Scheme of an affirmative sentence in the present simple. Present simple tense in English

Present simple- simple present tense in English. The present simple is used to describe CONSTANT actions. For TEMPORARY actions, another tense is used - Present continuous.

Present simple is the most frequently used tense of the four real tenses in English. It occurs in approximately 65% ​​of sentences expressed in the present tense. However, it is not universal and cannot describe any situation in the present. The following video shows in what cases the Present simple is used and how it is formed.

In order to understand the essence of any tense, including the Present simple, you need to consider two aspects - the rules of formation and the rules of use. Let's start with the last one.

Rule of use 1.
Present simple is used to describe CONSTANT actions:

Rule of use 2.
The present simple describes constant situations WITHOUT specifying the duration of the action. (With duration of action use the present perfect tense)

Rules for the formation of Present simple

Education Rule 1.
The Present Simple is conjugated differently for the singular and plural. The singular number ends in s, the plural does not:

Education Rule 2.
The pronoun “you” does not exist in English. Even children and animals are addressed as “you”. Therefore, a verb with the word “you” cannot have an “s” ending.

Education Rule 3.
“I (I)” in English is used according to the rules of the PLURAL number (i.e. without the ending S). This emphasizes an equally respectful attitude not only towards the interlocutor, who is addressed only as “you”, but also towards oneself. A special attitude towards oneself can also be traced in the spelling of “I (I)”; it is always written with a capital letter - I.

Present simple for the verb like (Table 1)
to like - to love something

Here is an example of conjugating another verb “love” in the present simple:

The verb “love” in Present Simple, table 2
to love - to love someone

Education Rule 4.
In the Present simple, all verbs are formed into the singular by adding the ending s. However, there are 3 verbs that fall outside of this rule. These are the verbs:

You need to remember how these verbs are conjugated in Present Simple.

The verb “have” in the present simple, table 3
to have - to have

Present simple tense, verb “to do - do”, table 4
do - do

Education The present simple for the verb “to be” is different from other verbs. The form for “I-I” in it does not coincide with either the plural or the singular. The conjugation of this verb in the Present simple must be remembered.

When starting to learn the temporary system of the English language, many people look forward with fear. How can you remember all this? How to understand everything? Gradually, moving from rule to rule, from example to example, from exercise to exercise. And the first tense that students encounter is the Present Simple (Indefinite).

The general meaning of this rule is a reflection of actions that occur usually, regularly, habitually. In other words, Present Indefinite Tense states a fact, simply conveys some information. An English sentence follows a clear pattern, but each tense has its own characteristics. What do you need to know about present simple (indefinite)?

Education

An affirmative sentence is composed according to the following principle: Subject + verb + minor members. But not everything is so easy. If pronouns take the place of the main member of the sentence she/he/it or nouns in the 3rd person singular, then we add an ending to the verb - s(es). So the diagram looks like this: S + V (V s).

With interrogative and negative sentences, Present Simple grammar dictates a completely different principle to us. Auxiliary verbs appear do/does, where does is used with pronouns she/he/it and 3rd person singular subjects, and do with all others. They are not translated and have no semantic meaning. These are helpers that in questions take place before the subject, and in negatives after, but with the particle not. It is worth noting that the predicate here again changes its form - the infinitive without to (as the verb is presented in the dictionary). The patterns of questions and negatives are as follows: Do/Does + S + V 1 ? and S + do/ does + not + V 1.

In colloquial speech, many words are combined so that the sentence is not cumbersome. This is why it is often used short forms:

do not = don't

does not = doesn’t

Important to know!

The rules of Present Simple (Indefinite) are not limited to this. There are little nuances that need to be learned.

1. Writing Features verbs ending in s or es.

• if the verb ends with a letter "o" then we add es : goes, does.
• The situation is the same with sibilant consonants if the word ends with them: s, x, ch, sh: mixes, matches, pushes, misses.
• provided that the predicate has a letter at the end "y" , and there is a consonant before it, then “y” changes to "i+es": stu d y-stu d ies, fly - flies. Ho: stay - st a ys, say - s a ys.

