Present Simple
Present Simple is the most basic tense in English. We use Present Simple to talk about present events, which happen regularly. We can also use the Present Simple to speak about scheduled events in the near future. In the Present Simple tense, the verb “to be” forms sentence structures different from other verbs. Therefore, we have to take a look at Present Simple for the verb to be and Present Simple for other verbs separately.
Present Simple with to be
To be is an irregular verb and we conjugate to be the following way:
To be
| I am | we are |
| you are | you are |
| he is | they are |
| she is | |
| it is | |
Short forms of to be + pronouns
| I’m | we’re |
| you’re | you’re |
| he’s | they’re |
| she’s | |
| it’s | |
Affirmative sentences with to be in Present Simple
We form affirmative sentences (also called positive sentences) with to be by placing the appropriate form of to be after the subject of the sentence (e.g. I, you, he, she, Adam).
Subject + to be + the rest of the sentence
After to be we can use a noun, adjective, or prepositional phrase.
She is pretty. (adjective)
She is from Boston. (prepositional phrase)
Negative sentences with to be in Present Simple
Negative sentences with to be are formed by adding not after to be.
Subject + to be + not + the rest of the sentence
In negative sentences we make contractions with the verb to be and not.
is not ⇒ isn’t
But there is no negative contraction for the verb to be in the first person.
Question with to be in Present Simple
We form questions with to be by inversing to be. Inversion means placing the verb (in this case to be) before the subject of the sentence.
To be + subject + the rest of the sentence
Present Simple with other verbs
In the Present Simple, we use the base form of the verb, apart from the third-person singular where we add -s (-es) to the base form of the verb. Another important thing to remember in the Present Simple is the verb to be. The sentence structure with to be is different than with other verbs.
Affirmative sentences in Present Simple
We form positive sentences with verbs other than to be by placing the verb in the base form after the subject of the sentence.
Subject + verb + the rest of the sentence
In the Present Simple, in the third-person singular, we add the letter -s (-es) to the verb.
Negative sentences in Present Simple
We form negative sentences by adding the auxiliary verb do and not to the sentence.
Subject + do/does + not + verb + the rest of the sentence
In a positive sentence, in the third person singular, we add the letter -s (-es) to the verb (e.g. work – works). However, in negative sentences, instead of adding -s (-es) to the verb, we add -es to the auxiliary verb (do – does) and we do not add -s (-es) to the main verb.
We form contractions in negative sentences with do/does and not.
does not ⇒ doesn’t
Questions in Present Simple
We form questions in the Present Simple by placing the auxiliary verb do at the beginning of the sentence.
Do/does + subject + verb + the rest of the sentence
Similarly to negative sentences, when forming questions where the subject is in the third person singular (he, she, it), we use does. In questions, we also don’t add -s (-es) to the main verb.
The Usage of Present Simple
We use Present Simple when we talk about:
I go to the gym every Friday.
After winter comes spring.
Dogs bark.
The train leaves at 10 a.m.
Do you like eating snails?
I think I know what you mean.
Adam swears a lot when he is angry.
Add sugar to eggs.
This book talks about important issues.
I have tissues.
He shoots and scores!
My husband works in a restaurant.
Adverbs of frequency
We usually use the Present Simple with frequency adverbs such as: always, never, sometimes, often, rarely, etc. which signal that something happens (or doesn’t happen) regularly.
I rarely put makeup on.
