SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

The simple present tense (the simple present) is used to express habits, general truths, repeated actions or unchanging situations, emotions and wishes :

I smoke (habit); I work in London (unchanging situation); London is a large city (general truth).

USE 1 Repeated Actions

 

 Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens. It can also be something a person often forgets or usually does not do.

Examples:

·      I play tennis.

·      She does not play tennis.

·      Does he play tennis?

·      The train leaves every morning at 8 AM.

·      The train does not leave at 9 AM.

·      When does the train usually leave?

USE 2 . Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true now, and will be true in the future. It is not important if the speaker is correct about the fact. It is also used to make generalizations about people or things.

Examples:

• Birds do not like milk.
• California is in America.
• California is not in the United Kingdom.

USE 3 Scheduled Events in the Near Future

Speakers occasionally use Simple Present to talk about scheduled events in the near future. This is most commonly done when talking about public transportation, but it can be used with other scheduled events as well.

Examples:

·         The train leaves tonight at 6 PM.

·         The bus does not arrive at 11 AM, it arrives at 11 PM.

·         When do we board the plane?

·         The party starts at 8 o'clock.

·         When does class begin tomorrow?

USE 4 Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)

   Speakers sometimes use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is happening or is not happening now. This can only be done with Non-Continuous Verbs and certain Mixed Verbs.

Examples:

• I am here now.
• She is not here now.
• He needs help right now.
• He does not need help now.

Formulas or Patterns

(+) (Time) + S + V1 (s/es)  + O/adv + (Time)

(-) (Time) + S + do/does not + V1 + O/adv + (Time)

(?) Do/Does + S + V1 + O/adv + (Time)

Note : We can put the time at the very beginning or end of the sentence (optional).

Do

Subject: I, You, They and We

(+) (Time) + S + V1  + O/adv + (Time)

Ex : Today I read a book in the library.

       You sing a song on the stage.

       Wayan and Made go to school every day.

       They go to school every day.

       We play football in the field. 

 (-) (Time) + S + do not + V1 + O/adv + (Time)

 Ex : Today I do not read a book in the library

       You do not sing a song on the stage

       Wayan and Made do not go to school every day

       They do not go to school every day.

       We do not play football in the field. 

(?) Do + S + V1 + O/adv + (Time)

Ex : Do you read a book in the library today?

       Do you sing a song on the stage?

       Do Wayan and Made go to school every day?

       Do they go to school every day?

       Do we play football in the field?

Does

Subject : She, He and It

(+) (Time) + S + V1 (s/es) + O/adv + (Time)

Ex : He comes to my house every Saturday night.

       She goes to school every day.

       The sun rises in the east.

       It rises in the east.

(-) (Time) + S + does not + V1 + O/adv + (Time)

Ex : He does not come to my house every Saturday night.

       She does not go to school every day.

       The sun does not rise in the west.   

 

(?) Does + S + V1 + O/adv + (Time)

Ex : Does he come  to my house every Saturday night?

       Does she go to school every day?

       Does the sun rise in the east?

Grammar Rules

1.         To form the simple present tense we add –s to the infinitive of the verb in the third person singular (he, she, it).

Ex : I live   he/she/it lives

       I sing  he/she/it sings

2.         But when the verb ends in :

a)         –o, -ss, -sh, –ch, -x we add –es

Ex :  I go  he/she/it goes

I kiss  he/she/it kisses

I watch  he/she/it watches

I wash  he/she/it washes

I fix  he/she/it fixes

b)        A consonant followed by –y, the –y changes into –i and we add –es

Ex : I study  he/she/it studies

c)        A vowel followed by –y we just add –s

Ex : I play  he/she/it plays

Adverbs

With the simple present tense, we often use adverbs of frequency to say 'how often' we do something. Here's a list of common adverbs of frequency:

·         Always       : selalu atau senantiasa dilakukan atau selalu terjadi

·         Usually       : biasanya dilakukan atau biasanya terjadi

·         Generally   : pada umumnya dilakukan atau pada umumnya terjadi

·         Often               : sering dilakukan atau sering terjadi

·         Seldom       : jarang dilakukan atau jarang terjadi

·         Never         : tidak pernah dilakukan

·         Sometimes : kadang-kadang

We usually put these adverbs in the middle of the sentence, between the subject and the verb:

• I often go to the cinema.
• She sometimes visits me at home.
• We usually drink coffee.
• Mita always goes to school at 6 o'clock.
• I sometimes get up late.
• We never study English on sunday.

We can also put them at the very beginning or end of the sentence. This makes them stronger:

• Often I go to the cinema.
• I go to the cinema often.
• But never:  I go often to the cinema

To say how often something happens, you can use a number or 'several' or 'many', followed by 'times'. ( If the number is one, use 'once' instead of 'one time'. If the number is two use 'twice,' instead of 'two times') Then add 'a' and a period of time:

• I go to the cinema twice a week.
• She takes these tablets three times a day.
• I meet him several times a year.
• I visit my parents once a month.

We can also use 'every' + period of time:

• every morning             = tiap pagi
• every day                    = tiap hari
• every week                  = tiap minggu
• every month                = tiap bulan
• every year                    = tiap tahun

Example :

I go to school every day

We visit my parents every week

Conclusion :

The simple present is used to express habits, general truths, repeated actions or unchanging situations, emotions and wishes.  The formulas of the simple present tense are:

Do/Does

(+) (Time) + S + V1 (s/es) + O/adv + (Time)

(-) (Time) + S + do/does not + V1 + O/adv + (Time)

(?) Do/Does + S + V1 + O/adv + (Time)

We use “do” if the subject : I, You, They, We

We use “does” if the subject: She, He and It. To form the simple present tense we add –s to the infinitive of the verb in the third person singular (he, she, it) and a vowel followed by –y  but when the verb ends in –o, -ss, -sh. –ch, -x, a consonant followed by –y, the –y changes into –i and we add -es. With the simple present tense, we often use adverbs of frequency to say 'how often' we do something. We usually put these adverbs in the middle of the sentence, between the subject and the verb and we can also put them at the very beginning or end of the sentence.