The Simple Present Tense


Welcome to the ESL HELP! Desk, where all activities and exercises are authentic English, from learners of English.

In today's lesson we continue our unit on verbs.  We begin discussing verb tenses, and we begin with the simple present tense.

The simple present tense is usually the first verb tense that people learn.  We see it in such common sentences as, "What's your name?" and "How old are you?" and "Where do you live?"

When Do We Use the Simple Present Tense?

 

There are a number of times when we use the simple present tense. We shall discuss each one and then give you some examples from our students' writing.

1) for a be verb that is in the present time reference.


  • Mt. Merendon is the highest mountain in Honduras, at 2,452 meters above sea level.

  • Both female characters in this book are very realistic.

  • I am hungry.

...for an action verb that describes a timeless or permanent action or condition.

  • Trees provide us with fresh air.

  • Mexico stretches north-south from the United States to Guatemala and west-east from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

...for an action verb that describes an action that occurs regularly or habitually.

  • Many people benefit from technology.

  • Now the moon is on the other side of the Earth, where my father lives.

  • Every morning I wake up and thank God for giving me another day.

...to describe the action in a work of fiction.

  • In the story "Happy Ending", Mary falls in love with John but John doesn't love her.

    John is in love with and marries Madge, and they live happily ever after.

Next...How do we form the simple present tense?


We answer the question, "How do you form the simple present tense?" in next week's lesson.

So from the ESL Help Desk, thanks for dropping by for this lesson and remember to email us your questions about English grammar by way of our blog. 

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