Using the present to talk about the past: BBC English Masterclass

Improve your English grammar with the BBC. Of course you all know that we use the present tenses to talk about the present, but did you know that we also use the present tenses to talk about the past?! Watch this free online English lesson to find out how.
For more, visit our website: www.bbc.co.uk/l...
More in this series:
Using 'what' to give emphasis
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5 ways to talk about the future:
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Using 'which' to add information:
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Linking words of contrast:
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How to mix conditionals:
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#learnenglish #bbcmasterclass #tenses
TRANSCRIPT
Hi Sian here for BBC Learning English. I have a great joke for you. So, a pony walks into a bar and whispers "Can I have a beer?" The barman replies, "Of course you can, but why are you whispering?" And the pony says "Because I'm a little hoarse." Get it? A pony is 'a little horse'! Ok, it's not the best joke, but did you notice what tense I used to tell the joke? I used the present not the past. We often use the present to talk about the past, so I'm going to share with you a few ways that we do this.
Number one: When telling an exciting story. Last year I was swimming off the coast of New Zealand, when suddenly I see a shark coming up behind me. Everyone starts screaming. I swim as fast as I can… It was very scary!
Did you notice? I started the story in the past, and then when I got to the exciting part of the story, I switched to the present. We do this to make the exciting part of the story more dramatic for the listener.
Number two: In newspaper headlines. I actually made it into the newspapers after that scary experience. Here is the headline: "Terrified swimmer is chased out of sea." So, newspaper journalists often use the present simple 'is chased' rather than the past 'was chased'. They do this to make the story more fresh and immediate and dramatic.
Number three: With hear, tell, gather, say. I hear you're getting married! Did you notice, I used the present form of 'hear' rather than the past? We do this because we want to put more emphasis on what I heard, rather than the fact that I heard it. We also do it with verbs like, say, tell and gather. For example, She says she's leaving the country!
Number four: When telling jokes. I've got a joke. A pony walks into a bar and... Don't worry, I'm not going to tell the joke again! But we use the present simple when telling jokes to make the joke more exciting and more immediate for the listener. For more information about using the present to talk about the past and to practise this, go to our website: bbclearningenglish.com. And I'm not joking!

[@bbclearningenglish]

Let's talk about the past... Archaeologists working in the buried Roman city of Pompeii say they have uncovered a "sorcerer's treasure trove" of objects. Learn words from the news: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mWa8q4Frot6bnZY

[@bijayarashmijena3552]

We also use present tense in our language....❤️❤️❤️ thanks a lot to tell us that we able use present in past ...

[@Kevin509wisdom]

Wow, you solved my puzzle! I had been always not sure which tense I should choose when it comes to like 'I heard xx' or 'I hear xx'. THANKS, BBC & Sian

[@bbclearningenglish]

Great! Glad we could help! 😃

[@MegaBear85]

Sian is simply the best teacher at BBC Learning English. I like all of her lessons. Her accent is amazing :)

[@rabindrabajracharya8561]

yes, i agree

[@przemekx4182]

very very nice presenter and lovely intonation

[@muradsflv5616]

I like Sian. She's beautiful and her videos are very interesting.

[@manuchehrmukhidinov7111]

I do like her too

[@CaoDangThang]

me too

[@randeepsingh9606]

💕💕💕she teaches really impressive idea 💡 to switch my mind

[@2minutesenglish594]

Love u n miss u

[@heimlichvonbladderburst8348]

Judgement is necessary, especially where sensationalising a story by using the present tense can sound goulish. There is an example of this on today's BBC News website where a report on a disturbing matter that happened a few years back is written in the present tense which makes it sound all up-beat and breathless as you read it. However, the story in question is a deeply sad matter that resulted in a woman going to prison and other people being falsely accused of crimes. As the matter was now closed, past tense should have been used.

[@raed2178]

Thank you 😊

[@huonghoang-hv3ll]

it was a great video, i have never heard about using the present to talk about the past before. thank you bbclearning english for this extremely new thing. but can you explain to me for the first joke which Sain said at the beginning of the video, i dont understand why it was joking? thank you so much

[@uvs1265]

English is very confusing Language. :(

[@mappangaraberbagi]

Thanks. I am a historian. My problems are how to describing events in the past using English, especially using good sentences.

[@svitlanalozova1103]

You are so beautiful! )

[@sebyskaria3341]

This is the video i was looking for

[@denisebranquinho2377]

we also use the present to talk about the past in Portuguese!

[@bounty1402]

it's the same in Italian

[@Alzain191]

Sian is my best teacher ever. Thank you for all you done for us.

