Simple Present Tense
Simple Present tense is a verbal tense that is used to express present action (an action that happens in the present), habitual activities (an action that we do every day owing to our habits), daily activities (everyday work), universal facts (things which can not be changed by human beings) or possession and state (things or activities which are general truth). The simple present tense is formed by adding s, es, or ies to the end of base verbs when singular nouns and pronouns appear ( he, she, it singular nouns). If the Subject is plural(They, we, and you) we do not add -s, -es, -ies to base verbs.
For example, a student says,
- “I go to school”. It is a daily activity of a student to go to school, so the simple present tense expresses such actions.
- Another example is, “I work in a factory”. It tells about the usual actions of a person that he works in a factory on regular basis.
- I feel tired. It looks beautiful. He enjoys the party. (Happens to write now or general truth)
Note: we should not say this:
I am working in a factory. It tells about continuous action, and for that, we use the present continuous tense.
Simple Present Tense Usage
Simple Present tense is used for habitual action, universal truth, daily activity, and general truth. Let’s study them one by one with examples and usages.
A ) Habitual action: any action which we gain by habit.
Like:
| Sentences | Habitual Actions |
|---|---|
| She cleans the room every morning. | It is an activity that is done by habit. |
| They walk up early in the morning. | Habitual actions which are done usually can be changed. |
| He plays football. | It is a habitual action that he does. It varies. |
| They brush their teeth before sleep. | habitual Action is changeable. |
These are the activities that we perform by habit, not by nature or birth. It means they have adopted them by doing daily. These activities can be changed. if we do not perform them for some days.
B) Universal truth:
All those activities which are originally true. They can’t be changed. They include gender or uniqueness,
like:
A) Gender:
| Sentences | Gender (not changeable) |
|---|---|
| She is a girl. | The gender is feminine. |
| He is a boy. | The gender is masculine. |
| They are human beings. | The sort(sex) is human. |
| It is a dog. | The sort animal. |
We cannot change the gender of a person. Though nowadays we have found different kinds of machines that change gender, naturally it cannot be changed. Like we don’t say “she was a girl.” but now she is a boy. It means the gender has been changed.
B) Uniqueness:
| Sentences | Uniqueness |
|---|---|
| Allah is one. | It is unique, and cannot be more than one. |
| The Sun rises from the east. | The location is fixed. can not change. |
| He died yesterday. | He has passed away with no change. |
| The ice is cold. | It can not be hot. If we make it hot then it is water, not ice. |
| The earth is round. | It is the same since the day of creation. |
The above sentences are unique, and can’t be changed. Like Allah can’t be several. The sun rises from the east. It never rises from the west. There are many other examples that we will study at the end.
C) Daily activity: The activities which we perform every day.
Like:
| Sentences | Daily Activities. |
|---|---|
| She goes to school every day. | It is her everyday work. |
| He opens the shop in the morning. | It is his daily routine work. |
| They cook the food every day. | everyday job. |
| she cleans the room in the morning. | duty every day. |
| We go for prayers on time. | fix job obligatory. |
Everyday activities are done daily. We don’t get them by habit or nature. As mentioned above ‘she goes to school every day.’ He opens the shop in the morning.
D) General Truth
A general truth: it is slightly different from universal truth. Universal can’t be changed by the passage of time or humans, but the general truth is the reality that is currently visible. It can be changed as time passes.
Like:
| Example | General truth |
|---|---|
| UAE is a beautiful city. | Currently, it is the same, but can be changed in the future. |
| He is white. | Right now his skin is white. But it can be changed. |
| They are united. | Now they are united, but no guarantee in the upcoming time. |
Some other examples.
| Sentences | General Truth |
|---|---|
| He is a doctor | Shows status |
| They are juveniles. | Shows their age |
| He is kind. | Status |
| I feel ill | Describe the feeling |
| Give me the plate. | order |
| Can you pass the salt? | request. |
Simple Present Tense Formula
1) Positive Formula:
Generally, In the simple present tense, we use the base form of regular and irregular verbs but with third-person pronouns (he, she, it, or single name) –s, -es, -ies are used with base verbs.
| First-person “I” | First-person “we” | Second person “you” | Third person “he, she, it or single name” | Third-person “they” |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I play. | We play. | You play. | He plays. she plays, it plays, john plays | They play. |
Some fewer amount verbs which end with o, ch, sh, th, ss, gh, or z are added “-es” at the end with third person singular pronouns.
