The best replacement for present tense is past tense.

The best alternatives to present tense are rated as following:
★★★★★  past tense
★★★★  present progressive
★★★  present perfect
★★  present continuous
★★  present participle
★  future tense
★  present continuous tense
★  present perfect tense
  simple past tense
  past
  present progressive tense
  future

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Speaking about present tense, one probably shouldn't forget about past tense.

Other search terms related to present tense and their ratings are:
★★★★★ past tense
★★★ depuis
★ frequency adverbs
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present tense
past tense
present progressive