Level: beginner
The present tense is the base form of the verb:
I work in London.
But with the third person singular (she/he/it), we add an –s:
She works in London.
Present simple questions
Look at these questions:
Do you play the piano?
Where do you live?
Does Jack play football?
Where does he come from?
Do Rita and Angela live in Manchester?
Where do they work?
We use do and does to make questions with the present simple. We use does for the third person singular (she/he/it) and do for the others.
We use do and does with question words like where, what and when:
Where do Angela and Rita live?
What does Angela do?
When does Rita usually get up?
But questions with who often don't use do or does:
Who lives in London?
Who plays football at the weekend?
Who works at Liverpool City Hospital?
Here are some useful questions. Try to remember them:
Where do you come from? Do you come from …? Where do you live? Do you live in ...? |
What work do you do? Do you like …? Do you know …? |
- Present simple questions 1
- Present simple questions 2
- Present simple questions 3
- Present simple questions 4
Present simple negatives
Look at these sentences:
I like tennis but I don't like football. (don't = do not)
I don't live in London now.
I don't play the piano but I play the guitar.
They don't work at the weekend.
John doesn't live in Manchester. (doesn't = does not)
Angela doesn't drive to work. She goes by bus.
We use do and does to make negatives with the present simple. We use doesn't for the third person singular (she/he/it) and don't for the others.
- Present simple negatives 1
- Present simple negatives 2
Present simple and present time
We use the present simple to talk about:
- something that is true in the present:
I'm nineteen years old.
I'm a student.
He lives in London.
- something that happens regularly in the present:
I play football every weekend.
- something that is always true:
The human body contains 206 bones.
Light travels at almost 300,000 kilometres per second.
We often use adverbs of frequency like sometimes, always and never with the present simple:
I sometimes go to the cinema.
She never plays football.
Here are some useful sentences. Complete them so that they are true for you and try to remember them:
My name is … . I'm … years old. I come from … . I live in … . |
I'm a(n) … . I … at the weekend. I often … . I never … . |
Complete these sentences so that they are true for a friend and try to remember them:
Her/His name is … . She's/He's … years old. She/He comes from … . She/He lives in … . |
She's/He's a(n) … . She/He … at the weekend. She/He often … . She/He never … . |
- Present simple 1
- Present simple 2
- Present simple 3
- Present simple 4
- Present simple 5
- Present simple 6
- Present simple 7
Level: intermediate
Present simple and future time
We also use the present simple to talk about:
- something that is fixed in the future:
The school term starts next week.
The train leaves at 19.45 this evening.
We fly to Paris next week.
- something in the future after time words like when, after and before and after if and unless:
I'll talk to John when I see him.
You must finish your work before you go home.
If it rains we'll get wet.
He won't come unless you ask him.
- Present simple 8
Level: advanced
We sometimes use the present simple to talk about the past when we are:
- telling a story:
I was walking down the street the other day when suddenly this man comes up to me and tells me he has lost his wallet and asks me to lend him some money. Well, he looks a bit dangerous so I'm not sure what to do and while we are standing there …
- summarising a book, film or play:
Harry Potter goes to Hogwarts School. He has two close friends, Hermione and …
Shakespeare's Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark. One night he sees his father's ghost. The ghost tells him he has been murdered …
Hi luharriet,
Yes, it is :)
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Erfan1806,
Yes, both sentences are grammatically correct.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Lucas,
I'm sorry about that -- that was a mistake on our part. I've fixed it now. Thanks for taking the time to tell us about it and I'm sorry for the convenience!
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Rashid ali,
Yes, those sentences are grammatically correct and describe typical or normal behaviour. I think 'wake up' is much more common in modern English, but both are possible.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Rashid ali,
You can hear this use of the present simple if you watch a sporting event with English language commentary. The commentators describe the action using the present simple:
Jones passes to Smith. Smith runs and shoots. He scores!
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Zuzanna,
It's an interesting question! When telling a story, we use the present simple for a particular effect: to give the listener a sense that the story events are happening right now, in front of the listener. It makes the storytelling more interesting and engaging.
So, what about the sentence you mention? The use of the past continuous shows that this action (walking down the street) is only a background context for the story. It's not a main event of the story, so it doesn't need the special effect that the present simple brings. The main events begin with suddenly this man comes up to me ... and the use of the present simple.
