1.

THE PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE

1. The positive form of the present simple (positive means a normal sentence, not a negative
or a question. This is sometimes called 'affirmative') is the base form of the verb:
subject + infinitive without to
I  work in London. 

With the third person singular: subject (she/he/it) + infinitive without to + `-s`

She works in London.
He takes a place next to me.
Exceptions!
a) The verb 'be' is different from the other verbs in this tense. Let's look at 'be' first:

Here's the positive form:

Positive Positive Short Form

I am I'm
you are you're
he is he's
she is she's
it is it's
we are we're
they are they're

Next, here's the negative. It's very easy. You only add 'not'.

Negative Negative short form

I am not I'm not
you are not you aren't
he is not he isn't
she is not she isn't
it is not it isn't
we are not we aren't

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you are not you aren’t

they are not they aren't

And finally let's talk about the question form of the present simple with 'be'.

Firstly, here's the 'yes / no' question form:

Yes / No Questions
am I ?
are you ?
is he ?
is she ?
is it ?
are we ?
are they ?

If you'd like to make a 'wh' question, you just put the question word at the front:

Wh Questions
where am I ?
what are you ?
why is he ?
who is she ?
when are we ?
how are they ?

b) There are also few verbs which are irregular in the present simple:

1. 'have' becomes 'has'
2. 'do' becomes 'does'
3. 'go' becomes 'goes'

c) Verbs that end in 'y' often change 'y' to 'ie' before 's':

 study becomes studies
 try becomes tries

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  marry becomes marries
 fly becomes flies
 cry becomes cries
 hurry becomes hurries
 reply becomes replies

Examples:

He goes to school every morning.

She understands English.
It mixes the sand and the water.
He tries very hard.
She enjoys playing the piano.

d) But when the verb ends in a vowel, we just add 's' :
 play becomes plays
 say becomes says
 buy becomes buys
 enjoy becomes enjoys
 stay becomes stays.

e) Verbs that end in 'ss', 'sh', 'ch', 'zz' or 'x' often add 'e' before 's':

 pass becomes passes
 wash becomes washes
 teach becomes teaches
 buzz becomes buzzes
 fix becomes fixes

f) When the verb ends in '-s' or '-z', we double the '-s' or '-z' and add '-es'. These verbs are
not common.
 quiz becomes quizzes.

2. Present simple questions

do/does + subject + infinitive without to

Look at these questions:

Do you play the piano?
Where do you live?
Does Jack play  football?
Where does he come from?

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Do Rita and Angela live in Manchester?
Where do they  work?

We use do and does to make questions with the present simple.

We use does for the third person singular (she/he/it) and do for the others.

We use do and does with question words like where, what and when:

Where do Angela and Rita live?

What does Angela do?
When does Rita usually get up?

But questions with who often don't use do or does:

Who lives in London?

Who plays football at the weekend?
Who works at Liverpool City Hospital?

Here are some useful questions. Try to remember them:

Where do you come from? What work do you do?

Do you come from …? Do you like …?
Where do you live? Do you know …?
Do you live in ...?  

3. Present simple negatives

subject + do/does + not + infinitive without to

Look at these sentences:

I like tennis but I don't like football. (don't = do not)

I  don't live in London now.
I  don't play the piano but I play the guitar.
They don't work  at the weekend.
John doesn't live in Manchester. (doesn't = does not)
Angela  doesn't drive to work. She goes by bus.

We use do and does to make negatives with the present simple. We use doesn't for the third

person singular (she/he/it) and don't for the others.

Emphatic do
Normally, for positive sentences we do not use the auxiliary verb do. But if we want to
emphasize (stress) something, we may use it. For example, instead of saying "I like your

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dress", we could say "I do like your dress", just to show how much we like it. Here are some
more examples:

 I do wish you'd stop.

 I do apologize.

 You do look smart today.

4. The simple present tense is used to express:

a) something that is true in the present (general facts that we think are true and
permanent at the present time):

John drives a taxi.

past present future

It is John's job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future.

I am nineteen years old.

I am a student.
He lives in London.
I really  love my job.
Mrs Clare doesn’t teach me but she teaches my sister.
Do you live  in Glasgow? My cousin lives there too.
Spiders  don’t frighten me.
Martha  does what she wants. No one tells her what to do.

b) We use the present simple to talk about regular or habitual events. We often
use always, often, usually, sometimes, never and other frequency adverbs for
regular and habitual events:
How do you get to work? Do you get the bus?
I read every night before I go to sleep.
We always have a holiday in the summer. We never work in August.
We usually fly to France when we go. Lorea doesn’t like the ferry. It makes
her feel sick.

c) personal habits, emotions and wishes:

I smoke. 

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 He drinks tea at breakfast.
She only eats fish.
They watch television regularly.

d) repeated action:
I play football every weekend.
We catch the bus every morning.
It rains every afternoon in the hot season.
They drive to Monaco every summer.

e) unchanging situations:
 I work in London. 

f) general truth that are always true and permanent about the world::
London is a large city. 
The human body contains 206 bones.
Light travels at almost 300,000 kilometres per second.
Water freezes at zero degrees.
The Earth revolves around the Sun.

g) general facts, for example when talking about science or geography:

Thailand is really hot at this time of year.
Snakes live on the ground, in trees and in water.

h) To give instructions or directions:

[giving directions]
You take  the train into the city centre and then you take a number five bus.
You don’t get off at the museum. You get off at the stop after the museum.

