The Present Simple Tense
(also called the simple present tense)
We need to use the Present Simple a lot in English, so it's really important to understand it well. Many students have problems with the form (or how to make it).
- If you'd prefer to learn about how to USE the Present Simple jump to this page.
- Or, click here for all the practice exercises about this tense.
Simple present tense with 'be'
The verb ‘be’ is different from the other verbs in this tense. Let's look at ‘be’ first:
Here’s the positive form (positive means a normal sentence, not a negative or a question. This is sometimes called ‘affirmative’)
| Positive | Positive Short Form |
| I am | I'm |
| you are | you're |
| he is | he's |
| she is | she's |
| it is | it's |
| we are | we're |
| they are | they're |
Click here to practise making the positive with 'be'.
Next, here's the negative. It's very easy. You only add ‘not’.
| Negative | Negative short form |
| I am not | I'm not |
| you are not | you aren’t |
| he is not | he isn't |
| she is not | she isn’t |
| it is not | it isn't |
| we are not | we aren't |
| they are not | they aren't |
Click here to practise making the negative with 'be'.
And finally let's talk about the question form of the present simple with 'be'.
Firstly, here's the 'yes / no' question form:
| Yes / No Questions |
| am I ? |
| are you ? |
| is he ? |
| is she ? |
| is it ? |
| are we ? |
| are they ? |
Click here to practise making yes / no questions with 'be'.
If you'd like to make a ‘wh’ question, you just put the question word at the front:
| Wh Questions | |
| where | am I ? |
| what | are you ? |
| why | is he ? |
| who | is she ? |
| when | are we ? |
| how | are they ? |
Simple Present Exercises
Here's a list of all the present simple exercises in PDF on the site.
If you need to review the form of the present simple tense, click here.
If you need to review how we use the present simple tense, click here.
Practice exercises about how we make the present simple: Present Simple Form (with the verb 'be'):
- 'Be' positive form (easy) (download in PDF)
- 'Be' negative form (easy) (download in PDF)
- 'Be' 'yes / no' question form (easy) (download in PDF)
- 'Be' 'wh' question form (easy) (download in PDF)
- 'Be' mixed exercise 1 (quite easy) (download in PDF)
- 'Be' mixed exercise 2 (quite easy) (download in PDF)
- Other verbs positive form, exercise 1 (very easy) (download in PDF)
- Other verbs positive form, exercise 2 (very easy) (download in PDF)
- Other verbs negative form, exercise 1 (easy) (download in PDF)
- Other verbs negative form, exercise 2 (easy) (download in PDF)
- Other verbs 'yes / no' questions (easy) (download in PDF)
- Other verbs 'wh' questions (easy) (download in PDF)
- Other verbs mixed exercise 1 (fairly easy) (download in PDF)
- Other verbs mixed exercise 2 (fairly easy) (download in PDF)
- Other verbs mixed exercise 3 (fairly easy) (download in PDF)
Mixed exercises with all verbs (be and other verbs):
Here's an exercise about spelling changes in this tense:
Practice exercises about how we use the present simple:
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario