2. Present Simple Tense

The present simple tense is used for habits, routines, facts that are always or generally true, and feelings or opinions. It’s one of the most common tenses in English and easy to learn with practice.

How to Use It

• Positive:

  • For I, you, we, they: Subject + base verb (e.g., I walk, They play).

  • For he, she, it: Subject + base verb + -s or -es (e.g., He walks, She watches).

  • Add -es to verbs ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z (e.g., watch → watches, fix → fixes).

• Negative:

  • For I, you, we, they: Subject + do not (don’t) + base verb.

  • For he, she, it: Subject + does not (doesn’t) + base verb.

• Question:

  • For I, you, we, they: Do + subject + base verb? (e.g., Do you like…?).

  • For he, she, it: Does + subject + base verb? (e.g., Does she play…?).

Examples

• Positive:

  • I play tennis every Saturday.

  • She lives in a small village.

  • He watches movies every evening.

• Negative:

  • I don’t like spicy food.

  • They don’t go to the gym.

  • She doesn’t drink coffee.

• Question:

  • Do you enjoy reading books?

  • Does he work in an office?

  • Do we need tickets for the park?

Tips

• Use time expressions like every day, always, often, or never to show habits or routines.

• For verbs ending in a consonant + -y, change -y to -ies for he/she/it (e.g., study → studies).

• Practice making positive, negative, and question forms to feel confident.

Relaxing Example

Picture a calm weekend:

• “I relax in the garden every Sunday.”

• “The dog sleeps on the sofa.”

• “We don’t visit the city often.”

• “Does she listen to music in the evening?”

Try It!

Write three sentences about your hobbies: one positive, one negative, and one question. Example: “I paint pictures. I don’t play soccer. Do you like dancing?”