The Present Simple
- We use the Present Simple mostly to describe things that are true in general. However, what does it mean “true in general” in practical terms?
- Let’s look at the following sentence so we can better understand the meaning of general information: “I like chess” - this statement is true now, was true yesterday and as far as I know will be true tomorrow. General information abides to this principle - it is something that encompasses the past, the present and the future all together. Even though the cases below are somewhat different from each other - they all reflect this principle with the exception of one.
We use the Present Simple to talk about:
- Facts
- Frequency of actions habits
- States permanent situations
- Chronological actions in the present
- Doing things by saying them
- Impersonal schedules
- Defining sentences with am is are
| I have 2 brothers. (fact) | Israel buys weapons from the US. (fact) |
| I go to English lessons twice a week. (habit) | They go swimming every Friday. (habit) |
| I live in New York. (permanent situation) | He works as a teacher. (permanent situation) |
| Jordan passes to Pippen, Pippen drives the ball to the hoop and dunks the ball. (chronological actions) | He gets up at 8:00, washes his face, gets dressed and goes to work. (chronological actions) |
| I believe this is true. (opinion) | I think you are right. (opinion) |
| I promise I will come. (doing things by saying them) | I insist we go out tonight. (doing things by saying them) |
| The show starts at 10:00 a.m. (impersonal schedule) | The bus arrives in 5 minutes. (impersonal schedule) |
| I am a student \ She is happy. (defining sentences) | They are here \ He is from New York. (defining sentences) |
Present Simple Structure:
I:
I study at Bright English.
I don’t study at Bright English.
Do I study at Bright English?
We:
Ben and I (we) study at Bright English.
We don’t study at Bright English.
Do we study at Bright English?
You:
You study at Bright English.
You don’t study at Bright English.
Do you study at Bright English?
They:
Ben and Maya (they) study at Bright English.
They don’t study at Bright English.
Do they study at Bright English?
He:
Ben (he) studies at Bright English.
He doesn’t study at Bright English.
Does he study at Bright English?
She:
Maya (she) studies at Bright English.
She doesn’t study at Bright English.
Does she study at Bright English?
It:
It (the computer) studies well.
It doesn’t study well.
Does it study well?
Present Simple Rules:
- We use do\does to make questions.
- We use don’t\doesn’t to make negatives.
- I, we, you, they = do
- He, she, it = does
- I, we, you, they = don’t
- He, she, it = doesn’t.
- The auxiliaries (helping verbs) do\does\don’t\doesn’t cancel the s,es,ies.
- We only add an S, ES, IES to verbs with He, She, It.
- Am, is, are negatives and questions are made differently than all other sentences in the Present Simple. (I am not a student\ Am I student\ She isn’t happy \ Is she happy \ They aren’t here \ Are they here\He isn’t from New York \ Is he from New York)
Common time expressions and frequency adverbs in the Present Simple
Always, very often, often, usually, sometimes, occasionally, every now and then, every now and again, seldom, hardly ever, rarely, never.
