English grammar: Present simple

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present simple

Affirmative
I play
You play
He/she/it plays
We play
You play (plural)
They play

Negative
I do not play
You do not play
He/she/it does not play
We do not play
You do not play
They do not play

Question
Do I play?
Do you play?
Does he/she/it play?
Do we play?
Do you play?
Do they play?

We use the present simple to talk about permanent situations.
She doesn't speak English.
Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.

We use the present simple to talk about things that happen repeatedly.
I go to school every day.
Jack sometimes plays tennis.

We use the present simple to ask for and give instructions.
How do I get to the bathroom?
You go up the stairs and turn right.

We use the present simple in narrative (to tell stories).
At the start of the film, a big spaceship comes to Earth and lands in LA. Then the aliens eat all the people.

We use the present simple to talk about future scheduled events.
The meeting starts at 10am.
The train leaves at 7.32pm.

We use the present simple in certain introductory expressions.
I hear you went on holiday to Spain this summer.
I gather you're leaving the company.

We use the present simple to "do" things by using some special verbs (for example: promise, advise, suggest, apologise, insist, agree, swear).
I promise I'll never do it again
I advise you to think carefully before you do that

Third person singular spelling
Most verbs: add s
play - plays
sleep - sleeps

Verbs which end in consonant + y change -y to -ies.
hurry - hurries
reply - replies

Verbs which end in s, z, ch, sh or x: add es.
push - pushes
watch - watches

Exceptions
do - does
go - goes
have - has

See also  Present continuous  |  Present perfect
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