Everything in our lives is connected to TIME. Our lives are measured by seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and years. Similarly, all language is connected by VERBS. Verbs explain what we do, how we feel and why we can't finish our homework on time. ("My dog ate it." "My printer broke." "I was kidnapped by aliens last night.") Now for the really cool part. Verb tense is controlled by time. If you always identify the time, you should always get the verb tense correct.
Speaking of verb tense, there are only three verb tenses in English, but they are NOT past, present and future. (Huh?) The three tenses are simple, continuous and perfect. Each tense has three forms, which are past, present and future. You can have up to twelve combinations of tenses and forms, but this blog will start with one, the simple present tense.
How do you make the simple present tense?
This one is easy. I guess that's why they call it the "simple" tense. When you look up a word in the dictionary, you will find the base form. The base form is the same as the simple present tense form. Sort of. (C'mon. This is English. It can't be that easy.)
- I like sports.
- We eat lunch in the cafeteria.
- They come to work by train.
Technically all main verbs have helping verbs, so the absolutely correct form of the simple present tense would be:
- I do like sports.
- We do eat lunch in the cafeteria.
- They do come to work by train.
However, since do doesn't add any meaning to the sentence, over time, native-English speakers stopped using it. In the question and negative forms, you have to put it back, though. To make the negative form in the simple present tense, simply drop don't in front of the main verb.
- My parents live in New York. / My parents don't live in New York.
- We go to the movies every Friday. / We don't go to the movies every Friday.
- I give a quiz every Friday. / I don't give a quiz every Friday.
Questions are just as easy. Just put do in front of the subject and, Bob's your uncle*, a question is made. Don't forget that I and we change to you almost always. (You should always change I and we to you when you do my exercises.) For example:
- I have a dictionary. / Do you have a dictionary?
- We need a babysitter. / Do you need a babysitter?
- They enjoy scuba diving. / Do they enjoy scuba diving?
3rd Person Singular
Really? That's it? Is the simple present tense that easy?
Silly rabbit. Of course it's more difficult. If English were that easy, I wouldn't have a job. In the simple present tense, there is one irregularity, the 3rd person singular"", which basically means he, she or it. In this case, you add an ~s or ~es to the end of the main verb.
- My wife (she) likes sushi.
- My brother (he) lives on the East Coast.
- My car (it) needs a tune-up.
This isn't too bad, but it's easy to forget, so you have to keep practicing and be very careful until it becomes automatic. The trickiest one that students seem to have the most trouble with is indefinite pronouns like everyone or something. Indefinite pronouns are considered 3rd person singular, so you must always add an ~s to the end.
- Everyone wants to have pizza.
- Nobody has an eraser.
- Something smells wonderful.
So far, everything has been fairly simple, but now it gets a little more complicated. What happens with questions and negative statements in the 3rd person singular?
Just like the regular simple past, you start to make a negative statement by dropping don't in front of the main verb.
- Kevin has a headache. becomes Kevin don't has a headache.
However, think of do as a greedy little child who takes things from other little children. As soon as don't sees that the main verb has an ~s, don't immediately runs over and snatches it away from the main verb.
- Kevin doesn't have a headache.
Now don't has the ~s and becomes doesn't. Have is sitting on the ground crying and wondering what happened to its ~s. A sentence is only big enough for one ~s and do always takes it.
- Skyler eats vegetables. / Skyler doesn't eat vegetables.
- Kristen likes sports. / Kristen doesn't like sports.
- My father drinks a lot of coffee. / My father doesn't drink a lot of coffee.
Questions work exactly the same way. Do drops in front of the subject, snatches the ~s away from the main verb and runs back to the front.
- Skyler eats vegetables. / Does Skyler eat vegetables?
- Kristen likes sports. / Does Kristen like sports?
- My father drinks a lot of coffee. / Does your father drink a lot of coffee?
Common Errors: The "Double ~s" and the "Uninvited Be Verb"
There are two common errors that students make with the simple present tense. The first one I call the "Double ~s." This basically means that, in a question or a negative statement, the a student remembered to change do to does, but they left the ~s at the end of the main verb, too. For example:
- XXX Does Ethan drives to school? XXX
- XXX Kelly doesn't has her notebook. XXX
The second one is more specific to Asian students. The "Uninvited Be Verb" is when a student substitutes the Be Verb for do or does. I'll explain this one in more detail later.
- XXX Are you eat lunch in the cafeteria? XXX
- XXX Johnny isn't play soccer. XXX
Now that you understand perfectly HOW to use the simple perfect tense (ha ha), the next step is to learn WHEN to used the simple perfect tense. However, your brain is probably on overload right now and needs a break, so let's save that for the next blog.
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*"Bob's your uncle" is a British expression that means something like "You have been successful" or "There you go." You usually use it when you give simple directions.
""Subjects can be divided into six different categories.
- 1st person singular = I
- 2nd person singular = you
- 3rd person singular = he, she, it
- 1st person plural = we
- 2nd person plural = you
- 3rd person plural = they
This is very important for subject/verb agreement, especially with the "be" verb.
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