The simple present tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or normal. The simple present tense takes one of two forms depending on the subject. The simple present tense is one of the most common tenses in English. With most verbs, the third person singular form is created simply by adding -S. However, with some verbs, you need to add -ES or change the ending a little. In other words, only THIRD PERSON SINGULAR subjects (he, she and it) have to have a verb with -S. When teaching verb tenses, verb conjugation is only one part of English grammar. Students can often easily memorize the conjugation for all tenses, but the more difficult part of verb usage is knowing which verb tense to use when. In addition to conjugation, the two main things you have to teach about verb tenses are “form” and “function.” (1) verb conjugation, (2) verb form, and (3) verb function. Subjects followed by verb in base form: I like rice. You look nice. They think twice. We throw dice. Chefs use spice. The boys ring the doorbell. Children sing on special occasions. Some people bring gifts to parties. Bees sting when they are disturbed. Subjects with verb in ?s form: She makes toys. He rakes leaves. It takes time. Mom bakes pies. Water slakes thirst. Jill loves dates. Mr. Smith fills crates. Grandpa washes plates. The dog jumps gates. We use the present tense: 1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period. * I take the train to the office. * The train to Berlin leaves every hour. * John sleeps eight hours every night during the week. 2. For facts. * A dog has four legs. * We come from Switzerland. 3. For habits. * I get up early every day. * Carol brushes her teeth twice a day. 4. For things that are always / generally true. * It rains a lot in winter. * They speak English at work. Verb Conjugation & Spelling We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO). In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person. Subject Verb The Rest of the sentence I / you / we / they speak / learn English at home he / she / it speaks / learns English at home The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that verb: 1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person. * go – goes * catch – catches * wash – washes * kiss – kisses * fix – fixes * buzz – buzzes 2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES. * marry – marries * study – studies * carry – carries * worry – worries NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S. * play – plays * enjoy – enjoys * say – says Negative Sentences in the Simple Present Tense To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don't or Doesn't with all verbs EXCEPT To Be and Modal verbs (Can, might, should etc.). Affirmative: You speak French. Negative: You don't speak French. You will see that we add don't between the subject and the verb. We use Don't when the subject is I, you, we or they. Affirmative: He speaks German. Negative: He doesn't speak German. When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn't between the subject and the verb to make a negative sentence. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the negative sentence. We will see the reason why below. Negative Contractions Don't = Do not Doesn't = Does not I don't like meat = I do not like meat. There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English. Word Order of Negative Sentences The following is the word order to construct a basic negative sentence in English in the Present Tense using Don't or Doesn't. Subject don't/doesn't Verb* The Rest of the sentence I / you / we / they don't have / buy eat / like etc. cereal for breakfast he / she / it doesn't *Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part. Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc. Examples of Negative Sentences with Don't and Doesn't: You don't speak Arabic. John doesn't speak Italian. We don't have time for a rest. It doesn't move. They don't want to go to the party. She doesn't like fish. Questions in the Simple Present Tense To make a question in English we normally use Do or Does. It has no translation in Spanish though it is essential to show we are making a question. It is normally put at the beginning of the question. Affirmative: You speak English. Question: Do you speak English? You will see that we add DO at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to make it a question. We use Do when the subject is I, you, we or they. Affirmative: He speaks French. Question: Does he speak French? When the subject is he, she or it, we add DOES at the beginning to make the affirmative sentence a question. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the question. We will see the reason why below. We DON'T use Do or Does in questions that have the verb To Be or Modal Verbs (can, must, might, should etc.) Word Order of Questions with Do and Does The following is the word order to construct a basic question in English using Do or Does. Do/Does Subject Verb* The Rest of the sentence Do I / you / we / they have / need want etc. a new bike? Does he / she / it *Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part. Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc. Examples of Questions with Do and Does: Do you need a dictionary? Does Mary need a dictionary? Do we have a meeting now? Does it rain a lot in winter? Do they want to go to the party? Does he like pizza? Short Answers with Do and Does In questions that use do/does it is possible to give short answers to direct questions as follows: Sample Questions Short Answer (Affirmative) Short Answer (Negative) Do you like chocolate? Yes, I do. No, I don't. Do I need a pencil? Yes, you do. No, you don't. Do you both like chocolate? Yes, we do. No, we don't. Do they like chocolate? Yes, they do. No, they don't. Does he like chocolate? Yes, he does. No, he doesn't. Does she like chocolate? Yes, she does. No, she doesn't. Does it have four wheels? Yes, it does. No, it doesn't. However, if a question word such as who, when, where, why, which or how is used in the question, you can not use the short answers above to respond to the question. ------------------------- Base Form of the Verb The base form of the verb is simply the form of the verb that you would see in an English dictionary. A more traditional explanation of the base form of the verb is this: the base form of the verb consists of the infinitive (e.g., to do, to see, to excel, to pass, to test, etc.) without the to. For more information about infinitives, click here: * What is an infinitive? Examples of the base form of the verb Let's look at some examples. These are verbs in the base form: * leave * want * excel * pass Notice how there is no s, ed, or other part attached to the end of the verb. These are not verbs in the base form: * leaves, left, leaving * wants, wanted, wanting * excels, excelled, excelling * passes, passed, passing Discussion about the term "Base Form" Some teachers use different terms to refer to the infinitive without the to. Some of these terms include: * bare infinitive * root of the verb * verb root * dictionary form These terms are also acceptable ways to refer to the base form. Structure Examples We use the Present Simple Tense: To form the Present Simple Tense we use the verb's base form (go, work, speak, study). In 3rd person singular (he, she, it), the base form of the verb takes -s/es. (Auxiliary verbs "be," "do," "have", which can also be used as main verbs, are exceptions.) Affirmative form I you work we they he/she/it works /-s/ go - goes /-es/ watch - watches /-es/ play - plays /-s/ study - studies /-es/ ! Remember: to be I/you/we/they are he/she/it is to do I/you/we/they do he/she/it does to have I/you/we/they have he/she/it has Negative form I you DO NOT /don't/ we WORK they he/she/it DOES NOT /doesn't / WORK 1. She doesn't often go to the cinema. 2. I don't get up early at the weekend. 3. They don't speak English very well. Interrogative form I DO you WORK? we they DOES he/she/it WORK? 1. Do they speak foreign languages? 2. Do you want a banana? 3. Does your sister play the piano? Questions and short answers: Do you like spaghetti? Yes, I do. No, I don't. Does she know Bulgarian? Yes, she does. No, she doesn't. 1. Philip gets up at 6 o'clock every morning. 2. I go to school every day. 3. She sometimes goes out on Friday night. 4. I usually sleep late on Sunday morning. 5. Peter works for 8 hours every day. 6. We usually start work at 8 o'clock. 7. My children often watch TV in the afternoon. 8. He always forgets his keys. when we talk about things that happen repeatedly or habitually With Present Simple Tense we often use time expressions such as always, often, sometimes, usually, seldom, on Saturdays, rarely, never, every day, etc. 1. I work in a bank. 2. Kate speaks English very well. 3. Tom lives in London. when we talk about permanent or long-lasting situations 1. People make choices because they can't have everything they want. 2. Nurses work in clinics and hospitals. 3. Football is a very popular sport in Bulgaria. when we talk about people or things in general 1. The Earth is spherical. 2. My birthday is in May. 3. California is in the Unated States. 4. The sun rises in the east. 5. Water freezes at 0°C (32°F). to indicate general truths, facts and scientific laws 1. We arrive in Rome at 6 p.m. 2. The train leaves in five minutes. 3. The course starts next Thursday. when we talk about travel plans and timetables (mainly with verbs such as go, leave, arrive, start, come, return etc.) 1. She loves jazz music. 2. My aunt hates travelling by train. 3. I like ice cream. I don't like spinach. 4. I think she is a wonderful person. 5. Do you believe in God? 6. I have no money at the moment. 7. My brother has a new car. 8. That bicycle belongs to me. with state (or stative) verbs such as like, dislike, love, think, seem, look, know, feel, understand, want, need, hate, remember, forget, prefer, believe, mean, taste, hear, see, have (when the meaning is "possess"), own, belong, etc. These verbs are not normally used in the Continuous Tense (but there are exceptions). 1. Pour all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix until smooth. 2. Walk down the street to the corner and then turn right. to give instructions/directions The Present Simple Tense is also used in : sentences after "when", "after", "while", "till" / "until", "before", "as soon as" - When the rain stops, we'll go out. I'll call you back as soon as I return home. zero conditional sentences (when the result of the condition is always true) - If you heat water to 100°C (212°F), it boils. first conditional sentences (Often called the "real" conditional because it is used for real (or possible) situations. These situations take place if a certain condition is met.) - If you finish your homework I'll bring you to the zoo. Notes about formation of the 3rd person singular (he, she, it): If the verb ends in -ss, -sh, -ch, -x or -o, add -es to the base form: kiss - kisses, finish - finishes, watch - watches, mix - mixes, go - goes If the verb ends in consonant + y change y to i and add -es: study - studies, copy - copies, try - tries, carry - carries