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:
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
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
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 ?
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 ?
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’.
- There are also few verbs which are irregular in the present simple:
- ‘have’ becomes ‘has’
- ‘do’ becomes ‘does’
- ‘go’ becomes ‘goes’
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
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 ?
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 ?
Seguro que ahora tienes un poco más claro, cómo se construye el presente simple. Pero si te ha quedado alguna duda o necesitas un título oficial que acredite tus conocimientos de Inglés, puedes acudir a cualquier centro Walton Palmer y estaremos encantados de ayudarte.
