The Grammaring Guide to English Grammar with Exercises

Present simple

Form: present simple

Present simple for present habits and states

Present simple for general truths

Present simple in instructions

Present simple in commentaries

The auxiliaries DO and DOES for emphasis

Present simple with SINCE WHEN

Form: present simple

VERB/VERB-S

Affirmative

Subject

Verb (present tense)

I

work.

You

We

You

They

He/She/It

works.

The present simple form of the verb is identical to the base form in all persons except the third person singular. The third person singular is formed by adding -s to the base form. Note the changes in spelling:

work

»

work

s

live

»

live

s

stay

»

stay

s

try

»

tr

ies

(a final -

y

changes to -

ie

- after a consonant)

wash

»

wash

es

; kiss

»

kiss

es

; watch

»

watch

es

; box

»

box

es

(we add -

es

after -

sh

, -

s

, -

ch

and -

x

)

go

»

go

es

(we add -

es

)

do

»

do

es

(we add -

es

)

have

»

has

Negative

In the negative, we use the auxiliary do + not followed by the bare infinitive in all persons except the third person singular. In the third person singular we use does + not:

Subject

Auxiliary

not

Verb (bare infinitive)

I

do

not

work.

You

We

You

They

He/She/It

does

The contracted forms don't and doesn't are often used instead of do not and does not in spoken and in informal written language.

Interrogative

In the interrogative, we use the auxiliary do followed by the subject and the bare infinitive in all persons except the third person singular. In the third person singular, we use does:

(Question word)

Auxiliary

Subject

Verb (bare infinitive)

(How)

do

I

work?

you

we

you

they

does

he/she/it

The verb BE in the present simple

The verb be has irregular present tense forms. In the present simple, the auxiliaries do and does are not used in the negative and interrogative if the main verb is be:

Affirmative

Negative

Interrogative

I

am

at home.

I

am not

at home.

Am

I at home?

You

are

at home.

You

are not

at home.

Are

you at home?

He/She/It

is

at home.

He/She/It

is not

at home.

Is

he/she/it at home?

We

are

at home.

We

are not

at home.

Are

we at home?

You

are

at home.

You

are not

at home.

Are

you at home?

They

are

at home.

They

are not

at home.

Are

they at home?

The following contracted forms are often used in spoken and in informal written language:

I am

»

I'm

you are

»

you're

he/she/it is

»

he's/she's/it's

we are

»

we're

you are

»

you're

they are

»

they're

are not

»

aren't

is not

»

isn't

Related topics:

The auxiliaries DO and DOES for emphasis

Subject-auxiliary inversion in questions

Present simple for present habits and states

The present simple tense is used to express repeated, habitual actions in the present. Adverbs of frequency, such as always, usually, regularly, frequently, often, sometimes, rarely, seldom, occasionally and never, and adverb phrases, for example, every year, once in a blue moon and three times a day, are often used with this tense:

What's the first thing you

usually do

when you

get up

in the morning?

I

go

to the gym

twice a week

.

Every 15 minutes

, someone

dies

as a result of an alcohol-related collision.

The present simple is also used to refer to states that exist at the time of speaking:

My sister

lives

in Canada.

George

likes

pudding.

This house

is

really beautiful.

Quotes:

I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It's not. Mine had me trained in two days. - Bill Dana

Parents often talk about the younger generation as if they didn't have anything to do with it. - Haim Ginott

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. - Oscar Wilde

I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else. - Winston Churchill

Related topics:

Past simple for past habits and states

Present simple for general truths

The present simple is used to express facts that are always true or events that always happen. This use is often described with the term "general truth":

A magnet

attracts

iron.

The sun

rises

in the east.

Water

boils

at 100 degrees Celsius.

Quotes:

Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. - Albert Einstein

Most of us spend our lives as if we had another one in the bank. - Ben Irwin

Lost time is never found again. - Benjamin Franklin

Christmas is a time when you get homesick - even when you're home. - Carol Nelson

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional. - Chili Davis

It is impossible to keep a straight face in the presence of one or more kittens. - Cynthia E. Varnado

Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching? - Dennis and Wendy Mannering

Saying nothing sometimes says the most. - Emily Dickinson

The greatest weariness comes from work not done. - Eric Hoffer

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. - Hal Borland

Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it. - Henry David Thoreau

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. - Jim Rohn

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. - Lao Tse

What is not good for the swarm is not good for the bee. - Marcus Aurelius

Men for the sake of getting a living forget to live. - Margaret Fuller

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. - Pablo Picasso

The best way to predict the future is to create it. - Peter Drucker

Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned. - Peter Marshall

Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something. - Plato

Each day is an opportunity to travel back into tomorrow's past and change it. - Robert Brault

Freedom lies in being bold. - Robert Frost

Fate leads the willing, and drags along the reluctant. - Seneca

It is terrible to speak well and be wrong. - Sophocles

Those who wish to sing always find a song. - Swedish proverb

Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats. - Voltaire

A barking dog is often more useful than a sleeping lion. - Washington Irving

It is the familiar that usually eludes us in life. What is before our nose is what we see last. - William Barret

In summer, the song sings itself. - William Carlos Williams

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. - Winston Churchill

Related topics:

Zero conditional

Present simple in instructions

The present simple tense is used in instructions as an alternative to the imperative. This use implies that the actions are or should always be performed in the same way or order:

First you

roll out

the pastry, then you

cut

circles with a cup or a glass.

You

go down

this street to the supermarket, then you

turn

left.

I've pressed Ctrl+Alt+Del. What

do

I

do

now?

Present simple in commentaries

The present simple is used in commentaries on events happening at the present moment to describe actions that are completed at the time of speaking:

Torres

passes

to Fabregas... Fabregas to Iniesta...

Then the curtain

drops

and the lights

go out

.

The auxiliaries DO and DOES for emphasis

In the present simple, the auxiliaries do and does (in the third person singular) followed by the bare infinitive form of the main verb can be used in affirmative sentences to express emphasis. In speech, the auxiliary is stressed:

We

do want

to help you.

Diego

does work

hard.

But I really

do love

you, baby!

Quotes:

Flowers really do intoxicate me. - Vita Sackville-West

Related topics:

Form: present simple

DO, DOES, DID + bare infinitive

Present simple with SINCE WHEN

Since when? with the present simple is used to indicate doubt or sarcasm:

Since when are

people like Geoffrey allowed to join this club?!

(How can he join this club?!)

Since when do

you

speak

Russian?

(I don't believe you speak Russian.)

Related topics:

Present perfect with FOR and SINCE