Present Tense Indicators
Present tense indicators are associated with
incomplete and/or progressive events/actions. These indicators are grouped according to
the contexts they are closely tied to: simple (present) imperfect and habitual action.
Ngayon is the most common indicator
of present tense expressing simple (present) imperfect. It encodes three different
sections/points in time:
(1) Ngayon indicating the present time,
distinguished from the past or the future time;
(2) Ngayon indicating today, distinguished
from yesterday and tomorrow; and
(3) Ngayon indicating the point in time at
the moment of speaking (now), distinguished from earlier or later in the day.
| ngayon (in the present time) |
Mahirap ang buhay ngayon. (Life is hard these days.) Si Joseph Estrada ang presidente ng Pilipinas ngayon. (The current president of the Philippines is Joseph Estrada.) Mataas ang presyo ng gasolina ngayon. (Fuel prices are up these days.) |
| ngayon (today) |
Martes ngayon. (Today is Tuesday.) Darating siya ngayon. (He's coming today.) Araw ng mga patay ngayon. (It's All Souls' Day today.) |
| ngayon (now / at the moment) |
May kumakatok sa pinto ngayon. (There's someone knocking at the door now.) Nag-aaral ako ngayon. (I am studying at the moment.) Nag-aaral tayo ng Tagalog ngayon. (We are studying Tagalog at this moment.) |
Habitual actions or events are associated with the following time indicators:
| TUWING (every) + specific time | |
| tuwing Pasko (every Christmas) |
Nagdiriwang kami tuwing pasko. (We celebrate every Christmas.) |
| tuwing Mayo (every month of May) |
Pumupunta ako sa Laguna tuwing Mayo. (I go to laguna each May.) |
| tuwing Lunes (every Monday) |
May klase ako sa Tagalog tuwing Lunes. (I have a Tagalog class every Monday.) |
| tuwing umaga (every morning) |
Tumatakbo ako tuwing umaga. (I run every morning.) |
| tuwing alas tres ng hapon (every afternoon at three) |
May trabaho ako tuwing alas tres ng hapon araw-araw. (I go to work at three in the afternoon everyday.) |
| tuwing umuulan (everytime it rains) |
Masaya ako tuwing umuulan at kapiling ka. (I'm happy everytime it rains, and I'm with you.) |
| Repetition of time expression | |
| taun-taon (every year) |
Pumupunta
siya sa Amerika taun-taon. (He goes to the US every year.) |
| buwan-buwan (every month) |
Binibigyan
siya ng pera ng tatay niya buwan-buwan. (His father gives him money every month.) |
| linggo-linggo (every week) |
Umuuwi
siya sa probinsiya linggo-linggo. (He goes home to the province every week.) |
| araw-araw (everyday) |
Pumapasok
siya sa unibersidad araw-araw. (He goes to the university everyday.) |
| gabi-gabi (every night) |
Nag-aaral
siya sa laybrari gabi-gabi. (He studies at the library every night.) |
| oras-oras (every hour) |
Umaalis
ang bus oras-oras. (The bus leaves every hour.) |
| minu-minuto (every minute) |
May pumupunta sa Seasite minu-minuto. (There are SEAsite visitors every minute.) |
| BAWAT (each) + general time expression | |
| bawat
panahon (each era / generation) |
May
kanya-kanyang bayani ang bawat panahon. (Every generation has its heroes.) |
| bawat
buwan (each month) |
Pumupunta
siya sa Maynila bawat buwan. (He goes to Manila each month.) |
| bawat
araw (each day) |
Nag-aaral
siya sa Seasite bawat araw. (He studies at SEAsite each day.) |
| bawat
oras (each hour) |
Ikaw
ang iniisip ko bawat oras ng buhay ko. (It's you I think of each hour of my life.) |
| bawat
sandali (each moment) |
Alay
ko sa iyo ang bawat sandali ng buhay ko. (I offer you each moment of my life.) |