The Simple Present Tense

Pattern : Subject + Verb1

It is used to indicate :

·         Habitual actions.

Ex : I have breakfast at 7am.

       We go to church every Sunday.

·         Repeated actions.

Ex : The bell rings every hour.

        The traffic lights changer every 3 minutes.

·         General truth / facts.

Ex : The sun rises in the East.

        Indonesian people eat rice.

The verb is added by s or es if the subject is the third person singular (he, she, or it) :

·         es is added for the verbs ending in :

ex : ch (catch), s (kiss), sh (brush), x (fix), z (whizz)

·         es is also added for the verb ending in y and it is preceded y a consonant, but y is changed to i first :

ex : study à studies, carry à carries, try     à tries

for the verb ending in y but it is preceded by a vowel, they are only added by s :

ex : pay à pays, say à says

·         es is especially added for the verbs go and do :

ex : go à goes, do à does

To make negative and interrogative sentences, the auxiliary verbs are needed :

            Auxiliary         Subject

                                         I

                DO                 You

                                        We

                                       They

            ----------------------------

                                         He

               DOES               She

                                         It

The time adverbials used in the simple present tense :

always, sometimes, generally, every, usually, frequently, never, rarely, seldom, often, ever.