Present Simple Tense
How Do We Use The Present Simple Tense?
| subject | + | auxiliary verb | + | main verb |
| do | base |
Here are three significant exceptions to this rule:
- We do not use the auxiliary verb for positive sentences.
- We add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary when using 3rd person singular (he, she, it, etc).
- We do not use an auxiliary in any case when the verb to be is used.
Here are some examples with the main verb help:
| subject | auxiliary verb | main verb | |||
| + | I, You, We, They | help | him. | ||
| He, She, It | helps | him. | |||
| – | I, You, We, They | do | not | help | him. |
| He, She, It | does | not | help | him. | |
| ? | Do(auxiliary verb) | I, you, we, they(subject) | help | him? | |
| Does(auxiliary verb) | he, she, it(subject) | help | him? |
Here are examples of the verb to be in the present simple tense. Note that there is no auxiliary:
| subject | main verb | |||
| + | I | am | Spanish. | |
| You, We, They | are | Spanish. | ||
| He, She, It | is | Spanish. | ||
| – | I | am | not | young. |
| You, We, They | are | not | young. | |
| He, She, It | is | not | young. | |
| ? | Am(main verb) | I(subject) | allowed? | |
| Are(main verb) | you, we, they(subject) | allowed? | ||
| Is(main verb) | he, she, it(subject) | allowed? |
When Do We Use The Present Simple Tense?
The present simple tense is used when:
- the action is broad
- the action happens frequently in the past, present and future
- the action is not just happening now
- the statement is always valid (true)
| Amy delivers pizza. | ||
| past | present | future |
| ______________________________________________ | ||
| It is Amy’s job to deliver pizza. She does it in the past, the present and the future. | ||
Look at these examples:
- I live in Argentina.
- Mike sleeps every night at 8PM.
- She works in a bakery.
- I talk to her on Mondays.
- I do not work in the morning.
- Do you play video games?
We can also use the present simple tense for more specific and narrow situations, with the verb to be. We can talk about now by using the present simple tense. Here are some examples of the verb to be in the present simple tense, some now and some general:
|
Is she here? Jim is not in the office. I am in love. |
||
| past | present | future |
| _________________ | ||
| The situation is now. | ||
|
She is a fast learner. She is so nice. Why is he always late? |
||
| past | present | future |
| _________________________________________________ | ||
| The situation is general in the past, present and future. | ||