Present Simple

Present Simple

Construction:

(the verbs "to be" and "to have" do not follow these rules)

AFFIRMATIVE

1) The Present Simple is built using the 1st verb form.

Example: to play, -ed, -ed

 - I play tennis.
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2) In the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), an "s" must be added to the verb.

 - He plays football.
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   a) Verbs ending in "o", "x", "ss", "sh", "ch" add "es" in the 3rd person singular.

Examples:

 - to go --> He goes home late.
 - to mix --> She mixes the eggs.
 - to miss --> She misses her friends.
 - to wash --> He washes the car.
 - to watch --> He watches television.
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   b) Verbs ending in consonant and "y", the "y" changes into "i" and then add "es" in the 3rd person singular.

Example: to study, -ed, -ed

 - She studies hard every day.
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NEGATIVE


IMPORTANT
In the negative form, the main verb is in the bare infinitive: 1st form (without "s" or "es").

1) The negative form is built using an auxiliary verb + not. The auxiliary verb is the verb "to do".

Example:

 - I do not play volleyball.
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   a) For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), the auxiliary verb ends in "es": does. Notice that the "s" or "es" is not used in the main verb, but in the auxiliary verb.

Example:

 - She does not play tennis.
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   b) You may use contracted forms:

do + not = don't
does + not = doesn't

Examples:

 - They don't live in London.
 - She doesn't live in New York.
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INTERROGATIVE


IMPORTANT
In the interrogative form, the main verb is in the bare infinitive: 1st form (without "s" or "es").

1) The interrogative form is built using an auxiliary verb: "do" (I, you, we, they) or "does" (he, she, it). The auxiliary verb ("do" or "does") comes before the subject.

Examples:

 - Do you play football?
 - Does he like sports?
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When to use: 

This tense does not tell us whether or not the action is being performed at the moment of speaking. (To talk about actions that are happening at the moment of speaking - see the Present Continuous tense.)
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The simple present tense is often used with adverbs or adverb phrases such as: 
 - always
 - frequently
 - often
 - usually
 - sometimes
 - occasionally
 - rarely
 - never
 - every week (day, month, etc...)
 - on Mondays (Tuesdays, etc...)
 - twice a year
 - etc. 
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1) To express habitual or repeated action

The main use of the simple present tense is to express habitual actions. Use it to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. It can be a habit, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens.

Examples:  

 - He smokes. 
 - Ronaldo plays football.
 - Classes start every morning at 8 o'clock.
 - She doesn't eat meat. 
 - Do they like chocolate?
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2) To talk about facts and generalizations

It is used when we believe a fact is true (it is not important if the fact is true). It is also used to make generalizations about people and things.

Examples:

 - Dogs bark. 
 - Cats drink milk.
 - Paris is in France.
 - It rains in winter.
 - London is a small city. (True? Not important) 
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3) For a planned future action, scheduled events or series of actions

The simple present tense is also used to talk about scheduled or planned events in the near future, usually when talking about public transportation or actions that refer to a journey.


Examples:

 - We leave London at 8 o'clock tomorrow and arrive in Paris at 11.
 - The bus leaves in 2 hours. 
 - What time does the plane depart tonight?
 - The train doesn't arrive at 10 a.m., it arrives at 10 p.m.
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4) With non-continuous verbs: to express the idea that an action is happening or not happening now.

Examples of non-continuous verbs:

to be, to want, to cost, to seem, to need, to care, to owe, to exist...

to own, to belong...

to like, to love, to hate, to dislike, to fear, to enjoy...

Examples:

 - I need your help now.
 - I am home right now.
 - She wants this cake.
 - Do you have your books with you? 
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5) Other situations:

   a) when we are asking about or quoting from books.
   b) it can be used in newspaper headlines.
   c) it can be used for dramatic narrative.
   d) it is used in conditional sentences, type 1.
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