A participle is a form of a verb that can be used as an adjective or combined with the verb to be to construct different verb tenses.
In English, all present participles end in -ing. In most cases, if the base form of a verb ends in a consonant, you simply add -ing. Walk becomes walking, eat becomes eating, think becomes thinking, and so on.
Verb tenses are forms of verbs that show whether we are talking about the past, present, or future. There are six classical tenses in English and an additional six tenses that are categorized as “perfect tenses.”
The classical tenses, using the verb “walk” as an example, are: Present simple (I walk) Present continuous ( I am walking)
Simple past (I walked) Past continuous (I was walking)
The present continuous verb tense indicates that an action or condition is happening now, frequently, and may continue into the future.
The Present Continuous Formula: to be [am, is, are] + verb [present participle]
The simple present is a verb tense with two main uses. We use the simple present tense when an action is happening right now, or when it happens regularly (or unceasingly, which is why it’s sometimes called present indefinite). Depending on the person, the simple present tense is formed by using the root form or by adding ‑s or ‑es to the end.
