Home » Verb Forms and Tenses » The Present Tenses » The Present Simple » How to Form the Present Simple
The form of the present simple is shown in the tables below.
I/You/We/They
The form of the present simple is the same for: I, You, We and They. We use the bare infinitive.
For example: to eat – They eat
We form questions, short answers and negative sentences with ‘do’.
Do not is contracted to don’t.
Yes/No Question | Do you/they/we like tennis? |
Short Answers | Yes, I/you/they/we do. No, I/you/they/we don’t . |
Question word question | Where do you/they/we live? |
Positive Sentence | I/you/they/we live in London. |
Negative Sentence | I/you/they/we don’t live in London. |
He/She/It
The form of the present simple is the same for: He/She/It.
We use he for men, she for women and it for things and animals.
We form questions, short answers and negative sentences with ‘does’.
In positive sentences, we add –s or –es to the verb.
Does not is contracted to doesn’t.
Yes/No Question | Does he/she/it like tennis? |
Short Answers | Yes, he/she/it does. No, he/she/it doesn’t. |
Question word question | Where does he/she/it live? |
Positive Sentence | He/she/it lives in London. |
Negative Sentence | He/she/it doesn’t live in London. |
Adding –s/-es
To form positive sentences with he, she or it in the present simple, we add –s or –es.
In most cases we add –s to the verb.
The table below shows when to add –es.
Verbs which end in –ch | Watches, catches |
Verbs which end in –sh | Wishes, washes |
Verbs which in –x | Fixes, boxes |
Verbs which end in –s | Misses, kisses |
Verbs which end in –o | Goes |
Pronunciation of -es
We usually pronounce the –es ending /iz/ with:
Verbs which end in –ch | Watches, catches |
Verbs which end in –sh | Wishes, washes |
Verbs which in –x | Fixes, boxes |
Verbs which end in –s | Misses, kisses |
Verbs which end in an –s or –z sound | Promises, advises |
We do not pronounce the –es ending /iz/ with verbs that end in -o
Verbs which end in –o | Goes |
We do not use ‘do’ or ‘does’ to form the present simple with be.
The form of the present simple with be is shown in the tables below.
I
The ‘I’ form of the present simple with be is: am.
Am not is contracted to I’m not
Yes/No Question | Am I here? |
Short Answers | Yes, I am. No, I’m not. |
Question word question | Where am I? |
Positive Sentence | I’m here. |
Negative Sentence | I’m not here. |
You/We/They
The form of the present simple with be is the same for: You/We/They.
The form is: are (not).
Are not is contracted to aren’t.
Yes/No Question | Are /You/they/we here? |
Short Answers | Yes, You/they/we are. No, You/they/we aren’t . |
Question word question | Where are You/We/They? |
Positive Sentence | You/they/we’re here. |
Negative Sentence | You/they/we aren’t here. |
He/She/It
The form of the present simple with be is the same for: He/She/It.
We use he for men, she for women and it for things and animals.
The form is: is.
Is not is contracted to isn’t or ‘s not.
Yes/No Question | Is he/she/it here? |
Short Answers | Yes, he/she/it is. No, he/she/it isn’t. |
Question word question | Where is he? |
Positive Sentence | He/she/it’s here. |
Negative Sentence | He/she/it isn’t here. |
Click on the links below to learn more about the Present Tenses
The Present Perfect Continuous
The Present Perfect Simple vs. The Present Perfect Continuous