The simple present tense in English is used to describe the following situations.
- actions which happen regularly (Habitual actions) or
- to describe general truths.
Examples:
- She goes to school every day. (Habitual action)
- The sun rises in the morning. (General truth)
AFFIRMATIVE FORM
In simple present tense when the subject is singular, the verb also takes its singular form.
Examples:
- He plays cricket.
- The cat drinks milk.
In these two sentences, the subjects are singular; (“He and The cat”). Therefore, the verbs should also be in singular forms as in: “plays” and “drinks”.
In simple present tense when the subject is plural, the verb also takes its plural form.
Examples:
- We go to school every day. (Habitual action)
- Jasmine flowers bloom in the evening. (General truth)
In these two sentences, the subjects are plural; (“We and Jasmine flowers”). Therefore, the verbs should also be in Plural forms as in: “go and bloom”.
- I usually study in the morning.
- We really enjoy travelling.
- They know my phone number.
- It rains a lot in winter.
- She never eats breakfast.
- He plays the piano very well.
- My brother works in a bank.
- Eliza lives in London.
- Jack and his friends like movies.
- James likes swimming.
NEGATIVE FORM
We have to use “Do not (don’t) and Does not (doesn’t)” to make negative in the simple present tense.
Examples:
- It doesn’t eat fish.
- This forest doesn’t have endemic plants.
- My son doesn’t want to go to Dubai this summer.
- He doesn’t wash his hands before eating.
- She doesn’t go to the gym.
- I don’t want to interrupt you.
- They don’t give up.
- Alex and his friend don’t like eating spicy foods.
- You don’t know the meaning.
INTERROGATIVE FORM
We use “Do and Does” as helping verbs in making questions in the simple present tense.
- Do your parents speak English?
- Do they help people?
- Does he often ride a bicycle?
- Does your brother often play the piano?
- Does it rain a lot where you live?
- Does Tom play tennis?
- Do Anna and Brian work hard?
- Does Andrea get up early in the morning?
- Don’t you know him well?
- Doesn’t she speak three languages?
Here, we use the basic(infinitive) form of the verb in making questions in the simple present tense.
Here, we don’t add “s”, “es” or “ies” to make the verb singular when the subject is singular.
Examples:
