Present Simple 

1. Present Continuous
2. Past Simple
3. Present Simple Examples
4. Present Simple Passive
5. Present Simple Tense

The Present Simple Tense in English. Use the Present Simple tense ('I go', 'He goes' etc) to talk about facts, things that are always true, or for routines and habits. For example: In England it often snows in winter. (a fact) I live in London (true – I don't change my house every day). The simple present tense is when you use a verb to tell about things that happen continually in the present, like every day, every week, or every month. We use the simple present tense for anything.

Try our new video lesson, it explains how to use the 's', 'es' and 'ies' rules very clearly, leave a Comment, Share, Subscribe and Like please:

How and when to form Verbs ending in 's' in the Present Simple tense

In the present tense, there are are two Present Simple verb forms the verb to be or other verbs.

• With the verb be we use am, are, and is. The negative is formed by adding not to the verb: is not (isn't), am not and are not (aren't)

Other verbs in the Present Simple verb form in the 3rd (third) person singular

we add 's', 'es' or 'ies' at the end of the verb

• I run
• You run
• He/she/it runs
• We run
• You run
• They run

There are three ways to make the 'S form':

–by adding 's' to the end of a verb (run >runs, sit >sits,see >sees, play > plays)

–by adding 'es' to the end of the verb that has a sibilant sound – ss, ch, x, tch, sh, zz (watch > watches, guess > guesses, mix > mixes)

–by changing final 'y' to 'ies' after a consonant+y (study > studies, party > parties, fly > flies)

– irregular forms

* Look at the table below to see the difference between verbs finishing with vowel + y (stay, play etc) and verbs finishing with consonant + y (cry, fly, study, worry etc)

Think about these verbs, what group do they go in?

spy, rush, get, play, tax, employ, sew, follow, fight, boil, deny, meet, look, reach, display, pass, fry, echo, teach, ask, touch, kiss, send, buy, fax, mix, hiss

Examples:

• Work: I work in London; They work in Berlin; He works in an office
• Study: You study English; we study geography; she studies French
• Finish: I finish early; you finish late; John finishes tomorrow
• Pass: You pass your exams; they pass their exams; Maria passes her exams
• Do: They do their homework; we do our homework; She does her homework
• Have: We have a nice car; you have a big car; Fred has a black car
• Play: I play chess very badly, your sister plays very well
• Mix: The chef mixes the flour with the water

Here you can compare it with the Present Continuous

See 'Comments' section below for more comments about:

• What is the Third person singular

• Why we need to add 'es'

#presentsimpletense #usethepresentsimple #'s''es''ies' in present #English grammar rules

Download the pdf document below to read 100 examples of the Third Person Singular in the Present Simple:

Level: beginner

The present tense is the base form of the verb:

I work in London.

But with the third person singular (she/he/it), we add an –s:

She works in London.

Present simple questions

Look at these questions:

Present Continuous

Do you play the piano?
Where do you live?
Does Jack play football?
Where does he come from?
Do Rita and Angela live in Manchester?
Where do they work?

We use do and does to make questions with the present simple. We use does for the third person singular (she/he/it) and do for the others.

We use do and does with question words like where, what and when:

Where do Angela and Rita live?
What does Angela do?
When does Rita usually get up?

But questions with who often don't use do or does:

Who lives in London?
Who plays football at the weekend?
Who works at Liverpool City Hospital?

Past Simple

Here are some useful questions. Try to remember them:

Present simple questions 1

Present simple questions 2

Present simple questions 3

Present simple questions 4

Present simple negatives

Look at these sentences:

I like tennis but I don't like football. (don't = do not)
I don't live in London now.
I don't play the piano but I play the guitar.
They don't work at the weekend.
John doesn't live in Manchester. (doesn't = does not)
Angela doesn't drive to work. She goes by bus.

We use do and does to make negatives with the present simple. We use doesn't for the third person singular (she/he/it) and don't for the others.

Present simple negatives 1

Present simple negatives 2

Present simple and present time

We use the present simple to talk about:

• something that is true in the present:

I'm nineteen years old.
I'm a student.
He lives in London.

• something that happens regularly in the present:

I play football every weekend.

• something that is always true:

How and when to form Verbs ending in 's' in the Present Simple tense

In the present tense, there are are two Present Simple verb forms the verb to be or other verbs.

• With the verb be we use am, are, and is. The negative is formed by adding not to the verb: is not (isn't), am not and are not (aren't)

Other verbs in the Present Simple verb form in the 3rd (third) person singular

we add 's', 'es' or 'ies' at the end of the verb

• I run
• You run
• He/she/it runs
• We run
• You run
• They run

There are three ways to make the 'S form':

–by adding 's' to the end of a verb (run >runs, sit >sits,see >sees, play > plays)

–by adding 'es' to the end of the verb that has a sibilant sound – ss, ch, x, tch, sh, zz (watch > watches, guess > guesses, mix > mixes)

–by changing final 'y' to 'ies' after a consonant+y (study > studies, party > parties, fly > flies)

– irregular forms

* Look at the table below to see the difference between verbs finishing with vowel + y (stay, play etc) and verbs finishing with consonant + y (cry, fly, study, worry etc)

Think about these verbs, what group do they go in?

spy, rush, get, play, tax, employ, sew, follow, fight, boil, deny, meet, look, reach, display, pass, fry, echo, teach, ask, touch, kiss, send, buy, fax, mix, hiss

Examples:

• Work: I work in London; They work in Berlin; He works in an office
• Study: You study English; we study geography; she studies French
• Finish: I finish early; you finish late; John finishes tomorrow
• Pass: You pass your exams; they pass their exams; Maria passes her exams
• Do: They do their homework; we do our homework; She does her homework
• Have: We have a nice car; you have a big car; Fred has a black car
• Play: I play chess very badly, your sister plays very well
• Mix: The chef mixes the flour with the water

Here you can compare it with the Present Continuous

See 'Comments' section below for more comments about:

• What is the Third person singular

• Why we need to add 'es'

#presentsimpletense #usethepresentsimple #'s''es''ies' in present #English grammar rules

Download the pdf document below to read 100 examples of the Third Person Singular in the Present Simple:

Level: beginner

The present tense is the base form of the verb:

I work in London.

But with the third person singular (she/he/it), we add an –s:

She works in London.

Present simple questions

Look at these questions:

Present Continuous

Do you play the piano?
Where do you live?
Does Jack play football?
Where does he come from?
Do Rita and Angela live in Manchester?
Where do they work?

We use do and does to make questions with the present simple. We use does for the third person singular (she/he/it) and do for the others.

We use do and does with question words like where, what and when:

Where do Angela and Rita live?
What does Angela do?
When does Rita usually get up?

But questions with who often don't use do or does:

Who lives in London?
Who plays football at the weekend?
Who works at Liverpool City Hospital?

Past Simple

Here are some useful questions. Try to remember them:

Present simple questions 1

Present simple questions 2

Present simple questions 3

Present simple questions 4

Present simple negatives

Look at these sentences:

I like tennis but I don't like football. (don't = do not)
I don't live in London now.
I don't play the piano but I play the guitar.
They don't work at the weekend.
John doesn't live in Manchester. (doesn't = does not)
Angela doesn't drive to work. She goes by bus.

We use do and does to make negatives with the present simple. We use doesn't for the third person singular (she/he/it) and don't for the others.

Present simple negatives 1

Present simple negatives 2

Present simple and present time

We use the present simple to talk about:

• something that is true in the present:

I'm nineteen years old.
I'm a student.
He lives in London.

• something that happens regularly in the present:

I play football every weekend.

• something that is always true:

The human body contains 206 bones.
Light travels at almost 300,000 kilometres per second.

We often use adverbs of frequency like sometimes, always and never with the present simple:

I sometimes go to the cinema.
She never plays football.

Here are some useful sentences. Complete them so that they are true for you and try to remember them:

Complete these sentences so that they are true for a friend and try to remember them:

Present simple 1

Present simple 2

Present simple 3

Present simple 4

Present simple 5

Present simple 6

Present simple 7

Level: intermediate

Present simple and future time

We also use the present simple to talk about:

• something that is fixed in the future:

The school term starts next week.
The train leaves at 19.45 this evening.
We fly to Paris next week.

• something in the future after time words like when, after and before and afterif and unless:

I'll talk to John when I see him.
You must finish your work before you go home.
If it rains we'll get wet.
He won't come unless you ask him.

Present simple 8

Level: advanced

Present Simple Examples

We sometimes use the present simple to talk about the past when we are:

• telling a story:

I was walking down the street the other day when suddenly this man comes up to me and tells me he has lost his wallet and asks me to lend him some money. Well, he looks a bit dangerous so I'm not sure what to do and while we are standing there …

• summarising a book, film or play:

Harry Potter goes to Hogwarts School. He has two close friends, Hermione and …

Present Simple Passive

Shakespeare's Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark. One night he sees his father's ghost. The ghost tells him he has been murdered …

Present Simple Tense

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