Present Simple Tense in English Woodward English

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Present Simple Tense

in English
Present Simple Tense in …
Present Simple Tense in

English – Easy English Lesson
I speak English.
“I” is a subject. In general, a person.
“Speak” is a verb. In general, an action.
You can change the subject. For example:
You speak English

We speak English
They speak English
BUT, sometimes the verb changes. We say:
I speak …
You speak …
We speak …
They speak …
BUT, For He / She / It we use SPEAKS with an S at

the end.
The S is necessary at the end of a verb when the
subject is HE, SHE, or IT.
He speaks…
She speaks…
It speaks…
Look at these examples:
I speak Spanish.
You speak Portuguese.
But…
He speaks Italian.
The S is necessary at the end of the verb.

You cannot say:
He speak Italian …. (No, this is NOT correct)
We need an S at the end of the verb. We say:
He speaks Italian. (This is correct)
Another example:
She speaks four languages.
English is a language, Spanish is a language,

Portuguese is a language, Italian is a language.
She speaks four languages.
Again, the S is necessary at the end of speak.
Let’s look at another verb. We say:
I live …
You live …
We live …
They live …
BUT, for He / She / It we use LIVES with an S at

the end.
The S is necessary at the end of a verb when the
subject is HE, SHE, or IT.
He lives …
She lives …
It lives …
I live in a small apartment.

He lives in a big house.
LIVES with an S at the end because HE lives.

Now look at this sentence:
Mary lives in Paris.
Why do we use LIVES?

Because Mary is SHE.
SHE lives in Paris.
One more example:
We live in … New Zealand.
ENGLISH
GRAMMAR PRESENTSIMPLETENSE Woodward ENGLISH
+Affirmative
SUBJECT VERB
/you/we/they+ speak
he/she/it + speaks
Thirdpersonverbsneedthefinal"s"inaffirmativesentences.
IspeakSpanish. HespeaksItalian.
YouspeakPortuguese. ShespeaksFrench.
VERB
@WoodwardEducation
SUBJECT
1/you/we/they+ live
he/she/it + lives
Thirdpersonverbsneedthefinal"s"inaffirmativesentences.
liveinanapartment. MarylivesinParis.
Helivesinabighouse. 2WeliveinItaly.
www.grammar.cl www.woodwardenglish.com www.vocabulary.c.
Sometimes the verb changes a little for HE, SHE

and IT (third person).
Look at this verb: HAVE
We say:
I have …
You have …
We have …
They have …
BUT, for He / She / It we use HAS.

We do NOT say Haves… because the verb is
irregular.
I have a good idea.

You have black hair.
She has a dictionary.
John has blue eyes.
We will learn more about these types of third

person changes in another lesson.
Negative Sentences – Present

Simple Tense
Look at this sentence:
They speak English.
This is an a"rmative sentence.

How can I make this a NEGATIVE sentence?
In English, we use don’t and doesn’t to make a

negative sentence in present simple tense.*
They speak English. … becomes …

They don’t speak English.
Don’t shows that the sentence is negative.
We don’t say:
They no speak English. (No, this is NOT correct)
We say:
They don’t speak English. (Yes, this is CORRECT)
Note: We use don’t and doesn’t to make a

negative sentence in the present simple tense.
* Exceptions: Negative sentences that use To Be or
Modal Verbs (can, might, must, etc.)
What is the di!erence between DON’T and

DOESN’T?
Look at this chart:
When the subject is I, YOU, WE or THEY … we use

don’t before the verb.
When the subject is HE, SHE or IT … we use
doesn’t before the verb.
DON’T is a contraction of DO NOT.
DOESN’T is a contraction of DOES NOT.
After don’t and doesn’t we have a VERB.

This verb is the base form of the infinitive.
The infinitive is the original form of the verb
before it is conjugated or changed.
The infinitive is to go, to need, to speak, to live.
But we want the BASE form of the infinitive… this
is without the TO at the beginning.
Instead of TO GO, only GO.

instead of TO NEED, only NEED.
Instead of TO SPEAK, only SPEAK.
Instead of TO LIVE, only LIVE.
Let’s look at the example of the verb SPEAK. We

say:
I don’t speak …
You don’t speak …
We don’t speak …
They don’t speak …
For example, the a"rmative:
I speak Spanish.
What is the negative form?

The negative is:
I don’t speak Spanish.
Another example: The a"rmative:
We speak Italian.
What is the negative form?

