The Simple Present

1. Formation

The present simple has the form of the infinitive. But in the 3rd person singular only, we add -s. Negative statementsand questionsare formed with do/does.

I write. She writes.

I don’t write. She doesn’t write.

Do I write? Does she write?

2. Use

We use the present simple to say that something happens repeatedly, regularly, normally, often, always or never. It often occurs with phrases of time such as always, never, often, sometimes, and usually, as well as every summer, on Fridays, after midnight, etc.

She often goes to bed after midnight.

The present simple is used to talk about something permanent which is not limited to a particular time.

Most young people like trendy clothes.

The present simple is used to talk about texts, e.g. novels, short stories, newspaper articles, films or plays.

The novel describes life in an Irish village.

We use the present simple to describe a series of action, e.g. when giving information or instructions.

“How do I get to the station?”

“First you go along Victoria Street, then you turn left …”

We use the present simple to say that a future event is a fixed part of a timetable,
a programme of events, a schedule or suchlike (the “timetable future”). Verbs
such as arrive, open, close, startor stopare often used this way.

The next train from Dublin arrives at 10.13.

Present tense habitual activities are frequently signaled by time expressions such as the following: