Simple Present Tense

Simple Present Tense

Hello. In this entry, you are about to learn and explore the Simple Present Tense :)

= I dance =

How do we make the Simple Present Tense?

subject	+	auxiliary verb	+	main verb
		do		base

There are three important exceptions:

1. For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.
2. For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary.
3. For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.

Look at these examples with the main verb like:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I, you, we, they			drink	coffee.
	He, she, it			drinks	coffee.
-	I, you, we, they	do	not	drink	coffee.
	He, she, it	does	not	drink	coffee.
?	Do	I, you, we, they		drink	coffee?
	Does	he, she, it		drink	coffee?

Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:

	subject	main verb
+	I	am		Malay.
	You, we, they	are		Malay.
	He, she, it	is		Malay.
-	I	am	not	old.
	You, we, they	are	not	old.
	He, she, it	is	not	old.
?	Am	I		early?
	Are	you, we, they		early?
	Is	he, she, it		early?

How do we use the Simple Present Tense?

We use the simple present tense when:

• the action is general
• the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future
• the action is not only happening now
• the statement is always true

John drives a taxi.
past	present	future
It is John's job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future.

Look at these examples:

• I live in New York.
• The Moon goes round the Earth.
• John drives a taxi.
• He does not drive a bus.
• We meet every Thursday.
• We do not work at night.
• Do you play football?

Note that with the verb to be, we can also use the simple present tense for situations that are not general. We can use the simple present tense to talk about now. Look at these examples of the verb "to be" in the simple present tense - some of them are general, some of them are now:

Am I right? Tara is not at home. You are happy.
past	present	future
The situation is now.

I am not fat. Why are you so beautiful? Ram is tall.
past	present	future
The situation is general. Past, present and future.

Try your luck by filling in the blanks with the correct form of words given :

1. I ____________ (read) a very interesting book now.

2. Joanne ____________ (work) eight hours a day.

3. Tonight we ____________ (see) a play at the theater.

4. Who ____________ you ____________ (speak) to just now?

5. I ____________ (not know) him very well.

6. What will you do if she ____________ (come) late?

7. My wife ____________ (like) coffee for breakfast.

8. What ____________ Tom usually ____________(have) for breakfast?

9. Your train ____________ (leave) at 17.25 from platform 3.

10. What ____________ Mary ____________ (do) ? She's a student.

11. My whole family _______________(go) to church once a week.

12. My wife and I _________________(go) to the beach in the summer.

13. Listen! The phone ________________(ring) in the other room.

14. Rain seldom ________________(fall) in the Sahara.

15. He is thirteen years old now, and his voice _____________________(change).

16. Let's change the conversation. It _________________(get) too serious.

17. Leap year __________________(come) every four years.

18. My grandfather ________________(grow) tomatoes in his garden this summer.

19. He ________________(grow) them every summer .

20. The children ______________________(leave) for school right now.

21. The children __________________(leave) at 8:30 every morning of the week.

22. Shu! The baby ______________________(take) her nap.

23. In the north the season ____________________(change) four times a year .

24. Unfortunately, the patient ______________________ (die).

25. The monsoon _____________________(come) once or twice a year.

26. It's spring and the days _____________________(get) longer.

27. The weather _____________(get) very cold in Moscow in the winter.

28. It _________________(rain) hard, and I don't have an umbrella.

29. It's November and the birds ___________________(fly) south.

Here are some of the websites that you can browse regarding simple present tense :

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/simplepresent.html

http://www.studyenglishtoday.net/present-simple-tense.html