2. Pronunciation the same ending s is also variable. So, after voiceless consonants it is necessary to pronounce the sound [s]: drops, lets. If the ending is next to a vowel or a voiced consonant, then it sounds like [z]: adds, plays. But after the sounds you need to pronounce it like : loses, mixes.

3. I would also like to note two verbs that do not follow the general rules. This to be and to have. For example, to be has distinctive forms that depend on the subject: I - am, She/he/it + is, we/you/they - are. They are fixed, there are not many of them, so learning them will not be difficult (You can learn more about this from the article of the same name “The verb to be in English”). Denial and questions are constructed without the help of auxiliaries. Being at the same time a predicate, in questions to be comes before the subject, and in negations it is used with the particle not.

She is the first passanger. — She is the first passenger.

Are you a good son? -Are you a good son?

We aren't at school, we are at home. - We are not at school, we are at home.

The verb to have in an affirmative sentence with the subjects she/ he/ it takes the form has, with all others - have.

She has a nice car. — She has a beautiful car.

We have a strong family. - We have a strong family.

Use of Present Indefinite

1. As mentioned earlier, the present simple tense reflects the usual, regularly or rarely repeated actions that can be called the norm . Often used with adverbs such as: always (always), usually (usually), generally (usually, as a rule), occasionally (occasionally, sometimes, occasionally), frequently (often), sometimes (sometimes), often (often), twice a year (twice per year), once a week (once a week), every day (year, month), from time to time (from time to time), rarely (rarely), every other day (every other day), daily (daily), monthly (monthly).

They rarely go out on Sundays. — They rarely leave the house on Sundays.

It doesn't often rain in winter here. — It doesn’t rain often here in winter.

As a rule, she has a meal at home. — As a rule, she eats at home.

2. Such constant characteristics as hobbies, habits, customs and traditions.

As a hobby Jim and Ken design ships paper. — As a hobby, Jim and Ken make paper ships.

The British drink tea at 5 o’clock. — The British drink tea at 5 o'clock.

I paint for pleasure, but not because I want to make money out of it. — I draw for pleasure, not to make money from it.

3. Natural phenomena, undeniable truths, generalizations are always used in the Present Simple.

Summer follows spring. — Summer comes after spring.

The earth is round. - The earth is round.

4. Schedule, routes, working hours.

The shop closes at 7 p.m. — The store closes at 7.

The train leaves from the station at 5. - The train leaves the station at 5.

5. With state verbs (More details in the article “Verbs not used in the Continuous”) that express feelings, opinions, etc.

I disagree with him. - I don’t agree with him.

I hate your driving a car. - I hate it when you drive.

6. Sports commentators Always use the Present Simple. The same time is used in instructions, statements, anecdotes.

Now I peel the potatoes, slice them, put into the bowl (recipe) - Now I peel the potatoes, cut them into pieces and put them on a plate.

Becker passes to Lendle. - Baker passes it to Landel.

7.Retelling films, jokes, stories , it is better to use present simple.

Events go rapidly. John meets her and they fall in love with each other. — Events developed rapidly. John met her and they fell in love.

8. B subordinate clauses of condition and time, after the conjunctions when, if, after, before, as soon as, until, in case, unless (although we translate into the future).

I’ll phone you as soon as I come. - I'll call you as soon as I get there.

If it rains we will stay at you overnight. - If it rains, we will stay with you overnight.

Comparison of times

To make it easier for you to understand this time and its essence, let’s compare it with other present times and find the differences.

According to all the rules of Present Simple (Indefinite), it is used quite often. We can say that it occupies a leading position in use. When studying this tense, pay attention to formation, or rather to auxiliary verbs and endings, but cases of use will be easier to remember if you do a few exercises.

There are 12 tenses in the English language instead of the 3 usual for Russian people. Today we will look at the Present Simple Tense (or Present Indefinite). It is translated into Russian as “simple present tense.”

