Grammar - Beginner - The Simple Present Tense

The Simple Present Tense

The simple present tense expresses a general truth or a customary action.
Mary enjoys singing.
Peter sometimes lends me his bike.
Cows eat grass.
Monkeys like bananas.
Tom collects stamps.
The earth goes around the sun.
It often snows in winter.
We always wash our hands before meals.
We eat three meals a day.
Father takes the dog for a walk every morning.

Use the simple present tense to talk about things that are planned for the future.
We join the senior scout troop in July this year.
My big brother leaves school at 4 o’clock.
The new supermarket opens next Friday.
The new grammar book comes out in September.
Grandad retires next year.
We fly to London next Thursday.
The plane lands at 5:30 P.M.
We move to our new house in a month.
My big sister begins her summer job next week.
- The present tense is the base form of the verb:
I work in London.

But with the third person singular (she/he/it), we add an –s:
She works in London.

Present simple questions
Do you play the piano?
Does Jack play football?
Where does he come from?
We use do and does to make questions with the present simple. We use does for the third person singular (she/he/it) and do for the others.

- We use do and does with question words like where, what and when:
Where do Angela and Rita live?
What does Angela do?
When does Rita usually get up?

But questions with who often don't use do or does:

Who lives in London?
Who plays football at the weekend?
Who works at Liverpool City Hospital?

Present simple negatives
Look at these sentences:

I like tennis but I don't like football. (don't = do not)
I don't live in London now.
I don't play the piano but I play the guitar.
They don't work at the weekend.
John doesn't live in Manchester. (doesn't = does not)
Angela doesn't drive to work. She goes by bus.
- We use do and does to make negatives with the present simple. We use doesn't for the third person singular (she/he/it) and don't for the others.

We often use adverbs of frequency like sometimes, always and never with the present simple:

I sometimes go to the cinema.
She never plays football.


Am, Is and Are
The words am, is, are are also verbs, but they are not action words. They are the simple present tense of the verb be.
Use am with the pronoun I, and is with the pronouns he, she and it. Use are with the pronouns you, we and they.
I am Peter. I am not Paul.
She is Miss Lee. She is a teacher.
He is my father. He is a doctor. He is not a lawyer.
You are a stranger. You are not my friend.
We are in the same class, but we are not on the same team.
They are good friends. They are not enemies.

Here’s a table to help you remember how to use am, is and are:
                            Singular                 Plural
First person           I am                     we are
Second person      you are               you are
Third person          he is                  they are
                             she is                  they are
                              it is                   they are

Learn these short forms called contractions:
I am = I’m                             they are = they’re
you are = you’re                    we are = we’re
he is = he’s
she is = she’s
it is = it’s
am not = aren’t (only in questions)
is not = isn’t
are not = aren’t

In questions, use aren’t as a contraction of am not. For example, you can say:
I’m taller than you, aren’t I?
But in a statement you say:
I’m not as old as you.

Use the verb is with singular nouns and are with plural nouns.
Kenneth is a lawyer.
Rex is a clever dog.
A duck is a kind of bird.
The playground is full of people today.
My house is near the school.
These questions are too difficult.
The balloons are very colorful.
Those people are very busy.
Dad and Mom are in the kitchen.

Use is and are with the word there to say what you can see and hear.
There is a fence around the school.
There are a lot of books in the library.
There are two guards at the gate.
Is there any food in the fridge?
Are there any apples left on the tree?
How much rice is there?
There are a few sharks in the bay.
There are enough candies for everyone, aren’t there?
There are two pigeons on the roof.

Learn this contraction:
there is = there’s