Usage of Present Simple in English

Present Simple Tense is a tense that points at the actions which happen regularly but with a definite frequency. This is the first tense which foreigners learn and which should be “simple” in many cases but it causes difficulties for most people and students. However, we share the most useful information and hacks to help you handle it. Furthermore, our best writers can help you to do any type of paperwork and check grammar, spelling or punctuation.

How Present Simple is formed

1. Statement

To form the Present Simple we need to use the verb without the particle to and put it after the subject. Luckily, in Pr. Simple there is no need in the auxiliary verb to form the tense.

I do …. We think….

You like…. They drink…..

He, she, it goes….

It should be noted that the third person always adds to the verb ending es. This are usually verbs which end in –o, -y, -s, -sh, -ch, -tch, -x, -z.

He likes….
She wants…..
It goes…..

It also has to be mentioned that the verbs with –y ending have variants of ending in Present Simple. If the verb ends in consonant + y then –y is changed into –i.

She tries….
He denies…..

If the verb ends in vowel + y then there is no change needed.

She buys….
He plays….

The pronunciation of the endings –s and –es sound differently:

[z] – after vowels and voiced consonants (has, does, lives);

[s] – after voiceless consonants (likes, works, speaks);

[iz] – after sh, ch and s (watches, finishes, teaches).

Foreign students should know how to form statements in Present Indefinite. For example, imagine you want to enter some university abroad and the first thing you have to do is to write an application. It is some kind of resume that describes you as a person, your skills and knowledge. You should be aware not only what to mention in admission essay but how to write it literate. If you fail to craft this type of paperwork, our qualified writers will help with writing a good one resume.

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2. Negation

To form a negative sentence we need to use an auxiliary verb do or does + not. The only thing we should pay attention to is the third person.

I do + not want….. We do + not try…..

You do + not like….. They do + not make ….

He, she, it does + not need….

Do + not = don’t;

Does + not = doesn’t;

Consider the fact that the third person singular does not use the verb with the ending –es anymore. It happens so because we combine ending -es with an auxiliary verb do: do + es = does.

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3. Interrogative Question

The question in Present Indefinite Tense is formed with the help of the auxiliary verbs do or does. We start our question with do or does and then use the subject with the verb: do/does + the subject + the verb.

Do I like…? Do we try …..?

Do you feel…? Do they go……?

Does he, she, it need….?

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4. The verb to be in Present Simple

The verb to be plays a great role in forming all of the tenses and has some peculiarities which everyone should remember. This is the one and only verb which differs according to the person and number.

I am a teacher.
You are a doctor.
He is an architect.
She is a model.
It is beautiful.
We are best friends.
They are travelers.

5. The verb to have in Present Simple

Here you need to pay attention to the third person.

I have….. We have…..

You have…. They have…..

He, she, it has…..

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The Usage of Pr. Simple

Considering all the pros and cons in essay writing, this type of activity helps students to improve all the skills they have. However, to make grammar skills perfect it is not enough to know the elementary principles of sentences’ structure which we can help you to build. The following cases of usage Present Indefinite show the full spectrum of the tense.

1. We use Pr. Simple when we talk about everyday routine, the actions that repeat. The most common words that are used to reflect it:

always; - I always drink tea in the morning.
often; - She often visits that shop at the Garden Street.
usually; - We usually go to the cinema together.
sometimes; - You sometimes look upset.
every day, week, month, year; - He plays football every week.

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2. Present Simple is used when we speak about nature, well-known statements, and scientific facts:

The Earth is round.
The sun produces the major source of energy on the planet.
A hummingbird flies backward.

3. If we name actions that follow one another, for example, a recipe or a definite instruction:

Add salt and pepper. Add one egg. Mix the ingredients.
Choose settings. Connect the network.

4. Present Simple is used in the schedules of the buses, airplanes, lessons, etc:

The lecture begins at 10 a.m.
The ship leaves at 2.00 p.m.

5. Present Simple is used forming Zero Conditional and First Conditional Tenses:

Zero Conditional reflects the action which is a well-known fact: If + condition (Pr. Simple) + result (Pr. Simple).

If you leave the ice-cream out of the freezer, it melts.

First Conditional is responsible for an action that is going to happen according to a certain condition: If + Pr. Simple + Future Simple.

If you do the homework, you will be allowed to play in the yard.

6. Present Simple is used in subordinate clauses after conjunction when, until or as soon as.

When you see him, you will say hi to him.
She will be here until he comes back.
As soon as I receive the money, I will send you some.

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7. It is widely used in the announcements, newspapers, and magazines.

The committee admits the failure of the meeting.
The main character leaves the motherland in a search of a brighter future.

8. Moreover, Present Simple can be used when we talk about the events that already have happened in the past but we want to make our listeners feel the reality of the situation.

She wakes up, goes downstairs and sees how they try to steal the painting.

9. Imperative Mood. It is used to express an order, request, instructions, etc with the help of Pr. Simple. However, the verb is used without particle to: Close the window! Turn on the radio! Do not scream!

10. Pr. Simple is used with the words which are not used in Pr. Continuous: to see, to hear, to know, to feel, to love, to like, to hate.

I see how beautiful you are.
I hear it every time he visits me.
I do not like when people gossip about people they don’t know.
I know that he’s going to spend the summer in Madrid.

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Any of the described cases are important to be familiar with and differentiate same as the arguments for your essay otherwise, the sentences will lack in logic.

How to Learn Present Simple If You Are a Beginner

The first thing you should do is to look through the rules and the formation of the Present Indefinite. Then stick to the daily routines. Try to talk about what you do in the morning or evening, write down the schedule or strategy for essay writing. It helps as for all the previous actions we use only Present Simple.
Discussing what you like to do, your hobby is another way to learn Pr. Simple.
Try to use everything that surrounds you. Give a description of each thing in the room. For example, I see the picture on the wall. It hangs on the wall in front of the window. The picture represents chamomiles in the field.
Play a game do and don’t. It can be connected what you like and do not like or what you usually do and don’t do.

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Common Mistakes Using Present Simple

1. Students usually ignore ending –s for the third person singular. They are especially confused when none of the pronouns like he, she, it is present in the sentence but the name of some object.

Jake’s health depends on eating healthy food and physical exercises.
Love makes people happy.

2. There’s also a misunderstanding of usage Present Simple and Present Continuous. Students very often tend to use Pr. Simple instead of Continues Tense to mean the happening action at the moment.

She jumps so high.
She is jumping so high.

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3. Students regularly use will for a future action after if, as soon as, when, before.

If he comes earlier, we will be there in time.
When she calls me, I will tell her to return the book.

Students tend to make English preposition mistakes because do not know all the cases of their usage.

4. Talking about well-known facts, students choose to use Continuous instead of Simple Indefinite.

Earth rotates around its axes and eastward.

5. Students do not remember that the words that express feelings, senses or emotions we use in Present Simple.

I feel bad today and want to sleep.
He loves you with all his heart.

Such mistakes seem to be simple to know the rules and avoid them, but these mistakes are the most frequent in the writing. Whenever you feel to fail paperwork, you always can order concise essay.

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Those who are still in the dark how to learn Present Indefinite or any other tense, or English on the whole, should not worry. If you also cannot decide on grammar schools pros and cons and tend to learn English by yourself should pay attention to a few tips on how to do it better.

Method 1: Refresh the vocabulary

Refresh the vocabulary by thinking over or describing the topic that you are going to learn. For example, if this is a topic about summer or holidays, think about how you spend your summer holidays, describe what you did, saw, everything you can recall. This simple exercise will help to revive the words that you already know and can use for the topic.

Method 2: Refresh grammar knowledge

Recall the main rules and cases of tenses’ usage you need to use. For example, if you study the past tense, try to describe in English what you did yesterday or last weekend. Recalling any tense you know is good for learning the next tense and grammar cases because it gets more difficult than before.

Method 3: Learn and sing English songs

Whether you are going to do any exercise in English or not, you should listen to English songs. Select a song that you like and understand. Nowadays, it is easier than ever before as on the Internet you may find lyrics to the song. It helps to be accustomed to the English language, the native speaker’s accent, and pronunciation. English songs are a source to enrich your vocabulary.

