{"id":24446,"date":"2024-09-12T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ellalanguage.com\/blog\/?p=24446"},"modified":"2024-10-14T16:15:30","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T14:15:30","slug":"present-simple-tense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ellalanguage.com\/blog\/present-simple-tense\/","title":{"rendered":"Present Simple tense"},"content":{"rendered":"

Present Simple<\/h1>\n

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 \u201cto be\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

\"Past<\/p>\n

Present Simple with to be<\/h2>\n

To be<\/i> is an irregular verb and we conjugate to be the following way:<\/p>\n

\n
To be<\/h5>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
I am<\/strong><\/td>\nwe are<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you are<\/strong><\/td>\nyou are<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
he is<\/strong><\/td>\nthey are<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
she is<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
it is<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Short forms of to be + pronouns<\/h5>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
I’m<\/strong><\/td>\nwe’re<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
you’re<\/strong><\/td>\nyou’re<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
he’s<\/strong><\/td>\nthey’re<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
she’s<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
it’s<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

\"ELLA?<\/a><\/p>\n

Affirmative sentences with to be in Present Simple<\/h3>\n

We form affirmative sentences (also called positive sentences) with to be<\/em> by placing the appropriate form of to be<\/em> after the subject of the sentence (e.g. I, you, he, she, Adam).<\/p>\n

Subject<\/span> + to be<\/span> + the rest of the sentence<\/h5>\n
I<\/strong><\/span> am<\/strong><\/span> a doctor.<\/div>\n

After to be<\/i> we can use a noun, adjective, or prepositional phrase.<\/p>\n

She is a doctor<\/u>. (noun)
\nShe is pretty<\/u>. (adjective)
\nShe is from Boston<\/u>. (prepositional phrase)<\/div>\n

Negative sentences with to be in Present Simple<\/h3>\n

Negative sentences with to be<\/em> are formed by adding not<\/em> after to be<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Subject<\/span> + to be<\/span> + not<\/span> + the rest of the sentence<\/h5>\n
I<\/span> am<\/span> not<\/span><\/strong> a doctor.<\/div>\n

In negative sentences we make contractions with the verb to be<\/em> and not<\/em>.<\/p>\n

are not \u21d2 aren\u2019t<\/b>
\nis not \u21d2 isn\u2019t<\/b><\/div>\n

But there is no negative contraction for the verb to be<\/em> in the first person.<\/p>\n

amn\u2019t<\/div>\n

Question with to be in Present Simple<\/h3>\n

We form questions with to be<\/em> by inversing to be<\/em>. Inversion means placing the verb (in this case to be)<\/em> before the subject of the sentence.<\/p>\n

To be<\/span> + subject<\/span> + the rest of the sentence<\/h5>\n
Am<\/span> I<\/span><\/strong> a doctor?<\/div>\n

\"English?<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\"English<\/p>\n

Present Simple with other verbs<\/h2>\n

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<\/i>. The sentence structure with to be<\/i> is different than with other verbs.<\/p>\n

Affirmative sentences in Present Simple<\/h3>\n

We form positive sentences with verbs other than to be<\/i> by placing the verb in the base form after the subject of the sentence.<\/p>\n

Subject<\/span> + verb<\/span> + the rest of the sentence<\/h5>\n
I<\/span> work<\/span><\/strong> in a hospital.<\/div>\n

In the Present Simple, in the third-person singular, we add the letter -s (-es) to the verb.<\/p>\n

He works<\/span><\/strong> in a hospital.<\/div>\n

Negative sentences in Present Simple<\/h3>\n

We form negative sentences by adding the auxiliary verb do<\/i> and not<\/i> to the sentence.<\/p>\n

Subject<\/span> + do\/does<\/span> + not<\/span> + verb<\/span> + the rest of the sentence<\/h5>\n
I<\/span> do<\/span> not<\/span> work<\/span><\/strong> in a hospital.<\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

He does<\/span><\/strong> not work in a hospital.<\/div>\n
He do not works in a hospital.<\/div>\n
He does not works in a hospital.<\/div>\n

We form contractions in negative sentences with do\/does<\/i> and not<\/i>.<\/p>\n

do not \u21d2 don\u2019t<\/b>
\ndoes not \u21d2 doesn\u2019t<\/b><\/div>\n

Questions in Present Simple<\/h3>\n

We form questions in the Present Simple by placing the auxiliary verb do<\/i> at the beginning of the sentence.<\/p>\n

Do\/does<\/span> + subject<\/span> + verb<\/span> + the rest of the sentence<\/h5>\n
Do<\/span> you<\/span> work<\/span><\/strong> in a hospital?<\/div>\n

Similarly to negative sentences, when forming questions where the subject is in the third person singular (he, she, it), we use does<\/i>. In questions, we also don\u2019t add -s (-es) to the main verb.<\/p>\n

Does<\/span><\/strong> he work in a hospital?<\/div>\n
Do he works in a hospital?<\/div>\n
\n
The Usage of Present Simple<\/h5>\n

We use Present Simple when we talk about:<\/p>\n

+ something that happens regularly<\/b><\/div>\n
Emily sleeps 8 hours a day.
\nI go to the gym every Friday.<\/div>\n
+ facts, states, generalizations<\/b><\/div>\n
Adam is a very positive person.
\nAfter winter comes spring.
\nDogs bark.<\/div>\n
+ scheduled events in the future (timetables)<\/b><\/div>\n
The movie starts at 8 p.m.
\nThe train leaves at 10 a.m.<\/div>\n
+ likes, preferences, opinions, feelings, emotions (things expressed with stative verbs)<\/b><\/div>\n
We don’t enjoy camping.
\nDo you like eating snails?
\nI think I know what you mean.<\/div>\n
+ habits<\/b><\/div>\n
I always drink orange juice in the morning.
\nAdam swears a lot when he is angry.<\/div>\n
+ directions and instructions<\/b><\/div>\n
You have to turn left at the next intersection.
\nAdd sugar to eggs.<\/div>\n
+ events happening in movies or books<\/b><\/div>\n
The movie ends with a wedding.
\nThis book talks about important issues.<\/div>\n
+ things happening now (but only with stative verbs or when talking about very short actions that are over very quickly)<\/b><\/div>\n
I’m here.
\nI have tissues.
\nHe shoots and scores!<\/div>\n
+ things that are mostly permanent (e.g. when talking about where we live)<\/b><\/div>\n
I live in Canada.
\nMy husband works in a restaurant.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Adverbs of frequency<\/h5>\n

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.<\/p>\n

We often go to the movies.
\nI rarely put makeup on.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Other Present Tenses in English<\/h3>\n
\nPresent Continuous<\/a>
\nPresent Perfect<\/a>
\nPresent Perfect Continuous<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

\"ELLA?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 \u201cto be\u201d forms sentence structures different from other verbs. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5672,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14349,57],"tags":[14355],"class_list":["post-24446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-englishblog","category-grammar","tag-english-tenses"],"yoast_head":"\nPresent Simple tense | English tenses | ELLA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn everything you need to know about the Present Simple tense in English. 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