With it we talk about our habits and preferences, skills and daily actions.

This tense is used constantly in English. Therefore, it is very important to fully understand and learn how to use it from the very beginning.

In this article I will explain to you how and when to use the Present Simple, and also tell you about all the nuances of its use.

• Affirmative sentences in Present Simple
• Verb endings -s and -es in the Present simple

Using the Present Simple in English

Present Simple Tense is the simple present tense in English. This tense is used when we talk about actions that happen regularly.

For example: “She does exercises in the morning.”

The following cases of using Present Simple are distinguished:

1. About actions that we do regularly, usually.
We go to work; he reads books; we play sports.

2. About someone's habits and preferences.
Do you like watching comedies? she loves to eat sushi.

3. About the daily schedule, daily routine.
The bus arrives at 10:00; the plane to Paris leaves at 22:00

4. About your skills.
I read (I can read, but do not confuse it with “I am reading at the moment”). He swims (he can swim). I speak English (I can speak English).

Please note that this is the time we we don't use when we talk about actions that are happening right now. For example: “I am cooking (at the moment).”

Education rules affirmative sentences in Present Simple

The affirmative form of the Present Simple is formed using a simple scheme:

1. If the action is performed:

• I - I,
• you - you/you,
• we - we,
• they - they,

then the verb does not change in any way. Look at the table:

Example sentences

I go to work every day.

They usually get up early.
They usually get up early.

2. When actions are performed:

• He - he
• she - she,
• it - it,

then the ending is added to the verb s/es. Pay attention to the verbs in the table.

Example sentences

He play s football every Friday.
He plays football every Friday.

She like s green tea
She likes green tea.

Verb endings -s and -es in the Present Simple

Let's take a closer look at how the endings change if we use the pronouns he, she, it. End es We bet in the following cases.

• The verb ends in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z, -o

ki ss(kiss) - kiss es;
cat ch(grab) - catch es;
fi x(fix) - fix es;
g o(go) - go es;

Examples

He wash es(wash - washes) his car often.
He washes his car often.

She miss es her brother (miss - misses).
She misses her brother.

• The verb ends in -y and it is preceded by a consonant. In this case we replace -y with -i and add the ending -es.

fl y(fly) - fl ies;
hurr y(hurry up) - hurr ies.

For example

She stud ies(study - studies) five new words every day.
She learns five new words every day.

End -s we bet in all other cases.

Please note: if the verb ends in -y and stands in front of her vowel, then we just add the ending -s.

l ay(put) - la ys;
st ay(stay) - sta ys.

For example

She pla ys tennis twice a week.
She plays tennis twice a week.

Special words used in Present Simple

There are some words that indicate and help determine that this is the Present Simple. What all these words have in common is that they show that an action is happening (or not happening) periodically.

• Always - always;
• often - often;
• usually - usually;
• sometimes - sometimes;
• rarely - rarely;
• never - never;
• every time, every morning, every evening, every day - every time, every morning, every evening, every day.

Seeing these words, you can immediately understand that we are talking about some kind of regular, usual action for us.

For example

She cooks dinner usually by herself.
She usually prepares dinner herself.

They never play football.
They never don't play football.

Negative form in Present Simple

A negative sentence will be constructed in exactly the same way as in Russian: using the particle not. For example, I go to work. Let’s add “not” and it turns out: I don’t go to work.

In Present Simple particle Not consists of an auxiliary verb do or does and particles not.

To make a sentence negative, we need to put “not” in front of the verb. That is, the proposal will be structured according to the following scheme:

Actor + do/does not + action (verb in initial form).

Does we use it when we talk about one person (he, she, it), and in all other cases we must use do.

Example sentences

Please note that when we use don't And does not The ending s/es is no longer added to the verb. After all, it is these auxiliary verbs that show time (read the article “Auxiliary verbs in English”). Why do you need to show 2 times that this is a real repeating tense?

Look.

He does not read_books.
He doesn't read books.

We don't talk

He does not reads books.