Method 4: Try to write something in English

You can try to write a small text in English on your computer or notebook. Feel free and write about your feelings, daily routines, hobby, etc. It is a well-known fact that that writing by hand activates physical memory. That is why it is recommended to write down new words, rules or anything that seems to you unclear.

Method 5: Make a report

Always try to describe what you see, hear or feel. When you describe a certain item you recall the words that are connected with it and definite sphere of our life. For example, describing the picture, you learn colors and phrases that refer to the art.

Method 6: Find cognates

Cognates are English words that have similar words which sound alike in other languages. It is easy to remember them if to connect such word with the word from your language.

Method 7: Read as much as it possible

This is the simplest and common way to learn English. It helps to enrich the vocabulary, learn grammar tenses and even learn slang. There are a lot of interesting books in English. If you find a book difficult to read, then start with the literature for children or magazines and newspapers. Perfect grammar with books is more real than you think.

Method 8: Watch movies

Learning English can be entertaining and fun if you watch your favorite movies in English. You listen how characters talk to each other, their pronunciation and accent. It can be difficult for the first time, but there are movies with subtitles.

Method 9: Find a pen pal

Internet’s resources are endless. There are dozens of free online chats where you can talk to people all over the world and practice English.

Method 10: Learn English systematically

You should have a system of learning English. If you learn new words or topic and continue learning it on the fifth day, then do not wait for any result. Make yourself to do something every day. It can be at least 15-20 minutes but it makes studying useful.

Method 11: Learn About USA and UK

Learning English means that you learn not only language but also learn the culture of countries where people speak English. Read about each of the countries; find out their traditions, interesting sights. For example, it can be especially fascinating to learn facts about national grammar day.

Method 12: Cards

A wonderful way to learn new phrases and keep them in mind is to make cards. Just visit stationers and buy sticking notes. Write down the phrases and words on one side and their meaning on the other side. You can also write down examples of using these phrases. Whenever you are free, look through the cards and you see how fast you will learn them. If you do not want to bother yourself with the cards, there are online apps for smartphones where you may learn new words playing games. Moreover, every online dictionary provides the word of the day, so you learn something new every single day.

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Method 13: Use Mnemonics

Mechanical learning is not enough to study English. Despite the fact that numerous repetitions can literally burn out a word in your memory, you still can forget it. In addition, there are words that do not want to be remembered, despite any regular repetition. For such type of the words, you can use mnemonics - the art of remembering. You should create some funny story about the certain word and with the help of associations, you easily learn it.

What You Should Not Do While Improving English

1. People often listen to music, some audio books or dialogues to understand English better. However, a person always tries to concentrate attention on the unknown word and does not hear anything else, does not try to grasp the main idea. You simply cannot learn the whole English dictionary. The person may talk to you but there’s a word you do not know. In this case, you can easily understand what person means as you know all of the rest words.

2. The main goal of learning is to speak English free. However, if you tend to fix every grammar mistake you make in each sentence that would be hard to achieve. It is better to make a lot of mistakes, rather than to be afraid to say a word in English. You should not use only well-known grammar constructions as you always can work on the mistakes you make later.

3. Do not think that if you spend all day long learning English once a week, it helps you to know it well enough. Teachers recommend spend less time but study more frequently. Everyone has to study, work and do own duties. Nevertheless, you still can spend at least 15 minutes to watch some video, read an extract from the book or do one exercise in English.

4. Learning English can be an interesting occupation. It is not only looking for stylistic devices, discussing the system of education in Britain or what is thesis revision online. Unfortunately, a lot of books provide the material which is not interesting for young generation and other people. Luckily, you can use the Internet to find what you really like to read about. It is not just about language but useful information that teaches us something new.

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The last advice for you – do not ever lose your heart. At the beginning of learning English, it seems that the goal you try to reach is difficult and you do not even notice any of chops and changes. After all, our mind always resists hard work. Go forward and do not give up. Study new topics systematically and consistently, and you will definitely achieve your goal. As for the Present Indefinite Tense, it is not that hard to learn and remember the rules of its usage to succeed in writing a good essay, report, resume or whatever you need. For those who cannot overcome any difficulties in such a challenge should ask for our writing services and get a qualified help.

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