Regular, regular, constant, daily… The list of definitions can be continued if desired. But not necessary. It is better to deal with him, as they say, eye to eye. But not for an unpleasant conversation, but vice versa - to find out better, and in case of an unexpected meeting, no longer be afraid. So, get acquainted: Present Simple time!
Number of times
English, as you know, has a special love for the times. There are three of them: past (Past), present (Present), future (Future). We are not accustomed to such a balance of power, since the same picture is observed in the Russian language. But the language of foggy Albion went further, and each of the above times had its own subcategories. Their task is to determine not when the action occurred, but how. We decided that there will be four of them: simple (Present / Simple), long (Continuous), perfect (Perfect), perfect long (Perfect Continuous). What do we have as a result? There are twelve in total, but with the only caveat - without taking into account the passive voice. However, it works out well! But today, fortunately, or vice versa - unfortunately, we will only talk about one topic: “Present Simple: use in English, rules, examples.”
What is it and what is it eaten with
Time Present Simple (another name - Present Indefinite) translated from Russian means the simple present, or the present indefinite tense. We can say that it is one of the most important of all existing aspectual tense forms in the English language. It helps to tell about ourselves, other people, and everything that is around us. And yet - using it even for other purposes will not distort the meaning of what was said, and you will always be understood. And isn't that the most important thing? Therefore, it is necessary to start learning the language spoken by the English queen from the present indefinite tense.
What does it mean? According to the above - action in the present, in the broadest sense of the term. At first, it seems that Present Simple is like two drops of water similar to its counterpart in Russian. On the one hand, yes, in most cases their functions are the same. But on the other hand, everything is much more complicated, and you will have to tinker with this, of course, if you want to speak the language at a high level.
So, the most common actions, regularly repeated, constant - this is the scope of the use of Present Simple. Examples of use: when we talk about our own or other people's habits, schedule, daily routine. To emphasize the frequency of action in sentences, as a rule, the following tense circumstances are present: seldom (rarely),sometimes (sometimes), often (often), usually (usually), occasionally (from time to time), always (always), and others. Their stable place in the sentence is before the main verb, and only sometimes, occasionally can run to the beginning or end of the phrase.
Positive form
The form of the verb (English) Present Simple is almost always identical to its initial form - the infinitive - without the particle to. Exclusively in the singular, 3rd person, the endings -s, -es appear in the verb. For example: I usually go shopping on Sunday. – She usually goes shopping on Sunday.
Rules for using the ending -es:
- The ending -es is added if the word ends in -sh, -ch, -o, -x, -s, -ss,: wish - wishes, wash - washes, cross - crosses, go - goes, do – does.
- If a word ends in -y with a preceding consonant, -y changes to -i, resulting in -ies ending: cry - cries, try - tries, dry - dries.
To be or not to be
As you know, the verb to be (to be, is) in English stands alone. And there are many reasons for that. First, it has three forms am (I), is (he, she, it), are (you, we, they). In other words, this is the only English verb that changes in persons and numbers, that is, it is conjugated.
Secondly, the verb to be does without an auxiliary verb. It is both a main and an auxiliary verb for itself. Therefore, in Present Simple in negative sentences tothe negative particle not (I am not a pupil, I am a student) is attached to it, and in the question it comes first after the question words, but always before the subject (Are you a student? What is your name?).
Negative form
How to build a negative sentence in the Present Simple? Using auxiliary verbs will definitely help. They do not have their own meaning and are used only in conjunction with semantic (main) verbs: do and does for the 3rd person in the singular. In negative cases, they go with the negative particle not before the verb-predicate. Do/does with a negative particle not can be abbreviated to don't (doesn't). For example: I don’t like sugar in black coffee (I don’t like sugar in black coffee) - She doesn’t like sugar in black coffee (She doesn’t like sugar in black coffee); You don't smoke (You don't smoke) - He doesn't smoke (He doesn't smoke).
Question
When constructing interrogative sentences (Present Simple time), the auxiliary verb do is also used and for the 3rd person in the singular - does. The only difference is that he constantly strives to take a dominant position. In general questions, it always comes first before the subject. For example: Do you like traveling abroad? (Do you like traveling abroad?) – Does she like traveling abroad? (Does she like to travel abroad?) In special questions, he always follows the question word (what, where, why, when, how), but invariably before the subject: What do you like? (What do you like?) - What does shelikes? (What does she like?).
We draw attention to one interesting nuance: if a general question begins with an auxiliary verb in a negative form, then when translated, the sentence acquires a shade of surprise, amazement. For example: Don't you go to the cinema on Sunday? Don't you go to the cinema on Sunday?; Doesn't she like ice-cream? – Doesn’t she like ice cream?
Present Simple: Usage
Back to practice again. With Present Simple (examples follow), it is better to deal with it slowly, as they say, once and for all. A detailed analysis of this topic will help in the future not to confuse the time considered in the article with others, for example, in such frequently occurring test tasks as “Open the brackets: Present Simple Tense or Present Continues Tense.”
The first case is a regular, repetitive action, a permanent state in the present: We play tennis every summer - We play tennis every summer; She often reads books - She often reads books.
Second - a statement of scientific facts, laws of nature, generally accepted statements: Kangaroos live in Australia - Kangaroos live in Australia; It rains in autumn - It's raining in autumn; Earth is not flat, it is round - The Earth is not flat, it is round.
Third - when listing several successive actions (recipes, instruction manual, instructions): We mix sugar and eggs. We add flour. We add a pinch of s alt and bake at 180 degrees - Mixsugar with eggs, add flour, a pinch of s alt and bake at 180 degrees.
Fourth - when indicating an action in the future in the schedules of buses, trains, planes, as well as classes at school, screenings at the cinema, etc.: The bus leaves at 8 o'clock. Don't miss it - The bus leaves at 8 o'clock. Look, don't be late.
Fifth, when retelling stories, when the action actually takes place in the past: I met my old friend last week. She comes to me and asks, “Hi, how are you?” I met my old friend last week. She came up to me and asked, “Hi! How are you doing? ; A big airplane crashes in Canada. - Large plane crashed in Canada.
We looked at the simplest cases of using the Present Simple. The use of others, more complex, is usually studied at other levels of training.
