The simple present is a basic verb tense in English. It is the most common. Read the lesson below to learn more. 
You can find the exercises at the bottom of the page.
Simple Present Structure
The simple present uses base verbs. Here is the structure:
Subject + Base Verb + Object
Here are some examples:
- I like pizza.
- You have a brother.
- He lives in Brazil.
- She lives in Toronto.
- We have a dog.
- They go to school.
For “he”, “she”, and “it” use the third-person verb. This is the same as the base verb, but it has an “s” on the end:
1. Base Verb ——– play, live, run
2. 3rd Person Verb ——– plays, lives, runs
Here are all the pronouns with conjugations of some common verbs:
| I | play | live | want | like |
| You | play | live | want | like |
| He | plays | lives | wants | likes |
| She | plays | lives | wants | likes |
| It | plays | lives | wants | likes |
| We | play | live | want | like |
| They | play | live | want | like |
You can see the third person verbs have an “s” on the end. Here are some more example sentences:
- I have a brother.
- She has a brother.
- You like hockey.
- She likes hockey.
- We live in London.
- Peter lives in London.
Negative Simple Present Sentences
Negative sentences use “do not”, “does not”, or “be + not”.
Do Not/Does Not
Subject + do/does +not + base verb
Examples:
- I do not like pizza.
- She does not play baseball.
After “do not” or “does not”, the verb is always in the base form.
- He likes soccer.
- He does not like soccer.
- She studies English.
- She does not study English.
Be + Not
Subject + am/is/are +not + noun/adjective.
Negative sentences can also use the verb to be and not. They look like these examples:
- I am not a doctor.
- She is not hungry.
- They are not from Africa.
Use do with verbs and be with nouns or adjectives.
- I do not like baseball.
- I am not a baseball player.
- She does not have a sister.
- She is not married.
- They do not want tea.
- They are not tall.
Simple Present Questions
To learn how to form questions in the simple present, click here:
Simple Present Questions Lesson
More Simple Present
Are you ready to practice the simple present? Try these simple present tests:
Simple Present Test 1
Simple Present Test 2
Simple Present Questions Test
Simple Present Exercise
- 50 questions reviewing all simple present topics
Here is a reading test you can use to practice your reading comprehension.
Simple Present Reading Test
This song by Coldplay helps you practice your listening skills and the simple present verb tense:
Simple Present Listening Exercise