Learn English Free and Fast - The Simple Present Tense

Simple Present

The Simple Present Tense

The simple present tense is used to discuss permanant situations and the frequency of events.

To have	Short form	Other Verbs (to work)
I have	I've	I work
he has	he's	He works
she has	she's	She works
it has	it's	It works
you have	you've	you work
we have	we've	we work
they have	they've	they work

Statements +	Statements -	Questions	Short answer +	Short answer -
I work.	I don't work.	Do I work?	Yes, I do.	No, I don't.
He works.	He doesn't work.	Does he work?	Yes, he does.	No, he doesn't.
She works.	She doesn't work.	Does she work?	Yes, she does.	No, she doesn't.
It works.	It doesn't work.	Does it work?	Yes, it does.	No, it doesn't.
You work.	You don't work.	Do you work?	Yes you do.	No, you don't.
We work.	We don't work.	Do we work?	Yes we do.	No, we don't.
They work.	They don't work.	Do they work?	Yes they do.	No, they don't.

Regular or permanent situations

When something happens regularly or is a permanent situation we usually use the simple present tense. When using the simple present the verb (with the exception of the auxiliary verbs) remains in the dictionary form (verb + s with he/she/it).

How do we make the Simple Present Tense?

subject	+	auxiliary verb	+	main verb
		do		base

There are three important exceptions:

For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.
For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary.
For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.

Look at these examples with the main verb like:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I, you, we, they			like	coffee.
+	He, she, it			likes	coffee.
-	I, you, we, they	do	not	like	coffee.
-	He, she, it	does	not	like	coffee.
?	Do	I, you, we, they		like	coffee?
?	Does	he, she, it		like	coffee?

Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:

	subject	main verb
+	I	am		French.
	You, we, they	are		French.
	He, she, it	is		French.
-	I	am	not	old.
	You, we, they	are	not	old.
	He, she, it	is	not	old.
?	Am	I		late?
	Are	you, we, they		late?
	Is	he, she, it		late?

How do we use the Simple Present Tense?

We use the simple present tense when:

the action is general
the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future
the action is not only happening now
the statement is always true

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.

Look at these examples:

I live in New York.
The Moon goes round the Earth.
John drives a taxi.
He does not drive a bus.
We do not work at night.
Do you play football?

Simple Present Timeline

For example:

Q) "Where do you live?" A) "I live in Germany."

Q) "Where does he live?" A) "He lives in Germany."

Q) "What do you do?" A) "I'm a teacher."

Q) "What does he do?" A) "He's a teacher."

Frequency

The simple present tense is also used to show how often something happens with adverbs of frequency - always, usually, often, sometimes, occasionally, seldom, rarely, never, etc.... And when discussing daily, weekly, monthly etc. routines.

For example:

"I always get up at 6.00."

"I never drink coffee before 12.00."

"I work on my website every day."

"Every Monday and Thursday I go to the gym."

We also use the simple present to ask for and give instructions or to discuss a series of actions.

For example:

Q) How do I make pancakes?" A) Well, first you take 4 eggs and crack them into a bowl, then you weigh out 4 oz. of flour and sieve it into the eggs. etc.

The simple present tense can also be used to discuss future events.