The negative is:
We don’t speak Italian.
BUT, look at this a"rmative sentence:
He speaks Spanish.
What is the negative form of this sentence?
He doesn’t speak Spanish.
There is NO S at the end of ‘speak’ in the negative

sentence. Why?
We use the base form of the infinitive. The

infinitive is TO SPEAK, we just want the base form,
which is SPEAK.
Third person verbs lose the final S in negative
sentences.
I don’t speak …
He doesn’t speak …
The verb in negative form will always be SPEAK

without an S.
Let’s look at another example:
She speaks Italian.
She doesn’t speak Italian.
Again, there is NO S at the end of ‘speak’ in the

negative sentence.
Let’s look at another verb: NEED.

The a"rmative sentence is:
I need help.
I don’t need help.
And this a"rmative sentence:
He needs help.
We need the S at the end for the third person in

a"rmative sentences.
He doesn’t need help.
Again, no S at the end of the verb because it is a

negative sentence.
Let’s look at another verb: LIKE.

The a"rmative sentence is:
I like football.
I don’t like football.
And this a"rmative sentence:
He likes football.
We need the S at the end for the third person in

a"rmative sentences.
He doesn’t like football.
Again, no S at the end of the verb because it is a

negative sentence.
Questions – Present Simple

Tense
Look at this sentence.
You speak English.
This is an a"rmative sentence. What is the

question?
DO you speak English?
In English, we use DO and DOES to make

questions in present simple tense.*
* Exceptions: Questions that have To Be or Modal

Verbs (can, might, must, etc.)
You speak English. (A"rmative sentence)

Do you speak English? (Question)
The word DO at the beginning tells us it is a

question.
Look at the chart:
Do is used for questions with I, you, we, and they.

Does is used for questions with he, she, and it.
Also the same rules apply to the verb in questions.

We use the base form of the infinitive.
For example, the a"rmative sentence:
He speaks German.
There is an S at the end of speaks because the

subject is HE and it is an a"rmative sentence.
What is the question?
Does he speak German?
No S at the end of speak because we need to base

form of the infinitive.
Another example:
You live in Spain.
This is an a"rmative sentence.

How can we change this to a question?
Do you live in Spain?
The DO tells us it is a question.
Another a"rmative sentence:
He lives in Mexico.
Notice the S at the end of lives because the subject

is HE and it is an a"rmative sentence.
How can we change this to a question?
Does he live in Mexico?
No S at the end of live because we need to base

form of the infinitive.
Present Simple Tense –

Summary Chart
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Present Simple Tense useful.
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Lesson tags: A!rmative sentences, Do, Does, Doesn't, Don't,

Present Tense
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Present Simple Tense
 Present Simple Tense in English
 Day + Part of the Day
 ON + Day + Part of the Day
 Don't and Doesn't in English - Simple

Present Tense - Negative Sentences
 Like - likes - don't like - doesn't like
 Like + Verb-ING - Like + Infinitive -

Enjoy + Verb-ING
 Daily Routines in English
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U a

Present Simple Tense

Present Simple Tense in …

Present Simple Tense in

“I” is a subject. In general, a person.

“Speak” is a verb. In general, an action.

You can change the subject. For example:

You speak English

BUT, sometimes the verb changes. We say:

BUT, For He / She / It we use SPEAKS with an S at

Look at these examples:

The S is necessary at the end of the verb.

He speak Italian …. (No, this is NOT correct)

We need an S at the end of the verb. We say:

He speaks Italian. (This is correct)

She speaks four languages.

English is a language, Spanish is a language,

She speaks four languages.

Again, the S is necessary at the end of speak.

Let’s look at another verb. We say:

BUT, for He / She / It we use LIVES with an S at

Look at these examples:

I live in a small apartment.

LIVES with an S at the end because HE lives.

Mary lives in Paris.

Why do we use LIVES?

SHE lives in Paris.

One more example:

We live in … New Zealand.

Sometimes the verb changes a little for HE, SHE

BUT, for He / She / It we use HAS.

I have a good idea.

We will learn more about these types of third

Negative Sentences – Present

They speak English.

This is an a"rmative sentence.

In English, we use don’t and doesn’t to make a

They speak English. … becomes …

Don’t shows that the sentence is negative.

They no speak English. (No, this is NOT correct)

They don’t speak English. (Yes, this is CORRECT)

Note: We use don’t and doesn’t to make a

What is the di!erence between DON’T and

Look at this chart:

When the subject is I, YOU, WE or THEY … we use

After don’t and doesn’t we have a VERB.

Instead of TO GO, only GO.

Let’s look at the example of the verb SPEAK. We

For example, the a"rmative:

What is the negative form?

I don’t speak Spanish.

Another example: The a"rmative:

What is the negative form?

We don’t speak Italian.

BUT, look at this a"rmative sentence:

What is the negative form of this sentence?

He doesn’t speak Spanish.

There is NO S at the end of ‘speak’ in the negative

We use the base form of the infinitive. The

The verb in negative form will always be SPEAK