Verb Tenses: Simple Present
SIMPLE PRESENT
(See also Verbs -'Regular verbs in the simple present')
Simple present, third person singular
Note:- he, she,
it: in the third person singular the verb always ends in -s:
he wants, she needs, he gives, she thinks.
- Negative and
question forms use DOES (=the third person of the auxiliary'DO') +
the infinitive of the verb.
He wants. Does he want? He does not want.
- Verbs ending
in -y : the third person changes the -y to -ies:
flyflies, cry
cries
Exception: if there is a vowel before the -y:
playplays, pray
prays
- Add -es
to verbs ending in:-ss, -x, -sh, -ch:
he passes, she catches, he fixes, it pushes
See also Verbs -'Regular verbs in the simple present', and 'Be, do & have'
Examples:
1. Third person singular with s or -es
- 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.
2. Simple present, form
Example: to think, present simple
Affirmative | Interrogative | Negative |
I think |
Do I think ? |
I do not think. |
You think |
Do you think? |
You don't think. |
he, she, it thinks |
Does he, she, it think? |
He, she, it doesn't think. |
we think |
Do we think? |
We don't think. |
you think |
Do you think? |
You don't think. |
The simple present is used:
- to express habits,
general truths, repeated actions or unchanging situations, emotions
and wishes:
I smoke (habit); I work in London (unchanging situation); London is a large city (general truth)
- to give instructions
or directions:
You walk for two hundred metres, then you turn left.
- to express fixed
arrangements, present or future:
Your exam starts at 09.00
- to express future
time, after some conjunctions: after, when, before, as soon
as, until:
He'll give it to you when you come next Saturday.
BE CAREFUL! The simple present is not used to express actions happening now. See Present Continuous.
Examples:
- For habits
He drinks tea at breakfast.
She only eats fish.
They watch television regularly.
- For repeated
actions or events
We catch the bus every morning.
It rains every afternoon in the hot season.
They drive to Monaco every summer.
- For general
truths
Water freezes at zero degrees.
The Earth revolves around the Sun.
Her mother is Peruvian.
- For instructions
or directions
Open the packet and pour the contents into hot water.
You take the No.6 bus to Watney and then the No.10 to Bedford.
- For fixed
arrangements
His mother arrives tomorrow.
Our holiday starts on the 26th March
- With future
constructions
She'll see you before she leaves.
We'll give it to her when she arrives.
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