The Present Simple Tense

 Uses of the present simple tense:

1. to express your habits
1. They watch TV every night.
2. I get up at 7 o'clock.
3. I have my breakfast at 8 o'clock.
2. to express your routines / repeated actions or activities
1. They fly to Japan every summer holiday.
2. It rains every morning in the winter.
3. I always go to school by bus.
4. He never forgets to do his homework.
5. I drive to Siem Reap once a year.
3. to express general truths or facts
1. Water boils at 100 degree Celsius.
2. The sun rises from the east and sets at the west. 
3. Water freezes at 0 decree Celsius.
4. Money doesn't guarantee happiness.
5. It is the biggest house in the village.
4. to express scheduled future activities or events. The verbs which are generally used in this situation are: arrive, be, begin, close, depart, end, finish, fly, leave, open, start, get, go, have, return.
   
1. I fly to New York tomorrow.
2. The bank opens at 9.00 and closes at 4.00.
3. The train to Sihanouk Ville leaves at 10 AM. 
4. The meeting starts at 3 AM.
5. What time does the train leave?
5. to be used after conjunctions of time (as, before, until, when, while, as soon as, after, since, once) to express future happenings.
1. I'm not going to sign this contract until it is signed by the other party first.
2. Look both ways when you cross the street.
3. I always brush my teeth before I go to bed.
4. We will go as soon as the rain stops.
6. to give instructions, directions, and orders (imperatives)
1. Don't go there alone.
2. Brush your teeth before you go to bed.
3. Stay here.
4. Shut up.
5. First, open the box. Then, take it out...
7. to be used in the news headline. The events finished, but to attract readers' attention of the events, the present simple is used in the active voice.
1. Trump wins presidential election.
2. Japan agrees aid for port expansion
3. Minister aims to boost farming through partnerships.

Forms of the present simple tense

The Positive Form

We notice that all the third person singular subjects (he/she/it/singular subject) have suffixes -s and -es at the end of each main verb. Note below on how to add suffixes to the third person singular:
1. We add -s to most verbs:

• talk - talks
• sing - sings
• leave - leaves
• swim - swims
• ring - rings

2. With verbs ending in -s, -ss, -ch, -sh, -o, -x, and -z we add -es to the verb.

• teach - teaches
• box - boxes
• fix - fixes
• kiss - kisses
• wish - wishes
• go - goes
• do - does

3. With verbs ending in "consonant + y", we change the -y to -i and add -es.

• cry - cries
• carry - carries
• deny - denies
• fly - flies
• hurry - hurries
• reply - replies
• study - studies
• worry - worries

But we do not follow the above rule if the form is "vowel + y":

• stay - stays
• play - plays
• betray - betrays
• decay - decays

The Negative Form

In negative form, the main verb does not take -s or -es, but the auxiliary verb "do/does" + "not" is placed before the main verb.

The Question Form

Yes/No Questions

The auxiliary verb do/does is placed before the subject while the main verb is in the base form of the verb in the question form. 

In order to answer a yes'/no question, only the subject and the auxiliary verb are used.

• Yes, I/we/you/they do. / Yes, he/she/it does.
• No, I/we/you/they don't. / No, he/she/it doesn't. (not "do not" or "does not")