The present tense tells us about something that is happening right now or something which occurs many times, i.e. a habit or an action which is repeated.
| Jeg går nu. | I am going now. |
| Barnet sover godt. | The child sleeps well. |
The present tense is formed by adding -er to the base form of the verb. If the infinitive does not end in -e, the ending is only -r.
Verbs in infinitive and present tense |
||
Infinitive |
Base form |
Present tense |
at spise |
spis |
spiser |
at køre |
kør |
kører |
at lave |
lav |
laver |
at gå |
gå |
går |
Comparison:
As opposed to Danish, there is no difference between the infinitive and the present tense. This does not apply, however, in the 3rd. person singular, where -s is added. English also has a progressive tense used in telling of an action occuring at a particular time. The progressive tense consists of the auxiliary verb to be and an -ing ending.
I eat.
He eats.
He is eating right now.