Present Simple Tense – additional information
PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE – EXTENSION
We also use Present Simple in the following situations:
- to report on the content of recently received letters, read announcements or heard messages. This category also includes book quotations. One of the most common verbs used in such a way is say, but you can also use other words related to communication.
What does the notice say?
I’ve got a letter from Mark. He says everything is fine.
- in newspaper and magazine article titles:
President declares curfew.
Soldier attempts suicide.
It is worth noting that press titles got their way of doing things: apart from simplifying grammatical tenses, usually, they omit prepositions (a, an, the) and auxiliary verbs (is, have):
Woman killed in accident = A woman was killed in an accident.
- in travelling plans:
We leave Warsaw in the morning and arrive in Berline around 6 P.M.
We spend there two days and…
- in sports commentaries (to increase the dramaturgy):
“Suddenly Ali looks very tired indeed, in fact, Ali at times now, looks as though he can barely lift his arms…”
- in jokes:
A man shows up late for work. The boss yells “You should have been here at 8:30! The man replies: “Why? What happened at 8:30 ?”
