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The present simple, simple present or present indefinite is one of the verb forms associated with the present tense in modern English. It is commonly referred to as a tense, although it also encodes certain information about aspect in addition to the present time. The present simple is the most commonly used verb form in English, accounting for more than half of verbs in spoken English.
It is called "simple" because its basic form consists of a single word (like write or writes), in contrast with other present tense forms such as the present progressive ( is writing) and present perfect ( has written). For nearly all English verbs, the present simple is identical to the base form (dictionary form) of the verb, except when the subject is third-person singular, in which case the ending -(e)s is added. There are a few verbs with irregular forms, the most notable being the copula be, which has the present simple forms of am, is, and are.
For pronouns he, she, it, a suffix is added following these rules:
For verbs that end in - o, - ch, - sh, - s, - x, or - z, the suffix - es is added.
Examples:
For verbs that end in a consonant + y, the letter y is replaced by the suffix - ies.
Examples:
In other cases, the suffix - s is added.
Examples:
A special situation happens with the verb to have in which the letters ve are omitted before adding s.
Example:
The copula verb be has irregular forms: am (first person singular), is (third person singular), and are (second person singular and all persons plural). The modal verbs ( can, must, etc.) have only a single form, with no addition of - s for the third person singular.
The above refers to the indicative mood of the present simple; for the formation and use of the subjunctive mood, see English subjunctive. (The defective verb beware has no present simple indicative, although it can be used in the subjunctive.)
The conjugation of the present simple is given below, using the verb to write as an example.
| +Present Simple Indicative ! !Singular !Plural | ||
| First Person | I write | We write |
| Second Person | You write | You write |
| Third Person | He/she/it writes | They write |
| +Present Simple Negative ! !Singular !Plural | ||
| First Person | I do not write | We do not write |
| Second Person | You do not write | You do not write |
| Third Person | He/she/it do es not write | They do not write |
Examples:
This contrasts with the present progressive (present continuous), which is used to refer to something taking place at the present moment: I am walking now; He is writing a letter at the moment.
It is also used with in senses that do not use progressive aspect (see ), to refer to a present or general state, whether temporary, permanent or habitual:
The present simple is also used to state facts:
It can similarly be used when quoting someone or something, even if the words were spoken in the past:
It can be used to refer to a single completed action, as in recounting the events of a story in the present tense (see historical present), and in such contexts as newspaper , where it replaces the present perfect:
Present simple is sometimes used to refer to an arranged future event, usually with a reference to time:
It is used when providing a commentary on events as they occur:
Similarly, it is also used when describing events in some theoretical or planned situation that is under consideration:
It is used in many referring to the future, particularly condition clauses, clauses expressing place and time, and many relative clauses (see ):
In certain situations, like in a temporal adverbial clause, present simple is used rather than the present progressive:
In colloquial English, it is common to use can see, can hear for the present tense of see, hear, etc., and have got for the present tense of have (denoting possession). See .
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