in the world."
"I'm playing a video game on my computer because I have nothing to do."
"I'm at the grocery store buying ingredients for tonight's dinner."
"I'm at the gym working out."

As you can see, each sentence is starting with, 'I am' instead of 'I will be' or 'I was.' We will discuss past tense and future tense in the next sessions.

More descriptive answers you can give are the following:

"I'm pretty busy right now. I'm doing my homework because I have an exam tomorrow."
"My project deadline is coming up, so I'm currently in the process of finishing my tasks."
"I'm taking the day off from work today because I have so many errands. I'm going to the post office to send some packages to my friends."
"I'm looking for a job. The job market does not look that great, but I can't give up."
"I'm applying for a job at a consulting firm in Taiwan."
"I'm listening to music while thinking about my situation."