Present Simple

The Present Simple tense is the most basic tense in English and uses the base form of the verb (except for the verb be). The only change from the base is the addition of s for third person singular.

How do we make the Present Simple tense?

There are two basic structures for the Present Simple:

1. Positive sentences

subject
+
main verb

Present Simple

2. Negative and question sentences

subject
+
auxiliary do
+
main verb

conjugated in Present Simple

 

do, does
base

Look at these examples with the main verb :

 
subject
auxiliary verb
 
main verb
 

+
I, you, we, they

 
like
coffee.

He, she, it

 
likes
coffee.

–
I, you, we, they
do
not
like
coffee.

He, she, it
does
not
like
coffee.

?
Do
I, you, we, they
 
like
coffee?

Does
he, she, it
 
like
coffee?

From the above table, notice the following points…

For positive sentences:

• There is no auxiliary verb.
• We conjugate the main verb by adding s to the third person singular.

For negative and question sentences:

• The auxiliary verb (do) is conjugated in the Present Simple: do, does
• The main verb is invariable in base form: base
• For negative sentences, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and the main verb.
• For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the auxiliary verb.

Emphatic do
Normally, for positive sentences we do not use the auxiliary verb do. But if we want to emphasize (stress) something, we may use it. For example, instead of saying “I like your dress”, we could say “I do like your dress”, just to show how much we like it. Here are some more examples:

• I do wish you’d stop.
• I do apologize.
• You do look smart today.

Normally, for positive sentences we do not use the auxiliary verb do. But if we want to emphasize (stress) something, we may use it. For example, instead of saying “I like your dress”, we could say “I do like your dress”, just to show how much we like it. Here are some more examples:

Present Simple with main verb be

The structure of the Present Simple with the main verb be is:

subject
+
main verb be

conjugated in Present Simple

am, are, is

Look at these examples with the main verb :

 
subject
main verb be
 
 

+
I
am
 
French.

You, we, they
are
 
French.

He, she, it
is
 
French.

–
I
am
not
old.

You, we, they
are
not
old.

He, she, it
is
not
old.

?
Am
I
 
late?

Are
you, we, they
 
late?

Is
he, she, it
 
late?

From the above table, notice the following points…

• There is no auxiliary verb, even for questions and negatives.
• The main verb (be) is conjugated in the Present Simple: am, are, is
• For negative sentences, we insert not after the main verb.
• For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the main verb.

How do we use the Present Simple tense?

We use the Present Simple to talk about:

• general time (action verbs)
• situations now (stative verbs)
• general time and situations now (verb be)

Present Simple for general time

We use the Present Simple tense when:

• the action is general
• the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future
• the action is not only happening now
• the statement is always true

John drives a taxi.

past
present
future

It is John’s job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future.

Look at these examples:

• I live in New York.
• The Moon goes round the Earth.
• John drives a taxi.
• He does not drive a bus.
• We meet every Thursday.
• We do not work at night.
• Do you play football?

Present Simple for now

For stative verbs, we can use the Present Simple to talk about now. Stative verbs do not describe action. They describe state, and are verbs such as: like, sound, belong to, need, seem. We can use these verbs with the Present Simple tense to talk about a situation at the present time, not general.

I want a coffee.
That sounds interesting.
Do you need some help?

past
present
future

 
The situation is now.
 

Present Simple for general time and now

The verb be is always special. It is a stative verb, and we use it in the Present Simple tense to talk about now situations and about general situations. Look at these examples of the verb be in the Present Simple tense – some are general and some are now:

I am not fat.
Why are you so beautiful?
Ram is tall.

past
present
future

The situation is general. Past, present and future.

Am I right?
Tara is not at home.
We are hungry.

past
present
future

 
The situation is now.
 

now and about general time. But note that there are other uses for the Present Simple, for example in the

This page shows the use of the Present Simple tense to talk aboutand about. But note that there are other uses for the Present Simple, for example in the zero conditional or to talk about the future

Back to 12 English Tenses

Apprendre l’anglais > Cours & exercices d’anglais > Exercices d’anglais > test d’anglais n°52473 : Présent simple – cours

Présent simple – cours

Présent simple

 

Affirmation :Négation :Interrogation :

Réponse positive :

Réponse négative :I workI don’t workDo I work well?Yes, I doNo, I don’tYou workYou don’t workDo you work?Yes, you doNo, you don’tHe worksHe doesn’t workDoes he work?Yes, he doesNo, he doesn’tShe worksShe doesn’t workDoes she work?Yes, she doesNo, she doesn’tIt worksIt doesn’t workDoes it work?Yes it doesNo, it doesn’tWe workWe don’t workDo we work?Yes, we doNo, we don’tYou workYou don’t workDo you work?Yes, you doNo, you don’tThey workThey don’t workDo they work?Yes, they doNo, they don’t

•   He is yawning because he is tired…

• He works hard !

 

 

 

Attention à la construction du verbe, pour la 3e personne du singulier (he/she/it) :
Il faut ajouter un “-s” ou un “-es”.

 

-es après un “-o” : Jane goes to work./ She does his homework.

 

Le -y précédé d’une consonne se transforme en “-ies” : Harry tries to sleep. / He studies English.

 

“-es” après un son “sh” :  Tom brushes his hair. / He watches TV in the evening.

De même, l’auxiliaire pour les questions et les négations est DOES, à la 3e personne du singulier :
Do you like tennis? MAIS : Does she like tennis?
I don’t like tennis. MAIS : She doesn’t like tennis.

 

 

 

Quand utiliser le présent simple ?

 

quand l’action se répète :

I go to work every day.

She takes the bus at 8.00 in the morning.

 

 quand nous parlons d’actions programmées :

The train leaves at 8.30, hurry up!

The plane takes off at 10.00 from Heathrow airport.

 

 

Exercice : Utiliser le présent simple. Il peut y avoir des questions et des négations.

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1. Jane (buy) beautiful clothes.

Jane achète de beaux vêtements.

2. My parents (not/speak) English, sorry!

Mes parents ne parlent pas anglais, désolé.

3. Her sister (phone) every day.

Sa sœur appelle tous les jours.

4. I am very good at German; I (understand) it quite well.

Je suis bon en allemand, je le comprends très bien.

5. I am not good at Spanish ; I (not/understand) it at all.

Je ne suis pas bon en espagnol. Je ne le comprends pas du tout.

6. (understand/she) Italian?

Est-ce qu’elle comprend l’italien ?

7. They have a car, they (not/take) the bus.

Ils ont une voiture. Ils ne prennent pas le bus.

8. He has a funny dog. His name is Sugar ; he (play) with him all the time.

Il a un chien rigolo. Son nom est Sugar. Il joue tout le temps avec lui.

9. He’s very big! He (eat) a lot!

Il est très gros ! Il mange beaucoup !

10. (know/ you) Mr Smith?

Connaissez-vous M. Smith ?

11. It’s 10.30! They always (get up) late.

Il est 10 h 30 ! Ils se lèvent toujours tard.

12. What time (go/your children) to school?

A quelle heure vos enfants vont-ils à l’école ?

13. Harry (watch) television from 7.00 to 9.00 every evening.

Harry regarde la télévision de 7 h à 9 h tous les soirs.

14. She is hard-working. She always (try) to do her best.

Elle est travailleuse. Elle essaye toujours de faire de son mieux.

15. Jane (study) psychology at university.

Jane étudie la psychologie à l’université.

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