You walk for two hundred meters, then you turn left.

You take the No.6 bus to Watney and then the No.10 to Bedford.

[giving instructions before a test]

So what you do is … you read  the questions first and then  you  write down
your answers in the box. You  don’t write on the question paper.
[giving instructions for cooking/boiling/preparing something]
Open the packet and pour the contents into hot water.

i) Immediate reactions. We use the present simple, often with verbs of senses
and perception, to talk about feelings and reactions at the moment of speaking:

Do you think that meat is ok to eat? It doesn’t smell very good.

Where does it hurt?

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 [talking about the colour of a dress]
I don’t like the colour. I think I look terrible.
It seems a bit quiet in here. Where is everyone?
Don’t you believe me? It’s true, honestly.

j) I promise, I swear, I agree (speech act verbs). We use the present simple with
speech act verbs (verbs which perform the act that they describe):

I will pay you back, I promise, when I get paid.

I agree with everything you say.

k) We also use the present simple in a similar way in formal statements and in
business or legal communications:

I attach the original signed copies for your records.

On behalf of the Society, and particularly those involved in medical work, I

write to thank you for your kind gift of £20,000 … (more formal than I’m
writing to thank you …)

l) We also use the present simple to talk about events that are part of a future
plan or timetable:

 something that is fixed in the future (fixed arrangements, present or future):

The school term  starts next week.
The lesson  starts at 9.30 tomorrow instead of 10.30.
Your exam starts at 11.00.

The train leaves  at 19.45 this evening.

His mother arrives tomorrow.

What time  do you land? (talking about a flight at some time in the future).

We fly to Paris next week.

Our holiday starts on the 26th March.

m) We use the present simple for future reference in subordinate clauses after:
 time words like when, after, before, as soon as, if and whether: 
I'll talk to John when I see him.
He'll give it to you when you come next Saturday.
You must finish your work before you go home.
They hope to move in to the new house as soon as they get back from
Australia next month.

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  and after  some conjunctions like if and unless, until, as soon as:
If it rains we'll get wet.
He won't come unless you ask him.

n) We sometimes use the present simple to talk about the past when we are: 

 telling a story:

I was walking down the street the other day when suddenly this man comes
up  to me and tells  me he has lost his wallet and asks me to lend him some
money. Well, he  looks a bit dangerous so I'm not sure what to do and while
we are standing there …

 summarising a book, film or play:

Harry Potter  goes to Hogwarts School. He has two close friends, Hermione

and …

Shakespeare's Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark. One night he sees his

father's ghost. The ghost tells him he has been murdered …

Be careful! The simple present is not used to express actions happening now.

We often use adverbs of frequency with the present simple:

I  sometimes go to the cinema.

She never plays football.

DINOSAUR

Every Day (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday...)

Present Simple It`s simple!

Never

Occasionally/Sometimes

Seldom

Always

Ussualy

Rarely/Often

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5. Stative verbs
Present Simple for now

For stative verbs, we can use the Present Simple to talk about now. Stative verbs do not
describe action. They describe state, and are verbs such as: like, sound, belong to, need, seem.
We can use these verbs with the Present Simple tense to talk about a situation at the present
time, not general.

I want a coffee.
That sounds interesting.
Do you need some help?

past present future

  The situation is now.  

Stative verbs describe a state rather than an action. They aren't usually used in the present
continuous form.

I don't know the answer. I'm not knowing the answer.

She really likes you.  She's really liking you.
He seems happy at the moment. He's seeming happy at the moment.

Stative verbs often relate to:

 thoughts and
opinions: agree, believe, doubt, guess, imagine, know, mean, recognise, remember, su
spect, think, understand
 feelings and emotions: dislike, hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish
 senses and perceptions: appear, be, feel, hear, look, see, seem, smell, taste
 possession and measurement: belong, have, measure, own, possess, weigh.

Verbs that are sometimes stative

A number of verbs can refer to states or actions, depending on the context.

I think it's a good idea.

Wait a moment! I'm thinking.

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The first sentence expresses an opinion. It is a mental state, so we use present simple. In the
second example the speaker is actively processing thoughts about something. It is an action in
progress, so we use present continuous.

Some other examples are:

have

I have an old car. (state – possession)

I'm having a quick break. (action – having a break is an activity)

see

Do you see any problems with that? (state – opinion)

We're seeing Tadanari tomorrow afternoon. (action – we're meeting him)

be

He's so interesting! (state – his permanent quality)

He's being very unhelpful. (action – he is temporarily behaving this way)

taste

This coffee tastes delicious. (state – our perception of the coffee)

Look! The chef is tasting the soup. (action – tasting the soup is an activity)

Other verbs like this

include: agree, appear, doubt, feel, guess, hear, imagine, look, measure, remember, smell, we
igh, wish.

Present Simple for general time and now

The verb be is always special. It is a stative verb, and we use it in the Present Simple tense to
talk about now situations and about general situations. Look at these examples of the
verb be in the Present Simple tense - some are general and some are now:

I am not fat.
Why are you so beautiful?
Ram is tall.

past present future

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The situation is general. Past, present and future.

Am I right?
Tara is not at home.
We are hungry.

past present future

  The situation is now.  

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