Table of Contents

The present simple

Introduction

Woman dog sun glasses   I love my dog!


Definition

The present simple is one of the two present tenses used in modern English. The other one is the present continuous.



Construction

Affirmative:   Subject + verb/verb with s or es

                       I like cheese.

 

We add s or es to the end of regular verbs with he, she or itIt is important to pronounce the s or es.

            Anne loves chocolate.

            Thierry misses his old job.

            The train arrives at 10 o'clock.

 

                     

Negative:      Subject + do + not + bare infinitive

                       don't like cheese.

 

Interrogative:  Do + subject + bare infinitive

                         Do you like cheese?

 

 

Negative

Interrogative

 

I don't work

You don't work

He doesn't work

She doesn't work

It doesn't work

We don't work

They don't work

 

Do I work?

Do you work?

Does he work?

Does she work?

Does it work?

Do we work?

Do they work?

 

 

Does sounds like dʌz.

Doesn't sounds like dʌzənt.
 

Examples

He doesn't like his job.

I don't work on Fridays.

He doesn't drink coffee in the evening.

He doesn't play tennis.

They don't live in London.

 

Does he work in this office?

Do Bill and Ted drink tea or coffee?

Do Mexicans speak Spanish?

Does she have an appointment?

Do you wash your hair every day?


 

Irregular verbs

 There are some irregular verbs, including 'do', 'go' and 'have'.

Regular verbs

Do

Go

Have

 

I work

You work

He works

She works

It works

We work

They work

 

 

I do

You do

He does

She does

It does

We do

They do

 

I go

You go

He goes

She goes

It goes

We go

They go

 

I have

You have

He has

She has

It has

We have

They have

 

For more irregular verbs please see the table common irregular verbs.


Uses

Uses

Examples

 

To state general facts

 

The sun rises in the east.

Australians speak English.

 

 

To give information

 

I like coffee.

She lives in London.

He plays tennis.

This plane flies to Paris.

 

To talk about repeated actions, habits or routines

 

I leave work at 5pm.

I go to the gym on Fridays.

 

 


Time phrases

We use time expressions with the present simple:

 

We have a team meeting twice a week.

I take the children to school every morning.

I go to the dentist once a year.

She does the shopping on Saturdays.


Adverbs of frequency

We often use adverbs of frequency with the present simple:

 

I always visit my parents at the weekend.

He often goes to the cinema.

They sometimes meet for lunch.

I rarely eat meat.

She never arrives early.



Stative and active verbs

We usually use the present simple with stative verbs. These are different from active verbs because they describe a state, feelings or emotions. They are also used to refer to the senses or to talk about weights and measurements etc.

 

I know a lot of Japanese people.  [not 'I'm knowing']

 

He believes in God.                       [not 'He's believing']

 

I'm a teacher.                                 [not 'I'm being']

 

It tastes lovely.                               [not 'It's tasting]

 

It weighs 3kg.                                 [not 'It's weighing]

 

 

However, there are exceptions. See stative and active verbs for more detail.



Unusual or temporary behaviour

We usually use the stative verb 'to be' in the present  simple, but we can use it in the present continuous if we're talking about unusual or temporary behaviour:

 

She's usually very selfish and difficult to work with but, today, she's being really kind and considerate - I don't know why!

         

Note that we can only do this if we are talking about behaviour or pretence:  He's being polite.

Compare

She is impatient.  (in general)        She is being impatient.  (at the moment)

They are generous.                        They are being generous.

 She is usually very flexible, but she's being very stubborn about this!

Paul is being unprofessional; he is usually prepared and on time.

  

Image                                                                     Image


My daughter's being very rude today;                      My son's being a cowboy in the school play.

it isn't like her at all.

 

The senses


Verbs like taste, see, hear, smell, sound etc. are more commonly used with simple tenses:

 

It tastes delicious.

It smells good.

It sounds lovely.

It feels soft.

It looks wonderful.

 

However we can also use the continuous as in the examples below:

 

You look nice today.          = You're looking nice today

Do you feel better today?  =  Are you feeling better today?

 

The garden is looking lovely now that spring is here.

It is feeling much softer now I have washed it with Lenor.



Pronunciation of present tense regular verbs

 

/s/ sound after soft consonants

 

 

(no extra syllable)

/z/ sound after hard consonants and vowel sounds

 

(no extra syllable)

 

/Iz/ sound after /s/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/, z, /ks/ and /dʒ/

 

 

(this adds an extra syllable)

Change y to i and add es when verb ends in a consonant and y

 

(no extra syllable)

 

likes         shops

talks         stops

walks        laughs

works       wants

waits         sits

drinks       eats

 

 

orders       plays

ends          listens

loves         needs

lives

arrives

learns

 

 

misses

watches

finishes

manages

fixes

washes

 

 

hurry   hurryi +es    hurries

fly                            flies

study                       studies

 

 


Examples

Xavier goes to work at 8am but he sometimes misses the bus. On Friday afternoons, he does the shopping and he watches TV in the evenings. He washes his car every Sunday and fixes any problems. He has a son. He helps his father.

 

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"What do you do?"   "I work in a bank."

"Do you enjoy your job?"  "Yes, but I sometimes work very late."

"Do you travel to other countries on business?" "No, but I visit clients in this country."     


Stories and jokes

In informal, spoken English, we sometimes use the present simple (and present continuous) to tell a joke or relate something that happened in the past because it sounds more interesting or dramatic:

 

You won't believe what happened last night! Well, I hear his car screech to a halt and I drop everything and wait. He comes in the door with a bunch of flowers in his hand. He says...

 

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 A dog walks into a bar and orders a bottle of wine. The barman says...

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Sports commentaries

Similarly, sports commentators often use the present tense to describe the action - it sounds more dramatic and exciting.

The goalkeeper kicks it down the pitch. Kuyt gets on the end of it. He passes to Gerrard who takes it past two defenders. He looks up, shoots and scores!

 

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