Present Simple
The Present Simple is the most basic and common tense in the English language. It is also an interesting tense because it can express both the present and the future.
Use
- Facts and generalization
- Habits and routines
- Permanent situations
- State verbs (e.g. be, have, think, know)
- Fixed / official arrangement that we can't change
Apart from the above uses, this tense is also used in:
- Zero Conditional - If it rains, I go play football.
- First Conditional - We won't get our pocket money, if we don't pass this exam.
- In sentences after "when", "before", "till", "after", "as soon as" ("Before you leave, please take the keys").
Sorry, you need to install flash to see this content.
The PS is also used in narrations. For example, while telling a story or joke. For example.
A man goes to visit a friend and is amazed to find him playing chess with his dog. He watches the game in astonishment for a while [...]
Sorry, you need to install flash to see this content.
Chuck Norris facts aren't funny anymore (Use 4)
Note: Some of the verbs used in the simple form can also be used in the continuous form. That's typically when they have an active meaning or emphasize change (Read more)
Form
Contracted forms (more)
do + not = don'tdoes + not = doesn't
Forming a sentence in the PS is usually a two-step process: first ask yourself who or what performs the action (for example, you, I, they, a mouse, etc.). Next decide what the verb is and conjugate it.
Let's conjugate the verb " to eat":
- I eat
- you eat
- he eats
- she eats
- it eats
- we eat
- you eat
- they eat
As you can see, only verbs used with the 3rd person singular conjugate differently. They will usually get an "s" but there are some exceptions:
Read further about the third person singular.
How to form questions and negative sentences
When forming questions and negative sentences, you do NOT conjugate the verb. (More information below.)
However, inversion takes place in interrogative sentences (questions). If you scroll down this page a bit, you'll find some examples.
In negative sentences we add "not" to the auxiliary verb (does, do), so we end up with contracted forms like "doesn't" or "don't." Again, there are some nice examples below.
Declarative sentences:
| Subject | + | Verb |
| I/a dog etc. | work/go/make |
Sorry, you need to install flash to see this content.
Sharks have sharp teeth (Use 1)
| Examples | Use | |
 |
A dog is an animal | (Use 1) |
|
I learn English twice a week | (Use 2) |
|
I have two eggs | (Use 4) |
|
The course starts in April | (Use 5) |
|
I come from Basil | (Use 3) |
 |
||
Questions:
Questions require the auxiliary verb "to do" or, in the 3rd person singular, "does". Keep in mind that when you ask a question you don't need an "s".
Compare these examples:
A:Does she like going to the mountains?
B:Yes, she does
A:Does John have a dog?
B:No, he doesn't.
Sorry, you need to install flash to see this content.
Ronaldinho: Yes, I do.
| Auxiliary Verb | + | Subject | + | Verb |
| do/does | I/a dog etc. | work/go/make |
For the verb "to be", we do not use an auxiliary.
- Is he tall?
Does he be tall?
| Examples | Use | |
|
Does Mike often play tennis? | (Use 2) |
|
Do you know who my friend is? | (Use 3) |
|
Is China in Europe? | (Use 1) |
|
What do you do? (what's your occupation?) | (Use 3) |
Negative sentences:
| Subject | + | Auxiliary verb+not | + | Verb |
| I/a dog etc. | don't/doesn't/do not | work/go/make |
| Examples | Use | |
|
They don't live in New York anymore | (Use 3) |
|
I don't like winter | (Use 4) |
|
They don't live in New York anymore | (Use 3) |
|
He doesn't go to the cinema at all | (Use 2) |
Sorry, you need to install flash to see this content.
He likes chewing gum. (Use 4)
Comments
# Does he be tall?
Isn't this wrong?
I mean it's obviously wrong but there isn't any thing saying that it's wrong...
crossed out.Dai komutti thalaya. English theriyalana S.. moodittu gammunu iru.
For the verb "to be", we do not use an auxiliary. and does is an auxiliary. the correct sentence will be "Is he tall?"
Further "to be" is a state verb here and so cannot take a helping verb.
is he tall
i like nnnn hate english!!!
"Fish don't smoke cigarettes". Its pretty much ambiguous because Fish is singular as well as plural at the same time. For instance, if it was a dog then singular and plural would be like this;
"Dog doesn't smoke cigarettes" ---- for a third person singular.
"Dogs don't smoke cigarettes" ----- for plural
Well, if it was singular then there would be an (in)definite article before the word "fish".
"A dog doesn't smoke cigarettes."
"The dog doesn't smoke cigarettes."
The first option sounds a little strange to me. I think the only way we could use the singular form of a noun in a sense similar to the original "fish sentence" (facts & generalizations) is with the definite article. For example:
"The cheetah is the fastest animal on Earth."
My two cents.
ameen has a valid point here. while you might be right, don't forget that this is supposed to help beginners. you don't expect them to deal with ambiguous terms like fish the way you did, do you?
OK, that's official now. "Fish" will be replaced by a new animation soon.
Well you are right in a certain way but not completely. Here they are not talking about singular or plural but the fish in general i.e all fish.The could also be used like
"The fish don't smoke"
dogs can smoke
It was great but the sentence Fish don`t smoke ... can cause misunderstanding (like a fish don`t smoke singular)
The heavy smoker fish is gone. If anyone is sentimental about the old cartoon, I will probably make a special page for them soon.
:)