Present simple

young man cooking

Do you know how to use the present simple? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see how we use the present simple. 

I eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.
My dad phones me every day.
She doesn't like her job.
What time do you get up at weekends?

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1

Grammar A1-A2: Present simple: 1

Read the explanation to learn more.

Grammar explanation

We can use the present simple to talk about things we do regularly.

I go to the gym three times a week.
We
drink coffee at work.

We can also use it for things which are generally true.

She loves her job.
A lot of people
work at home now.

Remember that we add s or es for he, she and it. Sometimes we also change y to i

My favourite TV show starts at 8 o'clock.
She
finishes work early on Fridays.
My brother
studies at university.

The he, she and it forms for have, do and go are irregular. 

He has a flat in the city centre.
She
does yoga on Tuesdays.
My dog goes for a walk every morning.

For the negative, we use don't or doesn't.

We don't eat meat.
She
doesn't have a lot of free time.

For questions, we use do or does.

Do you watch a lot of films?
Does he speak English?

+ Affirmative - Negative ? Question
I like ice cream. I don't like ice cream. Do I like ice cream?
You go to the gym. You don't go to the gym. Do you go to the gym?
He/she/it eats meat. He/she/it doesn't eat meat. Does he/she/it eat meat?
We watch a lot of films. We don't watch a lot of films.  Do we watch a lot of films?
They work at home. They don't work at home. Do they work at home?

Short answers

We can answer questions with Yes, I/you/we/they do, Yes, he/she/it does, or No, I/you/we/they don't or No, he/she/it doesn't.

Do you like cheese? 
Yes, I do.

Does she play football on Saturdays?
No, she doesn't.

Questions with question words

We can also put question words like what, where, who or what time before do or does.

Where do you work?
What time does he have lunch?

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar test 2

Present simple: Grammar test 2

Language level

Average: 4.2 (105 votes)

Hi zubairkhan,

In that sentence, "have, do and go" refer to the base forms of each verb. It's not saying that the he/she/it forms are "have, do and go".

Extending the sentence may make this clearer:

  • The he, she and it forms for have, do and go are has, does and goes.

You can see examples of each one just below that sentence on the page above.

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Submitted by HLH on Wed, 20/09/2023 - 13:09

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Hello
example
i am working in London for week
can i say
i always wake up at 8 AM
i usually eat my breakfast outside

can i use Adverbs of Frequency to repeat the permanent and temporary action

Hello HLH,

Yes, that's right. When something is a habit or a repeated action you can use adverbs of frequency.

In your first sentence it should be 'for a week'. Everything else is fine.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by al_hakim on Tue, 12/09/2023 - 16:27

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I have known this topic however I have known about it more.

Submitted by KirkWAI on Fri, 26/05/2023 - 05:15

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Hi,there.
I wounder why the question 'Why_cats sleep all the time? (SLEEP)' choice do not does. I think cat is animal belong to he/she/it. What the reason is chice do. Many thanks.

Hi KirkWAI,

One cat is "he/she/it". But "cats" is "they", because it means more than one cat. That's why the answer is "do". :)

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Submitted by macs on Thu, 23/02/2023 - 07:30

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hello,
why in the first phrase: ' what time does he start work?' I have 'START' and not STARTS, with 'he'.

Hello macs,

It's because it's a question. In both questions and negative forms, the 's' that we normally add to the end of the base form ('start' > 'starts') is not used. 

It might help to think that in questions and negatives, this 's' goes with the auxiliary verb 'does' ('Does she eat meat?') or 'doesn't' ('She doesn't eat meat') instead of with the main verb ('She eats meat'). 

Does that make sense?

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by marialimandrd on Thu, 02/02/2023 - 21:05

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I wish these activities would be avaliable in a worksheet too :(

Profile picture for user Ahmed Imam

Submitted by Ahmed Imam on Tue, 17/01/2023 - 21:21

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Hello. Could you please help me? Is the following sentence correct using "doesn't work"?

- Nabil doesn't work today. He never works on fridays.

Thank you