Verb Tenses (1b): The Simple Present Tense (When to Use It)

The simple present tense is pretty easy to make.  The only really confusing thing about the simple present tense is the 3rd person singular he, she or it.  But if you remember to add the ~s to the main verb in an affirmative sentence and move the ~s from the main verb to do (so it becomes does) in questions and negative sentences, you're most of the way to using the simple present tense correctly.

In other words, you know HOW to use the simple present tense.  Unfortunately, WHEN to use the simple present tense is also tricky.  But don't give up.  If you remember four simple rules and PRACTICE, you will do fine.

However, you must remember a basic rule about the simple present tense.  If the activity is happening right now, in the present you do NOT use the simple present tense.  (Pretty stupid, huh?)

When do you use the Simple Present Tense?

1.  Scientific Facts / Things That Are ALWAYS True

Here's a scientific fact.  English grammar makes no sense at all.  If something has been proven, if something has gone through the scientific method of forming a hypothesis and then testing it over and over again to show that the same thing always happens, you use the simple present tense.

• The sun always rises in the east and sets in the west.
• Water always boils at 100 degrees Centigrade.
• The No. 1 bus goes to Hawaii Kai.
• Money definitely doesn't grow on trees.  (The two $20-bills I planted last year didn't do anything.)

Similarly, everyone has habits.  There are certain things that everyone always does the same way.  For example:

• I always put on my right shoe first, and then I put on my left shoe.
• My wife always sleeps on the left side of the bed and I always sleep on the right side.
• My wife always drinks a cup of coffee right after she wakes up.  (You shouldn't talk to her until she has finished her first cup.)

You may have noticed an adverb that usually goes with the simple present tense: always.  Another word that can often be used with the simple present tense that fits into this group is every.  For example:

• Every morning, homeroom starts at 7:55.
• I brush my teeth every night before I go to bed.
• My grandfather eats a jalapeno pepper for lunch every day.

Always and every lead directly to the second usage of the simple present tense.

2.  Frequency (How often...?)

Always is a frequency word that means 100%.  There are a whole series of words and phrases that run from 0% on up.  The most common ones are:

• never / rarely / occasionally / sometimes / often / usually

Every can be paired with almost any unit of time, like day, week or January.  There is also a phrase using once, twice, etc.

• once a week / twice a day / three or four times a year

Two things to be careful of when you use this pattern.  First, you always use a in front of the time word. Second, you do NOT need any preposition in the middle like in.  As a general rule, anytime you have one of these time expressions or you are asking the question How often...?, you need the simple present tense.

• A:  How often do you go to the Mainland?
• B:  We go to the East Coast every Christmas to see my family.

• A:  How often do you log on to your Facebook account?
• B:  I log on two or three times a day.

• A:  How often does your family go to the movie theater?
• B:  We occasionally go to the theater, but it's gotten so expensive we usually just watch DVDs at home.

3.  Scheduled Events

This one can be a little tricky and easy to forget because you are using the simple PRESENT tense to describe things that will happen in the FUTURE.  This is because right now, you know the SCHEDULE, especially when something will start and when something will end.  When you talk about schedules, you usually include simple time expressions.

• Tomorrow morning, Dr. Robinson has a meeting from 9:00 to 11:00.
• My planes leaves Honolulu at 5:00 PM and lands in New York at 11:00 AM the next day.
• Hurry up!  The movie starts in twenty minutes.

The official rule is this only works for events in the NEAR future, but I have no idea how to define the near future.  Is it one week?  One month?  It's probably less than a year, but it is definitely a grey area.  Good luck with that.

4.  In Adverb Clauses of Time and Real Conditionals

There are a handful of subordinating conjunctions that require the simple present tense.  Real conditionals include the conjunctions if, as long as and unless.  The main clause is written in the simple future tense, but the adverb clause (after if, etc.) is written in the simple present tense.

• I will let you play outside for an hour if you clean up your room first.
• We won't have enough money to buy a new car unless we sell our current car first.
• Everyone will be able to go home early as long as we finish all the work.

The other set of conjunctions are related to time.  They include when, while, before, after and until.  Just like the real conditions, the main clause is usually in the simple future tense but the adverb clause is in the simple present tense.

• I will pick you up when you get to the station.
• I will stay in the car with the dog while you go in and get the stuff we need.
• Kara will have to study a lot before she is ready to take her licensing exam.
• Marcus will have to wait for his parents to wake up before he opens his Christmas presents.
• We won't begin eating until your mother gets home.

5.  Non-action Verbs*

This one is a little different because it's not really connected to time.  The clearest examples are with the time words now, still, already and yet.

With action verbs, the words now and still indicate the present continuous and already and yet indicate the present perfect.  For example:

• David is cleaning his room right now.
• David is still cleaning his room.
• David hasn't finished cleaning his room yet.
• David has cleaned his room already.

However, if the main verb is a non-action verb, like have, then you would always use the simple present tense.

• David has a really bad cold right now.
• David still has a really bad cold.
• David doesn't have his own car yet.
• David has his own car already.

This is pretty much everything you need to know about the simple present tense.  The easy part is practicing when you know everything should be in the present tense.  The difficult part comes when all the verb tenses are muddled up together.  But if you start by figuring out the time (tense marker) and go from there, verb tenses are much, much easier.

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*All verbs can be put into one of three categories: action verbs, non-action verbs and linking verbs.  The majority of verbs are action verbs and there are not so many linking verbs. 

Non-action verbs can be divided into four basic groups.

• Mental States: think, remember, realize, need, understand
• Emotional States: like, love, envy, care, want, prefer
• Possession: have, own, possess, belong
• State of Being: owe, cost, include, appear

All three of these groups will be discussed later.