Present Simple: table, rules

2024 Author: Angel Austin | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:14

To speak English means to open many doors for yourself. In the modern world, this skill is highly valued, and therefore, learning English should be given a lot of time. It is necessary to develop such an ability in oneself from childhood, although an adult can master a new language even in the absence of any initial knowledge. The main thing is to know the grammar, and the rest will come with practice.

Everyone who is familiar with the basics of the English language has come across its tenses. It is on them that the whole grammar of English is based, and it is they that cause difficulties and problems in learning for many. The most used tense is the simple (indefinite) present tense (Present Simple). The table usually makes the learning process much easier.

When Present Simple applies

English, like any language, is built on general principles and rules that often do not allow alternatives in the use of certain grammatical structures. Some cases oblige to use only Present Simple. Rules, tablethe use of this tense must be respected for literate speech.

Present Simple is used in the following cases:

When it comes to general rules, truths - about what everyone knows: a description of laws, natural phenomena, research results and any other generally accepted facts (Mouses love cheese - Mice love cheese).
When we show emotions, feelings or state (I believe in love - I believe in love).
When describing everyday or permanent situations (His parents live in Russia - His parents live in Russia).
In the context of the future tense after the words if, when, before, until, unless (I'll stay here untill you get back - I'll stay here until you return).
When it comes to the schedule or regular activities, phenomena (I get up at 8:30 - I get up at 8:30).
When talking about personal habits, hobbies (I like becon - I love bacon).
When talking about what is happening now (She is here now - She is here now).

Although Present Simple is considered one of the simplest grammatical tenses in the English language, it has several nuances that cannot be ignored, otherwise written and spoken speech will be ridiculous.

Narrative in Present Simple

Descriptive sentences make up the bulk of our speech. In Present Simple, they are built as follows: subject + predicate (if it is in the third person, then with the ending -s, only for the singular).

For example:

I read the newspaper every morning. – I read a newspaper every morning.
He reads the newspaper every morning. – He reads a newspaper every morning.

This is important: do not confuse the form that the third person takes in the singular tense with the plural! The ending -s should be added only to the pronouns "it", "he", "she".

Question in Present Simple

Auxiliary and special modal verbs are taken as the basis for constructing questions in Present Simple. Such sentences are built according to the following scheme: interrogative word + special auxiliary / modal verbs + subject + predicate.

If different forms of the verb to be are used, it should be taken as the basis for constructing a question. For example:

He is a teacher. – He is a teacher.
Is he a teacher? – Is he a teacher?

Modal verbs are used in general questions, not auxiliaries. For example:

She can jump into the pool. – She can jump in the pool.
Can she jump into the pool? – Can she jump in the pool?

The verb to do has a special meaning in Present Simple, a table of its main forms is given below. If the sentence has a semantic verb, but there is no modal verb in it, then the following forms of the verb to do are used:

I	do
we	do
they	do
he	does
she	does
it	does
you	do

This is important: when using the does form, the ending -s is not put in the main predicate.

Negation in Present Simple

Auxiliary and special modal verbs in Present Simple, the table of forms to do in the present tense are also used to form negative sentences.

Scheme: subject + special auxiliary / modal verbs + particle not + predicate. Abbreviations are often used in practice: do not - don't, does not - doesn't.

For example:

He runs every evening. – He runs every evening.
He doesn't run every night. – He does not (doesn't) run every evening.

English Table: Present Simple

It is better to see and understand once than to read a thousand times and remain at a loss. Visual memory and general perception helps to remember the material better. Especially when it comes to basic time in English, such as Present Simple. A table for children, as well as for adults, is a great option for quickly learning grammar.

Affirmative sentence (+)	noun + verb in the first form (if the speech is from the 3rd person in the singular, then the main predicate ends with -s or the ending "es" for verbs that end in "x, o, ss, sh, ch, s")
Negative offer (-)	noun + auxiliary verb + particle not + verb in the first form (the -s particle is not used when using does)
Interrogative sentence (?)	special question word + auxiliary verb + noun + first form verb

Verbs in Present Simple

For the construction of sentences, all verbs are important: modal, auxiliary and, of course, the main semantic verbs. Together, they create a certain system that makes up the bulk of both this tense and the entire English language.

The Present Simple uses the first, indefinite form of the verb. At the same time, there are nuances that must be taken into account when constructing a sentence of this tense:

In affirmative sentences from the third person singular, the verb acquires the particle -s.
The particle -s is not used in denials and third person singular questions using the does form.
In an interrogative sentence, the auxiliary verb is used before the subject. If the question is of a special type, an interrogative pronoun is used before them.
If the question is for the subject itself, then Who is used instead of the subject and is applied before the predicate.

The verbs in the Present Simple, the conjugation table of which is given below, are a framework without which it would be impossible to express one's thoughts.

Number	Face	Declarative sentences	Negative sentences	Interrogative sentences
one.	1	I draw.	I do not draw.	Do I draw?
	2	You draw.	You do not draw.	Do you draw?
	3	He draws. She draws. It draws.	He does not draw. She does not draw. It does not draw.	Does he draw? Does she draw? Does it draw?
pl.	1	You draw.	You do not draw.	Do you draw?
	2	We draw.	We do not draw.	Do we draw?
	3	They draw.	They do not draw.	Do they draw?

Marker words

It's one thing to learn how the Present Simple table looks like, and another thing to put into practice the knowledge gained. Sometimes, looking at a sentence, it is not immediately possible to determine to which grammatical tense it belongs. That is why there are words-markers - a kind of indicators of a particular time. They are usually used after a modal/special auxiliary or at the end of a sentence. Marker words for Present Simple: