Present Simple: explanation

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THE PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE

The present simple tense is used to describe actions or situations that are habitual, general or permanent.. 

In other words:

1. It is used to describe actions that happen regularly, like habits or routines. 

2. It is also used to describe general truths or facts, like the name of a famous footballer or a job that someone does.. 

3. Finally, it can be used to describe permanent situations, like a player's club.

FORM

The positive form of present tense in English is typically created by using the base form of a verb, also known as the infinitive, with the exception of the third person singular (he/she/it), where an 's' is added to the end of the verb. 

For example, the base form of the verb 'to play' is 'play', and in the present tense for the *third person singular* (he/she/it), we add an 's' to form 'plays'. 

Here's how all regular verbs like “play” are conjugated: 

I play

You play

He/ she/ it *plays*

We play

They play

To form negatives, we use the auxiliary verb do in the present tense, followed by not and then the base form of the verb. This is contracted to don’t. In the third person singular, we use doesn’t (as a contraction of does and not). 

I don’t play

You don’t play

He/ she/ it *doesn’t* play

We don’t play

They don’t play

Questions in the present tense are generally formed by using the auxiliary verb do followed by the subject and the base form of the verb. For example: 

'Do you play football?' 

For questions in the third person singular, ‘does’ replaces ‘do’. For example:

'Does she play football?' 

With "TO BE"

The verb "to be" is irregular, and is conjugated like this:

POSITIVE

I am = I'm

You are = you're

She / he / it is = She's / he's / it's

We are = we're

They are = they're

NEGATIVE

I am not = I'm not

You are not = You aren't = You're not

She / he / it is not = She isn't / he isn't / it isn't = She's not / he's not / it's not

We are not = we aren't = we're not

They are not = they aren't = they're not

QUESTIONS

Am I...?

Are you...?

Is she / he / it...?

Are we...?

Are they...?

EXAMPLES

➕ Positive sentences: 

1. I love watching Livepool.➕

2. You support Barcelona.➕

3. We sometimes go to our local stadium to watch matches.➕

4. They play defensive football.➕

5. I prefer.attacking football.➕

➕ Positive sentences in the third person singular (he/ she/ it): 

6. Kylian Mbappé plays for Paris Saint-Germain.➕

7. Erling Haaland scores a lot of goals for Manchester City.➕

8. Jurgen Klopp is the manager of Liverpool.➕

9. Thibaut Courtois saves 79.4% of shots.➕

10. Julian Nagelsmann prefers.attacking football.➕

➖ Negative sentences:

1. Sergio Aguero doesn't play for Manchester City anymore.➖

2. Juventus don’t play their home matches in Rome.➖

3. Neymar isn't the captain of Argentina.➖

4. Real Madrid don't often concede goals at home.➖

5. The fans don't always support the decisions made by the referees.➖

*Please note that football teams are not conjugated in the third person singular, but are thought of as “they”. Therefore, we never add an “s”.

❔ Questions:

1. Does Harry Kane play for Manchester City?

2. Who is the captain of Manchester United?

3. Do Bayern Munich fans sing during matches?

4. Which team does Robert Lewandowski currently play for?

5. Is Kylian Mbappé the highest-paid footballer in the world?

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