SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

PRESENT TENSE
• Function
1. To express daily activities/habits
e.g. I take an English course every
Monday.
She usually goes to school by bus
2. To express general statements/facts
e.g. The earth goes round the sun
Cats catch mice
• Pattern
(+) S + V1 (-s/-ss)
e.g. She works every day
I take a bus to go to school
(-) S + do/does + not + V1
e.g. She does not work every day
I do not take a bus to go to school
(?) Do/Does + S + V1 ?
e.g. Does she work every day?
Do I take a bus to go to school?
• Spelling final –s vs-ss
We add –s/-es to the verbs if the subjects are
the third singular person (it, she, he).

• Rules
1. –s is added to most verbs
e.g. visit visits
answer answers
2. –s is added if the verb ends in –e
e.g. write writes
see sees
hope hopes
3. –es is added if the verb ends in –ch, -sh, -s, -x or
–z
e.g. catch catches
wash washes
piss pisses
4. –es is added in ‘go’ and ‘do’
e.g. she goes to school
she does the homework
5. If the verbs ends in consonant +y, change –y into
–i and add –es
e.g. study studies
cry cries
6. If the verb ends in vowel +y, add –s into the verb
e.g. pray prays
pay pays