Home  »  English  »  Year 1  »  Year 1 Grammar Lessons  »  Present Simple Tense

Present Simple Tense

We use the present simple tense to talk about the situations in general. It might not happen at the time of speaking, but it happens regularly or in the day-to-day routine.

 

E.g.- Suppose you usually wake up early in the morning. So you say, “I wake up early in the morning”, rather than saying “I’m waking up early in the morning”. This is because you do this action regularly everyday.

 

The Present Simple is formed from a noun OR a 1st, 2nd or 3rd person pronoun together with the base form of a verb. Also remember, if the noun or the pronoun is singular, it adds an ‘-s’ to the verb (e.g – drink => drinks). Look at the following examples in the Formation of the Present Simple Tense chart.

 

examples-present-simple-tense

 

 

Similarly, we say;

She works in a bank.

He works in a bank.

 

But there is also an exception when we consider 1st person and 2nd person pronouns. If you use ‘I’ or ‘you’, even if they are singular, you MUST NOT add an ‘-s’ to the base of the verb. Look at the examples below.

 

example-present-simple-tens

 

Similarly, we say;

You work in a bank.

 

Use of Present Simple Tense

 

When you talk about something that;

 

  • happens regularly:
E.g. –

I go to school.

She lives in Sydney.

 

  • happens sometimes / often / always again and again:
E.g. –

He sometimes goes to the library. (happens sometimes)

It often sleeps on the lounge. (happens often)

My sister always disagrees with me. (happens always)

We play basketball every weekend. (happens again and again on weekends)

 

  • never happens;
E.g. –

Aidan never eats bananas

She never likes dogs.

 

  • is a true fact:
E.g. –

An adult mouth contains 32 teeth.

The solar system consists of eight planets.

 

  • is fixed in the future:
E.g. –

The school reopens in July.

My exam starts next week.