| SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE |
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Simple Present tense is used when, the action is simply mentioned and there is nothing being said about its completeness. It is used to talk about an action which happens on a regular basis.
• Structure for Simple Present •
| subject |
auxiliary verb |
main verb |
| subject |
(do) |
base form |
| I |
(do) |
go to college. |
• Structure for Negative sentence •
| subject |
auxiliary verb |
main verb |
| subject |
do + not |
base form |
| I |
do not |
go to college. |
• Structure for interrogative sentence •
| auxiliary verb |
subject |
main verb |
| Do |
subject |
base form |
| Do |
you |
go to college? |
We normally use the simple present tense when:
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the action is general, |
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the statement is always true, |
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the action is not only happening now, |
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the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future. |
There are three important exceptions:
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For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary. |
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For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives. |
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For the 3rd person singular (he/she/it), we add 's' to the main verb or 'es' to the auxiliary. |
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USES OF SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE |
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To express a habitual action: |
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| Examples |
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He drinks coffee/tea every morning. |
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I get up every day at, six O’clock. |
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My watch keeps right time. |
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To express general/universal truth: |
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| Examples |
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The sun rises in the east. |
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Fortune favors the brave. |
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OTHER USES OF SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE |
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It is used to introduce quotations: |
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| Examples |
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Keats says, 'A thing of beauty is a joy for ever'. |
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The Simple Present is used, instead of the present Continuous, with the type of verbs referred to Present Continuous Tense: |
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| Examples |
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I see an aeroplane. |
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Note: not ‘I am seeing an aeroplane’. |
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As in broadcast commentaries on sporting events, the Simple Present is used, instead of the Present Continuous, to describe activities in progress where there is stress on the --succession of happenings rather than on the duration: |
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| Examples |
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| SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE TABLE |
| AFFIRMATIVE |
NEGATIVE |
INTERROGATIVE |
| I (do)go. |
I do not go. |
Do I go? |
| You (do)go. |
You do not go. |
Do you go? |
| We (do)go. |
We do not go. |
Do we go? |
| He/She (does) goes/go. |
He/She dose not go. |
Does he/she go? |
| They (do)go. |
They do not go . |
Do they go? |
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