The Present Simple Tense

(also called the simple present tense)

(Download this explanation in PDF)

We need to use the Present Simple a lot in English, so it’s really important to understand it well. Many students have problems with the form (or how to make it).

We need to use the Present Simple a lot in English, so it’s really important to understand it well. Many students have problems with the form (or how to make it).

• If you’d prefer to learn about how to USE the Present Simple jump to this page.
• Or, click here for all the practice exercises about this tense.

Simple present tense with ‘be’

The verb ‘be’ is different from the other verbs in this tense. Let’s look at ‘be’ first:

The verbis different from the other verbs in this tense. Let’s look atfirst:

Here’s the positive form (positive means a normal sentence, not a negative or a question. This is sometimes called ‘affirmative’)

Positive
Positive Short Form

I am
I‘m

you are
you‘re

he is
he‘s

she is
she‘s

it is
it‘s

we are
we‘re

they are
they‘re

Click here to practise making the positive with ‘be’.

Next, here’s the negative. It’s very easy. You only add ‘not’.

Negative
Negative short form

I am not
I‘m not

you are not
you aren’t

he is not
he isn’t

she is not
she isn’t

it is not
it isn’t

we are not
we aren’t

they are not
they aren’t

Click here to practise making the negative with ‘be’.

And finally let’s talk about the question form of the present simple with ‘be’.

Firstly, here’s the ‘yes / no’ question form:

Yes / No Questions
am I ?

are you ?

is he ?

is she ?

is it ?

are we ?

are they ?

Click here to practise making yes / no questions with ‘be’.

If you’d like to make a ‘wh’ question, you just put the question word at the front:

Wh Questions

where
am I ?

what
are you ?

why
is he ?

who
is she ?

when
are we ?

how
are they ?

Click here to practise making ‘wh’ questions with ‘be’ .

Click here to practise making positive, negative and question forms with ‘be’ (exercise 1)
Click here to practise making positive, negative and question forms with ‘be’ (exercise 2)

Present simple tense with other verbs

With all other verbs, we make the present simple in the same way.

With all other verbs, we make the present simple in the same way.

The positive is really easy. It’s just the verb with an extra ‘s’ if the subject is ‘he’, ‘she’, or ‘it’.
Let’s take the verb ‘play’ as an example:

Positive (of ‘play’)

I play

you play

he plays

she plays

it plays

we play

they play

• Don’t forget the ‘s’! Even really advanced students do this!
• For a few verbs, there is a spelling change before the ‘s’. For example, ‘study’ becomes ‘studies’. Click here for a list of these verbs

.

• There are also few verbs which are irregular in the present simple:
  1. ‘have’ becomes ‘has’
  2. ‘do’ becomes ‘does’
  3. ‘go’ becomes ‘goes’

Click here to practise making the positive form for other verbs (exercise 1)
Click here to practise making the positive form for other verbs (exercise 2)

To make the negative form, you need to use ‘do not’ (don’t) or ‘ does not’ (doesn’t).

Negative (of ‘play’)

I do not play
I don’t play

you do not play
you don’t play

he does not play
he doesn’t play

she does not play
she doesn’t play

it does not play
it doesn’t play

we do not play
we don’t play

they do not play
they don’t play

Click here to practise making the negative (exercise 1)
Click here to practise making the negative (exercise 2)

How about the question form of the present simple tense?

We use ‘do’ or ‘does’ before the subject to make the ‘yes / no’ question:

Yes / No questions
do I play ?

do you play ?

does he play ?

does she play ?

does it play ?

do we play ?

do they play ?

Click here to practise making yes / no questions.

Just like with ‘be’, if you’d like to make a ‘wh’ question, you just put the question word at the front:

Wh Questions

where
do I play ?

what
do you play ?

why
does he play ?

who
does she play ?

when
do we play ?

how
do they play ?

Click here to practise making ‘wh’ questions

Mixed exercise 1
Mixed exercise 2
Mixed exercise 3
Mixed exercise 4 using both ‘be’ and other verbs

Click here for all the exercises about this tense

Next, I explain how to USE the Present Simple.

Need more practice? Get more Perfect English Grammar with our courses.

If I were you…

English Grammar

At school or in grammar books you are normally taught the following rule:

• I / he / she / it – WAS
• We / you / they – WERE

This is correct when we are talking about the PAST TENSE.

BUT there is another situation in which WERE appears that is not the past tense. It also appears in the SUBJUNCTIVE mood.

First, let’s look at the following structure and meaning before explaining why it happens…

If I were you

If I were you … is used when giving ADVICE about what you would do in the same situation as the other person. You imagine yourself in their position or situation and what you would do or how you would react.

• If I were you, I would study more.
• If I were you, I would stop doing that.
• If I were you, I would go to the doctor.
• if I were you, I would subscribe to the Woodward English YouTube channel right now. 🙂
• If I were you, I wouldn’t play with those wires.

Though in informal (and grammatically incorrect) English, you may hear some people say If I was… This usage doesn’t sound good, so avoid it.

You can also change the order of the sentence

• I would study more if I were you.
• I would be more careful if I were you.
• I wouldn’t do that if I were you.

Notice how the comma is not necessary with this word order.

Why do you use IF I WERE and not IF I WAS?

The reason we use WERE instead of WAS is because the sentence is in the SUBJUNCTIVE mood which is used for hypothetical situations. This is a condition which is contrary to fact or reality (the fact is, I am NOT you).

In the subjunctive mood we use IF + I / HE / SHE / IT + WERE for the verb To Be.

• If I were not in debt, I would quit my job. (But the contrary is true, I AM in debt, so I cannot quit my job)
• If he were taller, he’d be accepted into the team.
• She would be still be correcting my grammar if she were still alive.

In informal English, you will hear some people say If I was… If he was… etc. Again, this usage doesn’t sound good though unfortunately it is common, especially on the internet (and social media sites).

Can IF I WAS ever be correct?

Yes, though the sentence is not in the Subjunctive mood but the Indicative instead. Note that it is not common to use the indicative mood with IF. Let’s compare:

• If I was sick, she would give me medicine that tasted terrible. (indicative = states facts or asks questions – in this case, IF can be replaced by WHENEVER)
• If I were sick, I wouldn’t be here. (subjunctive = hypothetical – I am not sick, but I’m imagining that hypothetical situation)

If I was your boyfriend… NOOO JB!

There is a song on the radio that goes… “If I was your boyfriend, I’d never let you go…”

Well, sorry Justin Bieber fans but this is grammatically incorrect.

It should be “If I WERE your boyfriend, I’d never let you go.”

Why? Because we are talking about a hypothetical situation of me being your boyfriend. It is not real, it is just a situation I am imagining so we need to use the Subjunctive Mood here.

This song is why English teachers don’t like JB – well, one of the reasons. 🙂

But hey, at least Beyoncé got it right with her song “If I were a boy”.

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