So, you could use I am walking ... , but only if this action is a main event of the story and you want to draw the listener's attention and interest to it.
Does that make sense?
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Tinnycool,
Yes, it's perfectly fine to use two different tenses like that, provided one action/state is a present (or general) action/state and the other is past.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello DaniWeebKage,
In this context both are possible.
The present simple is used for future time when events are regular or part of a schedule. It is similar to asking 'What time is the show supposed to/meant to finish?'
The modal verb will is used for predictions of particular events. It is similar to asking 'What time do you think/expect the show to finish?'
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi DaniWeebKage,
Sure! This is quite commonly done when we tell a story or summarise one.
The story events are, of course, past events (i.e. they have already happened). But, using the present tense has a particular effect: it catches listeners' attention and engages them in the story. This is because the present simple presents the story as something that develops and unfolds as the listeners listen. There is a feeling that the story is happening now (i.e. in the moment of telling it). It's a really effective storytelling technique :)
As you suggest, it's also possible to tell a story using the past simple (with other past tenses). This way, you present the story to the listeners as something that happened some time ago, distant from the present moment. It doesn't have the immediate, engaging effect of the present simple.
I just want to emphasise that the present simple is used to talk about the past for these specific conversational actions: telling or summarising a story. We can't use the present simple to talk about past actions in general.
Does that make sense?
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello LilyLinSZ,
You're right in thinking that the present simple could be used here. I can't say for sure why they use the future without knowing more, but I'd say it's because these three phrases/sentences are from quite formal contexts. 'will' is often used in formal situations to speak of rules or official arrangements, or to issue commands.
Does that make sense?
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi LilyLinSZ,
It's hard to give a detailed explanation without knowing the context in which a given sentence appears, but I'll comment as far as I can.
This sentence may be describing something which is not yet in effect, or it could be a prediction about the present. The speaker could be speculating about the current situation.
The sentence describes a particular vote in the future. The rule may apply to votes in general, but the speaker is referencing a particular vote.
Again, this references a particular decision in the future.
By the way, the term 'future simple' is not one we generally use. Will is not a tense, but rather a modal verb like might, should, may and so on. Will often describes future time but so does might, and both can also describe present time.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Tim,
Unless we use an adverb such as 'probably' or 'maybe', or an adverbial phrase such as 'as far as I know', the present simple expresses something the speaker believes to be true. Of course, the speaker may be mistaken.
The present simple does not preclude a change in the future, but it does imply that the speaker does not anticipate or foresee any change. Thus, if I say 'I live in Paris' then I know that this may change, but I do not see any change at the moment; from my perspective it is a settled truth. On the other hand, if I say 'I'm living in Paris' then I see the situation as temporary. I may not have any plans to change it at the moment, but I do not expect it to last forever.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi PabloTT,
It's a common feature of English that the present simple is used in time clauses. You can see examples of this and explanations on this page:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/verbs-in-time-clauses-and-if-clauses
Your sentences work in a similar way.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Lakshmi94216,
Yes! These could both be considered as general facts or truths, so the present simple works. But, I think using the past simple would probably be more common.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Lakshmi94216,
Yes. We could understand these as general truths, but because both sentences refer explicitly to the past (Her best performance to date / the forerunner of modern ...), it would be usual to present them as past events.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Ahmad Aboud,
It might be correct to say 'get' in a specific context, but usually that would be 'get'. I'd need to see the full context to be able to make sense of it.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Linh Dao,
Want describes our feelings or desires, so it's normal to use the present tense in this context. You might use will if you are asking if they can come:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Santhosh
The verb 'contains' is not the base form of the verb -- 'contain' is the base form. Both 'contains' and 'is' are the third person singular form of the verb 'be'.
You can use most any verb in the present simple to express either something true in the present or something which is always true.
Hope this helps.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Miss Victoria,
Subject questions do not use an extra auxiliary verb like do or does. For example:
Object questions use an auxiliary verb with inversion:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Helen Mg Mg
In another specific context, there could be a difference in meaning, but assuming that someone is saying where they live, there is no difference in meaning here. We often use 'be' and 'come' in a sentence like this, but they mean the same thing.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team