Present Simple
Level A1 · Tenses
Use the present simple for habits, routines, and facts that are generally true. Form: I/you/we/they + base verb; he/she/it + verb-s.
Spelling of the -s form:
- most verbs just add -s (play → plays)
- verbs ending in -ch, -sh, -ss, -x or -o add -es (watch → watches, go → goes, do → does)
- a consonant + y changes to -ies (study → studies), but a vowel + y stays the same (play → plays, not playies)
- the one true irregular is have → has, not haves
Negatives use don't/doesn't + base verb, and questions use Do/Does + subject + base verb.
The most common mistake is forgetting -s with he/she/it — he live in Paris is wrong, it must be he lives in Paris. This slips even for speakers whose own language conjugates verbs fully for every person, because English does the opposite: it leaves I/you/we/they completely unmarked and only marks the 3rd person singular. That one -s is easy to forget precisely because it's the exception, not the rule.
Do and does are also easy to misuse: they carry no meaning of their own and only appear in negatives and questions, so the main verb stays in its base form after them — she doesn't play tennis, not she doesn't plays.
Typical time words: always, usually, often, every day, on Mondays.