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English
EnglishEspañolFrançaisItalianoDeutsch日本語中文한국어Portuguêsहिन्दीNorskSvenskaDanskSuomiРусскийBahasa IndonesiaTiếng ViệtTürkçePolskiالعربيةবাংলাاردوNederlandsУкраїнськаΕλληνικάעבריתČeštinaMagyarRomânăไทย

Present Simple

English · Tenses

Introduction

The present simple is for things that are permanent, repeated, or generally true.

Use it for daily habits and routines, general truths and facts, permanent states, and scheduled future events.

subjectverb (work)verb (study)
I / you / we / theyworkstudy
he / she / itworksstudies
Have and be are irregular in the present simple. Have becomes has (not haves) for he/she/it: She has a car. Be does not use -s at all - it has its own full set of forms: I am, you/we/they are, he/she/it is.

Affirmative

The affirmative uses the base form of the verb for most subjects.

Subject+verb

For third person singular - he, she, or it - add -s or -es to the verb.

he / she / it+verb+(-s/es)

Verbs ending in -ch, -sh, -ss, -x, -o add -es: watches, goes, fixes. Consonant + -y becomes -ies: studies, flies.
  • Anna drinks coffee every morning.
  • The sun rises in the east.
  • My uncle works at a hospital.
  • The train leaves at 6pm.
  • She drink coffee every morning.missing -s
  • He work at a hospital.missing -s
Modal verbs (can, will, must, should) never take -s: he can swim, not he cans swim.

Negative

To make a sentence negative, add the auxiliary do not or does not before the base verb. The main verb never changes form - all the negation is carried by the auxiliary.

Subject+don't / doesn't+base verb

Use don't with I, you, we, they - and doesn't with he, she, it.

  • I don't like cold weather.
  • Maya doesn't eat meat.
  • They don't know the answer.
The base verb never takes -s after doesn't: she doesn't work, not she doesn't works.

Questions

Questions are formed by moving the auxiliary do or does before the subject. The main verb always stays in the base form - it never takes -s in a question, even for he/she/it.

Do / Does+subject+base verb+?

Use do with I, you, we, they - and does with he, she, it.

  • Do you speak French?
  • Does she live nearby?
  • Where do they work?
  • Does she drinks coffee?no -s after does
  • Do he speak French?use does for he/she/it
Short answers use the auxiliary only - never the main verb: Yes, she does. No, she doesn't.
subjectquestion structure
I / you / we / theyDo + subject + verb?
he / she / itDoes + subject + verb?

Time Expressions

Certain adverbs and expressions naturally pair with the Present Simple. Frequency adverbs describe how often something happens; time phrases anchor the action to a regular schedule.

  • He always arrives on time.
  • I go to the gym every Monday.
  • Grandpa rarely watches TV.
Frequency adverbs go before the main verb but after be: She always works late. She is always late.
categoryexpressions
frequency adverbsalways, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, never
regular intervalsevery day, every Monday, once a week, twice a month
time of day / weekin the morning, at night, on weekends

Practice

  1. He ___ to school every day.

  2. ___ she live nearby?

  3. Choose the grammatically correct sentence.

  4. watch ___

  5. study ___ (third person singular)

  6. He ___ swim.

  7. She ___ like cold weather.

  8. They ___ know the answer.

  9. ___ they work?

  10. He ___ arrives on time.

  11. She ___ late.

  12. Which is a frequency adverb?

  13. I go to the gym ___.

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