The Simple Present Tense, The Beginners Guide

The Beginner’s Guide To Understanding The Simple Present Tense

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The Beginner’s Guide To Understanding The Simple Present Tense

Want to learn all about the Simple Present Tense? This essential grammar structure is used in most English sentences but can be tricky to understand and use properly. In this comprehensive guide, you’ll get a full overview of the basics of this tense and how it can be used effectively for written and spoken communication. This lesson also provides interactive exercises that help students understand and use this tense properly.

Define the Simple Present Tense.

The Simple Present Tense is one of the most basic and commonly used verb tenses in English grammar. When using this tense, you are referring to actions or events that take place regularly over time or in general terms – simple and to the point! This includes habits and routines, as well as feelings and facts. For example: ‘I eat toast every morning’, ‘John loves playing football’ or ‘She lives in Paris’.

How to Form the Simple Present Tense

The Simple Present Tense is quite easy to form. All you need to do is conjugate the verb correctly according to the subject of your sentence. The chart below illustrates how to do this.

Common Usages of the Simple Present Tense

The Simple Present Tense is used for several common purposes. It may be used to describe:

• Routines and habits or to indicate that something happens frequently or all the time e.g. “I wake up at 6 AM every day.”.
• It is also sometimes used as a universal truth, e.g., “The sun rises in the east”.
• Additionally, the Simple Present Tense can express a general opinion, such as “I think football is fun”.

Time Expressions Used with the Simple Present Tense

As with every tense in English, the present simple is generally used with specific time expressions. Here are some :

• Always, usually, sometimes, often, seldom, hardly ever, never
• Occasionally, frequently…
• Every lesson, day, week, month,………
• On/at/in  Mondays, weekdays, weekends, evenings, mornings…….
• Once, twice a day, a week, a month, a year………

Spelling Rules of the Simple Present Tense

• Verbs ending with S, CH, SH, X, and O add ES to HE, SHE, and IT

  Examples:

I miss → he misses

We watch → she watches

They go → He goes

• Verbs ending with Y

Examples:

I carry →  he carries
we copy →  she copies

Notice: the verbs end with a Consonant + Y

They obey → he obeys
I say → she says

Notice: the verbs end with a vowel + Y.   
vowels ( a, e, i, o, u)

Tips on Using the Simple Present Tense Correctly

The great thing about the Simple Present Tense is that it can be used for several different purposes. It’s used to express habits and routines as well as timeless facts and truths. To use it correctly, keep in mind that there are two key aspects – the verb form and the word order. For example, when talking about routines or habits, you should use a singular verb form with “s” at the end of present simple verbs in the third person singular (he/she/it). You also need to remember to put the subject first followed by the verb then any extra information you want to share. Knowing these grammar aspects will help you get your point across clearly in conversations!

Simple Present Exercises

Click on this link to practice exclusive exercises on the Simple Present tense