Present Simple

There are different rules for the formation of the Present Simple depending on the verbs:

To Be

There are three forms of the verb to be in the Present Simple Tense: am, is and are. They can be used in their full or short forms.

AFFIRMATIVE

1. I am = I’m1. We are = We’re
2. You are = You’re2. You are = You’re
3. He/She /It is = He’s/She’s/It’s3. They are = They’re

NEGATIVE

We use the negative particle not after the form of the verb to be. It can be in its full or short form.

1. I am not = I’m not1. We are not = We aren’t
2. You are not = You aren’t 2. You are not = You aren’t
3. He/She/It is not = He/She/It isn’t3. They are not = They aren’t

INTERROGATIVE

We change the place of am, is or are and the subject of the sentence.

1. Am I?1. Are we?
2. Are you?2. Are you?
3. Is he/she/it?3. Are they?

You can try the quiz here

To Have

There are two forms of the verb to have in the Present Simple Tense: have and has. We often use the particle got as well, especially if have and has are shortened.

AFFIRMATIVE

1. I have (got) = I’ve got1. We have (got) = We’ve got
2. You have (got) = You’ve got2. You have (got) = You’ve got
3. He/She/It has (got)= He’s/She’s/It’s got3. They have (got) = They’ve got

NEGATIVE

We use the negative particle not after have or has in its full or short form.

1. I have not (got) =
I haven’t got		1. We have not (got) =
We haven’t got
2. You have not (got) =
You haven’t got		2. You have not (got) =
You haven’t got
3. He/She/It has not (got) =
He/ She/It hasn’t got
3. They have not (got) =
They haven’t got


INTERROGATIVE

We change the place of have or has and the subject of the sentence. This is called inversion.

1. Have I got?1. Have we got?
2. Have you got?2. Have you got?
3. Has he/she/it got?3. Have they got?

Please note that we can make negations with haven’t/hasn’t got and questions with inversion only if the meaning of have is own, possess. If the verb have is part of a phrase (for example: have lunch, have fun, have a lesson etc), then follow the rules below that apply for the rest of the verbs.

You can try the quiz here

The rest of the verbs

AFFIRMATIVE

We use the base form of the verb and only put the suffix -s only in the third person singular(he, she, it)

1. I love1. We love
2. You love2. You love
3. He/She/It loves3. They love

Spelling rules for adding the suffix –s  in 3rd person singular:

  • If the verb ends in – ss, – sh, -ch, -x, -z or –o, we add – es

Example: I cross- he crosses; I wash- he washes: I watch- she watches; I fix- she fixes; I do- it does

  • If the verb ends in – y and there is a consonant before it, then y transforms into ie and then we add the suffix  – s

 Example:

I study- he studies

  • If the verb ends in – y and there is a vowel before it, then there aren’t any spelling changes.

Example:

I play- he plays

NEGATIVE

We use do not/don’t or does not /doesn’t (for he, she, it) plus the base form of the verb.

1. I do not/don’t love1. We do not/don’t love
2. You do not/don’t love2. You do not/don’t love
3. He/She/It does not/doesn’t love3. They do not/don’t love

INTERROGATIVE

We use the auxiliary verb do or does ( for he,she,it) and the base form of the verb to form questions.

1. Do I love?1. Do we love?
2. Do you love?2. Do you love?
3. Does he/she/it love?3. Do they love?

We use the Present simple for:

FREQUENTLY REPEATED ACTIONS

We can use the following time words and phrases to show how often the action repeats: always, usually, often, sometimes, never, every day, on Sundays etc.

Example: He goes swimming every Wednesday.

PERMANENT STATES

Example: He works as a doctor.

HABITS AND ROUTINES

Example: I drink milk in the morning.

LIKES/DISLIKES

Example: She doesn’t like fish.

TIMETABLES AND SCHEDULES (as future)

Example: The train arrives at 5:00 pm.

You can try the quiz here