Subject + 1st verb (s, es, ies) + object.
Examples:
- I read my book.
- He gets up early in the morning.
- She writes a letter.
- Sun rises in the east.
- He plays football.
- They wash the cloth.
- I study hard
- he goes to school
- she plays with dolls.
- Ankara drinks water early in the morning.
Related tenses:
2) Interrogative Formula:
Do/Does + Subject + 1st verb + Object.
Examples:
- Do I read my book?
- Does he get up early in the morning?
- Do I study hard?
- Does the sun rise in the east?
- Does he play football?
- Do they wash the cloth?
- Does she write a letter?
- Do we go to school?
- Does she play with dolls?
- Does Ankara drink water early in the morning?
3) Negative Formula:
Subject + do not/does not + 1st verb + object.
Examples:
- I do not read a book.
- He does not get up early.
- She does not write a letter.
- Sun does not rise in the east.
- He does not play football.
- They do not wash their cloth.
- I do not study hard.
- he does not go to school.
- she does not play with dolls.
- Ankara does not drink water early in the morning.
4) Negative and interrogative Formula
Do not/does not + subject + 1st verb + object.
- Doesn’t I read a book?
- Does he not get up early?
- Doesn’t she write a letter?
- Does not the Sunrise in the east?
- Doesn’t he play football?
- Don’t they wash the cloth?
- Don’t I study hard?
- Doesn’t he go to school?
- Doesn’t she play with dolls?
- Doesn’t Ankara drink water early in the morning?
Simple Present tense Exercises
Fill in the blanks correctly with the simple present tense. Take care of the singular and plural forms.
1) He_________the mountain. (Climb, climbed, climbs)
2) They ________ on the road every day. (played, play, playing)
3) she ________ to god every day. (prays, prayed, praying)
4) My friend _________ to God every day. (prays, prayed, praying)
5) He __________ his teacher on weekends. (meets, met. meeting)
6) You ________ to the school daily. (go, goes, went)
7) Jong ___________ the room on time. (cleaned, cleaning, cleans)
8) Kids _________ milk. (love, loved, loving)
9) They _______________ the teacher to take a class. (paid, pays, pay)
10) Khan __________ news every day. (listens, listened, listening)
11) He __________ flowers annually. (grow, grew, grows)
12) she ________ to the office every day. (goes, went, gone)
Check out the answers which are colored in green.
1) He_________the mountain. (Climb, climbed, climbs)
2) They ________ on the road every day. (played, play, playing)
3) she ________ to god every day. (prays, prayed, praying)
4) My friend _________ to God every day. (prays, prayed, praying)
5) He __________ his teacher on weekends. (meets, met. meeting)
6) You ________ to the school daily. (go, goes, went)
7) Jong ___________ the room on time. (cleaned, cleaning, cleans)
8) Kids _________ milk. (love, loved, loving)
9) They _______________ the teacher to take a class. (paid, pays, pay)
10) Khan __________ news every day. (listens, listened, listening)
11) He __________ flowers annually. (grow, grew, grows)
12) she ________ to the office every day. (goes, went, gone)
Put ‘T’ for a true sentence and ‘F’ for a false sentence. Check out according to simple present tense.
- They go to work every day. ( True, False)
- They like to see her dance. ( True, False)
- He desire his father to cook. ( True, False)
- John cried to find the man. ( True, False)
- Children wishes to swim. ( True, False)
- Her parents go to work. ( True, False)
- Kamran visit me every day. ( True, False)
- Sun rises from the east. ( True, False)
- The teachers plays a broad role in the class. ( True, False)
- His mother washe the clothes daily. ( True, False)
- The coachs arranges the players on time. ( True, False)
- Animals like to eat. ( True, False)
The answers are given below in green color, check out and rectify your worksheet.
- They go to work every day. ( True, False)
- They like to see her dance. ( True, False)
- He desires his father to cook. ( True, False)
- John cried to find the man. ( True, False)
- Children wish to swim. ( True, False)
- Her parents go to work. ( True, False)
- Kamran visits me every day. ( True, False)
- Sun rises from the east. ( True, False)
- The teachers plays a broad role in the class. ( True, False)
- His mother washes the clothes daily. ( True, False)
- The coachs arranges the players on time. ( True, False)
- Animals likes to eat. ( True, False)
MCQ Exercises. Choose the correct option for the given three options.
1) They _______ to visit the park every evening.
- likes
- like
- liked
2) Kamran ________ have any book to read. Does not
- does not
- do not
- do
3) She ________ like to spoil the rule.
- do not
- does
- do
4) He ______ to run on the roof.
- love
- loves
- loved
5) I ______ have to go to school.
- Does
- Does not
- Do
6) ________ she know about the summer?
- Do
- Does
- Done
7) ________ his friends know about his health?
- Do
- Does
- Do not
8) Donny and shumaila ______ play together.
- do not
- doesn’t
- do
9) My teacher ________ like to be interrupted.
- do not
- doesn’t
- does
10) ______ they to come on time?
- do
- does
- do not
11) He and his friends ______ to run on the roof.
- love
- loves
- loved
12) We ______ have to go to the party.
- Does
- Does not
- Do
13) ________ she know about the match?
- Do
- Does
- Done
14) She ______ to run on the roof.
- want
- wants
- wanted
15) I ______ have to go to the meeting.
- Does not
- Do
- Do not
16) All of them _________ every afternoon.
- swim
- swims
- swimming
17) The man __________ money to them.
- provide
- provides
- provided
18) My students’ _________ to relax on my lawn.
- liked
- like
- likes
19) They _________ the nearby ground every Tuesday.
- visited
- visit
- visits
20) My uncle ________ his work.
- loves
- love
- loved
The answers are listed here
- like 2) does not 3) does not. 4) loves 5) do 6) does 7) do 8) do not 9 does not 10) do 11)love 12) do 13 ) does 14) wants 15) do not 16) swim 17) provides 18) like 19) visit 20) loves
Simple Present tense Worksheet
Practice these Exercises carefully and do write the answers in the comment sections. If you have any questions or suggestions commend me or email me.
- Ali ______ historical books. ( reads, read)
- She always ________ T.V in the evening. ( watch, watches)
- He never ________ early. (comes, come)
- Ahmad ________like playing football. (do not, does not)
- They __________ the students. ( teach, teaches)
- I _________ to play football in the morning. (want, wants)
- You __________ like to learn English. (do not, does not)
- _________you walk at the morning? (do, does)
- He never___________ football in the morning. ( plays, played, play)
- Does he _________ the movie at night? ( watches, watch, watching)
- She always ________ T.V in the evening. (Watch, watches)
- I do not ____________ the apple for him. (brings, bringing, bring)
- He never ________ early. (Comes, come)
- What does he ___________ in the morning? (does do, doing)
- Ahmad ________like playing football. (Do not, does not)
- She _______________the classes very well. (manage, manages, managing)
- They __________ the students. (Teach, teaches, teaching)
- We do not ___________the man. (finds, find, finding)
- I _________ to play football in the morning. (Want, wants)
- She __________the music. (like, likes, liking)
- You __________ like to learn English. (Do not, does not)
- Do they like to learn English? (does do, don’t)
- _________you walk at the morning? (Do, does)
- Why do not you ____________the man in the ground? (bring, brings, bringing)
- Does she __________ the note on the whiteboard? (reads, read,)
- When _________ he watches the movie? (do, does,)
- Kamran and John __________want to open the door. (does not, do not)
- Does she ___________ the letter? (write, writes, wrote)
- when do they _____________ the papers? ( bring, brought, brings)
- I never ___________ English in public. (spoke, speak, speaks)
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