How can you shorten do not and does not?

We can abbreviate the particle not as follows.

Don't = don't.
Doesn't = doesn't.

Question form in Present Simple

To ask a question, you need to use auxiliary verbs do or does first place in the sentence. In this case, the word order does not change, that is, it will be the same as in the affirmative form. The scheme for constructing a question in the Present Simple is as follows:

Do/does + actor + action (verb in initial form)?

As usual, we use does with he, she, it. In all other cases we use do.

Please note that in the question the verb is in the initial form and its ending does not change.

Do es she like_sweets?
Does she like sweets?

Statement

She usually drink s coffee in the morning.
She usually drinks coffee in the morning.

They eat different fruits every day.
They eat fruit every day.

Question

Does she usually drink_ coffee in the morning?
Does she usually drink coffee in the morning?

Do they eat different fruits every day?
Do they eat fruit every day?

Answers to questions in Present Simple

Short positive answer will contain an auxiliary verb do/does, which will replace the action itself (drinking, eating).

Yes, she does.
Yes, he drinks.

Yes, they do.
Yes, they do.

Complete positive answer will be constructed as an affirmative sentence.

Yes, she usually drinks s coffee in the morning.
Yes, she usually drinks coffee in the morning.

Yes, they eat different fruits every day.
Yes, they eat fruit every day.

IN short negative answer to do/does we add not.

No, she does not.
No, he doesn't drink.

No, they don't.
No, they don't eat.

Complete negative answer is constructed as a negative sentence:

No, she does not drink coffee in the morning.
No, she doesn't usually drink coffee in the morning.

No, they don't eat different fruits every day.
No, they don't eat fruit every day.

Examples

Do do you speak English? - Yes, I do.
Do you speak English? - Yes, I say.

Do do you speak English? - No, I don't.
Do you speak English? - No, I’m not saying.

Do do they like to dance? - Yes, they like to dance.
Do they like to dance? - Yes, they like to dance.

Do do they like to dance? - No, they don't like to dance.
Do they like to dance? - No, they don't like to dance.

Does she play_ tennis? - Yes, she does.
Does she play tennis? - Yes, he plays.

Does she play_ tennis? - No, she does not.
Does she play tennis? - No, he doesn’t play.

Does he like to travel? - Yes, he likes s to travel.
Does he like to travel? - Yes, he likes to travel.

Does he like to travel? - No, he does not like to travel.
Does he like to travel? - No, he doesn't like to travel.

Special questions in the Present Simple

They should be used when you want to get some additional information. List of words:

• what - what,
• where - where,
• which - which one,
• why - why,
• when - when,
• who - who,
• how - how.

Question words + do/does + actor + action (verb in initial form)?

Examples

Why does does he go to work?
Why does he go to work?

Where do do you usually go?
Where do you usually go?

When does did she come back?
When is she coming back?

What do do they usually watch?
What do they usually watch?

Which tea does she drink?
What kind of tea does she drink?

Who do do you live with?
Who do you live with?

The verb to be in the Present Simple

In English there is a special verb - to be. In the present tense, this verb has three forms: am, is, are.

Very often, English language learners get confused when to use it in the present tense and when not to. Because of this, mistakes are made.

Remember that we use the verb to be in the Present Simple when we want to say:

• who/what by whom/what is (she is a nurse);
• who/what what is (my cat is gray);
• who/what Where is (dad at work).

That is, if we want describe the location anything state something or what is this thing/person, then we use the verb to be.

For example

I am a doctor.
I am a doctor.

She is at home.
She is at home.

We are good singers.
We are good singers.

When you say a phrase and doubt whether you should put the verb be there, you can always test yourself by asking questions to the sentence: am I who/what, find Where is it, what is it? If in translation the words “is, is, is” give the sentence a logical meaning, then in English such a sentence will be correct.

Now let's summarize briefly and look at the general table of the use of Present Simple time.

