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Present Simple Tense Explained

This document discusses the structure of the present simple tense in English. It notes that there are two structures - one for regular verbs which uses an auxiliary verb for negatives and questions, and one for the verb "to be" which does not use an auxiliary verb. It provides examples of the present simple tense used with the verbs "to like" and "to be" and explains the conjugations of the auxiliary and main verbs for positive, negative and question sentences.

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20 views2 pages

Present Simple Tense Explained

This document discusses the structure of the present simple tense in English. It notes that there are two structures - one for regular verbs which uses an auxiliary verb for negatives and questions, and one for the verb "to be" which does not use an auxiliary verb. It provides examples of the present simple tense used with the verbs "to like" and "to be" and explains the conjugations of the auxiliary and main verbs for positive, negative and question sentences.

Uploaded by

ViophiLightGut
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

How do we make the Present Simple Tense?

There are two basic structures for the Present


Simple tense:

subjec
t

auxiliar
y verb

He,
she, it

does

Do

Does

mai
n
verb

1. Positive sentences

subject

main verb

Present Simple

no
t

like

coffee
.

I, you,
we, they

like

coffee
?

he, she,
it

like

coffee
?

2. Negative and question sentences

subject

auxiliary do

main
verb
From the above table, notice the following
points...

conjugated in
Present Simple

For positive sentences:

do, does

base

There is no auxiliary verb.

We conjugate the main verb by adding s to


the third person singular.

For negative and question sentences:


Look at these examples with the main verb like:

subjec
t

mai
n
verb

auxiliar
y verb

I, you,
we,
they

like

He,
she, it

I, you,
we,
they

do

no
t

coffee
.

likes

coffee
.

like

coffee
.

The auxiliary verb (do) is conjugated in the


Present Simple:do, does

The main verb is invariable in base


form: base

For negative sentences, we


insert not between the auxiliary verb and
the main verb.

For question sentences, we exchange the


subject and the auxiliary verb.

Emphatic do
Normally, for positive sentences we do not use the
auxiliary verbdo. But if we want to emphasize
(stress) something, we may use it. For example,
instead of saying "I like your dress", we could say
"I do like your dress", just to show how much we
like it. Here are some more examples:

I do wish you'd stop.

I do apologize.

You do look smart today.

Present Simple with main verb be


The structure of the Present Simple with the main
verb be is:

subject

subject

main verb be

conjugated in Present Simple

am, are, is

main
verb be

You, we,
they

are

not

old.

He, she, it

is

not

old.

Am

late?

Are

you, we,
they

late?

Is

he, she, it

late?

Look at these examples with the main verb be:

subject

main
verb be

am

French.
From the above table, notice the following
points...

You, we,
they

He, she, it

are

French.

is

am

There is no auxiliary verb, even for


questions and negatives.

The main verb (be) is conjugated in the


Present Simple: am, are, is

For negative sentences, we insert not after


the main verb.

For question sentences, we exchange the


subject and the main verb.

French.

not

old.

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