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The Present Tense

The present tense expresses an incomplete action in the present. It may be used as an equivalent of the present indefinite tense in English.

The present tense is formed by adding the present form of the verb 'to be' to the present participle. The latter always precedes the verb. (Note: The table below shows only masculine forms.)

Person	Singular	Plural
First	میں جاتا ھوں maiN jaataa huuN      'I go'	ھم جاتے ھیں ham jaate haiN 'we go'
Second	تو جاتا ھے tuu jaataa hai 'you go'	تم جاتے ھو tum jaate ho 'you go'
Third	وہ جاتا ھے vah jaataa hai 'he goes'	وہ جاتے ھیں vah jaate haiN 'they go'

The participle agrees with the subject in number and gender:

لڑکی جاتی ھے

laRkii jaatii hai

'a girl goes'

لڑکے جاتے ھیں

laRke jaate haiN

'boys go'

When the pronoun آپ aap is used as an honorific personal pronoun, it requires the plural form of the participle and the verb 'to be' in the third person plural.

In the negative sentences, the negative particle نہیں nahiiN ('not') can be put either before or after the participle. In the present tense, the verb 'to be' is usually omitted in such sentences:

وہ نہیں جاتا

vah nahiiN jaataa

'he doesn't go'

See also:

• Verbs
• The Verb 'to be'
• Finite Verb Forms
• The Indicative Mood
• The Imperfect Tense
• The Present Continuous Tense
• The Past Continuous Tense
• The Preterit Tense
• The Perfect Tense
• The Pluperfect Tense
• The Future Tense
• The Subjunctive Mood
• The Conditional Mood
• The Imperative Mood
• Non-finite Verb Forms
• The Passive Voice
• Compound Verbs

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