General table of present simple time use

So, Present Simple (simple present tense) is used in the following cases:

1. When we talk about actions that we do regularly, usually.
2. When we talk about someone's habits and preferences.
3. When it comes to the daily schedule, daily routine.
4. When we talk about our skills.

Let's look at the formation of all types of sentences in this tense.

We have analyzed the Present Simple tense. It is quite simple, but you need to know how to use it correctly. If something remains unclear to you, do not hesitate to ask your questions in the comments.

Useful articles on the topic:

Reinforcement task

Now let's practice using the Present Simple tense. I propose to translate the following sentences into English.

1. I love animals.
2. He doesn't work on weekends.
3. Do your parents travel every summer?
4. My brother doesn't go to the gym.
5. I'm never late.

Everything ingenious is simple. I would really like to say the same about the times of the Simple group, because they are translated as simple. But, apparently, even the British themselves understand their humor, so they kindly came up with another term - Indefinite. And such a name better conveys the meaning of the times. What does this mean?

The fact is that the tenses of the Indefinite group help to express an action where time is not defined. For example, I work (I work) or I study (I'm studying). This does not mean that I am working right this second or learning something at the moment. On the contrary, it denotes action in general. As an answer to the question: “What do you do anyway?” Yes, I’m learning little by little.

The biggest difficulty imaginable with Simple/Indefinite tenses is the formation of the past tense form. But of course, because here you need to know how the second form of an irregular verb is formed. On the other hand, in Perfect you need to know how the third form of an irregular verb is formed. Therefore, no matter how you look at it, you still have to learn something.

In my humble opinion, the simplest tenses are the Continuous group: it is clear and understandable when used, and they are formed very easily.

But today we are still talking about Simple/Indefinite, so let’s put our brains together and remember.

1. When to use
. They are really simple. And they have another name - Indefinite. In order to understand and remember once and for all when they are used, you need to keep the second name in mind. That is - Indefinite.

For example, if you want to say that you love strawberries, then feel free to put Simple. After all, it doesn’t matter when you love her: right at the moment in front of the laptop monitor or AT ALL.

The second option, when the Simple is precisely used, is a listing of sequential actions: born, married, divorced (version for the optimistic - became a dad). Version for dreamers: I’ll be born, I’ll get married, I’ll get divorced. In all cases - Simple will help you.

Another hint: this tense expresses REGULAR actions (I wash myself, shave every morning).

2. Present Simple
What is currently happening IN GENERAL, that is, in principle. For example, if at the moment, right this very second, snow is falling outside the window, then a different time is required. And if you need to say in general “It’s spring now, comrades!”, take Simple.

2.1 Marker words
I love them because you can immediately understand from them: here - Simple. Here they are, our saviors:

Every day (morning/month/year/lesson, etc.)
Usually
Always
Seldom
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Frequently
This day/week/winter, etc.

2.2 How it is formed
. Elementary. Take the verb, as it is in the dictionary, and put it in a sentence: I go to school. I love my teacher.

A small nuance: in the 3rd person singular you will have to add to the verb - s or - es(after s, z, x, ch, sh, o): he teaches, she goes.
Ending - y, as always, changes to - i: he studies

Interrogative sentence. An auxiliary verb is used do or does(for 3 l. units): Do you like apples? Does he teach at home?

Negative sentence. Added to the auxiliary verb not: I don't know.

3. Past Simple
Denotes consistent or regular actions in the past.

3.1 Markers
Yesterday
Last winter/week/year, etc.
Ago

3.2 How it is formed
. Using the II form of the verb (in the correct ones we add - ed, incorrect ones - we teach): I liked snowing last year. I was at home 2 hours ago.

Question. We use did: Did you eat sweets in your childhood?

Negation. We use did+not: I didn't like mathematics at school.

4. Future Simple
Denotes regular or sequential actions in the future, as well as one-time actions (for example, “I’ll go to the theater tomorrow”).

4.1 Markers
Tomorrow
Tonight
Soon
Next week/month/year/time
In 2 minutes/hours/days/months

4.2. How is it formed
. By using will (shall- for 1st person, slightly outdated version): We shall/will be at home in 20 minutes. He will go to London next week.

