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Simple Present

Simple Present

The simple present, sometimes called the present simple, expresses:

  • feelings I am anxious today.
  • facts My sister has five children.
  • habits I do yoga three times a week.
  • opinions Strawberry ice cream is disgusting!
  • time-based events This class ends at 4:00.


HINT: If you can add "in general" to the sentence, use the simple present

Learn English Tenses: PRESENT SIMPLE

Conjugating Verbs in the Simple Present

Conjugating the positive form is easy for the first- and second-person references such as "I" or "you." Just use the base form of the verb. For third-person references, add an S to the verb. For example:


I eat lunch at noon. (to eat)


You play tennis at noon. (to play)


He walks to school every day. (to walk)


She watches TV in the evening. (to watch*)


It sleeps under the couch. (to sleep)


Who drinks beer at football games? (to drink)


We study English at school. (to study)


They buy lunch at noon. (to buy)


*add “es” to the end of the verb that ends in – –s, -ss, -ch, -tch, -sh, -zz, -x, or -o

to watch => She watches her sister after school.

to mix => He mixes the cake batter then he pours it into the pan.

to go => She goes to school on the bus.

Repeated Actions

Use the simple present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens. It can also be something a person often forgets or usually does not do.

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I often play tennis.

Tennis is his hobby. He loves playing tennis.
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The train leaves every morning at 8 am.

This is a scheduled event. The train arrives at 7:50 every day and leaves at 8:00.
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She always forgets her purse.

This is a habit--a bad habit. She leaves her purse at work, in the car and sometimes in the park on a bench.

Facts and Generalizations

The simple present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future. It is not important if the speaker is correct about the fact. It is also used to make generalizations about people or things.
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Cats like milk.

In general cats like milk. Some cats don't like milk.
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Windows are made of glass.

This is generally true. Windows can also be made of plastic or plexiglass.
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Montreal is a small city.

This is someone's opinion.


It is not important that this fact is untrue.

Scheduled Events in the Near Future

Speakers occasionally use simple present to talk about scheduled events in the near future. This is most commonly done when talking about public transportation, but it can be used with other scheduled events as well.
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The 28 bus arrives at 6:05.

Class finishes at 6:00. We must hurry so we don't miss the 6:05 bus.
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The party starts at 7:00.

It's 6:30, you should leave soon so you're not late!
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Class finishes at 10:30.

Class finishes soon. There are only 15 minutes left!

Spelling Rules for the 3rd Person Singular (he/she/it/who)

Most verbs: Add S to infinitive verbs


Verbs with vowel + y:

  • add S

He stays late to finish his homework. (to stay)

She plays hockey every day during her break. (to play)


Verbs with consonant + vowel + consonant (CVC) +y:

  • change the Y to an I
  • add ES

My mom cries when movies are sad. (to cry)

She tries to speak English in class. (to try)


Verbs ending in –s, -ss, -ch, -tch, -sh, -zz, -x, or -o

  • add ES to the infinitive:

The bee buzzes around the flowers to find nectar and pollen. (to buzz)

Sarah walks to the metro station where she catches the bus. (to catch)

He does the shopping when she goes to work. (to do, to go)

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Anglais pré-collégial © 2023 by Rebecca Peters, Cégep Édouard-Montpetit/Entente Canada-Québec is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/