[@calebcc5304]

Does anyone get the joke at the first time? I didn't because I didn't know the word "hoarse". Now I do and I'll never forget it thanks to this joke :)

[@mad3269]

Sian you are the Best!... We need more of your lrssons

[@hothiphuongthao4998]

Thanks for video!! I am a beginer. I cann't understand all of the video, but i will try. ( if i write wrong, help me please!! ^^

[@massimoguarneri6575]

Sian you are the top. Funny and clear

[@geoffreystephen6840]

using the present tense is really irritating, especially when mixed with the past tense. I suspect it's an American idea!

[@subjectfrank]

Damnnn, that was a source of cringe.. in 0:26😁

[@soniamandnice287]

love you sian

[@ahmedosama2217]

Good ❤️❤️❤️

[@balsonnaoshekpam6240]

Nice

[@omaima.abouhassab]

i think it is suitalble to the advanced, they only can study it easily , i'm intermediate so i can't understand it kind of videos easily.

[@bbclearningenglish]

Hi Omaima Abohassab, this video is part of our 'Towards Advanced' series of videos. We also have lots of videos for intermediate learners. You can also visit our website (www.bbclearningenglish.com) where you will find lots of materials for different levels.

[@omaima.abouhassab]

thanks a lot for your interest , and i have a question, Do you have a native speakers who help other through conversation?

[@bbclearningenglish]

Native speakers at BBC Learning English can help you improve your English through videos. It’s good to listen carefully and imagine how you would take part in a conversation about the subject. You might also improve your pronunciation with our guides: www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation

[@syrymrakhimov]

you are best teacher.

[@erdemzuhal]

what if I want to talk about present in newspaper and readers get it as if it happened in the past??? it's complicated situation.

[@bbclearningenglish]

Hi Erdem. That’s a very good question. It’s normally clear from the context of the story and the words in the headline. Remember we are referring to newspaper headlines here, not news stories. Most of the time, you can assume that headlines are using the present form to talk about a past event, because most newspaper stories are about events which have happened in the past.

[@erdemzuhal]

so, you are saying if we just look at headlines, without looking at stories, we don't know story happened which time and we predict that it's probably happened in the past.

[@najatarabia741]

THANK you

[@ChiNguyen-tk6no]

i love Sian

[@chribjslaha]

I have a question. Can you write in present tense something of the past that is still true today? For example, "30 years ago today, John Doe's book 'Welcome Home' is released in bookstores.

[@bbclearningenglish]

In this example it would be more common to say 'was released'.

[@chribjslaha]

@@bbclearningenglish Thanks for the response! That's what I thought, too.

[@trangdangzhd]

thanks from Vietnam

[@gelox32]

a pretty bad joke indeed but very illustrative .... and yeah Sian is beutifull but her voice is even more beatiful :)

[@franklinquinchoconcha]

I love the British accent, but I'm studying the American English. By the way thanks a lot for these material :D

[@cheeehus]

THANK YOU...I've been waiting this for so long

[@behnamlotfi6845]

Sian is great. I love her performances. Well done.

[@vahidjavadi273]

great,but it's easy for you to use that as a piece of cake for me it's hard but I should give it a try,you are fantastic

[@samerabd8775]

i love your way of teaching , it is shorter and easier and have a lot of inf ... so thanks for that from my heart

[@liwang4022]

very useful, thanks so much

[@kaaskaa201]

1:45 what did you say? ''fresh,a.....???''

[@AlexandrH]

more fresh and immediate..

[@bbclearningenglish]

We have added a transcript to help you.

[@raed2178]

+bbclearningenglish 👍

[@ndres839]

Thanks, I love the video

[@ricardoribeiro606]

ha ha ha I get it ! nice one

[@tgchan]

thank you.

[@sajidahmed2403]

Really nice knowledge

[@MrVol10]

It's a pun))

[@cyclistRM2024]

👌

[@manuchehrmukhidinov7111]

I didn't get the joke((

[@bbclearningenglish]

Hi, 'horse' and 'hoarse' are pronounced in the same way. 'Horse' is the animal - and a 'pony' is a baby horse. 'Hoarse' is when you can't speak properly because you have a sore throat! Can you work it out now?

[@manuchehrmukhidinov7111]

+bbclearningenglish Yes, I got it. Thanks.

[@guli5831]

It's very Useful. 😍👌

[@bbclearningenglish]

We're glad you find it useful. Good luck with your English studies.

[@j.c.1104]

+bbclearningenglish You write: "we're glad you find it useful"(find is the present tense), but I find out that some native English speakers would say: "I'm glad you found it useful"(found is the past tense), I wonder if you could explain this problem to me?

[@bbclearningenglish]

It’s not a problem. You can use both forms.