Question: Will you marry me?

Negation: will/shall+not. I will not marry you.

Let's start a series of articles about the tenses of the English language with the simplest tense - Present Simple, present simple. Indeed, there should be no difficulties either with the construction of this time or with its use.

In some textbooks, you can see the name Present Indefinite. Don't be alarmed - this is absolutely the same as the Present Simple. Indefinite means indefinite, that is, without any features that need to be conveyed about the action in the sentence.

How is the Present Simple formed?

Let's start with how the Present Simple is formed. Here, from the very beginning, a small difficulty awaits you - the Present Simple tense looks different for the verb to be (to be) and for all other verbs. Why is the verb “to be” given such honor – because it is the most common verb in the English language and therefore many things will happen with it, unlike everyone else, in a special way. But for now let's start with everyone else.

Present Simple for all verbs except the verb to be

Present Simple is a really simple tense, not only by the standards of the English language, but also by the standards of other languages.
However, in order to appreciate how simple everything is in the English language, let’s take a step back and remember from school what verb conjugation is. In simple words, these are different forms for different actors. For example, I I'm watching, You look, He looks, We look, You look, They are watching. It turns out that in Russian there are 6 different forms for each verb. Italian, Spanish and French also have 6 different forms. The German language is a little simpler - 4 forms. Now, pay attention - there are only 2 different forms in English!

So, for all persons and numbers except he/she/it (that is, for I, you, we, you and they) we take the form that is in the dictionary - see (I see, you see, we see, you see, they see), and for he/she/it we add -s (or –es): sees (sees). That's all - there are only two forms and they are formed simply in an elementary way. Isn't it much simpler than Russian?

I see dead people. I see dead people. (Movie “The Sixth Sense”)
Moscow never sleeps. Moscow never sleeps. (An extremely catchy musical composition that, I hope, will not let you forget about the –s in the third person singular)

Present Simple for the verb to be

Now there is a small fly in the ointment in this idyll. There is one verb that in the Present Simple becomes completely different from its original form - this is the verb to be, to be.

Surely you remember from school how you memorized I – am, you – are, he/she/it – is, we – are, you – are, they – are. This is the verb to be in the Present Simple. If you still don’t know these forms, then be sure to learn them. If there are things you can’t do without, and this is just one of them. However, am, are and is will appear in every second sentence - and it will be simply impossible not to remember them.

By the way, there are only 3 different conjugation options for the verb to be: am, are, is. It’s still twice as simple to conjugate Russian verbs. Ironically, in Russian, on the contrary, the verb “is” in the present tense will remain in its previous form: “there is”, no matter how you conjugate it.

Another note: the verb to be is very often used in the form of abbreviated forms, when it merges with a noun into one word: I am = I’m, you are = you’re, he is = he’s. There is no difference between them, it’s just easier and faster to pronounce them.

This is a table. This – table. (The phrase is the apotheosis of school English).
You're beautiful. You're beautiful. You're beautiful, it's true. You are beautiful, you are beautiful, you are beautiful and it's true. (James Blunt, song “You’re beautiful”).
I'm the king of the world. I am the king of the world (Movie “Titanic”).

When to use the Present Simple

The use of tenses in English is a complex, multifaceted topic, and, of course, the use of the Present Simple is not limited to these five cases. However, these five cases are quite suitable for a first idea of ​​when and how the Present Simple is used.

1. General facts

The Present Simple should be used for general facts about life that are always true. Whether these are facts from physics and mathematics known to all mankind, or facts from personal experience that no one knows except you, the Present Simple is suitable for everyone.

Ice melts at 0 degrees. Ice melts at 0 degrees.
London is the capital of Great Britain. London is the capital of Great Britain. (Another greeting from the Soviet school).
My name is Pasha, I’m from Russia. My name is Pasha, I'm from Russia.

2. Things and phenomena that are more or less permanent