presence, presents, present

Presence or presence is the noun ( thing or idea ) form of "present", meaning in the place mentioned,, or in the same place as the speaker or writer--
The crime was committed in the presence of several witnesses.
The honor of your presence is requested at the marriage of...
He detected the presence of gas, and left the house to call for help.
The presence of so much hostility made everyone uneasy.

Presents or presents ( rhymes with presence ) is the plural of present, meaning a gift--
He bought two presents for her birthday.
The children get excited about holiday presents.

Presents ( pree zents ) is  the third person singular  ( he, she, it ) form of  "present", meaning to give, display, or to hand over for payment or processing of some kind--
The Happy Soap Company now presents the new holiday special.
He always smiles when he presents a check to be cashed at the bank.


Now that you know that, you can say--
"The presence of presents under a fir tree is evidence, for many, that Santa has been there."
"Presents are evidence of the presence of Santa and the reindeer."
"Grandma presents us with presents every holiday season."

Note--"precent" ( pree sent ) means to lead a group in singing--
He will precent the new hymn on Sunday.
Not to be confused with "present" ( pree-zent ), meaning to give or hand over, or display--
Present arms! Forward march!
"Present" ( preh zent ) means a gift--
Did you remember the present for her birthday?
"Present"  ( preh zent ) also means in the place mentioned, or where the speaker is--
The teacher expected them to answer "present" when she checked attendance.
Note # 2-- "prescience" ( preh shee ens ) means knowledge of future events; foreknowledge--
His ability to predict the winner seems like prescience, but he has been following the games for years.