Present Simple
The present simple is used to describe actions, events, or states that are habitual, repeated, or generally true. The positive form for regular verbs is really easy. It's just the verb with an extra 's' if the subject is 'he', 'she', or 'it'.
| Positive | Negative | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|
| I eat | I do not eat | I don't eat |
| You walk | You do not walk | You don't walk |
| She, he, it works | She, he, it does not work | She, he, it, doesn't work |
| We fight | We do not fight | We don't fight |
| They laugh | They do not laugh | They don't laugh |
Present simple tense with irregular verbs
Some verbs have spelling changes with 'he', 'she' or 'it'.
Verbs that end in 's', 'sh', 'ch' or 'x' usually add 'e' before 's'.
- watch becomes watches
- pass becomes passes
- crash becomes crashes
Example: She boxes on Friday nights.
Verbs that end in 'y' often change to 'ie' before 's'.
- cry becomes cries
- study becomes studies
- fry becomes fries
- marry becomes marries
- fly becomes flies
Example: He cries a lot.
Be careful! 'y' doesn't change to 'ie' if the ending is 'ay', 'ey', 'oy', 'uy'.
- display becomes displays
- say becomes says
- buy becomes buys
- enjoy becomes enjoys
Example: He buys a lot of clothes.