Present simple tense in English
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The present simple tense in English is used for routines, habits, general actions and feelings.
How the present simple tense is formed, depends on whether the sentence is:
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Structure: subject / pronoun + conjugated verb + rest of the sentence
Examples:
Structure: subject / pronoun + auxiliary (form of to do + not) + verb + rest of the sentence.
The table below shows how the auxiliary is formed for every subject.
Subject | Negative auxiliary |
---|---|
I | do not |
You (singular) | do not |
He / she / it | does not |
We | do not |
You (plural) | do not |
They | do not |
The auxiliary forms are often contracted:
Examples:
Structure: auxiliary (form of to do) + subject / pronoun + infinitive verb + rest of the sentence + question mark
Examples:
The table below shows you all the situations in which the English present simple tense is used.
Situation | Example |
---|---|
You want to describe habits and routines. |
|
You want to describe a general or scientific fact. |
|
You want to describe an action that takes place, never takes place or is repeated constantly. |
|
You want to describe an event that is probably happening in the future. |
|
You want to refer to a past event. (In newspaper headlines and captions to photographs.) |
|
You want to give instructions or indications |
|
You can recognize the use of the present simple tense when the sentence contains words as:
In the present simple the root is used to form the present simple. The third person singular (he, she, it) forms an exception: '-s', '-es' or '-ies' is added to the stem to form the present simple. Keep the following rules in mind when forming the third person singular of the present simple tense:
Add '-es' to the root of the verb to form the third person singular.
Subject | To watch | To rush |
---|---|---|
I | watch | rush |
You (singular) | watch | rush |
He / she / it | watches | rushes |
We | watch | rush |
You (plural) | watch | rush |
They | watch | rush |
For the third person singular the '-y' changes in '-i' and '-es' has to be added to the root.
Subject | To study | To cry |
---|---|---|
I | study | cry |
You (singular) | study | cry |
He / she / it | studies | cries |
We | study | cry |
You (plural) | study | cry |
They | study | cry |
To form the third person singular of the other verbs, '-s' has to be added to the root. The table below shows the conjugation of the regular verbs 'to work', 'to sleep', 'to rush' and 'to study' in the present simple.
Subject | To work | To sleep |
---|---|---|
I | work | sleep |
You (singular) | work | sleep |
He / she / it | works | sleeps |
We | work | sleep |
You (plural) | work | sleep |
They | work | sleep |
The table below shows the conjugation of the irregular verbs 'to swim', 'to feel', 'to have' and 'to be'.
Subject | To swim | To feel | To have | To be |
---|---|---|---|---|
I | swim | feel | have | am |
You | swim | feel | have | are |
He / she / it | swims | feels | has | is |
We | swim | feel | have | are |
You (plural) | swim | feel | have | are |
They | swim | feel | have | are |
Practice your knowledge with the present simple exercises below!
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