Present Simple Tense(Rules and Examples)

Positive	Negative	Question
I like	I don’t like	Do I like?
You like	You don’t like	Do you like?
He/She likes	He/She doesn’t like	Does he/she like?
We like	We don’t like	Do we like?
They like	They don’t like	Do they like?

Present simple tense rules

The rules of the present simple tense are only possible with regular verbs. Regular verbs follow the rules and irregular verbs do not follow the rules.

Regular Verbs

Regular verbs use the base form(like) except for the third person(he, she,it). In the third person, you need to add an s.

I make

You make

He/she makes

We make

They make

Spelling Changes

For verbs that end in o, ch, sh, th, ss, gh, or z,you need to add es

I go

You go

He/she goes

We go

They go

Some more common examples:

do= He does

catch= He catches

watch=He watches

mix= He mixes

When the verb ends in consonant + y, we drop y and add ies.

Study = He studies

Marry = He marries

Carry = He carries

We do not do this when it is vowel + y.

stay= He stays

destroy= He destroys

pay= He pays

Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs do not follow the rules above.

The most common irregular verbs in the present simple are:

Negative Sentences in the Present Simple Tense

We use don’t/doesn’t for negative sentences except the verb to be.

Don’t/Doesn’t are negative contractions and mean Do not/ Does not.

Negative Regular	Negative (To be)
I don’t like	I am not
You don’t like	You are not
He doesn’t like	He is not
She doesn’t	She is not
We don’t like	We are not
They don’t like	They are not

The third person does not use the s/es in the negative

She doesn’t like chocolate.

It doesn’t do what it is supposed to do.

More example sentences:

I don’t like coffee.

I don’t have a Nintendo Switch.

She doesn’t do her homework.

I am not happy.

You are not the best.

Questions in the Simple Present Tense

We use do/does for questions except the verb to be.

Question Regular	Question(To be)
Do I like?	Am I?
Do you like?	Are you?
Does he like?	Is he?
Does she like?	Is she?
Do we like?	Are we?
Do they like?	Are they?

You need to invert the subject and verb to make a question with the verb to be

Let’s look at how to change a sentence from the affirmative to a question in English

You speak English well.

Do you speak English well?

Your friend is OK.

Is your friend OK?

When to use the Present Simple Tense

We use the simple present tense for 3 main reasons in English:

1 For Facts and things that are generally true.

Doctors look after patients in hospitals.

Brazil is a big country.

2 For habits, routines, repeated actions.

I usually go out for dinner on Fridays.

I wake up at 6 am every day.

3 In the future, for events that are fixed in time.

The world cup is in Qatar in 2022.

The train leaves at 8.

Word order of Do/Does

Do/Does are usually at the start of a sentence.

When we have a WH question we put the question word before Do/Does

Question Word	Auxiliary Verb	Subject	Main Verb	Rest of sentence
What	do	you	think	about the election?

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Conor

Conor is the main writer here at One Minute English and was an English teacher for 10 years. He is interested in helping people with their English skills and learning about using A.I tools at work.

Present Simple Tense(Rules and Examples)