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Present SimpleIf you're here for the first time, you may want to see a list of subjects that will make browsing this website more beneficial.
This is without doubt the most important tense in the English language and we use it in a great number of very different situations in our lives. To encourage you to have a look at the below thorough description of the Present Simple, I must also say that this tense seems to be relatively easy to understand for people learning English, which is also why it is the best tense to learn first. OK, now it's time to have a look at the uses of this tense:
Use
Note: Apart from all 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").
The Present Simple is also used in narrations. For example, while telling a story or joke. Read the beginning of a joke below:
Some of the verbs used in the Simple can be used in the Continuous as well. That's typically when they have an active meaning or emphasize change... read more. Form
The tables below show how to create a sentence in the Present Simple. As I mentioned above it's quite easy: you just have to know the base form of the verb and the performer of the action. We need to know this because we have to add "s" to the base form of the verb in the 3rd person singular. Attention! We're talking about positive sentences now.The table below shows a couple of examples:
As you can see, an suffix is added every time that we create the 3rd person singular. There are 3 main suffixes:
However, some verbs are irregular, like have or be.
So what about questions and negative sentences? There are even easier to understand because the base verb stays the same. However, as always 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), in this way getting contracted forms like doesn't or don't. Again, there are some nice examples below. In positive sentences:
Sharks have sharp teeth (Use 1)
In 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" anymore. Compare these examples: A:Does she like going to the mountains? A:Does John have a dog?
In negative sentences:
To describe how often an action that takes place, you can use adverbs of frequency. For example :
Here are a few examples of how to use them in sentences:
read more about adverbs of frequency Check your understanding!Exercise 1 (forming; all)
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