# Past tense vs Present continuous tense



## meetmeinnyc

Hi 

I recently noticed that (If I'm not mistaken..) the past tense of a verb is sometimes used to describe the things that are going on right now.

Ex.
*(Hi. I'm here to see Ms. A.) A! May naghanap sa iyo.  
*(What's your job?) Naghanap ako ng work. 
*(Music being played on the radio.) Sinong kumanta nyan? 

Does this commonly happen in a daily conversation? Or I just heard them wrong...?


Thanks in advance!


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## UncleDako

I am really a beginner but I do know that Tagalog does not have past and present. It is completed, contemplated and in-progress. They use different terms for these but means the same thing, like perfect (future), imperfect (ongoing or present)... 

To an English speaker it is odd but the conversation is based upon what is going on, both in terms of time frame in the conversation is that action done or not. If it is not clear then other words are added such as NA or PA and others. The same is true of Focus. The verb has a focus which is the topic of the conversation whether it is the object or the subject.


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## meetmeinnyc

Thanks for your input!


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