Simple Present

 

The simple present is a verb tense with two main uses. We use the simple present tense when an action is happening right now or regularly (or unceasingly, which is why it’s sometimes called present indefinite). Depending on the person, the simple present tense is formed using the root form or adding ‑s or ‑es to the end.

Example: I feel great! Pauline loves pie. I’m sorry to hear that you’re sick.

The other is to talk about habitual actions or occurrences.

Example: Pauline practices the piano every day. Ms Jackson travels during the summer. Hamsters run all night.

Typically, when we want to describe a quick action currently in progress, we use the present continuous: Pauline can’t come to the phone right now because she is brushing her teeth.

How to Form the Simple Present

Most regular verbs use the root form in the simple present, except in the third-person singular (which ends in -s).

First-person singular: I write

Second-person singular: You write

Third-person singular: He/she/it writes (note the ‑s)

First-person plural: We write

Second-person plural: You write

Third-person plural: They write

For a few verbs, the third-person singular ends with -es instead of -s. Typically, these are verbs whose root form ends in o, ch, sh, th, ss, gh, or z.

First-person singular: I go

Second-person singular: You go

Third-person singular: He/she/it goes (note the ‑es)

First-person plural: We go

Second-person plural: You go

Third-person plural: They go

For most regular verbs, you put the negation of the verb before the verb, e.g. “She won’t go” or “I don’t smell anything.”

The verb to be is irregular:

First-person singular: I am

Second-person singular: You are

Third-person singular: He/she/it is

First-person plural: We are

Second-person plural: You are

Third-person plural: They are

Common Verbs in the Simple Present

Infinitive	I, You, We, They	He, She, It
to ask	ask/do not ask	asks/does not ask
to work	work / do not work	works / does not work
to call	call / do not call	calls / does not call
to use	use / do not use	uses/does not use
to have	have/do not have	has/does not have

The Verb to Be in the Simple Present

Infinitive	I	You, We, They	He, She, It
to be	am / am not	are / are not	is / is not