FORM
[VERB] + s/es in third person
Examples:
• You speak English.
• Do you speak English?
• You do not speak English.
Use
1. Facts and generalization
2. Habits and routines
3. Permanent situations
4. State verbs (e.g. be, have, think, know)
5. Fixed / official arrangement that we can't change
6. Narrations (e.g. telling a story or a joke)
USE 1: Facts and Generalizations
The first and most important use of the Present Simple is to talk about things we believe are (or are not) true. It's also used to generalize about somebody or something.
Examples:
• It is a big house.
• He talks a lot.
• Berlin is the capital city of Germany.
• Buenos Aires is a large city.
• The Elephant doesn't fly.
• Dogs don't smoke cigarettes.
• A dog is not large than an elephant.
• London is the capital city of France. (Remember: the sentence doesn't have to be true)
USE 2: Habits and Routines
We also use this tense to indicate that an activity is a habit or a routine.
Examples:
• We leave for work at 7.30 every morning.
• Susan often meets with her friends after school.
• They usually play football on Sunday.
• Mark rarely visits his sick grandmother.
Use the Present Simple to talk about situations in life that last a relatively long time.
Examples:
• I live in Boston
• He works as a fireman.
• Margaret drives a Porshe.
• Jerry doesn't teach maths at highschool.
USE 4: State Verbs
You should use the Present Simple with state verbs.
Examples:
• I like swimming.
• We know this man.
• Margaret drives a Porshe.
• Jerry doesn't teach maths at highschool.
USE 5: Fixed / Official arrangements
Use the Present Simple to talk about events that we can't change (for example, an official meeting or a train departure).
Examples:
• The meeting starts at 4 pm.
• The train leaves at the noon.
• When does the plane take off?
• Jerry doesn't teach maths at highschool.
USE 6: Narrations
The Present Simple is also used in narrations (e.g. to tell a story or a joke).
Examples:
• A man goes to visit a friend and is amazed to find him playing chess with his dog. He watches the game in astonishment for a while [...]
Declarative Sentences
Subject | + | Verb |
e.g. I/a dog etc. | e.g. work/go/make |
Examples:
• A dog is an animal.
• I learn English twice a week.
• I have two eggs.
• The course starts in April.
• I come from Basil
Questions
Auxiliary Verb | + | Subject | + | Verb |
do or does | e.g. I/a dog etc. | e.g. work/go/make |
Questions require the auxiliary verb to do or, in the third person singular, does.
Compare these examples:
• A: Does she like going to the mountains?
• B: Yes, she does.
• A: Does John have a dog?• B: No, he doesn't.
Keep in mind that when you ask a question, the verb does not conjugate:
• Does she have a dog?
• Does she has a dog?
For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary:
• Is he tall?
• Does he be tall?
Negative Sentences
Subject | + | Auxiliary verb+not | + | Verb |
e.g. I/a dog etc. | do not (don't) / does not (doesn't) | e.g. work/go/make |
Contracted forms
• do + not = don't
• does + not = doesn't
Examples:
• They don't live in New York anymore.
• I don't like winter.
• They don't live in New York anymore.
• He doesn't go to the cinema at all.
How do we make the Simple Present Tense?
There are three important exceptions:
1. For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.
2. For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary.
3. 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? |
-s or -es ?
With most verbs, the third person singular form is created simply by adding -S. However, with some verbs, you need to add -ES or change the ending a little. Here are the rules:
Verb ending in... | How to make the 3rd person singular | Example |
s | Add -ES | He passes |
z | Add -ES | She waltzes |
sh | Add -ES | She wishes |
ch | Add -ES | He watches |
x | Add -ES | She mixes |
consonant + y | Change Y to I, then add -ES | It flies |
[anything else] | Add -S | He sings |
Adverbs of frequency
Adverbs of frequency say how often an activity happens. We can use one word or a phrase.
Examples:
• Always
• Never
• frequently/often
• usually
• seldom/rarely
• nowadays
• every week/year
• sometimes/occasionally
• from time to time
Here are a few examples of how to use them in sentences:
• I always go to church on Sundays.
• I never eat anything after 10 p.m.
• My computer freezes from time to time.
• Seldom do I go to bed before midnight.
• Nowadays most people have a mobile phone.
Position of adverbs of frequency
a) always, continually, frequently, occasionally, often, once, twice, periodically, repeatedly, sometimes, usually, etc.
b) ever, hardly ever, never, rarely, scarcely ever, seldom
Adverbs in both the above groups are normally placed:
1. After the simple tenses of to be:
· He is always in time for meals.
2. Before the simple tenses of all other verbs:
· They sometimes stay up all night.
With compound tenses, they are placed after the first auxiliary, or, with interrogative verbs, after auxiliary + subject:
• He can never understand.
• You have often been told not to do that.
• Have you ever ridden a camel?
Exceptions:
a)"used to" and "have to" prefer the adverb in front of them:
· You hardly ever have to remind him; he always remembers.
b) Frequency adverbs are often placed before auxiliaries when these are used alone, in additions to remarks or in answers to questions:
· "Can you park your car near the shops?" "Yes, I usually can."
· I know I should take exercise, but I never do
and when in a compound verb, the auxiliary is stressed:
· I never can remember. She hardly ever has met him.
Similarly when do is added for emphasis:
· I always do arrive in time!
But emphasis can also be given by stressing the frequency adverb and leaving it in its usual position after the auxiliary:
· You should always check your oil before starting.
Adverbs in group (a) above can also be put at the beginning or end of a sentence or clause.
Exceptions"always" is rarely found at the beginning of a sentence/clause except with imperatives.
"often", if put at the end, normally requires "very" or "quite": Often he walked. He walked quite often.
Adverbs in group (b) above, hardly ever, never, rarely etc. (but not ever alone), can also be put at the beginning of a sentence, but inversion of the following main verb then becomes necessary:
· Hardly/Scarcely ever did they manage to meet unobserved.
hardly/scarcely ever, never, rarely and seldom are not used with negative verbs.
never, ever
never is chiefly used with an affirmative verb, never with a negative. It normally means "at no time":
• He never saw her again. I've never eaten snails.
• They never eat meat, (habit)
• I've never had a better flight.
(For never + comparative) never + affirmative can sometimes replace an ordinary negative:
I waited but he never turned up.
(He didn't turn up) never + interrogative can be used to express the speaker's surprise at the non-performance of an action:
· Has he never been to Japan? I'm surprised, because his wife is Japanese.
References
Exercises
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