Simple present tense overview
The simple present tense is used to talk about our everyday activities – things that we do regularly or at specific intervals. Before you start learning this tense form, think about things you do every day.
When do you get up in the morning?
I get up at 5 o’ clock in the morning.
When do you have breakfast?
I have breakfast at 8 am.
When do you go to office?
I go to office at 9 am.
What do you do?
I fix cars.
Where do you live?
I live in Kerala.
When do you have lunch?
I have lunch at one o’clock.
When do you go to bed?
I go to bed / sleep at ten o’clock.
Once you are comfortable talking about your own daily activities, you can start talking about other people’s routines. There is an important point to consider. In the simple present tense, when the subject is a singular noun (e.g. Rahul, Maya, pen, tree, dog, boy etc) or a third person singular pronoun (he, she, it), the verb takes the marker –s.
- Reveeena gets up at five o’clock. (NOT Raveeena get up at five o’clock.)
- Rani works at a bank. (NOT Rani work at a bank.)
- He earns a six figure salary. (NOT He earn a six figure salary.)
The verb does not take the marker -s when the subject is a plural noun (e.g. books, pens, trees, dogs, boys etc.) or pronoun (they, we, you).
The first person pronoun ‘I’ also doesn’t take the marker –s.
- I run a store. (NOT I runs a website.)
- You sing well. (NOT You sings well.)
- They work at an insurance company. (NOT They works at an insurance company.)
