Final answer:
Verb tenses in English indicate whether an action is happening currently or has happened already. Present tense is used for actions that occur now or regularly, while past tense is used for actions that happened in the past.
Step-by-step explanation:
In every English variety, the form of the verb changes to indicate whether something is happening currently or has happened already. These changes that indicate time differences are called verb tenses. If an action or description occurs now or occurs regularly, in the present time, writers use the present tense. Conversely, if the action occurred in the past and no longer occurs, writers use the past tense.
Learn more about Verb tenses in English