The Present Simple Tense



The Present Simple Tense

We need to use the Present Simple a lot in English, so it's really important to understand it well.

|Positive |Negative (of 'play') |Questions |

|I play |I do not play |do I play ? |I don't play |

|you play |you do not play |do you play ? |you don't play |

|he plays |he does not play |does he play ? |he doesn't play |

|she plays |she does not play |does she play ? |she doesn't play |

|it plays |it does not play |does it play ? |it doesn't play |

|we play |we do not play |do we play ? |we don't play |

|they play |they do not play |do they play ? |they don't play |

Spelling rules

Some verbs have present simple spelling changes with 'he', 'she' or 'it':

(a) Verbs that end in 'y':

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

• study becomes studies

• try becomes tries

• marry becomes marries

• fly becomes flies

• cry becomes cries

(Be careful! 'y' doesn't change to 'ie' if the ending is 'ay', 'ey', 'oy', 'uy'. So, play becomes plays, say becomes says, buy becomes buys, enjoy becomes enjoys, stay becomes stays) 

(b) Verbs that end in 'es', 'sh', 'ch', or 'x':

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

• pass becomes passes

• wash becomes washes

• teach becomes teaches

(c) Verbs that end in ‘o’

• go becomes goes

• do becomes does

Using the present simple tense

1: When something is generally true. For example,

• The sun rises in the east.

• It snows in winter.

• Water boils at 100°C.

2 For a situation that we think is permanent (see the present continuous for a temporary situation - one which we think won't last long).

• Where do you live?

• They love coffee.

• She has three children.

3. For habits or things that we do regularly. We often use adverbs of frequency in this case (also see the present continuous for new, temporary or annoying habits.

• Do you smoke?

• I play tennis every Tuesday.

• She gets up at seven o'clock every day.

• At the weekend, we usually go to the market.

4. Four, we use the Simple Present to talk about what happens in books, plays, or films

• The hero dies at the end of the film.

• A young woman travels through Europe, where she meets different people, and finally falls in love.

5 to talk about the future. When you are discussing a timetable or a fixed plan, you can use this tense. Usually, the timetable is fixed by an organisation, not by us.

• School begins at nine tomorrow.

• When does the class finish?

6. We also use it to talk about the future after words like ‘ when’, ‘ until’, ‘ after’, ‘ before’, ‘as soon as’ in a future sentence.

• I will call you when I have time. (Not ‘will have’)

• I won't go out until it stops raining.

7. We need to use this simple tense with some special verbs which we don't use in continuous tenses (stative verbs).

• This soup tastes great.

• You look fabulous.

• I think she is very pretty.

• I promise I will help you

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