SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

Use of Simple Present

We use the simple present for:
• Habits and routines:
I go to school at 8:30. My brother reads comics on Saturdays.
• Permanent states:
Sam and Jason live in Caracas.

Spelling rules for 3rd person singular

The third person singular in the simple present tense always ends in –s: she climbs,
he runs, it rains, etc.

Spelling rules
Add –es instead of –s if the base form ends in -s, -z, -x, -sh, -ch, or the vowel o
(but not -oo). This adds an extra syllable to the word in spoken form.

• miss + es = misses He misses her so much.

• do + es = does She does exercise every day.

If the base form ends in consonant + y, remove the -y and add –ies:

• rely --> relies Tom relies on her.

• worry --> worries My father worries about me.

Irregular verbs
Two very common irregular verbs that you already know do not follow the rules
above (although their third person singular present forms do actually end in –s):

• be --> is
• have --> has

Modals
Finally, as mentioned above, the modal verbs, such as can, must, should,
may and might, do not take -s in the third person singular present because, as you
probably know, modal verbs do not take endings at all.

• She can speak three languages.

• He must like football a lot.

Adverbs and Expressions of Frequency

Adverbs of frequency (always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never) tell us
how often something happens.

These adverbs go:

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
Before the main verb:

• He sometimes goes out with his friends.

• It doesn’t often rain here.
• Do you always go to restaurants?

After the verb to be:

• Emily is never late for work.

• I’m not often ill. I’m so healthy.
• Is she usually in bed at this time?

We can use other expression to talk about frequency such as:

Every day, every week, every morning, every month, or every year.
Once, twice a day, three times a week, four times a year, etc.

A question word to ask about frequency is: How often …?

Examples:
How often do you go to the cinema?
I go to the cinema twice a month.

How often does Katherine go dancing?

She goes dancing every weekend.