The Present TenseIn Ukrainian the forms of present tense are characteristic only of the verbs of the imperfective aspect (пишу, думаю). In English all the verbs without exception can be used in the present tense. According to the character of personal endings in the present tense Ukrainian verbs of the imperfective aspect (as well as the verbs of the perfective aspect with the future meaning) are subdivided into two conjugations (дієвідміни). The first conjugation (перша дієвідміна) includes the verbs, which in the third person plural have endings - уть (-ють) and in other personal forms the vocal - е (-є), e.g.: везуть – везе, везеш, веземо; читають – читає, читаємо and so on. The second conjugation includes the verbs, which in the third person plural have the endings - ать (-ять) and in other personal forms the vocal - и (-ї), e.g.: лежать – лежиш, лежить, лежимо; стоять – стоїш, стоїть, стоїмо and others. The English language has four present tenses: Present Indefinite, Present Continuous, Present Perfect and Present Perfect Continuous. The difference between all these forms is caused by the general content of the grammar category to which they belong, that is the category of aspect or the category of time reference. The basic meaning of the Present Indefinite tense is the action which is happening at the time always including to some extent the moment of speaking. The character of the course of action (характер перебігу дії) can be different: it can be the continuous action (the sun shines – світить сонце), the completed action (I meet him again – я знову з ним зустрічаюсь), the action indefinite concerning its duration or completeness (I understand you – я вас розумію). Sometimes it renders the repeated character of the action: I often notice things that escape you – я часто помічаю речі, на які ви не звертаєте уваги. Similar to Ukrainian present tense it often renders past or future events. Due to this, events acquire a more vivid character, e.g.; Then he comes to me and says … І от він приходить до мене і каже. Tomorrow I go home. Завтра я їду додому. The Present Continuous Tense renders the action as the process, which is actually happening at the moment of speaking: He is looking at you. – Він дивиться на вас. The action expressed by this tense is regarded to some extent as a temporary one and its duration is considered as a limited one. For example, we can say: The man is standing in the garden. – Людина стоїть у садку., but we can hardly say: The house is standing in the garden. – Будинок зараз стоїть у садку. This tense form can also be used in the future meaning: He is coming tomorrow. – Він приїздить завтра. The meanings of the Present Perfect tense are very different. In many cases it has the relative-tense meaning (відносно-часове значення), e.g.: He has just passed. – Він щойно тут пройшов. In other cases the meaning of the action result is rendered: He has arrived. – Він уже прибув. That is why some linguists consider perfect forms as a separate resultative aspect. Usually the Perfect Tense renders the single action, not included into the sequence of successive events that happen one after another that is why it is not used in story telling. In Ukrainian it is usually rendered with the help of the past tense. The Present Perfect Continuous renders the action as the process, which is maximally brought close to the moment of speaking. At this the duration of the process is stressed, e.g.: I have been living here for two months. – Я живу тут уже два місяці. Sometimes it can be substituted by the Present Perfect in such situations: I have lived here for two months. – the meaning remains the same. In Ukrainian it is usually rendered with the help of the present tense. One more peculiar feature of the English aspect-tense system is the availability of special “expressive forms”, which render the same action that the corresponding tense form but with the greater emotionality and intensity. Such an expressive present tense is formed with the help of the auxiliary verb “ do”, e.g.: I do know him. – Я таки знаю його [5; 78–80].
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