Present Tense in English

What is referred to as "simple present tense" in English, isn't really present tense at all. See my July 15 blog about tense and aspect in Spanish. Linguists refer to tense as when some event or action happens in time (past, present, future, for example), and aspect as how the event or action happens (habitually, repetitively, continuously, intermittently, etc.) So the the verb in the following sentences is referred to as "simple present tense."

John eats hamburgers.
Sarah plays soccer.

The verb in neither of these sentences refers to the present time, that is, right now, at this moment. Instead, they mean that John usually or routinely eats hamburgers, and Sarah usually plays soccer. So what is called "present simple tense" in English does not refer to the present moment in time, but rather to habitual or routine aspect. The reference to tense, or time, is not specific.

When we want to refer to the present moment in time in English, we use what is called the "present continuous tense," which also includes the aspect that the event or action is continuous, as in the following examples;

John is eating a hamburger right now.
Sarah is playing soccer right now.

In English, as in other areas, things are not as simple as they might first appear.