SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

 

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

The simple present tense is one of several forms of present tense in English. It is used to describe habits, unchanging situations, general truths, and fixed arrangements. The simple present tense is simple to form. Just use the base form of the verb: (I take, you take, we take, they take) The 3rd person singular takes an -s at the end. (he takes, she takes)

THE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE IS USED:

To express habits, general truths, repeated actions or unchanging situations, emotions and wishes:

I smoke (habit); I work in London (unchanging situation); London is a large city (general truth)

To give instructions or directions:

You walk for two hundred meters, then you turn left.

To express fixed arrangements, present or future:

Your exam starts at 09.00

To express future time, after some conjunctions: after, when, before, as soon as, until:

He'll give it to you when you come next Saturday.

EXAMPLES

For habits

He drinks tea at breakfast.

She only eats fish.

They watch television regularly.

For repeated actions or events

We catch the bus every morning.

It rains every afternoon in the hot season.

They drive to Monaco every summer.

For general truths

Water freezes at zero degrees.

The Earth revolves around the Sun.

Her mother is Peruvian.

For instructions or directions

Open the packet and pour the contents into hot water.

You take the No.6 bus to Watney and then the No.10 to Bedford.

For fixed arrangements

His mother arrives tomorrow.

Our holiday starts on 26th March.

With future constructions

She'll see you before she leaves.

We'll give it to her when she arrives.

FORMING THE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE: TO THINK

Affirmative	Interrogative	Negative
I think	Do I think?	I do not think
You think	Do you think?	You do not think
He thinks	Does he think?	He does not think
She thinks	Does she think?	She does not think
It thinks	Does it think?	It does not think
We think	Do we think?	We do not think.
They think	Do they think?	They do not think.

NOTES ON THE SIMPLE PRESENT, THIRD PERSON SINGULAR

In the third person singular the verb always ends in -s:

he wants, she needs, he gives, she thinks.

Negative and question forms use DOES (= the third person of the auxiliary 'DO') + the infinitive of the verb.

He wants ice cream. Does he want strawberry? He does not want vanilla.

Verbs ending in -y : the third person changes the -y to -ies:

fly --> flies, cry --> cries

Exception: if there is a vowel before the -y:

play --> plays, pray --> prays

Add -es to verbs ending in:-ss, -x, -sh, -ch:

he passes, she catches, he fixes, it pushes

EXAMPLES

He goes to school every morning.

She understands English.

It mixes the sand and the water.

He tries very hard.

She enjoys playing the piano.

Fill in the blanks with appropriate simple present tense form of the verb given in the brackets.

1. The plane ………………….. at 6.30. (arrive)

2. I will phone you when he …………………… . back. (come)

3. Unless we ………………………. now we can’t be there on time. (start)

4. The sun ……………………… in the east. (rise)

5. The next term …………………… on Monday. (begin)

6. She ……………………… an engineer. (be)

7. They …………………. our relatives. (be)

8. When does the train ……………………? (depart)

9. Let’s wait till he …………………….. his work. (finish)

10. Please ring me up as soon as he …………………………. (arrive)

Answers

1. The plane arrives at 6.30.

2. I will phone you when he comes back.

3. Unless we start now we can’t be there on time.

4. The sun rises in the east.

5. The next term begins on Monday.

6. She is an engineer.

7. They are our relatives.

8. When does the train depart?

9. Let’s wait till he finishes his work.

10. Please ring me up as soon as he arrives.